2011 IAAF World Athletics Championships - Mixed bag for Brits

THE 13^th IAAF World Athletics championships concluded on Sunday in Daegu, South Korea and it was a championship to remember.  Some major shocks, close finishes and stunning individual performances came together over nine days of thrilling and compelling action.  Great Britain’s athletes returned last night to the UK after a mixed championship.  They managed to earn seven medals, matching the target set out by the coach of UK Athletics, Charles van Commenee.  However, some form was very patchy from many ‘banker’ gold medal hopefuls and big improvements and decisions have to be made soon, especially with London 2012 less than a year away.

     Great Britain come home with two gold medals, four silvers and one bronze; the biggest haul of medals at any world championships since 1993 in Stuttgart.  On the face of it, this sounds very good, considering we finished sixth in the medals table and only behind the powers of America, Jamaica, Kenya, Russia and Germany; probably all expected to be ahead of us.  However, does the Daegu haul put us on the right track for the Olympics next summer?

DELIGHT: Mo Farah recovered from 10,000m heartbreak in style

     First, the positives and they come from Mo Farah and Di Greene, who produced their golden moments in clinical style.  Farah was bravely beaten into silver position in the men’s 10,000m by a late burst from Ibrahim Jeilan of Ethiopia.  On Sunday, he refused to be denied in his success at the 5,000m.  Mo is now the best ever long-distance runner Great Britain has ever had and he can hold his head up high.  In the 5,000m, he ran the race perfectly, especially when you consider the tactics the Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes are likely to employ on dangers outside their continent.  In Di Greene, Britain has its best hurdler since the days of Sally Gunnell.  He was in peak form throughout the championship and he burst through right at the end on Thursday night to claim gold in the men’s 400m hurdles.  The winning time of 48.26secs was enough to see off his main threat, Javier Culson from Puerto Rico.  With hard work and persistence, these two athletes have to be proud of what they have achieved in South Korea.

     The surprise of the championships from a British perspective was Hannah England’s shock, but rewarding silver medal in the women’s 1500m.  She was completely off the radar and getting into the final was an achievement in itself.  The shock on her face as she crossed the line was one of the pictures of the championships.  With 200m to go, it looked like Hannah had been run out of it, but she went wide and as athletes began to tire in the finishing straight, she kicked for home and got her just rewards.  Well done Hannah on a stunning performance!  Andy Turner also did well to win bronze in the men’s 110m hurdles, although there was some luck in his medal.  Turner crossed the line in fourth, but the winner on the track; Cuban Dayron Robes was disqualified following a clash on the penultimate hurdle with Liu Xiang of China, which promoted Turner into the bronze medal position.  For me, it was unfortunate, but Xiang would have won the race had it not been for the clash, so it was the right decision to disqualify Robes.

     Other silver medals came from expected gold medal hopefuls.  Phillips Idowu was unable to hang onto his triple jump championship, as he was beaten by a sensational jump from a young starlet.  21-year old Christian Taylor, from the United States produced a massive leap of 17.96m to deny Idowu gold.  It was a shame for Phillips, as he produced a series of consistent jumps and at any other world championship gone by, his best jump of just over 17.70m would have won him gold.  You just have to hand it to Taylor, who nailed it just right on the day.  Britain’s golden girl Jessica Ennis had to settle for silver too, in the women’s heptathlon.  Despite getting a higher points total than she managed to win gold in Berlin two years ago, Ennis had to settle for silver, behind the Russian Tatyana Chernova.  However, Jess will be disappointed with a clumsy 100m hurdles and a shocking javelin, which was her ultimate downfall.  Sometimes you can’t get it right all the time and there is no doubt that Jessica Ennis will win many more heptathlons, but one bad event will cost you in this high class field.  It is something you might get away with at the Commonwealth Games, but not at the world Championships.

     Big disappointments for Britain were the failure to get any male or female sprinters into the finals of the men’s and women’s 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m.  It is an abject failure to say the least, with the biggest sporting event in this country less than a year away.  Dwain Chambers false started in his 100m semi-final and knocked himself out of participation in the final.  With his Olympic ban for failing a drugs test back in 2003 still likely to stand, we might have seen the controversial Chambers at a major championships for a final time.  Having achieved a bronze medal in Berlin, Jenny Meadows was a massive disappointment in the women’s 800m, getting knocked out in the semi-final stage.  Meadows was definitely a medal contender, so her early demise from these championships were a real letdown.  Despite having struggled with injuries, Martin Rooney’s form is so erratic; you wonder why he even bothers.  He failed at the semi-final stage of the individual 400m and didn’t look much better in the relays.  No wonder why the Korean journalists thought he was Wayne Rooney, it says it all!  Finally, the relay squads have a lot to answer for.  Only the 4x400m women can feel satisfied, running a solid race to fourth without any mistakes.  Once again, questions will be pointed at the 4x100m men’s team, which once again; yep you guessed it, dropped the baton!  Marlon Devonish needs to work on his target practice too.  Why did he throw the baton at team-mate Harry Aikines-Aryeetey.  For someone so experienced as Devonish, it was a ridiculous action!  Maybe it is time for UK Athletics to cut money in our relay squads and invest it in other areas of the team, as excuses run thin and they are certainly out of them. 

SHOCK: Bolt realises it's too late as he faces a DQ in the 100m

     Away from Britain and it was a miserable championships for Usain Bolt; he only won two gold medals!!  Bolt’s amazing false start in the 100m final, when the gold medal was already being engraved in his name shook the world.  It was training partner and countryman Yohan Blake who won the prestigious sprint gold.  Bolt recovered from his blip to dominate the 200m, then be part of the Jamaican squad that broke the world record in the 4x100m relay; fittingly the final event of the championships.  35-year old Kim Collins, the 100m champion back in Paris in 2003, rolled back the years with two bronze medals and there was also a bronze (200m) and silver (4x100m) for the talented Christophe Lemaitre of France.  Lemaitre is definitely Europe’s best hope of stopping the Jamaican/American domination.  Jamaica’s Veronica-Campbell Brown won the women’s 200m; the title that had eluded her throughout her lengthy and successful career as Allyson Felix failed in her quest to take a sprint double.  Felix had to settle for silver in the women’s 400m and bronze in the 200m.  Finally, the individual performance of the championships has to go to Australia’s Sally Pearson, who broke her PB in the semi-finals of the women’s 100m hurdles, then went onto smash it again and take a championship record in the final just three hours later.  It was a popular success with the hundreds of Australian fans that had made the short journey to Daegu.

     Also, this was the first IAAF World Athletics championships not to be covered live on TV by the BBC.  Channel 4 won the rights last summer and to the 2013 championships in Moscow too.  However, they badly need an experienced sports presenter.  Whilst Michael Johnson’s analysis was fantastic as ever and was backed up by strong commentary from the likes of John Rawling, Rob Walker and Katherine Merry, the anchor let them down.  Ortis Deley was a nightmare for the first three days.  Who decided to hire him!!  He knows next to nothing about athletics and eventually, the bumbling host was axed into a tame reporting role three days into the championships.  The mistakes on the YouTube video (see below) speak volumes for themselves.  Rick Edwards, best known as the guy from T4 who introduces Hollyoaks, Friends and One Tree Hill to teenage morning viewers, did a solid job and carried the baton on without ever being remarkable.  If Channel 4 is serious about sport like they say they are, it’s time to sign someone up who has been there in sports presenting, done it and can lead the way.

     Daegu 2011 will go down as a memorable championship for many people.  Great Britain have made significant strides forward, but improvements still have to be made, with London less than a year away now.  No more excuses, it’s time to deliver!

Everyone makes mistakes

By Simon Wright (Personal Piece)

THE gun goes off twice to indicate a false start and shock sweeps through the world.  The commentators scream in disbelief, millions of television viewers around the globe are left stunned into silence and over 60,000 spectators in the Daegu stadium in South Korea can’t quite believe what they have just seen.  The unflappable, likeable, cool Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt has just false started by miles.  The men’s 100m, expected to be a case of how fast Bolt will run has just been blown wide open.  Under the new, tight IAAF regulations, Bolt is disqualified.  He rips his Jamaican shirt off his torso, probably thinking why did I do that?  This incident alone yesterday just shows the point that everyone makes mistakes.

     Some people in life will claim that they’ve done nothing wrong, have no regrets in life and think they are absolutely perfect.  Hello, wake up and smell the coffee!!  Everyone has made an error of judgement before, no matter how big or small it is.  It’s life, ‘Pobody’s Nerfect!’

    

Mistakes can vary in sizes and form.  Here is a list of several potential examples;

• Someone making a bad career choice.  For example, thinking you can be a top chef and wreck Jamie Olivier’s career, only to realise that you can’t even cook microwave pizza and would never succeed in running a top London restaurant.  Oops!
• A drunken one-night stand, which many have probably done over the years.  Yes, it probably feels great when you have consumed gallons of tasty alcohol, but the next morning, it is bound to be a massive regret.  Plus, if you are in a secure relationship, the consequences are likely to be far more severe.  What were you thinking!
• Deciding to install a popular computer programme to continue competing with the technological times.  Hours later, your laptop simply won’t load up and nothing is backed up either.  Oh why oh why did I do that, I’m an idiot!
• As a football manager, making a bold tactical gamble to win a game, which you end up losing.  Don’t rub your hair furiously like Arsene Wenger!  Be a man and own up to your mistakes via the press.  Real-life or on Football Manager.  Yes, I totally lost the plot there!
• Getting home from the supermarket, unpack your shopping and think, oh nuts, I forgot to buy the crucial ingredient for dinner tonight.  With no money left, that chicken curry isn’t going to taste right now.  Don’t bother with Come Dine with me then, unless you want to be embarrassed.
• Getting out of your car, and putting the wrong type of petrol in!  Ah damn it; I knew it should have been unleaded fuel, not stupid diesel!  Oh no, that Mercedes car is going to pay for my clumsiness. 

Okay, it’s time to open up my closet of some of the daft errors/mistakes I’ve made down the years.  Those who know me must think I’m just an accident waiting to happen.

• Live streaming on illegal websites.  I know it’s dodgy, but when you begin, you think; ‘Ah, no problem, life’s all good.’  Then, when you check your latest anti-virus scan (like I did in April this year) and locate 272 potential deadly viruses, you realise, I made things far too critical.  I’ve learnt my lesson from that, but unfortunately – my current laptop probably will never recover from its previous healthy state.
• Aged 11 on my first foreign holiday in Lanzarote.  It’s December 30 and I see a Virtual Striker football machine.  Time to see if I can play for Brazil haha!  I start walking towards the games room, without realising there are a pair of glass doors in the way.  Ouch! That hurt and it did!  I tried brandy to cure the pain moments later.  Well, it eased the pain but then, I threw up at breakfast the next morning.  One alcoholic drink I must stay away from in future.
• I got mediocre AS level results, and saw the opportunity to go on a BTEC National Diploma Media Production course at Milton Keynes College.  Rather than go for it, I dither about it and by the time I want to go there, all places on the year’s course has gone.  I had to stick it out for another year at Radcliffe Secondary School, in the sixth form!  Wasn’t my smartest move, but luckily, it all turned out good and if I had gone a year earlier, I won’t have met my amazing friends on my journalism course at the University of Northampton.  Remember to put your career choices first before friend preference everybody!
• Saying things in the heat of the moment, when you think; ‘I’m right and you’re wrong, shut the #### up, I’m talking sense!’  Moments later, you think; ‘Why did I say that?’ and are forced to make a grovelling apology to the friend/colleague you just insulted.  It has happened to me time and again and is probably the one mistake I constantly make.  Fortunately, after another unsavoury incident earlier this year, I have managed to control this issue far greater.

     Of course, when you make a mistake, you must learn from the error of your ways and not do it again.    Like I said, no-one is perfect, we’ve all slipped up and we just have to accept the mistakes we’ve made and learn from them.  If you do, we become better people.  As we’ve seen from Usain Bolt in the last 24 hours and my own collection, hold your hands up and come back stronger.  It makes you stronger people.

World Cup Report: Day 10-12

We have now reached the halfway point in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the groups are taking shape.  Here is a round-up of the last three days, which have seen more shock results, a demolition derby, shocking playacting and a dignified exit for the proud hosts.

Sunday 20^th June: Slovakia 0-2 Paraguay

Paraguay moved into pole position in Group F, with a comfortable 2-0 win over a laboured Slovakia side that seemed to be more than happy to play for a point.  The Europeans only had one shot on target, which shows their major issue going forward.  Paraguay’s goals came from Enrique Vera and a brilliant late strike from striker Carlos Riveros.

Sunday 20^th June: Italy 1-1 New Zealand

The world champions stuttering start to their defence continued in Nelspruit, as they were embarrassingly held by Rickie Herbert’s spirited New Zealand side.  The All Whites took a lead, when Shane Smeltz took advantage of a dodgy offside decision to put them into a surprising lead on seven minutes.  The Azzuri equalised, through a Vincenzo Iaquinta penalty, after Daniele de Rossi was held back in the box by Tommy Smith.  However, Marcelo Lippi’s men never looked like breaking through again, and now require a win against Slovakia on Thursday to ensure qualification for the last sixteen.

Sunday 20^th June: Brazil 3-1 Ivory Coast

Sven Goran-Eriksson’s negative tactics backfired, as his Ivory Coast side were outclassed by the brilliant Brazilians in Soccer City.  A tame first half came to life, when Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano lashed home an opener.  Fabiano’s second, came through two questionable handballs, blindingly missed by the French referee.  The third goal was a rollback to great Brazilian sides of the past, with Kaka’s dazzling skill and classy through ball playing in Elano for his second of the campaign.  Elano was stretched off moments later, before an unfit Didier Drogba got his country’s first goal of the tournament, heading in with eight minutes remaining.  The match soured in the closing stages, with Kaider Keita using the disgusting ‘playacting’ tactic to get Kaka sent off.  The result ensured the Brazilians passage into the knockout stages. 

Monday 21^st June: Portugal 7-0 North Korea

Portugal ripped apart North Korea in Cape Town, recording the 4^th biggest win in World Cup history and putting them on the brink of qualification for the knockout phase.  Raul Meireles scored the only goal in the first half, but the Portuguese hit blistering form in the second half, scoring six goals without reply.  Atletico Madrid’s Tiago scored twice, and there were also goals from Simao, a flying header from Hugo Almedia, substitute Lledson and Cristiano Ronaldo, who ended his two-year wait for an international strike.   

Monday 21^st June: Chile 1-0 Switzerland

A lively performance from Chile saw the South Americans overcome a stubborn Switzerland in Port Elizabeth and put them on the brink of qualifying for the knockout stages.  Despite breaking a defensive record for the most amounts of minutes without conceding consecutively, the Swiss were on the backfoot from the 28^th minute, when West Ham winger Valon Behrami was shown a straight red card for a deliberate elbow.  Despite a host of chances, and a referee who would struggle to handle a game between secondary school children, Chile was restricted to the one goal, scored through a header by ex-Liverpool flop Mark Gonzalez.

Monday 21^st June: Spain 2-0 Honduras

A dynamite double from new Barcelona signing David Villa helped put Spain back on track at Ellis Park, after their shock opening loss to Switzerland.  In a performance that was dominant, but not one which will frighten the South American challengers, Spain never looked in trouble against a Honduras side, which don’t have many attacking weapons at the tournament.  Villa’s two goals were both quality individual efforts, though he blotted his copybook with a missed penalty in the second half.

Tuesday 22^nd June: France 1-2 South Africa

The hosts left their World Cup in the group stages on a high note, following a battling performance to overcome France, who as a team, have quite simply had a World Cup full of nightmares and catastrophes.  This continued in Bloemfontein, as Yoann Gorcuff was given his marching orders for a flailing elbow midway through the first half.  By then, Bafana Bafana roared two goals clear, courtesy of a header by Bongani Khumalo and a tap-in from Katlego Mphela.  Sadly, they ran out of steam in the second half, and were eliminated on goal difference, with Florent Malouda’s consolation little more than a sobering statistic with Les Bleus.

Tuesday 22^nd June: Mexico 0-1 Uruguay

Uruguay sealed top spot in Group A, courtesy of a Luis Suarez header in Rustenberg.  A patchy game, which saw both teams clearly feeling nervous about progression, was only brightened up by the Ajax targetman’s crisp header on 23 minutes.  Despite defeat, Mexico’s goal difference was enough to see the North Americans also progress to the knockout stages for the fifth consecutive finals.

Tuesday 22^nd June: Greece 0-2 Argentina

Argentina continued their 100% record, seeing off a Greek side that seemed content to play for the draw, in a game they needed to win.  Only requiring a draw to seal qualification and top spot, Argentina looked cagey, compared to previous outings, but were firmly on top and two goals in the last twelve minutes saw Maradona’s men get the deserved victory.  They came in unlikely sources however, from Bayern Munich centre-back Martin Demichellis and 36-year old veteran striker Martin Palermo.

Tuesday 22^nd June: Nigeria 2-2 South Korea

South Korea advanced into the knockout stages for the first time on foreign soil, after gritting out a share of the spoils with Nigeria.  The Super Eagles made the perfect start, in a game they had to win to continue their interest alive, with Kalu Uche tapping in on twelve minutes.  The Asians took firm control in Durban, with goals either side of half time, through Lee Jung-Soo and Park Chung-Yung, the latter being the first player to score a direct free kick at the finals.  Yakubu’s glaring miss summed up the Africans faltering tournament, though the Everton marksman did make up for it, with a penalty after Chinedu Obasi was fouled in the penalty box.  However, Korea held on to book a meeting with Uruguay on Saturday.

World Cup Report - Day 7-9

The second round of group games in the 2010 FIFA World Cup is well and truly underway.  In the past three days, we’ve seen tensions rise in camps; some players show a lack of team unity and the first side to be well and truly eliminated from the competition.  Here is a brief round-up of the past three days, excluding the England match yesterday.

Thursday 17^th June: Argentina 4-1 South Korea

Diego Maradona’s Argentina became firm favourites to land the World Cup, after an impressive 4-1 victory over South Korea in Soccer City that all but virtually booked their place in the last sixteen.  Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain was in fabulous form, hitting a hat-trick, after an own goal from Park Chu-Young.  Despite an error by Martin Demichellis, which allowed Lee Chun-Soo in to score for the Koreans with the last kick of the first half, Argentina weren’t in any major danger and raised the standards for the other favourites in the process.

Thursday 17^th June: Greece 2-1 Nigeria

Sani Kaita’s daft dismissal after 33 minutes left Nigeria on the verge of elimination and helped Greece on the way to a first-ever World Cup win.  Nigeria dominated the early exchanges, took an early lead through Kala Uche’s free-kick.  A deflected strike from Dimitrios Salpingidis drew the Greeks level, before Vasiledios Torosidis capitalised on a spill by Vincent Enyeama to thrash the Euro 2004 winners to an essential victory.

Thursday 17^th June: France 0-2 Mexico

Mexico took full advantage of a French team lacking any spirit and cohesion, to virtually book their place in the knockout stages and send the 2006 finalists packing home.  Javier Rodriguez, Manchester United’s new striker put the North Americans infront, making the most of a horrific French onside trap, to slot the ball past a despairing Hugo Lloris.  A France team that looked lazy, old and lethargic conceded a dreadful penalty by Eric Abidal, converted by 37-year old Cuathmatic Blanco, which sealed an impressive win for the Mexicans.

Friday 18^th June: Germany 0-1 Serbia

Serbia blew Group D wide open, with an unexpected victory over pre-game favourites Germany in Port Elizabeth.  A fussy and poor referee didn’t help the Germans cause, with Miroslav Klose unluckily sent off for two clumsy, if not malicious challenges.  Lukas Podolski had a shocker, and became the first German to miss a penalty at the World Cup in 28 years in the process.  Serbia’s winner came five minutes from half-time from Liverpool bound striker, Milan Jovanovic. 

Friday 18^th June: Slovenia 2-2 USA

In a pulsating encounter at Ellis Park, the United States stormed back from two goals down, to record a hard-fought draw with Slovenia.  The Europeans were coasting at half-time, 2-0 up, through efforts from Valter Birsa and Zlatan Ljubijankic.  However, the US recovered well, helped by an early second half response by Landon Donovan.  Michael Bradley’s dramatic leveller eight minutes from time ensured a share of the spoils and a very dubious refereeing decision saw Maurice Edu and the Americans have a goal wrongly chalked off in the dying stages.

Saturday 19^th June: Holland 1-0 Japan

A hard-fought victory in Durban over a spirited Japan side sealed Holland’s birth in the last sixteen.  The only goal came in the 51^st minute, through a swerving shot from Inter Milan playmaker, Wesley Snejider. 

Saturday 19^th June: Ghana 1-1 Australia

It was a missed opportunity for Ghana, as Australia earned a hard-fought draw in Rustenberg.  Another goalkeeping gaffe, this time from Richard Kingston allowed the Socceroos a 11^th minute lead, through Brett Holman.  However, Galatasaray winger Harry Kewell was dismissed for a deliberate handball on the goal-line, with the resulting penalty converted by Asamoah Gyan.  Despite Ghanaian pressure, the Aussies held on to ensure that all four teams in Group D still have a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages.

Saturday 19^th June: Cameroon 1-2 Denmark

Morten Olsen’s Denmark produced a stirring comeback in Pretoria, which eliminated Cameroon from the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  A horrendous error from Christian Poulsen allowed Samuel Eto’o in to put the Africans infront.  However, two brilliant team goals won the night for the Scandinavians, courtesy of Arsenal misfit Niklas Bendtner and star of the show, Dennis Rommedahl.  As a result, Cameroon becomes the first side to be eliminated from the tournament.