mpjmcevoy

Is Innes Fitzgerald set to become this era's Jonathan Edwards/Eric Liddle?

Given the first few days carnage, I'd have to say 2 + Ngamba has to be considered a decent return, and several decent shots live to fight another day. Seems to me central Asia, and Brazil, are in an ascendency at the moment. I think Ireland's return of just 1 rather more alarming.

they've started already, shameless https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/68539539

My Irish side cannot throw stones - the way we leaned into Wayne McCullough back in the day, letting/making the poor fella carry the tricolour, or the way we're going to hero worship rhasidat adeleke....

The opportunity to get an extra 'quasi-British' athlete to follow, while virtue signalling on both LGB AND refugee issues, will clearly be far, far too much for BBC to resist. You know it, I know it - and I sympathise with both causes!

As for Brunei DS, they are fans there of archery and shooting; sports relatively cheap to host but allowing them to make a contribution, and keeping our Indian friends happy.

It's clear from Malaysia OlCom website that they are all in for this - it's up to Malaysian government now, but if it's slightly scaled back, and designed to suit Malaysia in terms of sport, the chances are probably high its been rescued rfom the jaws of death, for now. The offer from CFG of 100 million to Malaysia (which they seem to like as a umber) also leaves 100m in the kitty, I would suggest, for off site Commonwealth Championships in any sports keen to have one that Malaysia can't host either itself or with Singapore - thus squaring the circle of a scaled back Games. Malaysia has athletics, aquatics, gymnastics and track cycling venues already - most of the rest doesn't require huge infrasctructure, but can always be offered elsewhere (singapore would be happy enough to take on sevens, Malayia will be happy to do Netball - bowls in Darwin, prghaps?

Of course, but as an Irish Olympics fan we understand all oo well this process of BBC adoption!

No, She'll fight for the refugee team. BBC will just make sure you know she's a multi time British champion!! Fans of Irish sport have some experience of this kind of 'adoption'!

I'd say GB are pretty content. 2 in. 2 chances left and Ngamba essentially one of theirs now too (watch how she's 'claimed' now before Paris!)

Gibraltar was a bit wild, but Jamaica certainly made sense, esp for netball and cricket, neither wildly high on Canadian agenda. IMHO sending the triathlon to Bermuda would have been another easy win, and they also have long standing links with Turks and Caicos. Gibraltar should be reserved, perhaps, for the next UK based games - with cyrpus offered beach volleyball and gymnastics, Jersey the bowls and Isle of Man the road cycling.

Singapore, like Monaco, is very good at creating room when it wants to. There are a number er of sports they d love to host given the chan e, Inc swimming and badminton ton, and possibly sevens

If they were willing to share a few events with Singapore, or even Brunei, that might work even better.

Not been a great advert for non-IBA event, this comp - it feels like the problems simply run too deep to be easily fixed.

Exactly what I thought. My suspicion is the team might well be significant enough, with only the most obvious medal chances sitting out, and a few 'punts' from people trying to maybe get an OG Q- not to mention the number who will be there because a European medal is the limit of their ambition, but a viable one. Athletics, especially at the less long distance end, do not have the tapers of say swimming or cycling. Of course 'Orangehair' is now getting into the 'my sources' bullshit which is clearly now now just daft opinhions, but straight up lying - and at that point, should be banned from the forum for deliberate wrecking of the threads

You mean the European Championships?

Even a respectable 4x1 could probably be stitched together from swimmers likely to be there anyway - Harris does a decent 100 free, Hopkin, Anderson, Wood and Hope are all also likely to be there anyway. There may though be an issue of load management, especially around Freya Aderson and to a lesser extent Abbie Wood, but the same issue has arisen historically with James Guy and Duncan Scott, and may this time with Richards and Dean, and they still all got thrown in. Basically the 3 men's relays, the mixed medley are the main event for GBR, with a punchers chance in the women's 4x2, and women's medley worth a punt as three of the four swimmers will have few other commitments.

It was obvious the 'points per blow' system was right - sure it needed tweaking (perhaps with extra buttons/points for combos and power shots) but the basic objectivity was clearly better than this pretendy nonsense, brought back, in my view quite deliberately to create corruption room.

If bolters like Evans come out of the wood work, and various relays, in particular, start looking viable, that 30 'hard' limit will be gone like snow of a rope. That 30 limit is pure penny pinching, but no way they pass up actual medal chnces to keep it.

Given some of the early f***-ups, GBR aren't in that bad a spot, they've strong chances of a few spots - and some big hitters to make amends in Q2. not wildly dissimilar to my other team, Ireland - probably helps me that both Ireland and GB have lost boxers in the few sections were Ireland and GB were going to clash in any event!

In the sense it was the last relay race for qualification - there's two more individual races so it's not quite so bad?

Have to say that's brutally unfair in the relay scenario

I wonder if GB are playing the game a smidge here. IF ONLY Ngamba comes through, she magically gets the passport just in time. IF BOTH get through, Ngamba 'remains' a refugee until after the Games, both get to go, with frequent BBC accidental mention of her GB links...

Will you just quit with this stupid crap?

The return of Kate French to the fray...