The Brits to watch out for in the Olympics
Mark Daniell 5:49pm
At eight seconds past eight minutes past eight in the evening, central Chinese time, on the eighth of August, two thousand and eight, the Beijing Olympic Games get underway.
That’s 8:08:08 p.m. on 08/08/08 – so, by my count, only six eights. Two short of the lucky Chinese number. I can think of only one way this shortfall can be remedied: the Olympic committee gets Nena to sing an appropriately rewritten ‘88 Red Balloons’ during the opening ceremony. I’ve looked into it, and to my great disappointment they’ve gone with Celine Dion.
Ten and a half thousand athletes, competing in three hundred and two events, will descend upon the Chinese capital, each with dreams of gold and glory. Three hundred and thirteen of these will be from Great Britain. Statistically, this means we should get nine golds, all else being equal.
Of course, it doesn’t quite work that way, even though come September we might wish it did. The truth is Team Great Britain have got a difficult month ahead. There’s no Redgrave, who has guaranteed regular golds over the past two decades; there’s no Zara Phillips, our most recent world champion; and even such stalwarts as Paula Radcliffe are battling injury.
With things looking bleak, we need to build confidence in Team GB and their golden prospects, so here goes. But remember, although some of the following eight categories might not be top of your viewing charts, they all count on the medals table.
Sailing: Traditionally a strong area for Great Britain, the flotilla includes Ben Ainslie looking to win a third successive gold.
Cycling: One of the strongest squads out there, and probably the only area where we could be called favourites. The likes of Cavendish and Wiggins may sound like Dickensian apothecaries, but they sure can pedal pushbikes. There is also the new BMX class, the women’s section of which I am told almost guarantees us a gold. Apparently.
Rowing: Once again a traditionally strong area for Great Britain, this time the hope is that the women’s quadruple scull will win over the hearts of the nation.
Athletics: The flagship of any Olympic outfit, Team GB has an alright line-up here, and in spite of injuries you can never rule out a star performance coming through on the day. Besides, even if we don’t rack them up, the race between Bolt, Gay and Powell could well lead to a new world record in the 100m, which is always fun.
Shooting: World Champion, world record holder and former gold medallist Richard Faulds has a great chance of putting one on the board for Team GB. Sadly for him, it’s in clay pigeon shooting, so no one’s going to watch him do it.
Badminton: In spite of the Chinese home advantage in the opening tie, Team GB have a good track record and decent prospects in the event. In any case, Olympic badminton is always an entertaining spectator sport as it bears almost no resemblance to the sort of thing you may remember playing out on the front lawn of a summer’s evening.
Tennis: Not an obvious area of British expertise, but the Murray brothers have entered as a doubles pair and should at least deliver some decent shouting matches.
Diving: As far as I can tell, you know it’s a good dive if there’s no splash, so Britain have entered a child into the event. You’ve got to admire the logic, and what with Tom Daley being only fourteen years old this has all the ingredients of a fairytale story. Of course, the danger is he’ll just get bullied out of the swimming pool by bigger boys.
Obviously, and in spite of London on the horizon, the Olympics are not everyone’s cup of tea. Team GB has no way of competing with Teams USA, China, Russia, Australia et al and at times it all seems a bit futile. But with this much variety, and unlikely heroes like Eric the eel springing up from time to time, there’s usually enough to keep the armchair viewer entertained.
Last Olympics, Great Britain came tenth with 9 golds and a total of 30 medals. Frankly this time around, we’ll probably be thanking our lucky stars if we get 8 gold, 8 silver and 8 bronze.
Previous
Austin Barry
July 31st, 2008 6:23pm Report this commentMark, I don't think anyone cares. The Olympics captivated the world up until about 1968, but has, paradoxically, become a bigger event while, in terms of the events themselves, exciting less and less interest. After all, who really cares whether one drug-fuelled athlete beats another?
Forlornehope
July 31st, 2008 6:24pm Report this commentI believe it was Bernard & Busse in the Review of Economics and Statistics around 2000, who produced an analysis showing that the medal take for any country was, largely, a function of population and GDP. The predictions for the Sydney Olympics were quite impressive. For the record, they predicted 18 for the UK against 28 actually achieved, one of the greater overperformance figures. In other words, like so much debate in this country, stop arm waving and do the maths!
Max Kaye
July 31st, 2008 6:39pm Report this commentAny chance of the Beijing Games being so appallingly awful that the London Games get cancelled?
Please....
Charlie T
July 31st, 2008 6:47pm Report this commentWhy no mention of the boxing?
The GB boxing squad is the biggest and best for a generation. And the sweet science is far better to watch than most of the boring Olympic sports.
barry
July 31st, 2008 8:07pm Report this commentcuriously, the British do best at sports where you sit down - sailing, rowing, cycling, riding (and boxing, where you have a breather every three minutes).
Does any of it matter? I don't know, but watch out for the boxers...could be the stars of the show
Rex Burr
July 31st, 2008 8:18pm Report this commentThese Sporting Heroes.
I am old enough to remember when a hero was someone who risked his life or suffered for the benefit of others.
Sportspersons suffer for their own satisfaction and that's ok, but it's not for me to get excited about.
Let's get it in perspective.
Silent Hunter
August 1st, 2008 1:45am Report this commentWe should be boycotting these games whilst so much blood is on the hands of the old men who run China.
Verity
August 1st, 2008 2:17am Report this commentWho gives a crap?
This scam - as it has become since around the early 1970s - is at the end of its life and I'm with Max Kaye. Please let the Olympics in China be the last. China will manage it well. It will be a great finale.
The idea that London - an ancient city that doesn't need the publicity - should "host" this carny was always a Blair scam. The British public paid for a flight to Singapore by Blair and Cher offering we know not wot, to get the 'Games' for London.
Why?
Excuse me, I didn't hear that ... Why?
Seriously. Why?
Why did one of the world's oldest and most successful cities, need the cheap, sleazy circus promoted by the cheap, sleazy Blairs to publicise itself?
Who cares about steroid knotted throats and legs? Let them indulge unfunded by people who work for a living.
Marian C
August 1st, 2008 11:26am Report this commentIm sick to death of hearing about these games; the sooner they're over the better.
Zury
August 1st, 2008 3:40pm Report this commentI can only hope the appalling ignorance, cynicism and prejudice toward olympic athletes and the Olympic Games displayed by some here is the opinion of a close-minded minority.
Anni
August 1st, 2008 11:21pm Report this commentStop being so miserable!! I love the Olympics....can't wait. Good luck to our boys and girls, make us proud.
Austin Barry
August 2nd, 2008 1:02am Report this commentZury,contestant in the egg and spoon race?
HJ
August 2nd, 2008 1:34pm Report this commentThe women's quad, lightweight men's double scull and men's coxless four are all serious gold medal contenders.
The men's single, women's double lightweight men's four (world champions but out of form this season) and men's eight are all in the running for medals too.
Verity might be happy that they get lottery cash, are sponsored by Siemens and that the 2012 rowing facility (Dorney Lake) was privately funded, at no expense to the taxpayer, by Eton College.
Verity
August 3rd, 2008 1:45pm Report this commentAnni writes, "Good luck to our boys and girls make us proud." Of what? Someone's ability - that he has practised since childhood, to run up to a high bar and jump over it? [Yawn] Run around a track in pointless circles? Do pointy toed excercises on gym horses?
Make us proud?
HJ (previously of HJHJ fame?)No,Verity is not happy or unhappy about the woman's quad, whatever the hell that might be, being sponsored, or non-sponsored, by anyone. Go and enjoy your obsessions with like- minded people and leave the rest of us the hell out of it.
Verity
August 3rd, 2008 1:48pm Report this commentZury writes: "I can only hope the appalling ignorance, cynicism and prejudice toward olympic athletes and the Olympic Games displayed by some here is the opinion of a close-minded minority."
Well, that's that hope down the Swannee. Most people positively loathe the entire Olympic ego- and greed- driven disruption to human life as a curse. Most of us would rather enduring roadworks.
Anni
August 3rd, 2008 11:37pm Report this commentI only write of my opinion, unlike others who seem to somehow to consider themselves in a position to speak for "most people" or "most of us"?!?! The millions in this country (let alone the rest of the world) who will tune in each evening to follow our "jumping, running and toe pointing" boys and girls suggests I'm far from alone with my "obsession". Why is someone who positively loaths the Olympics reading an article about our chances anyway? How strange!
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