mpjmcevoy

I don't think you are far wrong, and I think CGF/Commonwealth Sport should prepare for that by examining, where plausible, a 'Championships' model for other sports - it may be CGF will spend as much time in organising and recognising individual championship events as in organsiing a large quadrennial Games. I note the commonwealth Weightlifting championships is taking place as we speak, and India floated a not terrible idea of a combined Archery and Shooting Championships that was knocked on the head by covid, but is not a terrible idea. The advantage not only being that individual events are easier to host, but potential hots can go for the sports they like and get decent support for... e I would be amazed if, even if the Games disappeared, Netball did not maintain a stand alone Commonwealth Championships, ditto Bowls. Other sports could downsize or resize - for example, I reckon you could create a tight, popular 3 day track cycling event, centring on the home nations, AUS, NZl, TRD,Malaysia, SIN and CAN which would provide some value during the track season over one weekend. Likewise, even if it felt like a slightly development event, a Commonwealth Triathlon Championships would work absolutely fine, and probably be more competitive than several continental champs.

The Commies are an anachronism, but they're actually a really good event, with a really cool history - the Bannister-Landy mile and all that - they allow a lot of non-IOC entities some recognition, and the atmosphere, generally, is excellent - the 2010 disaster the only bad Games really in the last seven or eight, and even there, India probably learned something. In addition, while they are described as colonial, in all honesty I think they are the opposite - they absolutely started colonial, an Empire Games...but now the represent the opposite - all the nations that freed themselves from the London Yolk coming together with the Brits as equals, on their own terms (or not in the case of Ireland and Zimbabwe) - it's honestly more post-colonial than colonial, with one or two small issues (Charles III should NOT be titular head, the optics are terrible). The Jeux de Francophonie would love to have the stability, brand recognition and history of the CWG. maybe the two should merge....

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.

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.

Quite possibly, but it must be said this is shocking behaviour from Victoria, and I would not be shocked if Victoria is on the hook for quite a lot of compensation to CGF. CGF will, I suspect run back to Birmingham and Glasgow to see is there a way out of the mess - but this is actually worse than Durban, and second successive games were the host has had to pull the plug.

Good summary. If there were the old single sex 3 up relays, GBR would win the women's and the French the men's at an absolute cantor. At this stage they are holding poor Jonny Brownlee together with gaffer tape and bubble gum - get him off on the first leg where he's still a strong swimmer, go hard on the bike, and then hold on in the run long enough to get one of the three strong women off not TOO far behind. On the French side, the depth is brilliant, but they maybe can't match a fully fit Coldwell/Potter-Yee-Taylor-Brown backend. If either team turns up at even 95%, no other team wins gold....but both teams are well capable of finding a way not to be 95%. Bach was at the event this weekend, and there's a general consensus that World Triathlon are going to let the hare sit for the 2028 Games in terms of events, and let the mixed relay 'bed in', before attempting to expand in 32 in friendly territory (Aus loves tiathon) by adding this precise format - not just a sprint, but an eliminator super sprint. The thinking is that the soul of Triathlon is endurance. It's not truly a sport for sprinting, and they don't really want to be. however, sprint formats are popular, and the ability to do repeated speed bursts is a legit skill some great triathletes have, and some don't (Beaugrande, for example, looks far happier switch multiple shorter races than the two hour grind) - so this format which still tests endurance, but tests it in a different way seems to WA the best compromise - Triathlon has always had a 'cricket' issue with formats - purists love Ironman but it's not particularly TV friendly - Olympic is now, literally, the Standard race, but sprint formats are popular on TV and with IOC and the Mixed relay went down VERY well - but WA know they won't just get a sprint/1hr event or 30 minute event out of IOC - but this repeated battery? Yep, this will fly - Not least because you could maybe only add 10 'specialist' spots in each sex, and just let the main field also compete in the Elimination Sprint series - it doesn't require finding another 100 quota spots

The scoring has been pretty arbitrary at the AS, and not a great deal better at Diving - the Chinese are legitimately brilliant - but it doesn't help when they get a Beijing Bonus on every dive - there was at least one dive today that was borderline failed and was getting 8s!. Reminds me of interviews before the figure skating last year when skaters talked about how you had to 'serve your time' no matter how good you were - in other words, there was a rank arbitrary favouritism for senior pairs.

We are, actually, pretty rich in sculling, particularly lightweight sculling as it happens. rowing is one of the few sports where there is a genuine tug-of-war, still, between GBR and IRL - both countries are now strong rowing nations; Northern Ireland rowers cross the 'divide', so we get Alan Campbell and the chambers boys went to GB. If Ulster boxing was not so imbedded in Irish boxing, you might have similar issues there, but on the whole it's an all-irland sort - rowing is the exception where its both all Ireland AND all UK on occasion.

I know. Given the relative size of the country and pool, I wonder if Ireland might not consider a small elite 'academy' approach, near ish to Abbottstown

Hard to predict. Jimmy Guy was a really strong Euro Jr, back in his days, you could tell he was going to be good, Duncan Scott likewise. But Jimmy wasn't the standout star of his generation. That was Matthew Johnson, who stormed the Jrs...and then disappeared without trace....meanwhile a relatively unmedalled junior came through and actually did ok for GB as a senior...his name was Adam Peaty.

Ireland will be very happy with the Gold and silver for O'ullivan and Healy, both of whom look plausible pro athletes (to go with Rhasidat who turned pro this weekend). Sligh disappointment, perhaps was Olutunde, who's going a little backwards since last years breakthrough, and is so often the case, after a stream of talent in recent years, we were due a fallow year in women's sprint at this level (although great to see gina Moses back on the track - 11.4 at a GB 100m alongside Kristal Awuah. GB topped the table for the first time - they have regularly topped Jr and Youth, but this is the first U23, and will be broadly happy - their sweep of all 5000 and 10000 inflated their counts, but none of them really look like the breakthrough star that might actually challenge globally. FMedals for two women throwers were very encourging

Healy as the endurance, but Sophie has the kick, a very familiar one. It's strange, in a nice way how the Celts have come through together this weekend - Reekie joining Muir in the top 5 GB all time 1500, Courtney-Bryant setting a new sub-4 Welsh record, and Sophie and Sarah slamming it at the EU23. Might Keely Hodgkinson have a Cornish granny?

Hungary and Italy just tore the roof off at the European Junior Swimming so I wouldn't lose sleep; Hungary just has different priorities (mostly involving moving fast in water - which come to think of it is a bit odd for a landlocked country...anyway!)

PS well done the Ukranians and the Mexicans!

Yeah, the lads wobbled on one dive and then blew a dive. They'll be annoyed to have dropped the quota having qualified second - 4 quotas from 4 events would have been a hell of a statement. That said, looking at the competition, I'd be reasonably confident they come back next year and seal the deal. Frankly, both women's teams getting quota and silver was well beyond expectations anyway, so it's been a VERY successful meet so far. GB are also blessed with pretty solid depth in men's 3m individual to cover for Laugher's injury (at least in terms of quotas), Spendolini-Sirieix is a strong shout for a second quota in 10m with Eden Cheng having kindly banked one from the European Games, Harper's form means a good shout of at least one 3m Womens indy berth. It's 10 metre individual GB may wobble. Ma create an interesting scenario next year - does Daley try to do on last turn? (my instinct says no, you'll not see him in elite competition again)

I think Team GB has already given up the ghost on that sadly. I'm not even convinced Brownlee will make it sxcept through the relay quota - there are 4 women fighting for three spots, all of them world class. On the men's side it's yee theeeeen..................................(plonk!)

GB very much has a B team here (as shown by Conor Bentley's rather woeful biking on the first leg!) while the French have no team at all - it's clarifying for Olympic purposes but rather undercuts the value of a 'World' Championship

Yes. sorry, in-joke, it's the similarity to the Tom Daley narrative that amuses me, Jason Todd taking over from Dick Grayson...

GB's best bet would be a fit Laugher and Harding, but both are walking wounded at the minute, to the point Jack, who is basically the only realistic competition to Chinese in the 3m individual isn't even diving in that. Frankly their silver was miracle in such circumstances, and they'l feel pretty good about it. At the moment the world order, minus the Russians, seems to be China - huge gap - Great Britain - smaller but still notable gap - the rest of the major nations (CAN, USA, MEX, UKR, GER, ITA, AUS) - the third group will ridge bac up to GB a lot quicker than GB will bridge to CHN, and in Paris 24, I think the Chinese might finally do the clean sweep they've been denied the last three Olympiads, unless the Ukrainian boy wonder, or a fit Laugher stops it.

With very limited exceptions, noticeable that the diving team are avoiding the non-Olympic events. 1 1m diver, no mixed synchro teams, although they are doing the team event. Perhaps Jack is being held back precisely to bank the synchro place. I think GBR will probably bank most of what they need, though they could have done with a few of the B team not fluffing final dives when on the cusp of grabbing a quota in Poland.

If you could make it work, it would not be unfeasible to have an in-stadium marathon or half marathon on such a concourse (50 ish laps for marathon, 25 ish for half - the latter basically the same as the 10,000m in laps terms), not to mention the novelty of an 800 metres where the gun and the bell are the same thing.

You could do a lot worse in hosting terms than 2027 Portugal, 2031 Croatia - it might create a stable foundation for the event going forward to have two hosts ready in advance. Meanwhile still absolutely no word whatsoever on possible hosts for the 2026 European Championships event, which despite being the more popular fanwise, looks like it's about to come unstuck after two editions...

In a significant number of sports, the national authorities essentially run the sport, and the athletes, in their country, even in democratic states, but especially in authoritarian ones. In such circumstances, national bans seem the only way to deal with egregious and repeated rule-breaking. In this case, it is brutally clear that the Kazakh authorities simply see the ethical rules of the sport as an annoyance to be got around. I don't see any alternative in such a situation to expulsion. The rights of the many outweigh the desires of the few. Participation in specific competitions is not a human right. and it should not be set out as though it were one the way Bach does. Nor is it racial discrimination to expel a national federation, of whatever ethnicity, where there is clear evidence of systemic problems and unacceptable actions, particularly where those problems appear to have a state-backed basis. That may seem rough on the 'clean' - or as is more often the case, just not yet caught, as shown particularly vividly by the post Sochi Russian crises - athletes of corrupted national federations, but the level of pretend naivite used to justify ignoring systemic doping is killing sport - and that's whether it's central Asians in weightlifting, Western and Southern Europeans and North Americans in cycling, West African's in weightlifting, East Africans in athletics or Russians in just about everything. Enough with the handwringing.

It would also complicate it, if which is the 'qualifier' team becomes contentious. From Scotland's point of view they have essentially lost the Scotland basketball team and the Scottish rugby sevens team already because of the Olympics. I think their football team is safe, but there WOULD be some pressure, to begin with, for the home nations to field only one U21 side, even if they kept separate full national sides. and to Scotland, that's the thin end of the wedge. That said, in our lifetimes there's every chance there will be a Scottish Olympic Association anyway, given demographics and background polling. In such an event, how long Wales would be willing to play the role of Montenegro or Herzegovina is open to question. Cricket would suggest quite long.

True, and clearly got themselves far too dependent on the generosity of the BBC, whose generosity in sports fees can no longer be trusted in these chastened times.