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Olympic Stadium rises as questions mount

The velodrome's sweeping roof is on, the diving pool in the aquatics centre is finished and full of water while the athletes' village looks like a small town of high-rise blocks.

The east-London venue is still a vast building site with more than 10,000 workers and hundreds of construction vehicles scuttling this way and that.

For all the excitement about what will happen during July-August 2012 when the eyes of the world will be on the 400 metres of athletics track, the question on everyone's lips is "then what?"

It is hardly a new line of enquiry as the stadium's legacy has been under discussion since even before London was awarded the Games five years ago but West Ham United's recent announcement that they would be interested in moving in post-Games has returned it to the fore.

Perhaps numbed by going through the options a hundred times, Paul Deighton, LOCOG'S chief executive officer, did not have the appearance of a man stressed to make a decision when he surveyed his muddy domain on Friday.

"There is no pressure, the mixed-use option remains attractive but it's not essential," he told Reuters.

"The compact nature of the stadium certainly lends itself to use by a football club, much more so than in some of the large European stadiums with running tracks, but we are not necessarily chasing that option and all options remain under discussion."

Deighton's organisation are charged with leaving the legacy of a world class stadium and are les