Rich

Not really sure that there's much hope for better things for 7s in this country, even with Scotland pushing it a bit. There are enough potential professional 15s contracts for half decent British players which means they are all unavailable and those that are left aren't good enough or would rather do something else. Maybe they should just pick the U20s and sell it to the clubs and players as a development thing? I guess that might be why Scotland added it to their 'pathway' but that's a small pool to pick from.

What an embarrassment.

Yeah, he's got an interesting range.

And he did it again. I remember a young British sprinter bursting onto the scene about twenty one years ago. What ever happened to him?!?! Apologies Brennan for the comparison but he'll have to get used to it if he keeps going like this.

I just read this on the BBC and looked him up. He has some truly fantastic results for someone so young.

And a bronze in the bobsleigh. It's been a very encouraging winter for the British team.

Surprised by that women's kierin. Was that expected?

Not quite sure why hockey has been given an extra million but will let it go on the basis that we need to encourage team sports.

Fair enough, both. But it just seems a bit strange to fund so many with such limited Olympic outcome over a long period. I'd be delighted to see something meaningful come out of it but, on a surface level, other sports have not been shown as much patience.

That looks like a lot of very mediocre (on an international level) athletes getting support. I assume the funding is extremely minimal? Only Giles' world ranking suggests an athlete in the right ballpark to do something significant and even then, I don't get the impression that Judo is a sport where the world number 8 is likely to win an Olympic medal (if the Olympics were tomorrow)?

Reeves clearly spent too much time watching Keely etc and not enough time watching hockey and other relative disappointments.

It's quiet around here Funding for the next cycle has been announced and, in a pleasant surprise to me, there's been a 10% uplift. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/articles/cy87xr28jj7o

It's terribly sad and, at the same time, his attitude is inspiring. Fingers crossed he gets as much time as possible.

A very good performance! Interesting that there are no Dutch medals on the list and conversely a strong performance by Germany.

The UK won't be building new pools sadly. It would be nice if local government, underfunded by central government in massive debt, stopped closing them. This is an article from 2023: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/mar/12/england-has-lost-almost-400-swimming-pools-since-2010

Life has kept me busy for most of the last 24 hours so apologies if I'm repeating something somebody else had said but, on this issue of a drop in the number of gold, I think some of the response is OTT. UK sport has (rightly) moved away from the so called 'win at all costs' philosophy and this must make a difference. Anecdotally (and it might be unduly influenced by the positivity of people like Finucane, Kerr and MHS or some of the rowers), the people who have missed out on gold have been able to put it in perspective, possibly more so than their contemporaries a decade ago. The people who have been really disappointed are the ones who have significantly underperformed (men's hockey, Molly C). If the the change in emphasis means fewer golds but a happy, smiling Emma Finucane, instead of a broken and depressed Vicky Pendleton self-harming in front of team management then that's surely preferable. Certainly, those two are very different personalities and you can say 'false equivalence', but VP needed to be looked after and wasn't. You might also tell me that I don't know how these people are feeling behind closed doors and I'd agree. The Aussie sporting attitude means winning is embedded in their identity which must partly explain their neat spread of medals (I note that the disproportionate number of Golds they had has evened out, which reflects the fact you shouldn't judge too early) but even from my distance from Aussie sport, I can recall past high-profile Aussie athletes with serious mental health challenges. I hope that they too are looking out for the wellbeing of their athletes. I also think it was inevitable that our lead over Europe / Australia would shrink because it was based on spending. Given the natural physical gifts of the Dutch, they were always going to be a problem for us. If the Germans start funding certain events more generously then we're in real trouble because they have advantages of wealth, population and, like the Dutch, are taller on average. Equally, the Aussie climate, the natural rise and fall of sporting success and the fact that they were debating Olympic performance in parliament after the last couple of games meant they weren't likely to stay down for long. If these countries get more medals then, leaving aside new sports, we're bound to lose a few. Progress isn't linear and if you thought we were just going to continue getting more and more gold each games until we eventually surpassed America then I think you were being very naive.

An hour and 50 mins of flat out freestyle in a dirty river swimming with and against the current and the medalists looks fresh as a daisy. Remarkable people.

Fun Ding

I don't think you needed that 'almost' in front of the word impossible 😀

Even if he gets relegated, that was a great series of races between them. If they do relegate, it will be harsh as the Japanese guy did the same in race 1 and got away with it.

Now THAT is track sprinting.

Andrews was brilliant.

A brilliant elimination race by Ethan.

Some of you need to be lovers not Hayters in this thread.

Fingers crossed for a fun day! How sweet will a gold be if we get one? And maybe that's the point? Highs and lows creating the extreme emotions that wake us all up, not just coasting along feeling smug. Either way, I'm determined to enjoy the ride today. The Olympics come but once a (4) year(s) and feeling glum is just not the way to savour them.