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Much to the disappointment of those hoping for an action replay of the heady summer of 2012, the International Olympic Committee has rejected as “totally unfeasible” claims that London could step in for troubled Rio to host the 2016 Olympics.

A report in the London Evening Standard has claimed that the capital had been secretly sounded out as a last-ditch replacement for Rio, whose preparations were damned as the “worst ever” by an IOC vice-president last month.

But the suggestion was immediately knocked down by the IOC in the strongest terms.

“This is simply a non-starter – totally without foundation and totally unfeasible. Not a shred of truth,” said a spokeswoman. Another IOC source said the story was “total rubbish”.

Photo by S. Reachers