The Friday Feeling #3

This is the Friday Feeling. The third and final installation of a hat-trick of features which have appeared on The Search for Excellence each Friday (you guessed it) during the Olympics. Expect some astute observations, irreverent opinions and priceless nuggets of information...possibly. 

Daley will be looking for a late GB gold this week

TODAY

It's day 14 of the 2012 Olympics and with only two more days to go it really is reaching the business end of the tournament. There is still plenty of action left to be packed into these final 72 hours though and today will see Tom Daley in the individual 10m platform diving preliminary rounds as well as Lisa Dobriskey and Laura Weightman competing in the final of the 1500m in the Olympic stadium. It is hard to believe that two weeks have already passed since Danny Boyle's mood-setting Opening Ceremony and what we have witnessed in the fortnight since has been nothing short of incredible, with heroes arising wherever you look, as well as a generous amount of upsets, surprises and controversy. After Usain Bolt last night proved his dominance of the track with another display of raw pace in the 200m, the definitive hero of the Games may already be set in stone but there is plenty more to talk about.

THE MOOD

The slow start for Team GB is all but a distant memory now leaving an overriding feeling of satisfaction, from a British perspective at least. We have now stormed past our performance in Beijing 2008 with over 50 medals and well over 20 golds. The incredible gold rush which ensued over last weekend peaked with Saturday night's wonderful triple whammy of Jessica Ennis winning the heptathlon, Greg Rutherford taking a surprise gold from the men's long jump and the amicable Mo Farah storming to success in the men's 10,000m. This was sandwiched nicely by plenty of success for Great Britain's rowers and cyclists with Sir Chris Hoy making himself even more of a legend by claiming two more gold medals to overtake Sir Steve Redgrave as Britain's Olympian with the most golds. In fact the mood in the cycling camp was made even more clear by Thursday's announcement from double gold winner Laura Trott that her and fellow double gold winner Jason Kenny were now an item. Everybody's happy. Or are they? Let's take to Twitter for another round-up of thoughts and opinions....

This Liverpudlian was won over to the Olympic cause by gold medallists Usain Bolt and Jess Ennis...

#London2012 nearly over actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would, Usian Bolt boss & Jessica Ennis all I can say is WOW what a woman!
— Scouser_Mikey (@Scouser_Mikey) August 10, 2012

While this Hartlepool United midfielder thinks the media should be more focused on the Brits than the Jamaicans...

So #TeamGB win golds yesterday and make history yet the front and back pages of newspapers are full of Usain Bolt and co! Not right!!
— Simon Walton (@SimonWalton8) August 10, 2012

And I think this man has pretty much hit the nail on the head for how a lot of us are feeling right now...

Is contemplating life without the Olympics #whattodo #teamgb
— sam (@samtcity) August 10, 2012

As has this proud Brit...

Can't believe the Olympics are nearly over!! It has been such an amazing couple of weeks!! Definitely makes you proud to be British! #teamgb
— matthew Burnett (@burney96) August 10, 2012

And in fact, try as I might, it has proven impossible to find a negative tweet about the Olympics. I have trawled through various Twitter hashtags but to no avail. Looks like nearly everyone has enjoyed it. No doubt that would be news to Seb Coe's ears.

THE BLUNDERS

Somewhat surprisingly there have been very few blunders during the actual tournament from LOCOG or Team GB. The tournament has gone extremely well from the organisers' perspective and even better from the perspective of the athletes who have ensured that Great Britain have their greatest medal haul since 1908, which doesn't really count anyway as back then very few athletes travelled from around the world meaning most competitors were from the host nation. But that doesn't mean nobody has messed up. The prime blunderer of this week has got to be Belgian cyclist Gijs van Hoecke. The 20-year-old who competed in both the omnium and the team pursuit earlier in the week was photographed when he was clearly absolutely hammered, leaving a London nightclub. Seemingly drenched, with what was presumably alcoholic beverages, and borderline unconscious, albeit with a smile on his face, the cyclist was sent home from the Olympic village by a fuming Belgian Olympic Committee. It is perhaps excusable after what would no doubt have been gruelling training for months in advance of the tournament, but van Hoecke hasn't done himself any favours. The Gent-born Olympian was more concerned about his parents than his country's Olympic governing body though, and was relieved when they didn't tell him off saying, 'I made a big mistake [but] I'm happy that my parents didn't tell me off. They understand that I needed this.' Another worrying issue, of a completely different kind is that involving several Cameroonian athletes. The group, consisting of five boxers, a footballer and a swimmer went AWOL this week without the Cameroon Olympic Committee having a clue of their whereabouts. It is believed that they are seeking asylum but as they all have visas which last until November, they technically haven't done anything wrong yet. It would be pretty surprising if they turned up any time soon...

van Hoecke was far from sober on his big night out in London

THE QUESTION

So, Sir Chris Hoy landed gold medals in the keirin and team sprint events to add to his three golds from Beijing, one from Athens and the solitary silver from way back in Sydney. But does that make him the (drum roll) 'Greatest British Olympian of All Time'. Well quite possibly, but Sir Steve Redgrave is still perfectly within his rights to claim that title. The cyclist may have won more golds than him now, but the fact Redgrave won his over five different Olympiads makes it a different kind of achievement. Hoy was excellent in 2004, world-conquering in 2008 and confirmed his legendary status in 2012. But Redgrave showed he was the bees knees in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000. To be good enough to win a gold medal in both 1984 and 2000 is an incredible achievement. To be consistent enough to have won one at every Olympics in between is beyond comparison. Hoy has proven himself to be a fantastic role model and a hero to millions, a genuine legend and one of the finest sportsmen of all time. But Redgrave is still the daddy.

Two of Britain's finest specimens of men

THE VILLAIN

It pains me to say this as I am a fan of the controversial triple-jumper but Phillips Idowu has done himself absolutely no favours with his recent behaviour and performance at this Olympics. One of the stars of Team GB in the build up to London 2012, I blogged earlier in the tournament about how winning gold might be too much to ask of the Hackney man. That proved to be more than true as Idowu slumped so low that he didn't even make it out of Tuesday's qualifying heat and was absent from Thursday's final. The 33-year-old effectively exiled himself from the rest of Team GB by refusing to travel to the athletics training camp in Portugal to receive personal treatment in London. Two months of missed competition didn't help but the fact that he claimed he wasn't injured for much of that time alienated himself from a lot of people, as he quite clearly was. At his age, it would be easy to throw in the towel but Idowu has stated he intends to continue. He sure has a lot to do if he wants to win over the British public again, and making it to Rio 2016 as a 37-year-old seems unlikely. It is a difficult time for the Beijing silver medallist and it remains to be seen whether he can recapture his form.

THE SUPERHEROES

They aren't hard to find. Outside of Team GB, Usain Bolt continues to go from strength to strength with another two golds and will be hoping to complete his second three-gold haul of his Olympics career in Saturdays 4x100m relay. Amongst the Brits there are plenty but Jessica Ennis stands out for her utter domination of one of the hardest sports. The heptathlon consists of seven disciplines and for to Ennis to win by such a margin (306 points, the gap between second and third was just 21 points) was truly inspirational. The diminutive athlete from Sheffield will be over the moon with her performance and rightfully so. Mo Farah is another man writing his name into the history books. To take gold in the 10,000m event which is usually dominated by Ethiopians and Kenyans is no mean feat, and at the age of 29 Farah has certainly served his time to earn his medal. The Somali-born Londoner is now contemplating a step up to the marathon, but will be competing in the final of tomorrow's 5000m event first. Elsewhere Alistair Brownlee put in a monumental performance in the triathlon and Nicola Adams won a gold medal in women's boxing, the first time the discipline has appeared in the Olympics. Andy Murray and Ben Ainslie both deserve praise for their incredible triumphs and the afore-mentioned Sir Chris Hoy does too. As does pretty much the entire track cycling squad, and it is particularly sad to see Victoria Pendleton retiring from the sport. When everything to do with London 2012 has been said and done, one thing will be certain. It was a time to be truly proud of Great Britain.

Ennis was the poster girl for London 2012 and didn't fail to deliver

 James is now off to celebrate his 22nd birthday! But fear not, The Search for Excellence will return tomorrow yet again, with a second guest post from another fantastic writer. And don't forget to follow James on Twitter @TSFE2012

Take the gold...Too much to ask of Idowu?

Phillips Idowu is desperate to claim gold in the Olympic Stadium next week

You may have noticed the 'Adidas #takethestage' adverts which seem to be all over London billboards at the moment. If you haven't, they essentially showcase various Team GB stars such as Louis Smith, Jessica Ennis and Tom Cleverley (an interesting choice...) with slogans like 'take the crown' and 'take the pressure'. Amidst the throng of athletes faces on display, the one that has attracted my attention the most is that of eccentric triple jumper Phillips Idowu which bears the slogan 'take the gold'. This has got to be one of the biggest asks of all.


The enigmatic Idowu has been in the headlines throughout the run up to London 2012, as he is apparently at loggerheads with UK athletics coach Charles van Commenee and a furore has erupted over his fitness. The 33-year-old is due to compete in his fourth Olympic Games in London, with the qualifying round a week tomorrow and the final two days later on Thursday 9th August. Yet what shape he will be in on the day has been a hot talking point amongst athletics fans over recent weeks. Having initially picked up a mysterious injury in a Diamond League meeting in Oregon on June 1st, the Nigerian-British athlete has since missed four competitions, including the Aviva Grand Prix at Crystal Palace earlier in July, seen as the major warm up event for the athletics at the Olympics.

Idowu failed to fly out to Portugal for the warm weather training camp with the rest of the track and field contingent of Team GB, preferring to stay in Britain for medical treatment. After pulling out from the Crystal Palace event, the Beijing 2008 silver medallist announced that the injury problem was a trapped nerve running between his left knee and left hip. This was after previously denying any injury problem at all, a direct contradiction with the stance of van Commenee who had publicly stated that Idowu was injured. The two have failed to see eye to eye since the Dutch coach publicly blasted the athlete for his use of Twitter, then refused to back down and apologise. There have been other unprofessional communication problems relating to the man from Hackney, as the BOA somewhat embarrassingly demanded to see his medical records publicly. After initially acting offended Idowu and his cohort complied and the BOA then somewhat backtracked and pledged their support to the man who is in the twilight of an exuberant career.


Highlights of Idowu's CV include winning gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, being crowned World champion in 2009 and setting a personal best on the way to gold at the 2010 world indoor championships in Barcelona. But low points have included flopping at Athens 2004 with three no jumps and being on the end of a backlash after refusing to travel  to the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi for dubious reasons, something which he insisted he didn't regret several months later. For him to cap such an enigmatic career by improving on his 2008 silver is a huge ask after missing two months of competition. However, Idowu remains third favourite for the gold medal behind the USA duo of Christian Taylor and Will Claye, who have Jonathan Edwards' world record in their sights. Idowu will be hoping the Americans have an off day in the final. If and when he enters the Olympic Stadium next week, he will put up to 15 times his own bodyweight through his injured leg on every impact, no mean feat for any athlete, even at their peak. For the triple jumper to perform at London 2012 he will need to ensure that his mind is in the right place at the right time. Idowu is undoubtedly extremely talented, and though the build up to his hometown games has been far from ideal, if the man of many hair colours can live up to the billing and 'take the gold' he will write his name into history. I'm sure he wouldn't have it any other way.