Team GB

[Karen Browne]

Rhodes- stick to football. You know nothing about athletics

 

He knows nothing about football as well

[Rhodes]

Rhodes- stick to football. You know nothing about athletics . After your uneducated comments about Mo on another thread , athletics does not want you. For the record as Loose say's Dai was injured having a major operation in December he did well to get there!. He ran better recently and probably peaked too early but the heats , semi. finals found him out- he was not fit enough . He will be fine for the World Champs in Moscow next year and probably the relays later in the Olympics. Holly must be gutted as 4 80 ie well within her capabilities. I was there last night and it was windy and the winning height was 20 cms below the WR so clearly its all relative and they found the conditions tough. Holly will respond she is a toughie. She certainly will not be 'Tweeting' blaming everyone else like footballers do after a failure!.

Stop Whinging – A nice post, you are clearly an Athletics fan and know your onions, I was merely saying that last night was disappointing, Steve Backley admitted as much on Radio 5 Live and in his Metro column this morning. Greene was extremely lucky to reach the final and Backley, who is no mug, said ‘he is the reigning World champion but the World has moved on and guys are now running under 48 seconds comfortably’.

[Rhodes]

Another disappointing night Athletics wise apart from our High Jump bronze and what about Phillips Idowu, what a waste of space he is!

[The Mayor Of Simpleton]

Those that can't criticise....

 

We have no divine right to win Gold every time.

 

Also, is it just me, or is the BBC only glad when the UK's got Gold in an event? If we get Bronze or Silver, all they say is 'oh, you must be so disappointed'.

 

If being 2nd or 3rd best in the world is disappointing,then quite frankly they haven't got their heads screwed on straight - although that's not uncommon for employees of the Beeb... either heads screwed on backwards or off their heads altogether.

[Rhodes]

If we get Bronze or Silver, all they say is 'oh, you must be so disappointed'

I think that's how we all feel though isn't it when we 'only' get a silver or bronze, take Vicky Pendleton today for example when she was beaten by that Australian cyclist, that was disappointing

[Eastside Urchin]

To be fair,I think people can criticise the likes of phillips "the ego" idowu

Bloke is a joke

[Rhodes]

To be honest I much prefer the so called golden era of Athletics in the 1980's with Coe, Ovett, Cram, Thompson, Roger Black, Alan Wells, Kathy Smallwood-Cook, Shirley Strong, Sue Hearnshaw and Fatima Whitbread to name a few, they had no sponsorship to speak of in those days yet still managed to win medals galore which was surely a greater achievement than now

[Loose]

To be honest I much prefer the so called golden era of Athletics in the 1980's with Coe, Ovett, Cram, Thompson, Roger Black, Alan Wells, Kathy Smallwood-Cook, Shirley Strong, Sue Hearnshaw and Fatima Whitbread to name a few, they had no sponsorship to speak of in those days yet still managed to win medals galore which was surely a greater achievement than now

 

1976 medal table, GB placed 13th, 13 medals (3 Gold). 1980, GB placed 9th (5 Gold), 21 medals. 1984, 11th, 37 medals (5 Gold).

 

2008, GB 4th, 47 medals (19 Gold), 2012 - so far 3rd, 48 medals (22 Gold).

 

Rhodes caught in Talking B ollocks Shocker. Again.

[Rhodes]

they had no sponsorship to speak of in those days

Loosely - You don't seem to have read my post properly

[Loose]

they had no sponsorship to speak of in those days

Loosely - You don't seem to have read my post properly

 

None of them did, level playing field? No, Soviet Union, Eastern Block and also USA were all "State Sponsored".

 

Today there is sponsorship out there for nearly but not all athletes possibly so still no level playing field.

 

 

I think I read your post just fine. Old days good, modern day bad. Hmmm...

[missunderstood]

Great medal haul by Team GB and well done to all concerned, but the amount of money thrown at the elite athletes would have been far better spent on grass roots sport IMO. The 2012 legacy for me will be that the the celebrity culture we seem to be obsessed with be even more overloaded than it is now, Lord Coe and his mates will be even richer, and Stratford will still be a dump when everyone's gone home.

Edited August 8, 2012 by missunderstood

[Loose]

Great medal haul by Team GB and well done to all concerned, but the amount of money thrown at the elite athletes would have been far better spent on grass roots sport IMO. The 2012 legacy for me will be that the the celebrity culture we seem to be obsessed with be even more overloaded than it is now, Lord Coe and his mates will be even richer, and Stratford will still be a dump when everyone's gone home.

 

Lot of money Alan, I was reading the other day that the cost of our medals was around £264m, thats National Lottery Sponsorship, grants etc for athletes training. However the cost of putting on the Olympics has spiralled out of control to over £12bn! Whenever the government get involved in trying to buy something or build something they have total amateurs in control or even worse we all suspect that some people see it as an opportunity to fleece the taxpayer and feather their nests.

 

At the end of the day I wouldn't blame athletes who have produced the goods when required, no one can be in any doubt the commitment they put in to reach the top of their sport or the pressure that places on their social and family lives. The Government are obviously hoping that putting on the games will have a beneficial effect on trade, exports and tourism but also in inspiring the next generation to get off their PS3's or away from the TV, possibly to buy less weed and get on their bikes or take up rowing. I do have my doubts.

[Rhodes]

Loosely – That’s a good post and I can’t disagree with any of it (I know that’s a first). Linford Christie’s son Liam said it all for me this week when he was convicted for drug possession and allowing two so called friends to deal Class A drugs from his home and sent to prison for 15 months, at just 26 years of age he could easily have been competing in the London games we are all enjoying so much and emulating his Father:

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2184536/Linford-Christies-son-Liam-jailed-flat-used-help-2-cocaine-dealers.html

[Stop Whinging]

Success in the 80's is false because the two big boycotts in 1980 and 1984 took some of the major athletes away from the games. There was signficant cash about in those days. The sport was driven by Andy Norman ex copper ended up being Fatima's husband - but is now dead (not sure if being Fatima's husband contributed) . He controlled the purse strings and invited athletes to all the big meets. So the elite were rewarded very well . I think you underestimate how much has been spent on junior athletics a lot has been sunk into it and there are numerous talented youngsters coming through- everybody could always do with more but watch this space. Chris Hoy stated last night that its taken 15 years for cycling to benefit from investment lets hope other sports use the investment as wisely. Personally, I think Coe has been awesome in completing this task and a credit to us during the games as its been a fantastic event. I hope that the legacy is a prosperous one but assuming the figures above are correct its a lot of money to have spent. As for Stratford being a dump thats up to those that live there. If they do not look after what they have been given it will develop back into the dump it was ..its up to them.

[Loose]

Assuming one can rely on the BBC - not always a safe bet:-

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19144983

 

Guardian marginally safer:-

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/04/price-of-london-olympics

 

Coming back to the competitors themselves I think it might be interesting to contrast their backgrounds in different events, obvious ones would be Eventing - very much grounded in the upper classes and rich, cycling traditionally and reflected in todays competitors - lower and middle class backgrounds, rowing - very nearly all the preserve of university entrants led training. Track and field - well contrast Ovett and Coe in the 70s and 80s - Ovett the son of a greengrocer, Brighton Secondary Modern education with academic middle class Coe - same today, spread across all backgrounds but our medals now are coming from more diverse expensive events.

 

Competitors from the USA have in nearly all events benefitted from the collegial system, athletes largely from university sports scholarships which is where we differ. In the UK funding comes primarily now through Joe Public scratching cards and entering six numbers from a fag packet while american athletes are also gaining an education.

 

Lot of generalising I admit but if you want to raise our next generation from the sofas or hanging around off licenses buying drink or drugs then get big business sponsoring sports AND education scholarships or abolish university fees. That gentlemen is where the problem in avoiding another wasting of a generations hopes and dreams would lie.

[Stop Whinging]

Loose,I don't disagree with your summary, but would point out that athletics does benefit from educational scolarships through the Ron Pickering Fund . Some of these kids are sent to the USA. Equally, Kelly Holmes identifies young talent from whatever walk of life and nurtures it through her own academy. Small in the whole scheme of things, but something. To be discovered in sport you have to be able to participate and whilst the rich look after themselves at Private schools and most inner city areas have had significant investment (including the huge legacy that is going to be left by the games) its the groups in the middle that we need to makesure are not forgotten. Those that attend schools who sold off their sports fields to increase their budgets during the Grant Maintained fiasco. They were not even born but are suffering a lack of facilities because of the stupidity and greed of the government and the governors at the time. We should also look at our position in the medal table only USA and China above us. It would appear we have far less of a problem than Australia, and other countries much more populated than us.

[Rhodes]

Stop Whinging - As I said you know your onions where Athletics is concerned but give me those Coe and Ovett, as well as the Thompson and Jurgen Hingson, battles any day of the week, Hingson was a colossus of decathlon and must have been cursing the fact that Thompson was around at the same time as him just as Steve Backley cursed the great Jan Zelezny

[Loose]

Likewise SW, I'd forgotten about the Ron Pickering Memorial which is absolutely fantastic, the daughter of a friend got a scholarship way back during the 90's, but I'm thinking of a change in mindset in this country about corporate social responsibility along with government giving everyone the opportunity to enjoy the sort of facilities and education that kids not only deserve but lets face it will desperately need in the decades to come. Not saying that everything is good and great in the US but that sport is a far more important aspect in their educational system.

[Eastside Urchin]

It was still more exciting as a kid than it has been pre these games.

Beijing was obviously an improvement on the games before from athens back to Los angeles

[Rhodes]

Yes, who can ever forget the 3000 meters in Los Angeles in 1984 and USA's golden girl Mary Decker against Zola Budd, there's nothing like that sort of rivalry nowadays is there and then to top it all Decker and Budd clash on the track and Decker crashes out of the race, just incredible!