Olympics
It’s looking to prove an eventful Olympics for the Brits, even before the games have started.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been glued to the BBC documentary series ‘Olympic Dreams’ which profiled Olympic hopefuls. The last episode was particularly evocative with Tom ‘Teen’ Daley making the grade as Britain’s second-youngest Olympian at only fourteen. He is great fun to watch away from the pool as well, and it’s no wonder that he has acquired an instant fan base. But the same episode also featured Jessica Ennis’ unfortunate setback when a fractured ankle destroyed her dream and a very real medal hope in the year that her chief rival, the world’s favourite, won’t be competing in the heptathlon.
That really sucks. I feel for her.
Then—only yesterday—the British reigning World Amateur Boxing Champion Frankie Gavin was handed his ticket home after failing to make the target for the lightweight category by a paltry 3 pounds. What a wretch. I feel for the lad because he is probably still growing (he is certainly building up muscle) and it is plain that the lightweight category isn’t his natural target.
Kavin Kayes, the leading sports nutritionist, who has been called in to help the boxer achieve the target weight, but who has not been invited to the training camp in Macao, blames possible water retention. He bemoans the failings of the Amateur Boxing Association both to plan ahead and to deal with the situation safely (link as above). I agree. Having the boxer stop drinking enough water to keep properly hydrated would have been a short-sighted and dangerous policy, as the coach rightly pointed out. You’ll have to be training at 35° C-plus for six hours a day to get an understanding of how much fluid is required (I’m talking from past experience, but it was certainly not at Olympic level—LoL).
So, mixed feelings. A lot of disappointed athletes (including the many profiled by the BBC documentary who came so close to fulfilling their dreams only to fail by a whisker), but still a lot of promise.
And (already!) slander and self-flagellation from both the press and the Great British Public alike.
Sometimes I think we don’t deserve such talent.
Tags: Neither here nor there, Olympics, UK, Tag Index
Denni