Rafa Maciel

I believe Gracenote Nielsen have released their medal projections for Paris.
 
 43 Gold  -  43 Silver   -   42 Bronze
 32 Gold  -  30 Silver   -   11 Bronze
 26 Gold  -  20 Silver   -   22 Bronze
 20 Gold  -   13 Silver   -   12 Bronze
 15 Gold   -  23 Silver   -   24 Bronze
 
Not sure if anyone can share details of the individual sport breakdown. 
 

So with 2 groups completed, assuming that Italy continue their strong start to the process and secure qualification by right as one of the top 2 in group C, it looks like Group C is the favourite to secure the final wildcard for next year's finals.
 
Assuming Italy and Japan take the top two positions, if Canada finish 3rd, I think they would secure the wildcard.  
 

For us in Britain the CWG does two things now
 
Debut Multi Sport Games for those transitioning from the obscurity of Juniors to the spotlight of full international competition A way of saying thanks to all those hard-working amateur & semi-pro sportspeople who are not going to ever win the big prizes.  
That’s good enough for me. No need for the hosts to spend a fortune to transform their cities - just do what Munich 2022 did & make sensible use of pre-existing resources.

Nice touch from Crousser going and thanking each of the volunteer officials in the shot put.  

Jeanette Kwakye on BBC coverage saying Zharnel Hughes is the man to beat in Budapest  Talk about being over-hyped off the back of 1 good result. 

Jeanette Kwakye on BBC coverage saying Zharnel Hughes is the man to beat in Budapest  Talk about being over-hyped off the back of 1 good result. 

Part of me is kind of glad that Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix didn't have a stellar performance here. Had she got to the final then the pressure on her to perform in Paris from the UK media would have been immense. I'd much rather see her making steady progression increasing her scores and her consistency as we head into the Olympics.
 
Toulson will be going to Paris - if only as part of the 10m synchro team, but she's going to have a real fight with Eden Cheng for that second individual spot behind Spendolini-Sirieix. 
 
My only concern going into Doha next year is how early it is in the season. The guys were stoked getting the early qualifications done because it meant that they could have an uninterrupted training block through Jan-Feb next year but for some athletes, were going to need them to step up and secure those additional qualifying spots in Doha.
 
If the squad can keep this kind of form up going into Paris though, we could be looking at our largest haul of diving medals at an Olympics for a very long time. 
 

I totally agree - IF and it is a big if, the games end up back in UK in 2026, it will be spread across multiple cities - although I'd probably disagree with your allocation of events, but that is largely irrelevant. But if it comes down to it and the choice is either to cancel the games or to stage them in the UK, then the powers that be will want to do everything they can to make sure that the first games under Charles III go ahead. 
 
Longer term, I think there would be a lot of push back to any attempt to fully wind up the commonwealth games, but equally I think the games in their current format are definitely on life support. However, the commonwealth games federation have been aware of the challenges for a long time and have shown they are willing to adapt and realistically, we may well get to a point where the games only comprises of swimming and athletics events.
 
With regards to the European Games, how can anyone take it seriously when it can't attract the support of the major sporting federations who it seems, would prefer to be part of the European Championships? I am sorry, but when you're reduced to including ski jumping in your schedule, you know you've got major issues with your credibility. 

Second only to China, reinforcing GB's position as the second global diving power - admittedly a very long way after China - which, for those of us with memories is about as likely as GBR being a global power in Sumo.
 
This result, remember achieved with no Daley, and no individual Laugher. Big positive for me is that Goodfellow, Williams and Kothari clearly positioned themselves as potentially world class. Big disappointment, obviously was Andrea, though Toulson did a fab recovery job that will keep her in the conversation for the spot along with the brilliant EG performance by Cheng. Andreas ceiling is much higher, and she's going, Equally, A fit Laugher is going, Houldon not quite having his 2022 form. Haslam probably comes back into the conversation given Houldon's struggles, but Laugher/Goodfellow are big favourites for the two spots, if the second spot is achieved.
 
I suspect a full house will be achieved in Doha, which, again, in historic terms remains astounding.

One thing to be aware of - the 2026 European Athletics Championships are already in Birmingham, so if there is a UK Saviour bid, my guess is a '4 corners' proposal with the Games shared between the four home nations and possibly even the crown dependencies (road cycling in isle of man, triathlon in jersey) - the athletics, swimming and track cycling would imho be in London the swimming in Glasgow, the diving in Edinburgh, the cricket, sevens and netball in Cardiff, and the bowls, boxing and possibly shooting in Belfast. The rest of the sports would then fit around that, with perhaps one or two of the Arenas involved - possibly the Gymnastics to Liverpool as they have hosted the worlds and know the plan....
 
The CGF will be desperate to get to the centenary and have an Alberta, Canada games as a kind of homecoming. I think it entirely possibly they wind it up after that as a neat ending.
 
The Brits will not, however, take the European Games seriously if the CWG falls. Their issues with the EG go deeper.

But remember folks, the quality of the competition has gone down because there were no Russians allowed to compete 

Great result for  Julia Caron to take out  Chan Wai Ling to make it through to the main draw of the women's individual epee. Caron qualified in 73rd from the preliminary round so it's a pretty solid result for her. 

But remember folks, the quality of the competition has gone down because there were no Russians allowed to compete 

But remember folks, the quality of the competition has gone down because there were no Russians allowed to compete 

But remember folks, the quality of the competition has gone down because there were no Russians allowed to compete 

Not a great look for  Amarissa Toth:
 
Tennis star is accused of 'a new low for sportsmanship' after her 'disgusting' acts on the court led to her opponent having a panic attack | Daily Mail Online

The Indian federation are really desperate to have those shooting events back on the schedule 

The Indian federation are really desperate to have those shooting events back on the schedule 

The Indian federation are really desperate to have those shooting events back on the schedule 

Not a great look for  Amarissa Toth:
 
Tennis star is accused of 'a new low for sportsmanship' after her 'disgusting' acts on the court led to her opponent having a panic attack | Daily Mail Online

Not a great look for  Amarissa Toth:
 
Tennis star is accused of 'a new low for sportsmanship' after her 'disgusting' acts on the court led to her opponent having a panic attack | Daily Mail Online

So, it turns out that you can't play softball in the wind and rain! This kind of begs 2 questions: 1.) How did  manage to put together such a decent team and 2.) Why did they choose Ireland as the host for Group A.
 
Only 1 match played today with  beating  5-0 in a match that included an 8 hour rain delay and as a result, Australia will finish the group stage in 3rd place behind  and .
 
The remaining group matches have been cancelled as they were irrelevant to the final group positions and we move straight on to the playoff matches tomorrow. 
 
 v  with the winner booking ticket to next year's finals. The loser to play the winner of second playoff: 
 
 v 
 
 

Why would they qualify in cycling BMX?
 
They are in a qualifying spot for 1 place on the road for men and 2 for women but they're unlikely to make the top 10 ranking that they would need to get a spot in BMX.
 
 

And then she knocks it out the park in round 4  an 8 point cushion for a place in the final

Taking these in order:
 
1.) The British women are focusing on the World Triathlon Championship Series and Flora Duffy is nursing injury and has been off the circuit for a while (Patellar Tendinopothy) For Switzerland, they had Nicola Spirig in the past but think she's retired. Nevertheless, they are still likely to qualify 2 women to Paris although unlikely they will challenge for the podium.
2.) Blummenfelt took time away from Olympic distance events after Tokyo and stepped up to the Ironman. He came back to the Olympic distance in May of this year. As for the British men - Yee was 3rd and remains a strong favourite to challenge the podium in Paris. Others have asked about the wider British team earlier in the thread but basically Brownlee is trying to hang on to Paris. As we won the relay quota last year we're guaranteed 2 quotas for the men - which is the same as we achieved in Tokyo
3.) Would raise a couple of caveats about reading too much into the performances this weekend. This event was a sprint series so multiple races over shorter distances. Not everyone likes or is suited to the format (which may also help explain some of the absences highlighted). In terms of the relay, France and GBR didn't contest the event (GB were there but with a B squad) so again, there's nothing to suggest that the result in Hamburg give any indications of what we can expect in Paris.