Olympicsnell

Agree the sport has been financially mismanaged and that has had impact on their ability to stage events and may also have impacted some decisions when it comes to team selection for international competitions but it should not really an issue when it comes to the Olympics because it is the BOA who pick up the bill for sending the team rather than UK Athletics. 

Don't disregard BUDGET CUTS!!!!!!

Don't disregard BUDGET CUTS!!!!!!

So, I got out my abacus, and by my calculation, Sky Brown on 130,000 pts has now definitely qualified for Paris. She currently sits an effective 9th when the 3 per nation rule is applied, so to lose out altogether she would need to drop 12 (effective) places minimum in Budapest. However, given the scoring system, it is not mathematically possible for 12 athletes currently below her right now all to get enough points to catch her - obviously, and one athlete can by winning in budapest to get 210,000 pts, but 11th only gets about 45,000 - I don't think there's any mathematical way that 12 athletes (not including 3perNOC duplicates_ can ALL get past her.

I mean, I'm currently munching my way through an entire pack of Cadbury Fingers in one sitting. I'm not sure if Daniel can do that.

MacDonald is fine and O'Neill is probably passable. They probably couldn't be expected to do much more
 
But Calvert was poor. Unlike Hamish/Erin in the climbing, he has vastly under-performed compared to his ranking coming in today. That's always disappointing to see. When you add in the women's situation, it hasn't been a great couple of days.
 
As George Orwell definitely didn't say, four wheels bad, two wheels better!

GBR will have cause to be grateful for the slightly different system in Skateboard, I think. Because the points in the two OQS events rise so steeply, half the field would need to finish top 10 twice to pass Sky if she didn't get another point. Obviously that's just not going to happen, so I think, frankly, she's safe regardless, as are the top 6 or seven.
Tambling DNS was a minor disaster, but the first day has worked out well for her in the circumstances - the Prelims have completely gone to form, which means the bulk of those behind her have not overtaken her - she should enter Budapest midtable with her fate broadly in her own hands (unless injury prevents her, then she's stuffed)
Strachen in that context had a decent enough result - 21st bagged more points than 22 other people, obviously, and they are almost all now still behind here, she's probably going to emerge in the mid 20s, needing a good budapest result to stand a chance, but she was always going to need that, again because of the steepness.
 
As for the climbers, early days but I'd say they're pretty happy at the moment with how its gone.

I'm sorry, but I cannot take seriously any event where the competitors are officially referred to as B-Boy Whatever. I just can't.
 
I can live with silly names in urban events - I cheered for Bombette and Sky Brown (think about, Sky Brown is silly. Should have called her Earth) but I draw the line at an official entry list containing 44 individuals all called b-girl. It's be like every single entrant for the 100 metres being called Speedster, or the 50m freestyle Splasher
 
I can't have that. At some stage, you have to value your dignity.

The Night of the 10,000 PBs is the most fun an athletics fan can have with their clothes on.

Busy few days for qualification/selection:
 
Rowing - Last Chance Regatta kicks off on Sunday. GB looking to add men's single sculls and women's double to the team.
 
Shooting - European Shotgun Championships start on Thursday with Trap qualifying getting underway on Friday.
 
Sport Climbing / Skateboarding / BMX Freestyle - The Olympic Qualifying Series for sport climbing and skateboarding gets underway in Shanghai on Thursday whilst the competition for BMX freestyle starts on Friday
 
Beach Volleyball - The CEV Beach Volleyball Nations Cup starts at the weekend. Hopefully the Bello brothers and Batrane/Bialokoz can do enough to be in the mix for a quota.
 
Athletics - Hypo Gotzis meeting. Not a selection event per se, but there's not a huge number of opportunities for our decathletes/heptathletes to get the qualifying standards so if you hit here, then you're pretty much guaranteed to be on Eurostar. Holly Mills, Abigail Pawlett and Jodie Smith are scheduled to be competing.
 
Athletics - Night of the 10,000m PBs. This is the official selection event for the 10000m. Both Megan Keith and Eilish McColgan have the entry standard already.  Although McColgan isn't competing this weekend, she is pretty safe for selection. Megan Keith is in great form and will be looking to revise her PB in what will be only her 2nd 10000m. Jess Warner-Judd is currently in a qualifying position through the rankings but will be looking to get the entry time of 30:40.00. 
 
On the men's side, Patrick Dever is the best placed GB athlete and he will be looking to shave about 9 seconds off his PB set at The Ten in March. Behind him, keep an eye on Charles Hicks (needs 34 second PB) and Zakariya Mahamad who will be looking to join his brother on the GB team. To do that he will need to take 57 seconds off his PB so it may be a longshot. 
 
 

Do we know if Keely is done with the 400 relay? I assume so for this season at least. Thinking about it some more,  I'll be surprised to see her at Trials. If she goes, you're right, she's unlikely to push the pace.
 
I'm not forgetting that PG is 17; it's a huge part of the point What I'll say next will sound a bit contradictory but I don't have expectations of her but it is fun to speculate (I get that that is a kind of an expectation). My comments here are a drop in the ocean of expectations compared to the impact of things on twitter  Instagram and the article on BBC sport.
 
Whether she can replicate yesterday this season or ever (I remember Charlotte Moore and others), PG has made herself a live and very interesting part of the conversation and it's fair to discuss that. Isn't it? The other thing PG has done over the last year (two actually, but results of 15 year olds need to be taken with 10 times as much salt even compared with those of 17 year olds) is pretty much always run with the same intent as yesterday. The time yesterday was extraordinary but not exactly out of the blue. We'd all seen her results and, here's that word, 'expected' 1.59 this season.  
 
If she decides to run U20 (U18 would be a bit pointless given her ability) then fair play. I'll watch with interest. For what it's worth, I don't think she will, otherwise why run in Belfast?

I go back to Indurain’s day: the other teams are just working for a podium place.

I really don't understand other teams, mainly ineos, tactics. Honestly, make UAE do all the work, when you do isolate him, make him do the work or attack.

I actually don't mind pog, as a dominant rider i prefer him to say MVDP, but they both make it boring, and the peloton often just give up 

Pogacar won again. This starts to be boring.

This has happand to the UK for London 2012, everyone spent years moaning about it, then the torch relay started and the whole country started to buzz, hope this happens to france as well

Adding Singapore's results to the table
 
3rd
6th
10th
12th
 
Okay, I'm slightly less defeatist about after this weekend. They thumped both France and Australia, as well as being a botched pass away from beating Ireland in the SF.
 
I'm still worried about South Africa finding a way to win (too many actual rugby world cups have conditioned me to assume they'll *always* find a way) but I at least think GBR should be competitive.
 
Honestly, it's a shame both teams won't be in Paris. Partially their fault, partially the way the qualification system is set up.
 

Hold on india!!!

Hold on india!!!

Hold on india!!!

Hold on india!!!

Got some big last leg runners here!

Don't think I've ever seen a men's kit quite like 

in one shot already increases its overall team size from Tokyo!