I sent an email to the Olympic committee suggesting a hand gliding competition off of a high cliff while eating a pasty: meat or vegan while getting marks for artistic merit. My reply was no way as that idea was 'Pie in the Sky'
I sent an email to the Olympic committee suggesting a hand gliding competition off of a high cliff while eating a pasty: meat or vegan while getting marks for artistic merit. My reply was no way as that idea was 'Pie in the Sky'
I'm still awaiting a reply to my email about replacing Skateboards with Escooters (Sshhhh!!)
The Kentish Aussie bloke that won 3 medals in the cycling has turned around and said "g'day" to Australia, and announced he's moving back to Blighty and will be part of Team GB from now on
The Kentish Aussie bloke that won 3 medals in the cycling has turned around and said "g'day" to Australia, and announced he's moving back to Blighty and will be part of Team GB from now on
One reason I imagine is that Matt Richardson's girlfriend is Emma Finucane, but pretty strange for an established competitor to switch country like that. In most sports you wouldn't be allowed to anyway, or you'd have to serve a long residency period.
The Kentish Aussie bloke that won 3 medals in the cycling has turned around and said "g'day" to Australia, and announced he's moving back to Blighty and will be part of Team GB from now on
The Kentish Aussie bloke that won 3 medals in the cycling has turned around and said "g'day" to Australia, and announced he's moving back to Blighty and will be part of Team GB from now on
One reason I imagine is that Matt Richardson's girlfriend is Emma Finucane, but pretty strange for an established competitor to switch country like that. In most sports you wouldn't be allowed to anyway, or you'd have to serve a long residency period.
The IOC isn't that fussy So long as you have a passport and residency they're content, even when you've represented internationally already. GB had a German born and trained sprint cyclist for a while cos he had a UK parent or grandparent. A number of athletes born and raised in East African nations have represented other nations e.g. Kenyans Celimo and Lagat both switched to USA, Fiona May switched from GB to Italy Some sports governing bodies are more prescriptive. Rarely does anybody have to serve as long a qualifying period as Graeme Hick had to before he could play for England.
The Kentish Aussie bloke that won 3 medals in the cycling has turned around and said "g'day" to Australia, and announced he's moving back to Blighty and will be part of Team GB from now on
One reason I imagine is that Matt Richardson's girlfriend is Emma Finucane, but pretty strange for an established competitor to switch country like that. In most sports you wouldn't be allowed to anyway, or you'd have to serve a long residency period.
The IOC isn't that fussy So long as you have a passport and residency they're content, even when you've represented internationally already. GB had a German born and trained sprint cyclist for a while cos he had a UK parent or grandparent. A number of athletes born and raised in East African nations have represented other nations e.g. Kenyans Celimo and Lagat both switched to USA, Fiona May switched from GB to Italy Some sports governing bodies are more prescriptive. Rarely does anybody have to serve as long a qualifying period as Graeme Hick had to before he could play for England.
transfer of allegiance in athletics isn't quite as easy as it used to be. to transfer from country A to country B if you have represented A at a regional/world event you have a waiting period of 3 years from the last time you represented A. This can be waived for those with a genuine reason but it's now difficult for countries to just transfer athletes in for cash
The Kentish Aussie bloke that won 3 medals in the cycling has turned around and said "g'day" to Australia, and announced he's moving back to Blighty and will be part of Team GB from now on
One reason I imagine is that Matt Richardson's girlfriend is Emma Finucane, but pretty strange for an established competitor to switch country like that. In most sports you wouldn't be allowed to anyway, or you'd have to serve a long residency period.
The IOC isn't that fussy So long as you have a passport and residency they're content, even when you've represented internationally already. GB had a German born and trained sprint cyclist for a while cos he had a UK parent or grandparent. A number of athletes born and raised in East African nations have represented other nations e.g. Kenyans Celimo and Lagat both switched to USA, Fiona May switched from GB to Italy Some sports governing bodies are more prescriptive. Rarely does anybody have to serve as long a qualifying period as Graeme Hick had to before he could play for England.
Stuart Leary actually did his National Service and was called upon by many people in the game and media to be capped for England but at that time it wasn’t possible due to his South African citizenship.
So I got a ticket for the wheelchair basketball today, arranged travel around it, then found that there were cheap tickets available for the athletics which hasn't sold out. So grabbed a seat for last night and found myself near the start line for David Weir's 5000m heat right at the end of the night. Hard to believe the same bloke who was winning in 2012 and not exactly young back then is still in the mix now. Stadium was about half full at the peak. Torrential rain for most of the evening will have put some people off I guess, plus this wasn't a session with many high-profile events.
I seem to have jinxed the British athletes last night. Sorry about that.
This time the stadium was completely full and the atmosphere was incredible. My ears were ringing after some of the races and the sprint finish to the wheelchair 5000m was almost painful. An amazing evening despite the lack of British success.
So anyway. Wheelchair basketball. Completely bonkers sport. Great to watch, very fast, quite easy to pick up the rules. The women's game was first, Team GB putting up a good fight against Canada and actually leading after the first quarter but losing narrowly. Then it was the men, who beat Canada pretty comfortably.
Well worth the trip. I feel like I've been missing out never having watched this sport before.
Apparently, Paralympian's don’t like being called Olympians and bracketed on with the Olympics.
Given that the Paralympics happen shortly after the Olympics, in the same venues and with the same "Paris 2024" format of branding, any Paralympian who doesn't want to be bracketed with Olympians is going to struggle.
The marketing for Paris 2024, which is on posters all over the city, is that "the games aren't over". One of the reasons that some venues are sold out and most have big crowds is that the event is being targeted heavily at Parisians who were priced out of the Olympics. And TBH I think most of the athletes are loving the attention that they get for sports which are ignored mor the rest of the 4-year cycle.
Something that struck me during the Olympics was that you could see in the medal table that the well-known boost for host nations applied to all recent hosts except Brazil, which didn't see much of a legacy at all. Well, maybe that wasn't correct. Here's the Brazilian legacy - in the Paralympic medal table.
Comments
I'm still awaiting a reply to my email about replacing Skateboards with Escooters (Sshhhh!!)
So long as you have a passport and residency they're content, even when you've represented internationally already.
GB had a German born and trained sprint cyclist for a while cos he had a UK parent or grandparent.
A number of athletes born and raised in East African nations have represented other nations e.g. Kenyans Celimo and Lagat both switched to USA, Fiona May switched from GB to Italy
Some sports governing bodies are more prescriptive. Rarely does anybody have to serve as long a qualifying period as Graeme Hick had to before he could play for England.
This time the stadium was completely full and the atmosphere was incredible. My ears were ringing after some of the races and the sprint finish to the wheelchair 5000m was almost painful. An amazing evening despite the lack of British success.
So anyway. Wheelchair basketball. Completely bonkers sport. Great to watch, very fast, quite easy to pick up the rules. The women's game was first, Team GB putting up a good fight against Canada and actually leading after the first quarter but losing narrowly. Then it was the men, who beat Canada pretty comfortably.
Well worth the trip. I feel like I've been missing out never having watched this sport before.
The marketing for Paris 2024, which is on posters all over the city, is that "the games aren't over". One of the reasons that some venues are sold out and most have big crowds is that the event is being targeted heavily at Parisians who were priced out of the Olympics. And TBH I think most of the athletes are loving the attention that they get for sports which are ignored mor the rest of the 4-year cycle.