London 2012: Team GB’s Awards Ceremony

Best Quote:

Nominees: Boris Johnson – “They [the female beach volleyball players] are glistening like wet otters”, Boris Johnson ” ‘Inspire a generation’ is our motto. Not necessarily ‘Create a generation’, which is what they sometimes get up to in the Olympic Village…”, Ben Ainslie – “They’ve made me angry and you don’t want to make me angry”, Lord Coe – “When the time came, Britain, we did it right!”

You don’t want to make him angry…

Winner: Ben Ainslie’s fighting talk

Ben Ainslie’s threat to the rest of the Finn Class field may have sounded a little preposterous at the time but he yet again proved himself a class apart as he recovered a sizeable early deficit in the competition so sufficiently that he went into the final race in pole position and managed to hold on for his fourth gold medal. Like he said, you don’t want to make him angry…

Golden Oldie:

Nominees: William Fox-Pitt, Nick Skelton, Mary King, Greg Searle, Ben Ainslie, Katherine Grainger, Sir Chris Hoy

Winner: Nick Skelton

54 year old Nick Skelton may have narrowly missed out on a gold medal in the individual showjumping competition but in playing a huge part in Team GB’s gold medal winning success in the team competition he proved that he is still a spring chicken at heart.

Most Inspiring Member of Team GB:

Nominees: Jess Ennis (‘The face of the Games’), Anthony Agogo (Won boxing bronze and dedicated his triumph to his hospitalised mother), Nicola Adams (Women’s boxing trailblazer and gold medal winner), Gemma Gibbons (Judo silver Medallist who dedicated her success to her dead mother), Katherine Grainger (Three consecutive Olympic silver medals and now, finally, a gold medallist), Bradley Wiggins (Tour De France winner and now a four time Olympic gold medallist), Sir Chris Hoy (Six time Olympic gold medallist), Tom Daley (Bronze medallist so soon after the death of his beloved father), Joanna Roswell (Alopecia sufferer and now an Olympic gold medallist)

Winner: Nicola Adams

In a home Games that were full of emotion and tales to tell this was undoubtedly one of the most hotly contested categories and I have opted for Adams who endeared herself and her much-maligned sporting discipline to the nation. Before the Games many would have had reservations about women’s boxing but Adams’ bravery and skill turned people’s frowns upside down and she deserves an enormous amount of credit for playing a huge part in convincing the nation and indeed the world into giving the sport a chance and then some… 

Saddest Moment:

Nominees: Zak Purchase and Mark Hunter post-final interview, GB’s lighweight four post-final interview, Gemma Gibbons’ “I love you mum” moment

Winners: Zak Purchase and Mark Hunter

Most Exciting Moment:

Nominees: Mo Farah (Home straight of the 10,000m), Mo Farah (Home straight of the 5,000m), Laura Trott (Final event of the Omnium), Etienne Stott, Tim Bailie, David Florence and Richard Hounslow (C2 Canoe Finale) Peter Wilson (Double Trap Shooting Final), Tom Daley (10m Platform Diving Final), Victoria Pendleton (Individual Sprint)

The ‘Mobot’

Winner: Mo Farah (10,000m home straight)

Mo Farah’s double gold medal winning performance at London 2012 was a treat to behold and for me at least his 10,000m race was the most exciting moment of the Games. It put the icing on the cake of an incredible Saturday night in the Olympic Stadium as it was Team GB’s third gold medal in the space of an hour and it was the ‘mo’ment which ensured that that night would forever go down as one of the very finest in British sporting history.

Best Team:

Nominees: Cycling, Rowing, Equestrian, Tennis, Gymnastics, Canoe/Kayak

Winners: Cycling

Gold after gold after gold. Once again the cycling team were unbelievable and there huge level of achievement was made all the more incredible by the heartbreak of Mark Cavendish’s ‘failure’ to live up to the huge weight of expectation on his shoulders when he finished way off the lead in the men’s road race on the first day of the Games. Such was the British cycling team’s success that the French team were crying foul play, accusing Dave Brailsford and his team of cheating by way of having wheels that were unfairly round… 

Biggest Disappointment:

Nominees: Dai Greene, Shanaze Reade, Perri-Shaykes Drayton. Phillips Idowu, GB Relay Teams, GB Swimming Team

Winner: Phillips Idowu

As the Olympic Games have been such an overwhelming success in London and as Team GB have for the most part been terrific it is easy to forget that there have been some major disappointments along the way. The greatest of the disappointments was arguably been Phillips Idowu both in terms of his behaviour in the lead up the Games and then his performance in the Games itself. His ‘invisible man’ act beforehand and his poor performance in the preliminary rounds of the triple jump contest at which he was eliminated will have won him few admirers and one would hope he can find a better performance soon otherwise this will have been a horrible way for one so talented to leave his sport.

Best Celebration:

Nominees: Tom Daley (Pool jump), Mo Farah (The ‘Mo-Bot’), Andy Murray (A la Pat Cash), Sophie Hoskings and Kath Copeland (Kath Copeland’s ‘The face of victory’), Etienne Stott and Tim Bailie (Capsize into the rapids), Jade Jones (Good, old-fashioned scream, roar and phist-pump)

Daley’s bronze medal celebration was one of the highlights of the London Games

Winner: Tom Daley (Pool jump)

There was so much reason for celebration within Team GB during Olympic fortnight that it all seems to blend into one but one of the stand-out celebrations of the Games was undoubtedly that of Tom Daley and his diving team mates. Imagine if he’d won gold…!

Superstar in the making:

Nominees: Anthony Joshua (Boxing gold medallist), Laura Trott (Track cycling double gold medallist), Jason Kenny (Track cycling Double Gold Medallist), Lizzie Armitstead (Cycling Road Race Silver Medallist), Alistair Brownlee (Triathlon gold medallist), Adam Gemili (100m semi-finalist), Sophie Hitchon (New British record holder in the hammer throw), Michael Jamieson (Swimming – Breaststroke), Jade Jones (Taekwondo gold medallist)

Winner: Laura Trott

It is hard to see Laura Trott not ending her cycling career amongst the most decorated British Olympians of all time as she has already bagged two golds at the age of 20. If she continues at her current rate then she could well be a ten-time gold medal winner if she carries on until she is Sir Chris Hoy’s current age!

Star Performer:

Nominees: Mo Farah, Jess Ennis, Laura Trott, Jason Kenny, Andy Murray, Sir Chris Hoy

Winner: Mo Farah

There have been almost too many success stories to mention for Team GB and for London over the past few weeks but the stand-out performer of the Games has to be our favourite Somalian born distance runner, Mo Farah.

Farah’s nerve, concentration, strategic nouse and physical strength have peaked at the perfect time and in becoming only the eighth person ever to do the 5,000m and 10,000m double he has written his name into the history books as one of the greatest ever Olympic athletes.

So, huge congratulations are in order to the likes of Jess, Jason, Sir Chris and Laura as well as the rest of Team GB’s medal winners  and emerging talents but perhaps even greater congratulations are due to Mo. He might not have the looks of  our “Face of the Games” Jess Ennis but who can resist a scrawny-looking, bald, bearded man win a penchant for slapping his own slap-head and for performing the now infamous ‘Mo-bot’… Sir Mo, we salute you!

London 2012: My Top 10 Moments Of Week 2

London 2012 has sadly come to an end but the following are some of the memories that will last a lifetime…

Andy Murray’s Sweet Revenge:

Just a couple of weeks prior to the Games SW19 played host to Andy Murray’s proudest career achievement to date when he reached his first Wimbledon final and lost valiantly to Roger Federer, but now he can finally say that he has become a champion at Wimbledon.

He still isn’t yet a winner of Wimbledon title ‘proper’ or a Grandslam title but his fantastic performances en route to the Olympic final and then in hammering Federer in the final will have given him an enormous amount of hope in his quest to land a first Slam. It was also fantastic to see him gunning for glory on all fronts as he teamed up with his brother in the men’s doubles and with Laura Robson in the mixed doubles where they landed a deserved silver medal.

Golden Saturday:

Little can be said about Saturday the 4th of August 2012 that hasn’t already been said a thousand times but there is no way it could be left off of this list. 6 golds in one day and three of those in the space of less than an hour in the Olympic Stadium. It was awesome.

Epke Zonderland flies his way to Gold in the Men’s High Bars:

In a week of phenomenal achievements for Team GB it was tempting to fill this list with tales of home glory and triumph but one of my personal highlights of week two came in a somewhat surprising form. In the build-up to the Games I hadn’t exactly set my heart on watching an enormous amount of gymnastics but Team GB’s unbelievable success got me hooked and then a certain Mr. Zonderland  made me really sit up and take note. His High Bars routine was truly a sight to behold and he more than deserved his gold medal. If you haven’t already seen it then please use this link and do so… http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18903127

Trotty’s Double Gold:

With some of team GB’s more high-profile members such as Jess Ennis, Mo Farah and Sir Chris Hoy delivering in fantastic fashion I felt as if young Laura Trott’s double gold went unfairly a little under the radar as did her boyfriend Jason Kenny’s double gold. Her individual winning performance in the women’s omnium was terrific and she sealed her precious second gold in stunning style by romping to victory in the final event and replacing the experienced American Sara Hammer at the top of the standings.

Ben Ainslie makes it 4 out of 4:

Ainslie yet again did it the hard way as he always seems to do as he once again he came from behind to land a stunning fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal and a third consecutive gold in the Finn class. The man is a legend and one would imagine that a knighthood could well be forthcoming.

Sir Chris replaces Sir Steve at the top of GB’s gold medal winners list:

His Royal Thighness grabbed two golds in what is almost certain to be his last Olympic Games

Chris Hoy’s outstanding performance in the Keirin was arguably the highlight of yet another stunning team performance from Britain’s cyclists at the Olympics and it saw him reach the incredible tally of six golds, one more than Sir Steve Redgrave who provided a very nice touch by going to the Velodrome to congratulate the man who has arguably deposed him as Team GB’s greatest ever Olympian.

Bolt doubles up on all three fronts:

I’m pretty certain that most people would already have regarded Usain Bolt as a legend prior to London but now he himself believes once and for all that he has the right to be called a legend. Once again Jamaica’s finest produced storming performances in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay and his second consecutive triple-gold medal haul silenced all of the doubters who thought he might not be able to match his displays in Beijing. My favourite Bolt moment from the last fortnight though was his homage to home favourite Mo Farah when he performed the ‘Mo-bot’ just after crossing the line for gold in the relay.

‘Mo Bolt’ and ‘Usain Farah’ celebrate their triumphs with each other

Brotherly love in the Triathlon:

For years I have been derogatory about triathlon in order to wind up a friend of mine who is all to keen on the sport but the truth of the matter is that triathlon is an unbelievably demanding discipline and both of the Brownlee brothers are phenomenal athletes. Tuesday’s triathlon drew an enormous crowd, one which  included myself, and Alistair Brownlee’s gold medal winning performance was well worthy of such phenomenal support.

Mo Doubles Up:

Saturday night saw Mo Farah complete arguably the greatest British athletics achievement ever as he landed the 5,000m gold medal to add to the 10,000m gold which he won a week earlier. This achievement has seen Farah soar into the realms of the greatest athletes ever to have competed at the Olympics as only seven people have ever done the long distance double at the Games.

Stephen Kiprotich defies the odds to bring glory to Uganda:

Stephen Kiprotich took an unlikely victory in Sunday’s showpiece event

Uganda are traditionally one of the least successful competing nations at the Olympic Games and until yesterday they were still without a medal at London 2012. However, on the final day of the Games Kiprotich stepped up to the plate and beat the favourites from Africa’s distance running strongholds Ethiopia and Kenya en route to winning the marathon and becoming not just Uganda’s first medal winner of the Games but also Uganda’s first gold medal winner in 40 years. This was a staggering achievement for one so young and it was deserving of the traditionally special medal ceremony that the marathon receives in the closing ceremony.

London 2012: 100m Men’s Prediction

The Semi-Finals:

Semi-Final 1 Winner: Justin Gatlin in around 9.85

Semi-Final 1 Runner-Up: Asafa Powell in around 9.90

Semi-Final 2 Winner: Usain Bolt in around 9.80-9.85

Semi-Final 2 Runner-Up: Daniel Bailey in around 9.85

I have an inkling that Gemili will run his first sub-10 second time in the 100m and will get into contention for a place in the final

Semi-Final 3 Winner: Yohan Blake in 9.80

Semi-Final 3 Runner-Up: Tyson Gay in 9.85-9.90

Fastest Losers: Richard Thompson in around 9.90 (Semi-Final 2) and then either one of Adam Gemili, Dwain Chambers or Keston Bledman in around 9.95

In short, I think that all the usual suspects will advance to the final as well as young talents Ryan Bailey and perhaps even Adam Gemili. If events on the track so far are anything to go by then I have a feeling that the home crowd could inspire either one of Gemili or Dwain Chambers to make the final as one of the fastest losers from the semis.

I think Yohan Blake, Justin Gatlin and Usain Bolt will set the tone for medal-winning finishes in the final with victories in each of their semi-finals and I think that each of their times will crank up into the region of 9.80-8.85 seconds as they start to move through the gears of the competition.

The Final:

Gold: Yohan Blake in around 9.65

Silver: Usain Bolt in around 9.65-9.70

Bronze: Justin Gatlin in around 9.75

Fourth: Asafa Powell

Will Bolt hold onto his 100m crown or will the young pretender Yohan Blake pip him to the post?

Fifth: Tyson Gay

Sixth: Ryan Bailey

Seventh: Richard Thompson

Eighth: Adam Gemili/Dwain Chambers/Keston Bledman (Second fastest loser from the Semi-Finals)

You heard it hear first: Usain Bolt will ‘only’ win a silver medal! You can never rule out Bolt, I know that of course, and I am not ruling him out. I think the pace of the final will be very decent and I think it will be either Blake or Bolt that win it in around 9.65 seconds but for the sake of interest and in aid of backing up what I have been saying to anyone who will listen for months I have gone for Blake to win.

I then think their will be a real dog-fight for the Bronze medal in a time of 9.75-9.80 seconds with Justing Gatlin pipping Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay and Ryan Bailey in the battle for a third-placed finish.

Whether Bolt wins tonight or not, tonight is sure to be another historic night for both British and World athletics so sit back, relax (if you can…) and enjoy another sporting feast.

Gold Gold Gold Gold Gold Gold

Is it just me that has Spandau Ballet ringing through my head?

What a night it has been for British athletics and what a day it has been for British sport. Two golds on the track, one in the field and three earlier in the day shared between the river at Eton and the Velodrome at the Olympic Park. Has British sport ever seen anything like it?

I can’t quite believe we won 6 of these in a day!

Well, I certainly can’t remember a night like it and I’m pretty sure that I will never see a more superior day of British sporting excellence for the rest of my existence, nor would I really hope to as I don’t think I could bear it!

So, where to start?

Well, first of all, huge congratulations to Jess Ennis, Greg Rutherford, Mo Farah, Laura Trott, Joanna Roswell, Dani King, Sophie Hosking, Katherine Copeland, Pete Reed, Andy Triggs Hodge, Tom James and Alex Gregory. You are all brilliant and we as mere spectators of your brilliance are all indebted to you for eternity for the magnificent day of entertainment with with you have provided us!

Now, breaking it down, here is the run through of my experience of Team GB’s ‘Golden Saturday’ at the Games….

10:00 A.M: Position on the sofa assumed for a long day ahead…

10:30 A.M: Jess Ennis nails the long jump and thrusts herself well and truly into the driving seat in the heptathlon…

11:30 A.M: GB WIN GOLD IN THE MEN’S FOUR! GOLD MEDAL NUMBER ONE ON ‘GOLDEN SATURDAY’ FOR TEAM GB!!!

Gold number one…

12:00 P.M: GB WIN ANOTHER GOLD AT ETON! KATH COPELAND AND SOPHIE HOSKINGS TRIUMPH IN THE LIGHTWEIGHT WOMEN’S DOUBLE TAKING TEAM GB’s GOLD MEDAL TALLY TO TWO ON ‘GOLDEN SATURDAY’!!!

Gold number two…

12:30 P.M: Team GB get a silver medal in the men’s double lightweight sculls courtesy of reigning Olympic champions Zak Purchase and Mark Hunter. The pair were desolate in the wake of their ‘failure’ to get the gold but they performed manfully and shouldn’t feel ashamed at all…

1:00 P.M: Usain Bolt begins his Olympic campaign and though this would usually have thrilled the nation, his sluggish heat win paled in comparison to the level of excitement developing for Team GB on ‘Golden Saturday’. Adam Gemili also began his 100m campaign and he looked very good in his run to a second placed heat finish to winner Asafa Powell. Gemili won’t medal but he could make the final if he can find a PB on Sunday…

1:20 P.M: Dwain Chambers also qualifies for the next round of the 100m by winning his heat in an impressive time of 10.02 seconds. It was always going to be interesting to see how well he would be received by the crowd and though I have no affection for him whatsoever I am still pleased to report that he got a very warm reception as it would have been pretty awkward had he not…

1:30 P.M: My girlfriend left my house. Usually I wouldn’t report this as a significant event but the fact that she was then on her way to the Olympic Stadium as she had tickets for the phenomenal night ahead makes it rather more relavant… Lucky git…

2:00 P.M: Jess Ennis nails the javelin also which is often her achilles heel, throwing a lifetime best distance of 47.59 metres! This was the moment where I and the whole nation finally accepted that our ‘face of the Games’ would indeed win the gold medal she so deserved…

2:30 P.M-5 P.M: Many hours spent sulking because I wish I had a ticket for the Olympic Stadium…

5:00 P.M: I went for a jog and was of course pretending that I was Mo Farah. I convinced myself for a few seconds that I was actually a little too fast to be Mo before then realising that in reality I am actually horribly unfit…

5:30 P.M: Andy Murray and Laura Robson triumphed in the semi-finals of the mixed doubles in the tennis competition guaranteeing themselves a medal winning finish. Olympic tennis usually fails to capture my imagination but today changed everything for me. The nerve and resilience shown by our pair in their back-to-back Saturday afternoon wins over Australia and Germany was captivating and they fully deserve at very least a silver medal, which is now the minimum possible reward for their efforts. Andy Murray now has a shot at two gold medals on Sunday…

6:15 P.M: GOLD FOR GB IN THE WOMEN’S TEAM PURSUIT AT THE VELODROME! TEAM GB’S THIRD MEDAL OF GOLDEN SATURDAY! TAKE A BOW LAURA TROTT, DANI KING AND JOANNA ROSWELL!!!

Gold number three…

7:00 P.M: GB’s athletic’s team captain Dai Greene took to the track for his 400m hurdles semi-final and the world champion had a shocker! A 4th placed finish saw him scrape into the final by the skin of his teeth and in hindsight maybe this was the price all us Brits had to pay for the success lying in wait on ‘Golden Saturday’…

8:20 P.M: Greg Rutherford landed a major blow in the long jump final with a leading jump of 8.21 metres and the vaguest possibility of three Olympic golds in one night for Team GB’s athletics team dared to creep it’s way into the nation’s minds…

8:40 P.M: Michael Phelps won gold as part of the USA’s relay team in the 4x100m medley final in what was his last ever competitive race but I didn’t care because GB were on course to win 3 golds in a night! OK, I did care really… What a man. What an Olympian. 22 Olympic medals and 18 of them Gold. Is he the greatest sportsman of all time?

8:55 P.M: Time for Jess to finish off a job bloody well done… The nation awaits…

9:00 P.M: Jess only went and bloody well won her 800 didn’t she! It would have been so easy for her to just pace her way to a comfortable finish high up the field but the determination she showed to win her race was phenomenal. GOLD MEDAL NUMBER FOUR FOR TEAM GB ON GOLDEN SATURDAY!!!

Gold number four…

9:05 P.M : Rutherford extended his lead in the long jump with a terrific leap of 8.31 metres, a second gold in a matter of minutes became an even greater possibility for Team GB

9:20 P.M: Mo Farah begins the 10,000m and the Olympic Stadium erupted as the realisation of three potential athletics golds in one night started to really dawn on the nation…

9:25 P.M: Greg Rutherford stuffed up his ‘jump of honour’ but who gives a toss?! GOLD FOR TEAM GB IN THE LONG JUMP, 2 ATHLETICS GOLDS AND FIVE TEAM GB GOLDS ON GOLDEN SATURDAY!!!!

Gold number five…

9:45 P.M: MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! FARAH WINS GOLD IN THE 10,000 m AND TEAM GB GET THEIR SIXTH GOLD MEDAL OF GOLDEN SATURDAY!!!!!!!

…and Mo makes it six!

9:50 P.M: Jamaica get their gold in the women’s showpiece athletics event with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce defending her Olympic title in 10.75 seconds. Usually the 100m finals are the more memorable moments of the Olympics but Fraser-Pryce’s terrific defence of her title was a little lost amidst the British Euphoria at the Olympic Stadium…

10:15 P.M: Team GB’s male footballers crashed out to South Korea in the quarter finals in a penalty shootout. Usually I would have cared but not tonight. Very little could have happened to dampen my mood and I’m sure that was the case for the vast majority of British sports fans!

 

Saturday the 4th of August will undoubtedly go down in history as one of it not THE greatest day of all time for British sport. 6 Olympic golds and a few more medals to boot. If you didn’t shed a tear at some point today then you might as well leave Britain and never come back…

 

London 2012: My Top 10 Moments Of The Opening Week

France Win 4x100m Freestyle Gold:

The French quartet shocked everybody in the relay as they defeated the USA and Australia

In what was billed the battle of the USA and outsiders Australia, the tables of swimming superiority were momentarily turned and the French took a remarkable victory. Everybody loves an underdog even if it is the French…

Grainger’s Gold At Last:

Ably supported by team mate Anna Watkins, Kath Grainger finally got her hands on a gold medal

When she managed ‘only’ a silver in Beijing it looked as though Kath Grainger might never achieve a gold medal at an Olympic Games and as she put it before breaking down into a flood of tears she looked to destined to be “always the bridesmaid and never the bride.”

However, Friday morning’s terrific performance alongside the magnificent Anna Watkins saw her finally achieve the gold she so deserved and how she managed to hold herself together so well I’ll never know. Well done Kath, you are the bride after all!

Sir Chris Makes It 5:

Amidst the drama and disappointment of Jess Varnish and Victoria Pendleton’s disqualification on the first evening of Velodrome action, Sir Chris Hoy and his trusty team sprint team mates Jason Kenny and Phillip Hindes triumphed in their final breaking the World Record along the way.

Sir Chris brought home GB’s WR breaking team pursuit effort

This success was Chris Hoy’s fifth Olympic gold medal and the scenes it prompted inside the Velodrome were about as euphoric as the games has served up so far.

King-Size Judo Battle:

If you haven’t seen this already then please just take a look at this link and enjoy…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19109181

Still Life In The ‘Old’ Dog:

On the opening night of the games Michael Phelps managed only a fourth placed finish in his first final and this result was made all the more startling by the fact that it was his fellow US star Ryan Lochte who bagged the gold medal. This triumph for Lochte led to him being asked in a post-race interview if 2012 was his time and his games and he answered “Well… Yeah… I guess so…”

Phelps had a sluggish start to his last Games but he has since stormed back to multiple gold medal winning success

However, the greatest Olympian of all time has had something to say about that and he has out-‘golded’ him so far this games and in doing so has kindly reminded Lochte (who for the record I cannot stand…) that for this week at least he still has some serious competition.

Gold-Silver Finish For Britain’s Men In The C2 Slalom:

Team GB flourished in the two-man canoeing discipline

Going into the finals of the C2 hopes were hight that one of the two British pairings might manage to get in the mix for a medal winning finish but a GB 1-2 was never really though to be on the radar.

It was a staggering performance from both pairs and the two medals captured for Team GB contributed to a mad five minutes in which Peter Wilson also showed phenomenal nerve to grab a shooting gold to make it three medals in five minutes for us Brits.

British Men’s Gymnastic Get Team Bronze:

Team GB came within a judge’s review of a silver medal in the team competition

Having gone into the team event in the gymnastics with hopes higher than ever before and aiming for a top five finish, our men’s squad excelled beyond belief and ended up getting themselves an awe-inspiring Bronze medal.

The Olympic Games are all about triumph in the face of adversity and performing to the very limit of your abilities and this success was the very epitome of such sentiment. I never though it would have been the case but their battle for a medal was probably my highlight of the first week of Olympic action and they came agonisingly close to bettering their final position with only a judge’s review denying them the silver medal.

South Africa Get Gold In The Lightweight Four:

South Africa’s first ever rowing old may have come at GB’s expense but it still made for fantastic viewing

Before this historic race South Africa had never before won a rowing gold but their staggering late burst in the lightweight fours earned them an awesome victory at the expense of the GB crew who were narrowly squeezed out into the silver medal position in the final few metres.

The South Africans were never meant to win this race but they did and they more than deserved to on the day even though it was heartbreaking to see our boys lose out so narrowly in a race they were very confident of winning beforehand.

Wiggo Rides His Way Into The History Books:

Having fought manfully for Mark Cavendish’s failed crack at winning gold in the men’s road race, Bradley Wiggins had to lift himself for Wednesday’s time trial and he did just that.

Britain’s greatest ever Olympian?

His staggering victory by over forty seconds saw him win his fourth Olympic gold and his seventh Olympic medal in total and these achievements coupled with his historic triumph in the the Tour De France have put him right up there in contention to be thought of as Britain’s greatest ever sportsman. Arise Sir Brad….

Jess Ennis Blowing Away The Field In The 100m Hurdles:

At the time of writing this piece Jess Ennis has now built on her brilliant start to the heptathlon and has just one event remaining in her quest for an Olympic gold and looks set to close the deal with a fair amount of ease in tonight’s 800m.

Ennis’ awesome opening run in the hurdles catapulted her into the record books and straight o the top of the heptathlon standings

But in terms of the first week of the games she had only completed four of her seven events and the first of these, the 100m hurdles, saw her start her campaign in phenomenal fashion allaying any fears about her being overcome by the huge pressure of being the ‘face of the games’.

Her time of 12.54 seconds would have seen her in a photo finish for Olympic gold in the women’s 100m hurdles as an individual discipline in Beijing in 2008 and it was also the fastest hurdles time ever run by a British woman. This was an incredible start to her Games and it set the tone beautifully for the rest of her competition.

Crunch time for Murray as the Aussie Open heads into the Quarters

With a lack of free-to-air coverage of the Australian Open you’d be forgiven for feeling a little bereft of ‘Murray-Mania’ and perhaps even for being completely unaware that the Scotsman has once again advanced to the final eight of a Grandslam event.

Murray has breezed through the early rounds in Melbourne

Thus far, Murray has come up against the talented US teen Ryan Harris in the opening round, Edouard Roger-Vasselin, the awkward Michael Llodra and the in-form Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan. Each of the four matches have provided their own unique dangers, but Murray has dealt well with all comers to date and has only dropped a single set en-route to the Quarters.

His most recent triumph against Kukushkin had the edge taken off of it by the Kazakh’s injury problems, which were almost certainly down to the tough five-set battles that he had endured in the lead up to his encounter with Murray.

Having defeated strong opponents such Viktor Troicki of Serbia and the mile-a-minute Gael Monfils of France, both of whom were seeded in the top 20 for the first ‘Slam’ of the Year, Kukushkin appeared to be in great shape ahead of facing up to Murray (mental shape that is). Unfortunately though, his endeavours in these impressive scalps left him with little left to offer physically against the fourth seed and Murray eventually ran out a comfortable victor by a scoreline that read 6-1 6-1 1-0 prior to his opponent’s retirement.

Not only was it nice for the Scot to bag another big winning margin, but by virtue of his opponent’s premature departure he only needed to be on court for a measly 49 minutes. This will undoubtedly have been welcomed not only by his body but also his fare Scottish skin which would have been taking a severe pounding in the baking Melbourne sun.

With this win Murray has progressed to the last eight at a ‘Slam’ once again and only Japan’s Kei Nishikori stands between him and a place in what would be his fifth consecutive Grandslam Semi-Final appearance. Though Nishikori has impressed en-route to these latter stages of the tournament, he like Kukushkin has had to grind his way through two five-setters already and Murray will look to make not only his superior game but also his fresher body count when they come head-to-head.

Nishikori earned his showdown with Murray through a brilliant win over Tsonga

Murray’s comfortable navigation through the early rounds in Melbourne has once again stirred up public belief, perhaps even personal belief, that the Aussie Open provides the greatest opportunity for him to break his Grandslam duck.

He has previously made it to each of the last two finals at the tournament and has forever spoken fondly of his time ‘Down-Under’ and his comfort on the harder surfaces of Grandslam tennis. Couple this with the sizeable gap between the US Open and the Australian Open and it becomes clear that this tournament will provide him with a significant opportunity on an annual basis.

This lengthy gap between the current ‘Slam’ and the previous one means that Murray’s major rivals Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are likely to have not had the opportunity to have constructed significant runs of devastating form as they are all capable of in more fixture-heavy periods of the year. Therefore, going in to the start of the new year Murray will know that if he gets himself in perfect physical shape and practices hard that perhaps the gap between him and his arguably more illustrious rivals will be at it’s very slimmest, not that there is a huge gulf as it is.

So then, victory over Nishikori would mean a match up with the world’s most feared player of the moment in the form of Djokovic and then who knows who he would face if he triumphed again. In all likelihood Murray will have to defeat two of the world’s top three players if he is to land his first Grandslam win this week, and although he is painfully aware of the difficulty of this task he will be high on confidence and hopeful as ever. COME ON ANDY!

At 36 is David Beckham still football’s most wanted man?

Having once again played a key role in a team’s success could David Beckham be about to re-locate again in the name of playing top class football? After winning his first piece of silverware as an LA Galaxy player Beckham now has to bring his feet back to earth and face up to the reality that his contract is about to expire at the MLS club.

He has of course been subject to months of endless press speculation as to where his future lies and has repetitively had to fob off questions about his next career move, but no longer. Now is the time for Beckham to make another huge career based decision and now is the time that the media have been so desperately waiting for.

The major names that have been banded about in terms of their potential interest in signing up the England icon are Paris St Germain and Tottenham Hotspur, but he has also been linked with a sensational return to either Manchester United or Milan, as well as moves to clubs such as QPR and West Ham. All of the aforementioned moves are not without any foundation but some are certainly more likely than others, for instance, could you really envisage ‘Golden Balls’ striding out in the blue and white hoops of QPR at Loftus Road every week? Well… quite frankly… no. That isn’t to say that QPR wouldn’t provide a challenge to ‘Sir David in waiting’ but they are hardly a club in-keeping with the prestigious list he has ticked off thus far. Perhaps the most ridiculous of all the speculation is that linking him with a role as a contestant on ITV’s ‘Dancing On Ice’, personally I think this is less likely even than a move to Accrington Stanley! No offence Accrington fans…

Speaking as a Manchester United fan it is hard for me to stomach the thought of him playing for a rival Premier League club, but, if it meant I got to see my hero back doing what he does best on the stage that placed him firmly in all England fans’ hearts then I reckon I could deal with it. For that reason my preference would be him moving to Spurs, which off the back of his near move to the club last year isn’t the most unlikely of all the options. Though he has seemed to hush any reports linking him with a move back to British shores you’d think there must be at least a little temptation for him to come back given that he is a Londoner and has never played for any of the city’s clubs. Another major consideration for Beckham must also be his ambitions to lead out the Great Britain side at the Olympics next year, a goal which would surely be made more attainable by a return to the British spotlight in the Premier League.

Though a move to a London club would be great for his English followers the two more feasible options seem to be staying in LA or moving to Paris. The lure of maintaining the life he has built for himself and his family in America must be incredibly strong for the world’s most famous family-man, and having eventually won round any of his remaining critics in the US it would perhaps be a shame for him to just up-sticks and return to Europe. However, the satisfaction of ticking off another big club and major European city would also be very tempting for Beckham who is without any doubt still ferociously ambitious.

A move to Paris St Germain seems entirely feasible as they have recently established themselves as one of the world football’s financial super-powers and as such would have the means to pull off the mov which would inevitably be rather pricey. The prestigious nature of the city itself makes it an attractive option and given his other-half’s prominence in the fashion world it does seem to be a move tailor-fitted to the Beckham clan if Mr and Mrs Beckham deem it appropriate to move the family on once again in the name of football.

Regardless of where he does choose to see out his career, it is clear that David Beckham is still far from a spent force. He remains determined to find a career move that will not just financially benefit him but also challenge him as a footballer and provide him with an opportunity to stake a claim for London 2012. He may be getting on in years but it certainly  appears that Mr.Beckham still has an enormous amount of pulling power, not just as a personality and a brand but also as a man still capable of plying his trade at the top level. My only tickets for next year’s Olympic Games are for the football final and I would absolutely love to see my hero leading out Team GB at Wembley, it would after all be very fitting if he were to be honoured with such a responsibility.

London Riots: Could the terrible scenes impact upon Britain’s Olympic dreams?

With now just less than a year to go until London hosts the Olympics it is time for panic stations, and sadly it is for all the wrong reasons. For now forget the fear-mongering that 2012 will attract an international terror threat, put aside the criticism of the much scrutinised ticketing system and focus on the more present and dangerous threat to our games and to our lives.

Mark Duggan; the deceased man behind the riots

Since Londoner Mark Duggan was reportedly shot dead by the police last week there has been a sense of societal unrest brewing slowly across Britain, but now the host city for the 2012 games has become a scene of widespread rioting and mindless thuggery.

Protests which began in more sedate and peaceful fashion in the immediate wake of Duggan’s death have escalated since Last Thursday’s revelations. Now, in areas in and outside of the capital, events of a far more malicious and infectious nature have begun to take place. The death of Duggan is being cited as the motivation for such criminal acts, but it is not unreasonable to suspect that many are not acting in the interests of the deceased. In the same breath it would be unfair to presume that the majority aren’t acting in protestation, but the agendas seem to be more personal.

There will be those acting on behalf of the deceased, there will be those pursuing their own acts of protestation, but most unfortunately of all there will be those that are using this as an excuse to perform evil deeds. The actions of these individuals are beyond unacceptable, they are stupid, outrageous, moronic and venomous.

People’s homes, possessions, livelihoods and lives are being ruined and for what reason? What cause is worth inflicting intentional and directed criminal acts upon innocent human beings? There is simply no justification for such inhumanity.

Terrifying scenes in Tottenham, the former home of Mark Duggan

This whole ongoing episode reeks of something stretching beyond the realms of a direct response to the loss of a life, and an air of disillusionment seems a more likely motivation. The progress of the active unrest in London and areas such as Birmingham over the last couple of evenings is terrifying and fear is rife that the trouble could stretch further still.

Beyond the physical damage that has already been done there are other huge considerations for our nation and for our government. Though the immediate concern must of course be to preserve the safety and well-being of the British population there are other huge issues that the rioting could cause.

Unsurprisingly the glare of the world is presently directed upon Britain in preparation for next year’s Olympic games, and this week’s panic in London will have done nothing to aid preparations. This may seem a minor problem amidst the more urgent concerns caused, but our hosting of the games are of immense political, economic and societal significance.

There has been an enormous amount of money invested into the games which will generate astronomical levels of revenue, thousands of jobs have been created and our country has been granted the privilege of working towards a major event. This global gathering that is to be so proudly hosted next year is a chance to showcase everything that is great about Britain, but some members of our population are causing huge levels of upset and are diminishing the hard work and efforts of others.

Trouble brewing in Hackney, near the Olympic Stadium

It is sickening to think that members of our society are so unappreciative of what this country has to offer them. If such selfish and frankly disgusting behaviour continues then lives will be lost and our nation will be disgraced. Thus far there has been little movement from Olympic officials in public response to the rioting, but we can be sure that the violence and unrest will have scarred public and global perceptions of our ability to play host to the world’s most prestigious sporting spectacle.

The Open 2011 Day Two: Best of British Bow out as Darren Clarke surges to the top

Royal St. George’s today played host to a demise of the British golfing empire. Perhaps this is only a brief setback to the current trend of British domination in the sport, but it was a very disappointing day nonetheless for the British hopes.

Not only did the vast majority of home hopes fail to make a charge up the leader board, they actually fell back. Not only did they fall back, they collapsed in a heap.

Concerns mount as to Westwood and Donald's lack of a major victory

Hopes were high amongst British golf fans that world numbers one and two, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, would come to the fore this week and land their first major. Having started the day at a score of one-over par they both failed to make the cut.

Sadly these two were not the only Brits that failed to meet the mark. Major winners Graeme McDowell and Padraig Harrington also fell below the cut mark, McDowell in particular spiralled out of control on day two. Having started the day at two-under and well in the hunt, G-Mac fell apart ending the day at five-over for the tournament. Another British hope to slip away was Ian Poulter who fell apart whilst failing to back-up an impressive opening round of 69.

Whilst two Irishmen fell by the wayside one went charging to the top. Darren Clarke produced what was one of only a few sub-70 rounds on what was a surprisingly lean day of scoring. He today made it back-to-back rounds of 68 and took the joint lead with Lucas Glover who put together a steady 70. Both men will return tomorrow in the last group out and will be hoping the worst of the conditions have come and gone by the time they step up to the tee. Clarke is in pole position not only for the overall tournament but in terms of British hopes. If he delivers his first career major in his forties come Sunday evening then perhaps the disappointing displays of fellow Brits will be somewhat forgotten.

Clarke finds some magic with the putter to birdie the 18th

Having started the day with major British hopes positioned ominously on the leader board after indifferent opening rounds today was a definite reality check. However, in addition to Clarke there are some remaining British hopes.

Pre-tournament favourite Rory McIlroy remains decently placed four back at level-par and would perhaps be on terms with the leaders had his putting reached the standards it did at the US Open. Aside from the lack of chance conversion there does appear to be another worry surrounding his game this week and that is a seeming insistence to not alter his game. Links golf requires a very defined style of play and McIlroy today missed out too many times by playing the sorts of shot we would attempt any other week. In order to drive up the leader board tomorrow I believe he needs to alter his game a little. Wholesale changes are far from necessary, but it does seem that he should be aiming to feed the balls up to the green a little more rather than sending in high bombs at the flags. More often than not he missed out today when taking on these audacious efforts, but some impressive scrambling saw his way to level-par for the tournament.

McIlroy looks to handle the pressure of being a major winner and make a move on Saturday

The top of the leader board is a crowded place going into round three and the likes of McIlroy are still well in touch at four back. The weather this weekend is set to be pretty horrendous by all accounts and this should make for some very interesting scoring. If anybody manages to handle the wild winds and sheets of rain then they will have a fair chance of prospering, even if they are coming into round three at about one or two over par.

Schwartzel smiles away as he moves into contention with one of the rounds of the day

The ones to watch in round three could be Masters champion Charl Schwartzel who impressed with a 67 today and Simon Dyson (my punt for the week) who flattered to deceive today after bagging birdies at the first three holes today. Dyson ended up slipping back from the outright lead to a frustrating level par for the tournament but he is quick around the course and knows full-well how to handle links conditions. Others to keep an eye on are the ever-entertaining Sergio Garcia placed well at level-par and young Tom Lewis who backed up his miracle 65 with a battling 74. The young amateur may have relinquished his status at the top of the standings but his is still in the red and has nothing to lose. It seems unlikely that he could go on to win but stranger things have happened.

Moving day is here and Sandwich must be braced for excitement amongst the predicted awful weather conditions.

David Vs. Goliath II: Can Haye secure his famous legacy?

This Saturday will finally see the end to one of boxing’s longest sagas. David Haye versus Wladmir Klitschko has been a long time in the making and both fighters will be eager to prove that it can be worth the wait. A wait which at times has been rather irksome.

The pair of World Champions are both undoubtedly class acts in the ring but out of it they are different beasts. Haye is a cocky, smug, arrogant and above all a bit of a playground bully. Klitschko on the other hand is a smarmy teachers pet. Both have their magic moments with the media, but the anticipation surrounding this bout has allowed the two of them to become rather self-indulgent.

A prime example of Haye the 'bully'

Blissfully we will finally see the two of them in the same ring for the first time ever this weekend. The stage-show will reach it’s conclusion and the fight itself has the potential to be an absolute classic. Each fighter has sheer and utter self-belief in themselves. Such confidence is often just bravado, but in this case each of them have plenty of reason to believe that they are capable of a career defining victory.

Since moving up to the Heavyweight division, Haye has been unstoppable. His first fight which won him his world title against Russia’s nature defying Nikolay Valuev was a demonstration of magnificent hit-and-run boxing. His defence was such that the then World Champion Valuev barely landed any of his earth-shattering punches. In the mean time Haye managed to sneak in with his impressive speed and land heavy blows of his own which rocked the giant.

Haye's greatest achievement to date

Since then however, Haye has fought two fading forces. One was the resilient John Ruiz, who Haye destroyed bit by bit, bone by bone. The other was Audley ‘A-Force’ Harrison, who again Haye tore to pieces. But in truth these two fights were foregone conclusions. Haye’s attributes were more than enough to dispose of them with little fuss, and this begs the question as to why Haye even decided to take on such fights.

For a man seemingly so keen to fight as many high profile heavyweights before an early retirement later this year these fights seemed like odd selections. He has publicly demonstrated his desire to leave a legacy when he retires and such a feat will only be achieved by taking on the likes of Wladmir. We can see then why this fight is so crucial to Haye and his ambitions.

On the face of it this fight appears to be there for the taking. Haye is supremely talented and has strength way beyond the usual limitations of people with his stature but is it enough to defeat a highly reputable World Champion like Klitschko? He has already beaten a Heavyweight World Champion in the form of Valuev but Klitschko is a huge step up. Not only is he a huge man with immense ring presence and strength, but he has good footwork and knows when to throw his punches. Haye’s defence and evasion were super slick against Valuev but it will have to improve two-fold again if he hopes to prevent Wladmir from landing. At Heavyweight level David Haye’s chin has not yet been put to the test and it seems unlikely that Klitschko will fail to land significant blows. Haye must be prepared to endure such moments of shock and trauma if he is to come out of the ring with three belt to his name on Saturday evening.

Finally Haye has the chance to come face-to-face with Wladmir in the ring

Couple Klitschko’s far greater boxing talent and pedigree in comparison with Haye’s previous Heavyweight conquests, with the Partisan venue and it becomes hard to foresee a full-distance win for David. It seems that if he is to secure his greatest ever victory that it will take an aggressive approach and a win by way of knock-out. This is certainly not beyond the realms of possibility given that Klitschko has indeed been defeated in such a manner before, but it is certain that Haye will have to produce his very finest in order to chalk up another major scalp.