UK's Moscow medal hopes • [Eriksson's out, who's in?]

[mump boy]

I'm convinced Shara will medal

[bushop]

Who are van Commenee's 15 and who will save his job and win the 8 medals?

[bushop]

Who are van Commenee's 15 and who will save his job and win the 8 medals?

[bushop]

Who are van Commenee's 15 and who will save his job and win the 8 medals?

van Commenee's on the soup line.

medalists ::
01.) Mo Farah (10k) gold
02.) Greg Rutherford (long jump) gold
03.) Jessica Ennis (heptathlon) gold
04.) Christine Ohuruogu (400m) silver*
05.) Robert Grabarz (high jump) bronze*

Track & Field News' picks ::
01.) Mo Farah (5k)
02.) Mo Farah (10k) gold
03.) Dai Greene (400m hurdles) 4th
04.) Greg Rutherford (long jump) gold
05.) Phillips Idowu (triple jump) 14th
06.) Jessica Ennis (heptathlon) gold

mump boy's addition:
01.) womens 4x400m through to the final

out ::
• Dai Greene (400m hurdles) 4th
• mens 4x400m 4th
• Yamilé Aldama (triple jumper) 5th
• Steve Lewis (pole vault) 5th
• Chris Tomlinson (long jump) 6th
• Holly Bleasdale (pole vault) 6th
• Shara Proctor (long jump) 9th
• Lisa Dobriskey (1500) 10th
• Laura Weightman (1500) 11th
• Lawrence Okoye (discus) 12th
• Phillips Idowu (triple jump) 14th place (Place de la Blessé)
• Perri Shakes-Drayton (400m hurdles) 3rd in semi—out
• Goldie Sayers (javelin) NM =last (Place de la Honte)
• Tiffany Ofili (sprint hurdles) did not go through to final
• Hannah England (1500) did not go through to final
• Lynsey Sharp (800m) did not go through to final

*thanks Athleticsimaging and mump boy

[Athleticsimaging]

Can't understand people writing off the 4x400.

Have you looked at the current world rankings Athleticsimaging? The aggregate times of our 4 best is 3:00.34. The aggregate time for Bahamas is 3:00.83.

Allowing for rolling starts on 3 legs (worth approx 0.7 secs) we should be able to put out a team running low 2:58s NOW. Give them 6 more weeks to peak and add in Green and or Greene, then add the crowd factor and we should realistically hope to run in the 3:57s. It'll be close of course with Bahamas but we are, viewed objectively, joint second favourites.

You think Cuba will challenge that? Their national record is 2:59.13.

I think most people underestimated Bahamas but I'll give you Cuba and their DNF. Green(e)s? HA!

[bushop]

van Commenee's on the soup line.

medalists ::
01.) Mo Farah (10k) gold
02.) Greg Rutherford (long jump) gold
03.) Jessica Ennis (heptathlon) gold
04.) Christine Ohuruogu (400m) silver*
05.) Robert Grabarz (high jump) bronze*
06.) Mo Farah (5k) gold

Track & Field News' picks ::
01.) Mo Farah (5k) gold
02.) Mo Farah (10k) gold
03.) Dai Greene (400m hurdles) 4th
04.) Greg Rutherford (long jump) gold
05.) Phillips Idowu (triple jump) 14th
06.) Jessica Ennis (heptathlon) gold

out ::
• Dai Greene (400m hurdles) 4th
• mens 4x400m 4th
• Yamilé Aldama (triple jumper) 5th
• Steve Lewis (pole vault) 5th
• Chris Tomlinson (long jump) 6th
• Holly Bleasdale (pole vault) 6th
• Shara Proctor (long jump) 9th
• Lisa Dobriskey (1500) 10th
• Laura Weightman (1500) 11th
• Lawrence Okoye (discus) 12th
• Phillips Idowu (triple jump) 14th place (Place de la Blessé)
• Perri Shakes-Drayton (400m hurdles) 3rd in semi—out
• Goldie Sayers (javelin) NM =last (Place de la Honte)
• Tiffany Ofili (sprint hurdles) did not go through to final
• Hannah England (1500) did not go through to final
• Lynsey Sharp (800m) did not go through to final
• womens 4x400m 5th

[bushop]

Maybe the UK can get two medals from marathoners Miguel Ángel Almachi and Lee Merrien.

[Tuariki]

Assuming no medals for GB and Germany in the marathon I think most people including most Germans would prefer GB's:
4 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
to Germany's
1 Gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze

My British cousins did pretty well. But like every other country, Bahama's excepted perhaps, they didn't perform as well as they publicly stated they had hoped they would.

[bushop]

Assuming no medals for GB and Germany in the marathon I think most people including most Germans would prefer GB's:
4 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
to Germany's
1 Gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze
My British cousins did pretty well. But like every other country, Bahama's excepted perhaps, they didn't perform as well as they publicly stated they had hoped they would.

Okay... but do you retain van Commenee?

[bushop]

2012:
Olympic medalists:
01.) Jessica Ennis (hept) gold
02.) Christine Ohuruogu (400m) silver
03.) Mo Farah (10k) gold
04.) Mo Farah (5k) gold
05.) Greg Rutherford (LJ) gold
06.) Robert Grabarz (HJ) bronze

Olympic top-12:
01.) Dai Greene (400m h) 4th
02.) mens 4x400m 4th
03.) Yamilé Aldama (TJ) 5th
04.) Steve Lewis (PV) 5th
05.) Chris Tomlinson (LJ) 6th
06.) Holly Bleasdale (PV) 6th
07.) Shara Proctor (LJ) 9th
08.) Lisa Dobriskey (1500) 10th
09.) Laura Weightman (1500) 11th
10.) Lawrence Okoye (DT) 12th
11.) womens 4x400m 5th

T&F News Olympic medal picks:
01.) Mo Farah (5k)
02.) Mo Farah (10k)
03.) Dai Greene (400m h)
04.) Greg Rutherford (LJ)
05.) Phillips Idowu (TJ)
06.) Jessica Ennis (hept)

2011:
World Championship medalists:
01.) Jessica Ennis (hept)
02.) Hannah England (1500m)
03.) Mo Farah (5k)
04.) Mo Farah (10k)
05.) Dai Greene (400m h)
06.) Phillips Idowu (TJ)
07.) Andy Turner (110m h)

World Championship top-12:
01.) Jenny Meadows (800m)
02.) Tiffany Porter (100m hurdles)
03.) Perri Shakes-Drayton (400 metres hurdles)
04.) Goldie Sayers (javelin)
05.) women's 4x400m relay
06.) Chris Tomlinson (long jump)
07.) Brett Morse (discus)
08.) men's 4x100m relay
09.) men's 4x400m relay

T&F News World Championship top-10 picks not finishing in top-12:
01.) Lisa Dobriskey (1500m)
02.) Holly Bleasedale (PV)
03.) Shara Proctor (LJ)
04.) women's 4x100m
05.) Nathan Woodward (400m h)
06.) Greg Rutherford (LJ)

*lists need some checking when I'm more awake

[Tuariki]

Assuming no medals for GB and Germany in the marathon I think most people including most Germans would prefer GB's:
4 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
to Germany's
1 Gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze
My British cousins did pretty well. But like every other country, Bahama's excepted perhaps, they didn't perform as well as they publicly stated they had hoped they would.

Okay... but do you retain van Commenee?

Well at least he gets his athletes entered into their events unlike NZ?
I would never have hired a Dutchman to run British athletics in the first place.

[bushop]

UK Athletics urges Charles van Commenee not to quit
12 August 2012
"The head coach acknowledged that he has had his critics... and cracked a joke when asked if any athletes had put in telephone calls asking for him to stay. "Er, no. That should tell you something,"...
"I am partially frustrated and I am partially embarrassed – especially when it comes to the relays ... and I've coached world and Olympic champions, but I've never had that emotion I had in that Golden Hour on that Super Saturday before, ever."

[MDelano]

Placings table (from 1st to 8th position) taken from IAAF website for London looks like this:
4 1 1 3 3 2 2 3
Placings table Beijing was:
1 2 1 4 2 3 2 3

Two more medals but only one more top-8 position (19 vs. 18) which is a better indicator of the breadth of progress. I had expected more just from having home advantage and the hiring of top foreign coaches like Pfaff alone.

[shivfan]

UK Athletics urges Charles van Commenee not to quit
12 August 2012
"The head coach acknowledged that he has had his critics... and cracked a joke when asked if any athletes had put in telephone calls asking for him to stay. "Er, no. That should tell you something,"...
"I am partially frustrated and I am partially embarrassed – especially when it comes to the relays ... and I've coached world and Olympic champions, but I've never had that emotion I had in that Golden Hour on that Super Saturday before, ever."

Maybe CVC should keep his mouth shut more often, and stop reeling off these stupid comments....

He's gone on record as saying he will quit if the UK don't get eight medals. But they got six...is that a failure? Would four silvers and four bronzes be better than a haul of six which includes four golds? If he'd any sense, his target would've been golds, instead of quantifying medals in one lump.

I thought it was a stupid statement then, and I think it's even stupider now that I can look back on it with hindsight. But CVC seems to have a penchant for saying idiotic things. Maybe it might be better for UK Athletics if he does stick to his stupid prediction....

[Speedster]

I like that CVC came out and said what he wanted and put his name to it. Accountability for performance has been one of his core values as head coach and it would have been inappropriate had he not demanded the same from his own performance.

Denise Lewis thinks he'll go given the need for the post to commit to a 2017 five year plan when London host the Worlds. With this in mind I think he will go.

Michael Johnson commented on the BBC coverage that the culture change bought in by CVC was the most noticeable advance he'd made in his time as head coach and I think retaining that is what matters most.

[bushop]

London 2012 Olympics: Why van Commenee must stay
August 12, 2012
"If he now resigns – as he always threatened to do if the GB team “failed” hit the eight medals target - it would be a travesty. Not to mention a major error for the sport as it heads towards Glasgow 2014, Rio 2016 and London 2017."

[Tuariki]

London 2012 Olympics: Why van Commenee must stay
August 12, 2012
"If he now resigns – as he always threatened to do if the GB team “failed” hit the eight medals target - it would be a travesty. Not to mention a major error for the sport as it heads towards Glasgow 2014, Rio 2016 and London 2017."

For Glasgow 2014 who does van Commenee represent given that there is no Great Britain team. England, Wales,Scotland and Northern Ireland all compete as individual countries?

[bushop]

For Glasgow 2014 who does van Commenee represent given that there is no Great Britain team. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all compete as individual countries?

Commonwealth Games 2010: Charles van Commenee backs Phillips Idowu
23 Sep 2010
With England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland competing separately in Delhi rather than in a Great Britain team, van Commenee has no formal role in India.
But although he has faith in the people in charge of the various teams, he admitted he would not 'turn his back' on any athletes who sought his help."

UK Athletics head coach urges top athletes to compete at Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games
14 February 2012
[van Commenee] told The Herald Newspaper in Scotland.
"The Commonwealth Games is a serious event. I think it's in everybody's diary for 2014."

[bman]

It will be interesting to see if big names compete this time around given the more traditional end of july time table.

[Tuariki]

It will be interesting to see if big names compete this time around given the more traditional end of july time table.

They will if they consider it doesn't hurt their chances at making dollars on the professional circuit. Winning a Commonwealth Games gold does nothing for your market value.

[rsb2]

It would be nice to see the Commonwealth Games return to their former status, and I think it can happen with some co-operative scheduling. After all, the Commonwealth plays to almost 2 billion people, in 55 countries, and when the big guns show up, it's a hell of a track meet, much stronger than the Europeans in most events on the track.

[jackbean]

It's a pet peeve of mine when the relay medals are put on the same pedestal as individual medals, and when stated are goals are to get X medals. A relay medal isn't - and will never be - equal to an ind. medal. Surely it is worth somewhere between 1/3 (1 entrance per nation vs. 3 athletes per nation) and 200/7,000,000,000 (rough estimate of number of nations vs. world population) of an individual medal ??? Get along with the plan and state your bloody goals as number of individual medals. On topic, the UK would do extremely well to walk away with 5 individual medal.
ETA - or is it GBR? Another pet-peeve of mine

So should team medals in cycling not count, maybe the 8 in rowing is only worth 12.5% or individual rowers. Maybe no team sports should be played at all

Of for goodness sake, way to miss the point completely. We're talking about athletics here, in these posts, on the athletics forum. No one's saying get rid of hockey or water polo.

[mump boy]

It will be interesting to see if big names compete this time around given the more traditional end of july time table.

They will if they consider it doesn't hurt their chances at making dollars on the professional circuit. Winning a Commonwealth Games gold does nothing for your market value.

It certainly does in UK meets

Louise Hazel won the CWG Hep in Delhi and saw her profile rise massively, to the point that she is one of the most recognisable members of our team with TV appearances, photos shoots and the face of Panosonic Olympic tv campaign.

Of course it helps that she's gorgeous with a great personality and competes in the same event as Jess but without that won there would be nothing to promote her with, CWG made her career.

http://www.youtube.com/user/panasonic20 ... sults_main

[mump boy]

It's a pet peeve of mine when the relay medals are put on the same pedestal as individual medals, and when stated are goals are to get X medals. A relay medal isn't - and will never be - equal to an ind. medal. Surely it is worth somewhere between 1/3 (1 entrance per nation vs. 3 athletes per nation) and 200/7,000,000,000 (rough estimate of number of nations vs. world population) of an individual medal ??? Get along with the plan and state your bloody goals as number of individual medals. On topic, the UK would do extremely well to walk away with 5 individual medal.
ETA - or is it GBR? Another pet-peeve of mine

So should team medals in cycling not count, maybe the 8 in rowing is only worth 12.5% or individual rowers. Maybe no team sports should be played at all

Of for goodness sake, way to miss the point completely. We're talking about athletics here, in these posts, on the athletics forum. No one's saying get rid of hockey or water polo.

So team medals count in every other sport just not track ??

Explain to me the difference between the 4x4 and the team pursuit ? and why one should be celebrated and the other denigrated

[bushop]

Charles van Commenee leaves British athletics in rude health after golden London Olympics for Team GB
10 Sep 2012
"Having pledged to quit if he failed to hit his medal target, Van Commenee has remained true to his principles by departing at the end of his contract, though it is understood he was ready to leave anyway because he did not have the appetite for another five years in charge."

[gh]

"his" medal target? Let's see, Farah works in the U.S. with Salazar, Rutherford is talking about following Pfaff back across the Atlantic. Exactly what does VC get credit for? (not to pick on the guy, but the concept of "national coach" seems to me to be totally ludicrous in the professional era)

[Daisy]

the concept of "national coach" seems to me to be totally ludicrous in the professional era)

Someone has to bring them down to size.

[j-a-m]

"his" medal target? Let's see, Farah works in the U.S. with Salazar, Rutherford is talking about following Pfaff back across the Atlantic. Exactly what does VC get credit for?

For not interfering with Salazar and Pfaff?

[mal]

Charles van Commenee leaves British athletics in rude health after golden London Olympics for Team GB
10 Sep 2012
"Having pledged to quit if he failed to hit his medal target, Van Commenee has remained true to his principles by departing at the end of his contract, though it is understood he was ready to leave anyway because he did not have the appetite for another five years in charge."

I understand how he feels. I did 26 months in my position in the UK and didn't extend cos I had no appetite for another year.

Its a strange place, even with all those bright people.

[bushop]

...but the concept of "national coach" seems to me to be totally ludicrous in the professional era)

Selection and funding, and therefor motivation, of the athletes.

[bushop]

UK Athletics to replace head coach Charles van Commenee with internal candidate
11 Sep 2012
"De Vos confirmed that he had been aware that van Commenee might not remain beyond his contract and that plans had been put in motion some time ago."

Tyler poised for UKA role
September 12 2012
"Kevin Tyler, who has been UK Athletics' strategic head of coaching and development since 2008, has built a reputation as a "coach of coaches" and worked closely with van Commenee."

[bushop]

Van Commenee's departure leaves a large and Special gap
12 September 2012
"The Dutchman's reasoning over the issue is unimpeachable. "If I hold athletes and coaches accountable every day, how could I work over the next four years if I am not held accountable myself?" van Commenee had asked – rhetorically – when he spoke to the media at the end of the London 2012 Olympics."

[bushop]

Black appointed British performance director
Sep 13, 2012
"Neil Black was appointed performance director of UK Athletics (UKA) on Thursday and among his first tasks will be finding a replacement for Charles van Commenee as Olympic head coach."

[shivfan]

Hmmm...so if CVC was already planning to leave, it seems he was trying to set a target that he was convinced GB would not achieve.

I'm not mourning his departure for a couple of reasons:

1) Insisting that athletes compete in the unimportant European Cup, or whatever that rubbish meet was called, instead of allowing them to prepare for the bigger prizes.

2) That distasteful, unnecessary and immature spat with Idowu.

[mump boy]

Hmmm...so if CVC was already planning to leave, it seems he was trying to set a target that he was convinced GB would not achieve.

I'm not mourning his departure for a couple of reasons:

1) Insisting that athletes compete in the unimportant European Cup, or whatever that rubbish meet was called, instead of allowing them to prepare for the bigger prizes.

2) That distasteful, unnecessary and immature spat with Idowu.

I'll give you the PI spat but athletes on funding should compete at euro cup or whatever it's called these days. Anyone who's season would be jeopardised by being asked to compete for their country once needs to look at their preparation !!

UK athletes would do well to compete more not less