Rafa Maciel

top qualifying for women's team pursuit with 04:10.815 ahead of on 04:11.417. GB will face in round 1 whilst Italy face . Other 1st round matches should be v and v

World Rowing World Cup I - Varese Men's Sweep Results from Day 1: Men's Eight: - 05:31.77 - FA (1) - 05:37.53 - 05:47.42 (2) - 05:51.21 - 05:32.48 - FA - 05:36.91 - 05:41.96 Men's Four: - 05:57.91 - FA - 05:58.01 - FA - 06:00.71 - 06:01.01 - 06:05.61 (1) - 05:57.32 - FA - 05:58.40 - FA - 06:03.27 - 06:08.93 (2) - 06:13.55 Men's Pair (1) - 06:29.56 - FA - 06:31.92 (2) - 06:34.78 - 06:36.91 (2) - 06:44.28 (2) - 06:48.92 - 06:33.32 - FA - 06:37.05 (1) - 06:38.83 (1) - 06:43.48 - 07:06.92

Last thoughts - on women's sprint events: Women's Team Sprint: Confirmed Quotas: Contested Quotas: - 5403.75 ----------------- - 4852.50 As with the men's evet, this will be close and will likely come down to whoever is able to finish highest in Milton this weekend. Beyond being hometown favourites, Canada have the added advantage of only counting 1 2024 NC event whereas France have 2. This means that France need to finish higher than 7th in order to improve their ranking points total. On an adjusted basis, Canada have a lead of around 170 points so France would need to finish at least 3 places higher than Canada to secure the quota. With a reduced field in Milton, Canada should be able to do enough to take the quota. Individual Sprint/Keirin 2 Individual Quotas Through Team Sprint: (16) Individual Quotas - Sprint: (6) Continental Quota: (1) Belgium have a 500 point lead over for the last quota spot - probably too much to be made up in Milton. Individual Quotas - Keirin: (6) Contested Quota: - 2254.50 --------------- - 2185 - 2176 Malaysia should be safe in the last quota - the three nations are all pretty equally matched in terms of their results to date and realistically Spain or Hong Kong would likely need a top-10 finish to really stand chance of moving up the ranking.

5 British wheelchair athletes will be competing in Boston Marathon on Monday - David Weir, Johnboy Smith, Simon Lawson, Sean Frame and Eden Rainbow Cooper.

Penn Relays take place 25-27 April and are beginning to confirm the elite entries for their Olympic Development series. Kyle Langford will be going in the men's 800m. No Brits scheduled to compete in either the women's 800m or 1500m.

Another couple of Brits confirmed for action later this month, this time at the 2024 Drake Relays (24-27 Apr) Adam Fogg will go in the 800m whilst Lizzie Bird will compete in the 3000m Steeple.

Think we've got pretty much the top options there for the 4x400s with the exception on Anning who probably wouldn't be available due to college commitments. The women's 4x100 is pretty solid - can easily see 4 of them being on the start list of the heats when it comes to Paris but the men's selections are........interesting Have to say I wasn't expecting to see Kilty in the squad and figured that the squad had moved on from his era. His selection is even more surprising given the inclusion of Ujah in the squad as Kilty blames Ujah for losing his Olympic medal and was on record saying he would never forgive Ujah for his reckless and sloppy behaviour. Add in Prescod who accused UKA of emotional blackmail in the run up to Budapest last year and the squad becomes a tinderbox just waiting for a spark to cause an explosion.

Previewing the sprint events is going to be more complicated than the endurance side of things but here's my thoughts for what they are worth. Men's Team Sprint: Confirmed Quotas: Contested Quotas: - 4552.50 --------------------- - 4530 - 4507.50 Both Poland and Canada should overtake Czechia in Milton as they are both only counting 1 2024 NC event whereas Czechia has 2 and would need to finish higher than 7th in order to increase their score. The final quota should therefore come down to a straight shoot-out between Poland and Canada. Whoever finishes higher in the event in Milton will take the quota. In the head-to-heads during the qualifying window, Poland have outperformed Canada in 3 out of the 4 times they have both competed, but the teams are generally well matched. At last year's Milton Nations Cup event, Canada got their best result when finishing 4th. Given the strength of the line-ups we have in Milton this year, it is unlikely they will replicate that, but it is still possible that the home crowd advantage could propel them to a strong finish. Personally, I am not sure how this one is going to play out but if I have to pick a side, I'd say that Poland likely has the edge. Individual Sprint / Keirin: 2 Individual Quotas Confirmed Through Team Sprint: (16) Individual Quotas - Sprint: (5) Continental Quota: (1) Contested Quotas - Sprint: - 2697 ------------------ - 2438.50 I've been asked previously whether I think there is a chance for to get an individual quota if they miss out on the team sprint and I have said no, but having done a deeper dive on the numbers, I may have changed my mind, and I can see a (narrow) path for them to get the last quota in the individual sprint. Canada are currently about 250 points behind Colombia - but they have a NC event in hand. If they can finish at least 13th in Milton, they would be able to overtake Colombia and move into the final quota spot assuming that Colombia don't add to their points total. If Colombia finish higher than 13th, then Canada will need to ensure that they finish above them in order to be able to secure the quota. Given the field, it will be tough and a lot will depend on where everyone finishes in the qualifying run. Individual Quotas - Keirin: (7) The Keirin field looks pretty set - Thailand has gap of about 330 points over and I don't see that closing in Milton. In addition to this, we may also see some quota reallocations in the sprint events as I don't think Israel and Suriname will be able to field 2 riders. I'm not sure how the logistics of that will play out. We could see and in the mix to receive reallocated quotas.

Something's not quite adding up on these KJT results so treat them with caution. They were sourced from her performance page at World Athletics but when I checked Po10 they're not included and I've just had chance to cross reference the event's results for other British performances and she isn't listed there. Think I may have been taken in by WA's fake news

This comes across as a rather sad and desperate attempt to justify the changes being made to the sport Pierre de Coubertin speaks to the evolution of the Modern Pentathlon | Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) (uipmworld.org)

No on the start lists for round 5 of UEX BMX Racing European Cup . Sienna Harvey is competing in the women's juniors, but this would have been perfect opportunity for her to take the step up to the under-23 and score some ranking points for the team.

Shanghai Diamond League Start Lists confirmed today - not a huge amount of interest. Leg 2 - Shanghai/Suzhou (27-Apr) Megan Keith - 5000m Ethan Hussey - 800m Daryll Neita - 200m

Not sure there was much in the way of an announcement, but it looks like the Gb squad for the Europeans at the end of this month is: Sam Hall - 66Kg Charlie Young - 66Kg Lachlan Moorhead - 81Kg Jamal Petgrave - 90Kg Rhys Thompson - 100Kg Oliver Barratt - 100Kg Nekoda Smythe-Davis - 57Kg Lele Nairn - 57Kg Lucy Renshall - 63Kg Katie-Jemima Yeats-Brown - 70Kg Kelley Peterson- Pollard - 70Kg Emma Reid - 78Kg

Couple of athletes returning to action shortly Holly Bradshaw - up to 12 step takeoff and her first competition scheduled for mid May in Germany according to her Instagram. Niamh Emerson - competes in Loughborough on 20th April in long jump, shot put and 100m hurdles. Abigail Irozuru - competes in long jump at Louoghborough.

Impressive line-up of Brits in the entry lists for 65th Mt. Sacs Relays from 17th April: Men: Tade Ojora - 110m Hurdles Yusuf Bizimana - 800m / 1500m Ricky Harvie - 3000m Steeple Zac Seddon - 3000m Steeple Efe Uwaifo - Triple Jump Bayley Campbell - Hammer Lawrence Okoye - Discus Jack Turner - Decathlon Women: Dina Asher-Smith - 100m / 200m Yemi John - 400m Victoria Ohuruogu - 200m / 400m Chay Clark - 400m Hurdles Jessica Tappin - 400m Hurdles Poppy Tank - 3000m Steeple Temi Ojora - Triple Jump Anna Purchase - Hammer Definitely get the feeling that the athletes have started their season a bit earlier than usual as they go in search of the all important Olympic qualifying standards.

Looking increasingly likely that we could have a pretty strong squad going to the Bahamas if the number of Brits in action in big US meets over the next week or so is anything to go by. That would tie in with them being available for the training camp in Florida from 18th April.

Was more thinking about the run up to London with stories about venues not being finished on time, the predictions of traffic chaos and how people would be too scared to come after the London riots.

GB Boxing squad announced for next week's Gee Bee Tournament in Finland Scott Richards - M51Kg Cameron McKay - M63.5Kg Kelsey Oakley - F50Kg Lucy Kings-Wheatley - F60Kg I think it is safe to say that competing next week will likely mean that these 4 are out of consideration for the final Olympic qualification tournament in Bangkok. Joining them on the squad are Olympic qualified Rosie Eccles F66Kg and Cindy Ngamba W75Kg

You're right that there are always scare stories in the run up to a games but there's more substance behind this issue than most given they had to cancel the swimming in the triathlon Olympic test event last year.

Katarina Johnson Thompson got her outdoor season underway last week competing in three events in Florida at Hurricane Invitational. She clocked 13.70 seconds in the 100m hurdles. That is marginally faster than her 2023 opener. In the long jump, she went out to 6.05m which is a modest start to the season. Finally, in the 200m, she clocked 24.28 seconds.

Women's Endurance events Women's Team Pursuit: Confirmed Quotas: Women's Madison: Confirmed Quotas from Team Pursuit: Safe Individual Quotas: Contested Quotas: - 4585 -------------- - 4482 - 4262 The last quota place should come down to a straightforward fight between Uzbekistan and Hong Kong. Mexico could be in the mix, but they probably have too much to do to be able to close the gap. Uzbekistan are not competing in Milton so it will all come down to what Hong Kong can achieve. Hong Kong will need to finish at least 10th to be able to overtake Uzbekistan. Generally, they have been finishing in the range of 10th-12th so whilst it will be difficult, it's not impossible. Given I used to live in Hong Kong, I've got my fingers crossed that they are able to do enough to get the final quota. Women's Omnium: Confirmed Quotas from Team Pursuit: Expected Quotas from Madison: Safe Individual Quotas: Continental Quota: Contested Quotas: - 2015.50 ----------------- - 1854.50 If Uzbekistan hold on and take the final Madison quota, then there are unlikely to be any contested quotas in the Omnium. Hong Kong would take the final individual quota. If there is a contested quota, Czechia have quite a high bar in order for them to be able to increase their points total as they would need to finish 9th or better but it's not any easier for Spain because although they have a lower discard score, in order to be able to overtake Czechia they would need to finish at least 10th. Czechia should therefore be safe for the final quota - but they need Hong Kong to help them out by taking the quota in the Madison.

Before the action kicks off tomorrow, I thought I'd take a look at the individual track events to see if we are likely to see and changes as a result of Milton. Men's Team Pursuit: Confirmed Quotas: In my opinion, the Olympic field is set - China could spring a surprise and overtake Belgium, but the two teams have been equally matched across the season so it would seem to be unlikely. At a minimum, China need to finish at least 7th and hope that Belgium have an absolute nightmare in order for them to be in with any real chance. Men's Madison: Confirmed Quotas from Team Pursuit: Safe Individual Quotas: Contested Quotas: - 4750 - 4621 --------------- - 4398 All three are counting 2 NC events from 2024 and all have similar discard scores of 10th or 11th. It will be difficult for Switzerland to be able to do enough to overtake Czechia to get into the last quota spot - they'd need to finish at least 8th and keep 3 places between themselves and Czechia. That is something that they have not been able to do so far in the qualification window so it looks like both Austria and Czechia should qualify for Paris. Men's Omnium: Confirmed Quotas from Team Pursuit: Expected Quotas from Madison: Safe Individual Quotas: Continental Quota: Contested Quotas: - 1432 - 1394 --------------- - 1231 - 1189 There is potential for change in the final quotas in this event. Colombia should be safe as they have only competed in 2 NC events across the last 2 years whereas Indonesia is already counting their two 2024 NC events. Kazakhstan will need to finish higher than 16th to be able to overtake Indonesia. Hong Kong may have left themselves with too much to do after their poor result in the 2nd leg of last year's NC. For the continental quota, Egypt will be safe by virtue of the fact that South Africa are not competing in Milton despite being just 40 points off the quota. If I was a betting man, I'd say that Colombia and Kazakhstan will likely take the last 2 quotas for the men's endurance events.

IFSC World Cup: Boulder - Keqiao Men's Final: 1.) Tomoa Narasaki - 2 tops/4 zones 2.) Sorato Anraku - 2 tops/4 zones 3.) Hannes Van Duysen - 2 tops/3 zones 4.) Toby Roberts - 2 tops/3 zones 5.) Sam Avezou - 2 tops/3 zones 6.) Meichi Narasaki - 2 tops/2 zones 7.) Chon Jongwon - 1 top/4 zones 8.) Jakob Schubert -1 top/4 zones 9.) Max Milne - 1 top/3 zones 10.) Jan Luca Posch - 1 top/3 zones

Roberts finishes in 4th place with 2 tops and 1 zone. He ultimately misses out on the bronze medal because he took more attempts than Van Duysen. Although he misses the podium at this comp, if those scores were to be replicated at the Olympics, going into the lead section Roberts would be really well placed for a medal. Max Milne ultimately finished in 9th with 1 top/3 zones and Dayan Akhtar was in 19th with 1 zone.

There's high hopes for Roberts after the huge progress he made last year - he's world number 2 in combined boulder/lead so it would be surprising if there wasn't talk of a podium for him. It will be tough though with the strength and depth of the Japanese and the Korean teams amongst others. If Roberts can keep it close in the boulder stage, then he will have a great chance when it comes to lead. Prior to last year, Roberts was regarded more as a lead specialist but he has put in a huge amount of work in on his boulder technique and he is becoming a lot more consistent in his result. As for the rest of the GB squad, there's a lot of new names coming into the squad and we've got quite a few qualified for the OQS. It's not out of the question that we could end up with another couple of athletes qualified for Paris.