Brief Intro

The view from London as the biggest sporting event in the history of Great Britain finally lands. #London2012
Showing posts with label Steve Redgrave. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steve Redgrave. Show all posts

Friday, 10 August 2012

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

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

As has this proud Brit...

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





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Friday, 3 August 2012

The Friday Feeling #2

This is the Friday Feeling. The second installation of a hat-trick of features which will appear 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.


We've had plenty of time to get used to it, but the 2012 logo still looks silly
TODAY

 So a week into the tournament and Team GB have rocketed up the medal table to 4th position. A slow start to the Olympics had the nation a bit worried but since our first gold medal, claimed by Helen Glover and Heather Stanning in the women's pair rowing on Wednesday, everything is looking up. The tournament seems to have been a resounding success on the whole so far with plenty of talking points, many new world records set and barring the trouble with corporate seats being empty and the London Underground's Central line failing on occasion, has worked surprisingly well logistically. Today the Athletics competitions in the Olympic Stadium have finally begun, and many feel like this is where the true essence of the Olympic Games really comes to life. Jessica Ennis, Great Britain's poster girl, is wowing the crowds as I write this with some stellar performances in the hurdles and high jump to get things off the ground. With the 100m final to come over the weekend and the longer tournaments such as basketball,hockey and football yet to reach their latter stages, it certainly feels like the best is yet to come from London 2012.

 THE MOOD

 Personally, I'm feeling optimistic of Great Britain's chances of finishing in the top 3 of the medal table and am fully indulging in the feel good factor of staying in the host city of London 2012. But who cares about me? What do the masses think? Well let's have a look at Twitter, where we find...

 This London-based singer-songwriter getting very much into the Games and supporting Team GB:
While this Paris-based PR girl is clearly a fan of heptathlete Jess...
The Olympics is having such a strong effect on this guy that he is even changing his tennis allegiances:

Evidently this chap is more excited today than he has been so far:

But I guess you can't keep everybody happy...


Having been in Hyde Park yesterday when Sir Chris Hoy claimed his fifth gold medal, equalling Sir Steve Redgrave in that department, I can testify the mood of London's sports fans is arguably at an all time high. But that doesn't mean nothing has have gone wrong...
THE BLUNDERS

 Locog have largely behaved themselves this week but a member of Team GB seemed to make a huge mistake last night. Philip Hindes, the German-born Brit who won gold alongside Sir Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny in the men's team sprint admitted to journalists that he had deliberately crashed in the heats to force a restart and ensure Great Britain recorded a better time. He later appeared to backtrack and say that he had genuinely crashed, and British Cycling said comments had been lost in translation as Hindes has only recently learnt English. However, it seems pretty clear that Hindes had admitted to a bit of gamesmanship, and while the IOC say the result would stand, and Team GB deservedly won the final, it is hardly great for the image of cycling.  While the Americans have been outdoing the Brits in terms of medals, across the pond their broadcasters have also been outdoing them in terms of blunders. NBC, who have the television rights for London 2012 have made mistake after mistake leading to the trend #NBCfail appearing multiple times on Twitter. From silly comments during the opening ceremony, including an assumption that, like the commentators, no viewers would know who Sir Tim Berners-Lee was; pretending that coverage of Olympic sports is live when it is actually delayed and getting an Independent journalist banned from Twitter for criticising their coverage it has been one huge PR cock-up for one of the biggest broadcast companies in the world. It is fair to say that over here, with their incredible online coverage and 24 channels ensuring all sports are televised, the BBC are doing a much better job.
NBC have been infuriating Americans all week long

 THE QUESTION

 On Sunday night, arguably the most-anticipated Olympic event yet is set to happen. Can Usain Bolt cement his place as the definitive athlete of our time, or will his friend and training partner Yohan Blake usurp him in the 100m final? The iconic Jamaican, who spent the warm-up period prior to the Olympics based in Birmingham with the rest of his nation's athletes, holds the world record of 9.58 seconds, as well as the Olympic record of 9.69 seconds, with which he clinched gold at Beijing back in 2008. However, Blake, three years Bolt's junior, beat the Olympic champion in both 100m and 200m at the recent Jamaican trials and appears to be in better form going into the race. If Bolt is in peak condition, scientists have stated that it is physically impossible for anybody to beat him. But if he isn't Blake won't give him any second chances. Tyson Gay, the American, remains an outside bet but the most glorious of Olympic golds is surely set to head to one of the Jamaican speed demons.
Blake, left, and Bolt will not be too pally on the track this Sunday
THE VILLAINS

Eight Asian badminton players were thrown out of the Olympics this week after deliberately trying to lose their games to ensure a preferable draw later in the tournament. The women's doubles players, two pairs representing South Korea, the others representing China and Indonesia, were all desperate to either avoid their compatriot teams until the final, or simply end up with a perceived easier draw in the knockout rounds. Regardless, their tactic of hitting shots into the net, deliberately over-firing them and generally not bothering to perform was disgraceful considering plenty of fans had shelled out up to £75 on tickets. It is fantastic that the IOC decided to throw them out of the competition the next day, but tragic that such a situation even occurred in a tournament which is meant to represent the pinnacle of sporting achievements.

 THE SUPERHEROES

 Heroes have been left, right and centre over the past week, starting with the Opening Ceremony where Sir Steve Redgrave, David Beckham, the Queen and even Mr. Bean fall into that category for varying reasons. But a huge congratulations has to go to the rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning.  Just when the nation's optimism was at a low, the coxless women's pair claimed Great Britain's first gold at Eton Dorney on Wednesday morning. Not only that but they were the first British women ever to win a gold in rowing at the Olympics. Stanning is an officer in the Royal Artillery and Glover only began rowing four years ago, but this unlikely duo got Team GB off the mark when they needed it most. Elsewhere Michael Phelps has to be given huge amounts of credit for his performances, where despite being labelled as past his best, has picked up two gold and two silver medals to take his overall haul to 20. This makes him the most successful Olympian of all time despite only being 27 years old and having won medals in just three Olympic tournaments. The man who set a record by winning eight medals at Beijing 2008 is not going to be forgotten any time soon. And finally a shout out has to go to last week's Friday Feeling superhero Bradley Wiggins, who bounced back from Team GB's road race failure by claiming the gold in the time trial. Wiggins, who became the first Brit to win the Tour de France just last month is almost certainly a shoo-in for the 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Long live the mod.
Glover, left, and Stanning kick started things for Team GB
Something different will land on The Search for Excellence tomorrow with a special guest post by another super-talented writer. Before then, make sure to follow James on Twitter @TSFE2012
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