London 2012 a view from the Couch

A Daily Diary of the Olympics in London

Come the Revolution

Posted by Malcolm Toogood on August 3, 2012
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Day Six of the Games marked a distinct upward tick in success for Team GB, with the medal haul now double what it was at the same stage in Beijing, primarily due to our Nation’s prowess in what Michael Johnson, the  BBC’s charming American ex-400 metre Champion, terms the “sitting-down sports.”

Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott paddle to Gold in the C2

There was a Silver in the Lightweight Fours at the Rowing, Gold and Silver in the C2 Canoe Slalom, Silver in Judo, Gold in the Trap-Shooting and Gold, plus a new World Record, in the Men’s Team Sprint at the Cycling, a fifth Gold Medal in cycling for Sir Chris Hoy matching Sir Steve Redgrave’s rowing tally to make them now jointly Britain’s most successful Olympians. Continue Reading

Now I know how The Beatles felt

Posted by Malcolm Toogood on August 2, 2012
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There was a noticeable slackening in media angst on Day Five of the Games as Team GB delivered a total of five medals including Gold twice.  The first was awarded to Olympic Rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning in the women’s pairs.  This was the first time Britain had ever won a ladies’ rowing gold, an achievement made all the more remarkable by Helen Glover having never even sat in a rowboat until 2008.

A perfect seat for the winner of the Time Trial

On any other day, their win would have hogged the headlines, but this was no ordinary day.  This was the day that hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Surrey, many of them sporting stick-on sideburns, to celebrate the latest national craze – Wiggomania.

Hampton Court has witnessed coronations over hundreds of years, but never one quite like that accorded to Bradley Wiggins yesterday. Britain loves its heroes, especially when they are somewhat understated, so we were probably slightly in denial when Bradley’s triumphant homecoming after capturing the pride of France ten days ago was put on hold for a few days through the imminent commencement of the Olympics, and his highly-anticipated starring role.   Again, there was a typically-English further postponement due to Johnny-Foreigner’s lack of co-operation in the Road Race on Saturday.   But once the responsibility for delivering the goods was placed solely on those individual shoulders, there was no hiding place for inevitability. Continue Reading

Testing for Dopes

Posted by Malcolm Toogood on August 1, 2012
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Day Four and another success for Team GB as the Eventing Team held on to their overnight position to take a well-deserved Silver Medal.   I hope that their Royal team member can avoid some of the headlines, particularly the ones in the Daily Mail which suggest that she lost the team the Gold Medal through her making one crucial error.  Technically, of course, the error was made by her horse, and it was hardly crucial when there were four other team members who also made small individual mistakes during the four days of the contest; that’s why it was called a ‘team event’.

USA’s Michael Phelps en route yesterday to becoming the most successful Olympian ever, when he won his 15th Gold for swimming, his 19th Medal overall.

One expects uninformed commentary from tabloids, particularly around sports that are not mainstream, but this has to be one of the dopiest in the long and undistinguished history of that particular rag.  So how do you pass a dope test?  Well first you need to sound like one – a good check there is to ensure that your brain is not fully-engaged before opening your mouth.  Then you need to make sure that you’re talking to a reporter with an agenda.  Most of all, you need to make sure that reporter is a member of the news arm of the BBC, and particularly one with a reputation to make within a two-week window of opportunity.

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I’m a Troll, Fol-de-rol

Posted by Malcolm Toogood on July 31, 2012
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If it is possible to have such a thing as a spectacular Bronze Medal, then that was what the Team GB Men’s Gymnastic Team achieved yesterday, not only because it was the country’s first team medal in the sport for a hundred years, but also the manner in which it was won.

Over The Moon – one of the GB Eventing Team jumps them into second place overall

I was lucky-enough to arrive home in time to switch-on to see that last discipline, the Floor, live on TV.  At that point, Team GB were in fourth place and needed to better their equivalents from Ukraine, who were on the Rings, by at least point-two on each performance to get into the medals.  To put that in perspective, that was the Gymnastic competition equivalent of me giving Usain Bolt two metres start in a hundred-metre dash – and I’m not only flat-footed, but old enough to be his Grandad.

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An Empty Feeling

Posted by Malcolm Toogood on July 30, 2012
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Day two brought the first medals for Team GB, so congratulations to Lizzie Armitstead and Rebecca Addlington, the latter particularly for cleverly managing the media’s over-expectations, and to the crowds both in the rain-soaked Mall and later in the Aquatic Centre for roaring them both on.

Lizzie Armitstead kicked off Team GB’s medal haul with silver in the road cycling

The performance of the day for me came from the Gymnasts, again supported by a full-house at Greenwich.   Gymnastics is one of those sports I really only watch at Olympic time, and so it is easier to judge progress when viewed at four-yearly intervals.  When I watched the Eastern European teams in the ‘seventies, it was difficult to imagine how this country could ever compete with the standards of Comaneci, Tourischeva and the particularly innovative Olga Korbut.  When we did put our best gymnasts forward to the games, they were usually plucky girls who smiled and tried their best despite knowing they would be totally outclassed by the girls from Russia in their red leotards.

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