uk12points

Great Britain This years British entry celebrates that our island is in fact a Union of four equal members, each with their own culture, language and traditions that must be protected for future generations. This years entry is from the Valleys of Wales with an all male choir performing a classic Welsh hymn, Calon Lan, originally written in 1890 by Welsh poet Daniel James and put to music by Welsh composer John Hughes. The tradition of all male Welsh choirs is a proud Welsh symbol and it is protected by the Welsh Association of Male Choirs, whose patron is the Prince of Wales. This years entry is sung by 'Only Boys Aloud' and is taken from their 2012 Christmas Album, with the performance below coming from a welsh language television programme in 2014. This version also features a guest Welsh female singer, Elin Fflur. Calon Lan - Only Boys Aloud Lyrics Nid wy'n gofyn bywyd moethus, Aur y byd na'i berlau mân: Gofyn wyf am galon hapus, Calon onest, calon lân. Cytgan: Calon lân yn llawn daioni, Tecach yw na'r lili dlos: Dim ond calon lân all ganu- Canu'r dydd a chanu'r nos. Pe dymunwn olud bydol, Hedyn buan ganddo sydd; Golud calon lân, rinweddol, Yn dwyn bythol elw fydd. Hwyr a bore fy nymuniad Gwyd i'r nef ar edyn cân Ar i Dduw, er mwyn fy Ngheidwad, Roddi i mi galon lân. -------- I don't ask for a luxurious life, the world's gold or its fine pearls: I ask for a happy heart, an honest heart, a pure heart. Chorus: A pure heart is full of goodness, More lovely than the pretty lily: Only a pure heart can sing - Sing day and night. If I wished worldly wealth, He has a swift seed; The riches of a virtuous, pure heart, Will be a perpetual profit. Late and early, my wish Rise to heavan on the wing of song, To God, for the sake of my Saviour, Give me a pure heart.

Oops!! Yeah definitely, I feel since FISA and the IOC Soldiarity Program have funded his training they will want to make sure that money is put to good use and gets him to the Olympics in 2020.

They already have a wildcard, they’ve been allocated like so: Mens Single Sculls Nicaragua St Vincent and the Grenadines Womens Single Sculls Lebanon Uganda

Found this on the FISA website: Looks like this could be their youth Olympian, maybe a hope for 2020?

I wonder if that is their athlete who got a tripartite invitation to the Youth Olympics next year?

Interesting news here about North Korea: http://www.eurosport.co.uk/winter-sports/ioc-ready-to-provide-north-korean-athletes-with-gear-for-games_sto6342285/story.shtml Looks like the IOC will be funding 5-10 North Korean winter sports athletes with the FIS and ISU to participate in qualification events and training camps. They should be able to qualify in Figure Skating, Short Track Speed Skating and Cross Country Skiing, so hopefully the support is going to these athletes.

The judging in the weightlifting men’s 77 final is dreadful, this Turkmen lifter hasn’t had a single clean and jerk under control and his elbows have been moving every time. Some of the jury members are protesting, but these very central Asian looking chief jurors are waving them away! It’s not just me whose seeing this, the Iraqi amd Uzbekistani coaches aren’t happy either!

Must be a trend in former soviet dictatorships!! Do you remember Lady Gaga at the Baku 2015 opening ceremony?

Australia have won a bronze medal in women's taekwondo, making them the first Oceania nation to win a medal at the Asian Games! Hoping Samoa, Fiji and Marshall Islands will join them over the next few days.

The British commentators were particularly surprised at the 20+kg PB, Turkmenistan seems like a North Korea without the natural talent and helped by a mixture of national sports in the program and drugs!!

Also Hong Kong have a medal in womens high jump!

Love how the flame has travelled the country on horseback! Lots of very thoughtful and traditional touches in this ceremony that will be memorable!

Very strange though that poverty statistics in Turkmenistan don't exist on the internet! You wonder what life outside Ashgabat is like...

Wait the Wikipedia history of Turkmenistan has been saved for the ceremony!

And he can sing!!

I wonder what he's talking about? Reading out the Wikipedia page on the history and economic possibilities of Turkmenistan!

Looking at the weightlifting entry lists, Samoa, Fiji and Marshall Islands all have athletes with really good chances to medal and even take gold.

That does look odd that the entire audience are wearing matching track suits and caps! Might be a strange dress code for Turkmenistani sports events!

That's every Stan with a medal!!

GB will be there!

I still think the IOC would rather go for India than Doha or Baku (India doesn't quite carry the controversy associated with the other 2). Budapest rumoured to be hosting 2023 Youth Olympics so if that goes well they could be in with a shout for 2032.

India... would be a fantastic and exciting Olympics after 2 games in cities that have held the games before.

Turns out they're just events you don't need a ticket to watch, road cycling, triathlon, marathon and race walking.

Weightlifting Commonwealth Championships Qualifiers: Women's 48kg: India Women's 53kg: India Women's 58kg: Solomon Islands Women's 63kg: Seychelles Women's 69kg: Fiji Women's 75kg: Wales Women's 90kg: Fiji Women's +90kg: New Zealand Men's 56kg: Malaysia Men's 62kg: Papua New Guinea Men's 69kg: Malaysia Men's 77kg: India Men's 85kg: India Men's 94kg: Papua New Guinea Men's 105kg: India Men's +105kg: Samoa The remaining quota will be allocated via the Commonwealth Ranking List and Universality quota.

Great result for GB!! Our first ever women's cross country medal in the Olympic event!