Federer91

We are having yet another Elections this Sunday.   They are becoming like a regular TV series here. (it's not a laughing mater but..) 
 
Now on season 5, we are going to switch things again. After having only machine voting the last 2 times, the paper ballots have battled their way back. It's going to be a combo system again with people choosing what to use.
 
But the big cliffhanger is yet to come. For the first time (probably in the World, i am not sure ) after the Election day has finished, almost all of the individual voting sections are required to be broadcasting live the results tallying. There is a special website, where you can go and watch the counting. I'm sure, that site won't crash, or be hacked in the first 10 minutes.  Also, the chairman of the Election committee has said, that 2-3 days after the Elections, videos will be posted on almost all of the thousands and thousands of sections and people can go and re-watch them anytime.   

Italia won't screw this qualification right, RIGHT ? 

Team Great Britain Early(ish) Qualification Predictions  
 
I did this in August last year before any qualification really started, but now we are getting in to qualifying season I'm providing an update on where Great Britain in heading, with more detail in some sports.
 
Archery
 
3-6 athletes - I still think women's team is virtually guaranteed with the new qualification system of world rankings. For the men it is possible but they will have to qualify through other means.
 
Artistic Swimming
 
0-2 athletes - Too early to see if there are any changes, a chance of receiving a retrospective European games Duet spot after reallocation of Team Quotas for other nations.
 
Athletics 
 
65 - 75 athletes - The news here is much more negative with British athletics new selection policy. Here is a more detailed breakdown of what I would expect.
 
                    Women's (32 athletes)
                    100m and 200m - A full six athletes due to our relay team. With some various members of that team running the individuals
                    400m and 400m Hurdles - Again, six athletes due to relays. Probably 3 athletes from flat and 3 from hurdles.
                    800m - 3 athletes: Keely Hodgkinson, Jemma Reekie and Ellie Baker, although one spot could be taken if Laura Muir tries the double.
                    1500m - 3 athletes: Laura Muir, Adelle Tracey and one other.
                    5000m and 10000m - 3 athletes: Eilish McColgan and Jessica Judd will qualify for both, with Amy Eloise Markovic for the 5000m
                    100m Hurdles - Cindy Sember will be the sole representative.
                    3000m Steeplechase - Elizabeth Bird and Aimee Pratt like in Tokyo.
                    Marathon - 3 Entrants likely with already 2 qualifications
                    High Jump - Morgan Lake should qualify but she is quite inconsistent. 
                    Long Jump - Jasmine Sawyers and Lorraine Ugen
                    Triple Jump - 0 athletes
                    Shot Put - 0 athletes
                    Discus Throw - 0 athletes
                    Hammer Throw - 0 athletes
                    Women's Javelin Throw - 0 athletes
                    Heptathlon - 2 athletes - KJT and hopefully Holly Mills
                    20km Race Walk - 0 athletes
 
                    Men's (34 athletes)
                    100m and 200m - A full 6 athletes due to our relay team. Same as women here.
                    400m and 400m Hurdles - 5 athletes as Charles Dobson runs to 200m. Cameron Chalmers our sole representative in the hurdles.
                    800m - 3 athletes: Max Burgin, Kyle Langford and Ben Pattison, Jake Wightman might also attempt the double.
                    1500m - 3 athletes due to such great depth. Jake Wightman and two others.
                    5000m and 10000m - 4 athletes will qualify across the two disciplines.
                    110m Hurdles - David King and Maybe Andrew Pozzi.
                    3000m Steeplechase - Zak Seddon and Phil Norman through world ranking
                    Marathon - 3 athletes should qualify.
                    High Jump - Joel Clarke Khan and Tom Gale by World ranking
                    Long Jump - 0 Athletes
                    Triple Jump - 0 Athletes 
                    Shot Put - Scott Lincoln by world rankings
                    Discus throw - Lawrence Okoye.
                    Hammer Throw - Nick Miller by World Rankings
                    Javelin Throw - 0 Athletes
                    Decathlon - 0 Athletes
                    20km Race Walk - Callum Wilkinson 
 
Badminton
 
3-8 athletes - Kirsty Gilmour in Singles, Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in Men's Doubles are my confidents, Alexander Dunn and Adam Hall are possible, as well as Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith, and the latter with Chloe Birch.
 
Basketball
 
0 - 12 athletes - Men are almost impossible, but women have a chance if they find their eurobasket 2019 form. I didn't realise how close they were to qualifying to Tokyo.
 
Boxing
 
5-9 - Based on European Championships we would have qualified: Kiaran Macdonald (-51kg), Mohammed Akbar (-71kg), and would have been very close for                    Reese Lynch (-63.5kg), Lewis Williams (-92kg) and Delicious Orie (+92kg).
          On the women's side, we wouldn't have qualified any athletes but would have been close with Shona Whitwell (-60kg), Rosie Eccles (-66kg). This is of                      course a very rough estimate as we have other boxers not competing and there are other qualification paths.
 
Breaking
 
1-3 Athletes - For Men i think we can qualify Kid Kharam and Sunni Brummit, and for the the women I think Emma Houston.
 
Canoe 
 
Sprint - 2-5 Athletes - Women's K4 500m have a shout, but the K2 500m should qualify, on the men's side, our best chance is Daniel Johnson in the K1 1000m
 
Slalom - 3-4 - Really should be four with athletes in all categories.
 
Cycling
 
Track - 14 athletes - We are currently comfortably qualifying a full team of 14 riders. The squad I'm most worried about is the men's sprint but it's not a major                                              problem.
 
Road - 5-7 athletes - We are currently qualifying 5 athletes, 2 for women and 3 for men, but we can definitely improve both up a category
 
Mountain bike - 2-4 athletes - We are currently on 3 athletes total, 1 for women and 2 for men, but I think we can gain 4/4 quotas with Evie Richards and Annie                                    Last contenders in the women's.
 
BMX 5-9 athletes - On the men's side we are currently edging Colombia for that 3rd spot on world rankings, on the women's side we only have 1 but 2 is within                                       reach. For Park we could qualify 4/4 but it will be tough with the nature of the Olympic Qualifier Series.
 
Diving
 
10-12 athletes - Behind China, Great Britain seems to be the "best of the rest and I think we can qualify a full squad like Tokyo, with the athletes being.
                           Men's 3m - Jack Laugher and Jordan Houlden
                           Men's 10m - Tom Daley and Matty Lee
                           Women's 3m - Yasmin Harper and Desharne Bent-Ashmeil.
                           Women's 10m - Andrea Spendolini-Siriex and Lois Toulson.
 
Equestrian
 
9/9 athletes - Already qualified full quotas.
 
Fencing 
 
1-5 athletes - Carolina Stutchbury is a chance in the Women's Foil, the same with William Deary in the men's Sabre. The men's team foil are ranked 9 in the world                            and could qualify.
 
Field hockey 
 
16-32 athletes - Both teams are medal hopes and should qualify at the world qualification tournament. 
 
Football
 
0-18 athletes - No chance for the men's team and no official conformation on the women's. The introduction of the nations league qualification system should                                  help.
 
Golf
 
4-5 athletes - With the qualification system we are almost guaranteed to get 2 golfers per gender, the is a chance, albeit small one, that we can get 3 male golfers.
 
Gymnastics
 
Artistic - 10/10 athletes qualified at the worlds.
 
Rhythmic - 0-1 athletes - Marfa Ekimova may qualify in the all-around.
 
Trampoline - 2-3 athletes - Andrew Stamp for the men and Bryony Page and maybe Isabella Songhurst.
 
Handball
 
0 athletes - No chance
 
Judo
 
4-8 athletes - The women's side is very strong with Chelsie Giles (-52kg), Lele Nairne (-57kg), Lucy Renshall (-63kg), Katie Jemima Yeats-Brown (-70kg) and                                   Natalie Powell (-78kg), all qualifying. On the men's side it is a different story with Lachlan Moorhead (-81kg) receiving a continental quota and                                    Jamal Petgrave (-90kg), just sneaking in.
 
Modern Pentathlon 
 
3-4 athletes - I would expect to take a full set of quota places here, especially with Bath hosting the world championships.
 
Rowing
 
40-48 athletes - We had a great world championships where we would have qualified in every race we entered. I'm expecting the same in 2023 with entrants in                                   every class this time.
 
Rugby seven's
 
12-24 athletes - On the women's side we are in contention from the world's sevens series, but if we don't then it's likely that spot will go to Ireland and we will                                      claim it at the Europeans. For the men's we need Ireland to qualify from the series so we can get the European Spot.
 
Sailing
 
12-14 athletes - We should claim quotas in every event but it is really hard to follow sailing so I can't tell what our strength is like right now.
 
Shooting
 
5-9 athletes - We have already qualified 4 athletes: Amber Hill, Seonaid McIntosh, Nathan Hales, and Lucy Hall. We can definitely qualify Kirsty Hegarty and Aaron                           Heading in Trap, and Ben Llewellyn in Skeet. There is a chance for Sam William Gowin in Rapid Fire pistol.
 
Skateboarding
 
2-3 athletes - Lola Tambling and Sky Brown should qualify in Women's Park, we could get someone else from the men's side.
 
Sport Climbing
 
1-2 athletes - Hamish MacArthur and Max Milne should qualify.
 
Swimming
 
30- 35 athletes - A mixture of old faces and new ones likely.
 
                        Men's (16 athletes)
                        50m Free - Ben Proud and Lewis Burras should qualify
                        100m Free and 200m Free - Tom Dean , Duncan Scott, Jacob Whittle, James Guy and Matt Richards should qualify for the Relay
                        400m Free plus - Dan Jarvis and Callum Jervis Should qualify.
                        100m and 200m Backstroke - Luke Greenbank and Broady Williams 
                        100m and 200m Breaststroke - Adam Peaty and James Wilby,
                        100m and 200m fly - Jacob Peters and the aforementioned James Guy
                        200m and 400m IM's - Max Litchfield along with some other already qualified Swimmers
                        Open Water - Hector Pardoe
 
                        Women's (15 athletes)
                        50m Free - Anna Hopkin
                        100m Free and 200m Free - Freya Anderson, Lucy Hope, Abbie Wood, Medi Harris, Tamyrn Van Selm and Holly Hibbot.
                        400m Free plus - Freya Colbert
                        100m and 200m Backstroke - Cassie Wild and Kathleen Dawson
                        100m and 200m Breaststroke - Imogen Clark
                        100m and 200m Fly - Laura Stevens
                        200m and 400m IM's - Alicia Wilson and Katie Shanahan
                        Open Water - Alice Dearing
                       
Table Tennis 
 
3-5 athletes - Pitchford, Drinkhall and Ho should qualify, a men's team has a chance and maybe Anna Hursey.
 
Taekwondo
 
 5-6 athletes - Women's 57kg, 67kg and +67kg should qualify, same for the men's 68kg and +80kg. 
 
Tennis
 
7-9 athletes - Norrie and Draper in men's singles, Raducanu in Women's and two men's doubles and one mixed doubles pair.
 
Triathlon
 
5-6 athletes - 4 already qualified with one more women expected, hard but not impossible for the men.
 
Weightlifting
 
2-4 athletes - Sarah Davies and Cyrille Thatchet have chances but Emily Campbell likely to qualify
 
Totals (Change from previous prediction)
 
Optimistic = 430 (+45)
 
Pessimistic = 291 (+22)
 
Expectation = 375+ (+25)
 
 
 
 
                    

Remember ,  &  (or was it  ?) will be battling for the bottom.
 
Just kidding, let’s hope for a good result for everyone.

Perfect draw all the way, couldn't have been better, even if i had picked it myself.  Napoli - Bayern final please.

Perfect draw all the way, couldn't have been better, even if i had picked it myself.  Napoli - Bayern final please.

Is this the Hunger Games of women's biathlon?  There won't be anyone left by the end of the week.

A rare football ban to grace this topic  Today, after a 7 month investigation, UEFA have given a 4 year ban to CSKA-Sofia's Georgi Yomov, who tested positive after a match in the Conference League in august. Of course CSKA have said, that they would appeal the case in front of CAS.  

Just voted. As usual lot's of trouble in finalizing my ranking.  Don't know what people are talking about, i found a dozen songs to be very listenable and good. Songs and artists, which i wouldn't have stumbled across, if it wasn't for our contests  

An extra day is welcomed from me as well. 

I miss the guy with the flag  

Let i've said before, no real boycott will happen at the end and it's just smoke and lightning from a few countries to see, if their bluff will work. US and Canada will not boycott in anyway and France is the worst host for this idea, as they are a valuable strategic partner in bigger, non-sports, departments.
 
Do people actually believe there won't be any backstage strings being pulled, so that the French Games aren't ruined? The 3 Baltic states are the only ones i see, that could potentially stick it to the end, as it won't be a significant loss for them (or the Games), if they missed out. Mayyyyybe 1-2 of the Scandinavian ones, but i can't see how Macron wouldn't sway them. Poland is barking the loudest, but i would be gobsmacked, if they actually boycotted. Their politicians are just using what is popular today and then will promptly make up an excuse, when time comes. 

By God Watson, Canada can fly!   First ever medal at WC, men or women. Imagine, that random Olympic medal being the turning point for these and upcoming successes.  

By God Watson, Canada can fly!   First ever medal at WC, men or women. Imagine, that random Olympic medal being the turning point for these and upcoming successes.  

By God Watson, Canada can fly!   First ever medal at WC, men or women. Imagine, that random Olympic medal being the turning point for these and upcoming successes.  

The word conservative doesn't fit the narrative here, more so the publishers greedy and egotistical view to sell more copies...
 
Same shtick is happening now with the James Bond novels. Let's hope this would be a failure only for the UK and other regions wouldn't follow this downfall.

While calling Bruna after her individual sprint qualifying on Thursday, while she was standing in that warmup/cooldown area where athletes do their last-minute prep and stuff, she at some point walked away for a second. I heard some talking in the background, and later she told me it was the Mexican she had waited for at the finish, Regina (they've known each other for a while). While they were talking, apparently one Jessie Diggins walked by and was super excited about Regina's Mexican race suit, offering a swap with her American one, and after some hesitation on the other side, Diggins made it really clear it was definitely not a joke  
 
So they got in touch later to set a place to meet, and now:
 
 
 

Because he was booted a few years ago from the US team for being "with no potential for the future". Wonder what those people are thinking now, especially since the US men's team is going to be extinct very soon by the look of things.

Because he was booted a few years ago from the US team for being "with no potential for the future". Wonder what those people are thinking now, especially since the US men's team is going to be extinct very soon by the look of things.

I believe (not fully sure) this is the first WC medal for Greece in any winter sport in history! 

WOW A historic podium, i'm very happy for all 3 of them 

I believe (not fully sure) this is the first WC medal for Greece in any winter sport in history! 

WOW A historic podium, i'm very happy for all 3 of them 

WOW A historic podium, i'm very happy for all 3 of them 

By God, i think we are heading for a medal for Greece, a gold medal for Greece