Come In London: The World Is Watching

By Shane Thomas

It's so easy to forget these days, but when the concept of organised sport was incepted, it was done so for the sheer thrill of competition. An elemental concept, tapping into the human desire to see how much we can achieve. It's this phenomenon that elucidates just why the Olympic Games continue to hold such relevance.

Olympics Stars #9 - David Rudisha

By Shane Thomas

Can you name the most dominant track & field athlete of the past few years? Usain Bolt? Sally Pearson? Yelena Isinbayeva? Look again. If you want to hang a gold medal around someone's neck before the Olympics begin, your best bet is David Rudisha.

Olympic Stars #8 - Victoria Pendleton

By Shane Thomas

Britain have three gilded queens who are going to the Olympics. Jessica Ennis on the track, Rebecca Adlington in the pool, and Victoria Pendleton in the Velodrome. But unlike Ennis and Adlington, Pendleton brings a magnitude of emotional baggage to go with her crown.

A superb recent BBC documentary exposed what was common knowledge to many sporting observers. Pendleton is one of the most compelling and fascinating athletes of her era - in any sport.

Olympics Stars #7 - Ryan Lochte

By Shane Thomas

Four years ago, there was only one name in the pool worth speaking about; Michael Phelps. The Baltimore Bullet set Beijing alight, winning a record eight gold medals, and writing his name into the annals of sporting history for time immemorial. It was an astonishing achievement, arguably the greatest in the history of sport.

However, London's Aquatic Centre may be the setting for swimming's next superstar. Phelps countryman, Ryan Lochte will arrive as not just an equal to Phelps, but maybe his superior. After playing a significant role in helping Phelps to his eight golds (being part of America's 4/200 metre freestyle relay team), Lochte may end up denying Phelps his place on top of the podium this time around.

Olympics Stars #6 - Laura Trott

By Shane Thomas

In the lead-up to London 2012, it's oft forgotten that the Olympic Games are a sporting event that tends to be a launching pad for the next generation of sporting superstars. Unlike the World Cup, Wimbledon or the Superbowl, the Olympics lends to an explosion of stardust for previously unknown names, rather than underscore the skills of the marquee athletes whom we already know. It's what the Spanish call llegada.

Olympics Stars #5 - Sally Pearson

By Shane Thomas


While Australia often show up to the Olympics with hopes of finishing high in the medal table, it's not often that they look to the track for their successes. But in Sally Pearson, the 100 metre hurdler, they have arguably the most likely gold medal that we'll see in the Olympic Stadium.

Olympics Stars #4 - Rebecca Adlington

By Shane Thomas


Rebecca Adlington arrives at the Olympics as one of Britain's marquee names. But it's easily forgotten how rapidly her star ascended during the Beijing Games four years ago.

She went to China as little more than an up-and-coming 19 year old, one of those talented kids who's only going to the Olympics for the experience, and on a good day, could maybe, just maybe, nick a medal.

That optimistic forecast came to pass, but it wasn't a bronze Adlington went home with, but two golds.

Open letter to Olympic NIMBYs : Relax, smile and enjoy the summer

By Jonathan Wilkinson

Sometimes I think that Britain doesn't deserve to host top sporting events the amount of moaning I have witnessed from people in the run up to the Olympics. We have heard it all, from it costing way too much money in such economically troubling times to the worries about London's transport system struggling to cope with such an influx of people, and then the complaints about the amount of coverage that the torch relay is getting. 

Olympics Stars #3 - Qiu Bo

By Shane Thomas


The sport of diving has become one that has found increasing popularity in recent years in Britain, primarily due to Tom Daley. Daley went to the Beijing Olympics as a highly rated 13 year old, and while he underperformed in China, it was said that the experience of an Olympic Games would stand him in good stead for the London Olympics four years hence. However, it's not Daley that we should be focusing on when the television cameras move to the Aquatic Centre, as China have a diving wunderkind of their own; Qui Bo.

Olympics Stars #2 - Mark Cavendish

By Shane Thomas

We started this series with a look at Jessica Ennis; an instantly likeable girl-next-door. But another one of Britain's potential stars of the Olympics is the cyclist, Mark Cavendish.

Previewing the Olympics Stars

By Shane Thomas


With the greatest show in the sporting world drawing ever closer, this blog will have a recurring series of posts focusing on those who may be a few months away from attaining the ultimate in sporting achievement; an Olympic gold medal.

While one must acknowledge that predicting success is a fool's errand at the best of times (especially in the event of injury), it also wouldn't do to ignore the fact that London will be the centre of the sporting universe for a fortnight. During this time, athletes you would already have heard of will enshrine their fame for time immemorial, while others you would not have heard of will enter the stratosphere of stardom and legend.

Olympics Stars #1 - Jessica Ennis

By Shane Thomas


Ladies and Gentleman, behold the face of London 2012, the poster girl, the person who represents all that is good about Britain, Jessica Ennis.

Now you've heard the spin, here's the reality. As far as being the jewel in Britain's athletic crown goes, we may have backed the wrong horse.

Sour Taste Of World Championship Could Become Sweet Revenge

By Shane Thomas

While a great deal of sport is devoted to its winners, sport is actually more about failure than success. The same way that every fairy-tale needs a dragon to be slain, sport's tales need a loser to be vanquished and leave the victor exalted.

And like fairy-tales, there is a demarcation as to who plays the role of winner and loser. Two weeks ago, we approached the World Athletics Championships in Daegu with a clear expectation of the men and women who would leave South Korea triumphant. But it turned out to be a championships where many of the sport's understudies decided that this was their time to grab the spotlight and leave track & field's more established names in the shade. The meet became a less duplicitous version of the wonderful Joseph Mankiewicz film, All About Eve.

The list of established favourites that failed to top the medal rostrum became the story of the championships; Usain Bolt, Jessica Ennis, Yelena Isinbayeva, Phillips Idowu, Allyson Felix, LaShawn Merritt all missed out on expected gold medals. The only marquee names who seemed to be unaffected were David Rudisha and Sally Pearson - whose performance in the 100 metres hurdles was arguably the star-turn of the championships.

The reasons for these relative surprises were varied. Idowu, Felix, Ennis & Merritt all performed well - normally well enough to win gold - but came up against a new generation of athletes who seized their moment. Isinbayeva looked ring rusty after taking time away from the sport, with Daegu coming too soon for the Russian. And Bolt... well, enough has already been written about his false start in the 100 metres.

But this needs not be a portent of the established powers being swept away by a new breed of runners, jumpers and throwers, as these World Championships will matter little in a year's time. The countdown to the 2012 Olympics has truly begun, and for the competing athletes, every moment of the next 12 months will go towards ensuring that they arrive in London at the very peak of physical conditioning. While winning a World Championship can make one a national hero, winning an Olympic title makes one a legend.

Coming up short in Daegu only brings London into sharper focus. And the pain of failure could end up as a crucial part of a redemptive summer next year. All these aforementioned athletes are champion performers, and it's not in their nature to settle for second best. We've seen the likes of Bolt and Ennis be dominant on the track. It'll be fascinating to see what happens when their mood changes from supreme to angry.

Daegu 2011 will have left a sour taste in the mouth for some. Which could make London 2012 the place to witness their sweetest revenge.




Don't forget to download 'The Greatest Events in Sporting History' from www.simplysyndicated.com/shows/sportinghistory/, e-mail us at sportshistoryshow@googlemail.com and you can follow us on Twitter @TGEISH