Boris Johnson just has 'it'

Boris's speech at the end of the Olympic victory parade yesterday. Brilliant - just funny and real, a good orator and great lines - "you produced such paroxysms of tears and joy on the sofas of Britain, that you probably not only inspired a generation but helped create one as well!"

However I must fact-check Boris. When he said that Team GB won more he was not correct. In fact the top country on that basis would be Grenada, followed by Jamaica and then the Bahamas. Team GB would finish 20th on that basis.


Now back to Boris, here he was four years ago when we wondered if London could stage the 2012 Olympics at all...

Thousands of Olympic condoms to be auctioned - hopefully just the unused ones

I read that:

"A souvenir collector who somehow got his hands on 5,000 condoms due to be handed out to athletes at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, is set to sell them at auction.

After the games ended the man managed to snap up most of the 100,000 which hadn't been used by randy sports people.

Each of the Olympic prophylactics is in a branded wrapper which has the motto of the Beijing Games "faster, higher, stronger" printed in it.

The 5,000 condoms will now be sold as a single lot at a Chinese sporting auction on 29 November - with a starting price that works out to one yuan each (8p)."

Thankfully these are just the unused condoms but the slogan worries me: "faster, higher, stronger". I will go along with "higher" and "stronger", but does anyone really want their condom protected sex to be "faster"?

The green eyed god?

The squeaky clean Carl Lewis questions Usain Bolt's achievements...

"The reality is that if I were running now, and had the performances I had in my past, I would expect them to say something. I wouldn't even be offended at the question. So when people ask me about Bolt, I say he could be the greatest athlete of all-time. But for someone to run 10.03 one year and 9.69 the next, if you don't question that in a sport that has the reputation it has right now, you're a fool. Period."

Does anyone remember 1988?

Boris speaks

Boris on the Olympics, ping-pong versus whiff-waff and the differing attitudes to dining tables in England and France.

Michael Phelps splashes out...

Michael Phelps spends some of his millions before they roll in.

"Sex and the Olympic city"

A great article by Matthew Syed in yesterday's Times. Matthew Syed proves that he is at least as good a journalist as he was a table-tennis player. Here's a brief extract:

"But let us get back to all the sex going down in the village. One possible explanation centres on the fact that Olympic athletes have to display an unnatural (and, it has to be said, wholly unhealthy) level of self-discipline in the build-up to big competitions. How else is this going to manifest itself than with a volcanic release of pent-up hedonism? It is a common sight to see recently knocked-out athletes gorging on Magnums and McDonald's, swilling alcohol and, of course, shagging like crazy. Sometimes all three at the same time. Yet this can be only a part of the explanation because most of the athletes I know are as up for it before and during competition as they are in the immediate aftermath. It is as if sportsmen and women have a higher base level of sexual energy. But why? Can it be that one of the underlying drivers of sporting greatness is also the very thing that produces an overactive sex drive?"

The Olympics when did it all go wrong?

The Olympics were all going so well for "Team GB": medals being won by the unexpected such as Tasha Danvers, Christine Ohuruogu and Germaine Mason and everyone performing above what was expected. Suddenly "Team GB" start failing: Phillips Idowu misses out on a gold, Shanaze Reade crashes out of the BMX, the mens 4 x 100 metre relay team mess up a baton change; what could the reason be? Could it be connected with the arrival of that well known little black cloud, Gordon "Jonah" Brown, in Beijing? Could his personal zone of incompetence and disaster that has destroyed so many sporting hopes over the last year have affected our Olympians? I think we all know the answer.

So don't forget if you happen to see Gordon Brown heading your way at any time: run or hide - your health, your wealth and your happiness could depend upon you avoiding his baleful influence. And if you open your door to the following sight, then may the Lord have mercy on your soul...

Torn again

The questionable scoring of the Olympic boxing is back in the news as

"Boxing officials were battling to contain major scandal as serious claims of bribery and the manipulation of Olympic judging panels emerged after a series of disputed bouts.

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) suspended Romanian technical delegate Rudel Obreja after he held an impromptu and rowdy press conference and made lurid allegations against senior officials.

AIBA also revealed that it had been tracking "possible attempts of manipulation" for more than two months and had brought in an International Olympic Committee (IOC) observer "when the situation became more serious".

At a testy media conference late on Friday, AIBA technical delegate Terry Smith was grilled by journalists who questioned a series of Olympic results.

Smith insisted none of the fights was fixed although he said the scoring system, where three out of five judges need to press a button simultaneously for a point to be awarded, was under review."

One of the examples given is that of the bout between Pady Barnes and the Chinese boxer, Zou Shiming. Zou Shiming won that bout 15-0 and Paddy Barnes was most upset. I might have more sympathy for Paddy Barnes had he not chosen to compete for a foreign country rather than the country of his birth.

The Chinese caught out?

Read the story of Sarah Stevenson and the dodgy Chinese scoring in the Taekwondo. Nothing surprising, all as expected, with regard to the dodgy scoring, I am surprised that any action was taking - it must have been really blatant.

Usain Bolt (update)

3 events, 3 gold medals, 3 world records - He is "da man"

100 metres - 9.69
200 metres - 19.30
4 x 100 metres - 37.10


Usain Bolt perhaps the best, certainly the most relaxed sprinter I have ever seen.

Are the Chinese at it again (update)

Earlier this week I blogged about the questions being asked about the true age of He Kexin. Now Fox News report that:

"A determined U.S. computer expert has delved into cached pages on the Internet to unearth Chinese official documents showing a gymnast who took gold in the uneven bars competition, edging the U.S.'s Nastia Liukin, may indeed be underage."

Read the whole article and ask yourself if you really believe that the Chinese authorities would have produced a fake passport just so gold medals could be won...Hmmm, that was an easy one wasn't it? Now ask yourself if the IOC will take action or roll over and have its collective tummy tickled.... Hmmm, that was also pretty easy wasn't it?

Team GB?

The BBC have a helpful map showing where Team GB's gold medal-winning athletes hail from. So Team GB's gold medals (so far) are sourced as follows:
Northern Ireland - 0
Scotland - 1 (Chris Hoy)
Wales - 3
England - 21

Yes this is skewed by the rowing fours and yachting crews but by the same token one of the Welsh gold medals was part of the coxless four.


Strange the BBC coverage seems to identify Scots, Welsh and British athletes, never English. England the unmentionable nation.



Update - 31.08.08
The Quiet Man has had similar thoughts.

The real Olympic medal table

I was wondering how the UK's medal haul would compare on a by population basis, and so I was pleased to find Channel 4's alternative table generator. Of course being Channel 4, as well as a population comparative (currently topped by Jamaica, Slovenia and Bahrain) they have comparisons by GDP (fair enough - currently topped by North Korea, Zimbabwe and Jamaica), by "US ordering" which is by total medals not golds (currently topped by USA, China and Russia) and by "Human Rights" which takes into account the often laughable rankings devised by the US Freedom House organisation (currently topped by USA, GB & NI and Australia).

One interesting fact is that sorted by population, India come bottom. Why does India do so poorly in the Olympics medal table? Answers that the Indians are too busy just trying to just survive will not be accepted as that applies even more to many African countries and China.

Olympic sprinting

That's Jamaica winning gold in all of four of the sprints - 100 metre and 200 metre for men and women. Can they do the double in the two 4 x 100 metre relays as well? My money was on yes and that was before the USA and Nigeria dropped the baton in their heat and the GB & Northern Ireland foursome were disqualified for changing outside of the zone in the men's event, Craig Pickering starting way too early on the fourth leg.

The USA women have also dropped the baton as have the Trini' girls.


I predict an easy Jamaican victory in the men's final and the women to also romp home first - assuming no dropped batons. Mind you Usain Bolt could probably drop the batton, pick it up and still win.

If the Jamaicans win the two relays, that must surely be the first time one country have won all six sprint golds..., isn't it? Actually no, it isn't; the USA won all six golds in 1984, I haven't looked back any further.

Olympic horses fail drugs test

The BBC report that

"Four horses that contested the Olympic show jumping event have tested positive for the banned substance capsaicin."

Is that an a-neigh-bolic steroid?

Sorry, I'll get my coat.

That was a surprise medal

Natasha 'Tasha' Danvers just held it together over the last hurdle and won a bronze medal in the women's 400 metre hurdles... A new Sally Gunnell, albeit over a second slower than Sally's record.

Political indoctrination EU style

Mr Eugenides has some coverage of a the EU Medal Tracker website. EU Medail Tracker "is created by Euro-Informationen, Berlin, Germany. The communication company is a content provider in the area of consumer-oriented communications.". If they want to do this sort of thing then fine, it is still (just) a free world. However I do take issue with two things, first Turkey being placed in Europe, have these people ever looked at a map?




Also the presence of a country called Palestine in Asia, really?

Olympic Mens 200 metre final

I am predicting a Usain Bolt win...

and I was right and in a new World Record... 19.30 into a headwind, Michael Johnson's 12 year-old record has been broken. Bolt was running all the way to the line, but I think that there is a little more to come, maybe 19.25?

Team GB

I am a big sports-fan and have been enjoying most of the Olympics despite my problems with the Chinese regime. One thing that has been bothering me is the team being called Team GB; what has happened to the full name "Great Britain and Northern Ireland" I kept wondering. Then I learnt that a boxer, Paddy Barnes, representing Ireland last night is from Belfast; the last time I checked Belfast was in Northern Ireland which is part of the UK not Ireland. What is going on? I checked on Wikipedia and found this

"Athletes from Northern Ireland who also hold Irish citizenship under the pre-1999 article 2 of the Irish constitution can be selected to represent either Great Britain or Ireland at the Olympics."

So some citizens of the UK can choose to compete for a foreign country but still get funding from this country, how marvellous.

I was sure that the team used to be called Great Britain and Northern Ireland, back in the days of Mary Peters and since. Then I found this article from 2004 that reports

"According to the International Olympic Committee's existing charter, the Olympic Council of Ireland represents the whole island of Ireland.

However, Northern Ireland athletes have always been able to compete for GB.

...

It was former Irish IOC member and IOC president Lord Killanin who ensured that the OCI was responsible for all 32 counties on the island.

The OCI charter giving it full responsibility for all of Ireland was agreed by former IOC president Avery Brundage and then re-enforced by Killanin when he became president."

Something odd has happened here, when did Ireland become responsible for all 32 counties in Ireland? What was the position is the past?


Also, the BBC love to push the lie that athletes are "British" when they win and "Scottish" when they lose and I pointed out this lie back in July. Once again in these Olympics, all "English" athletes are described as "British", whilst "Scottish" athletes are described as "Scottish". The BBC, the truth is often the polar opposite of what we tell you.

Say, do any of you guys know how to Madison?

So asked Brad Majors in The Rocky Horror Show but I believe he was referring to the dance



Today we all are told that Britain has a good chance of a gold medal in The Madison, a cycling race. Apparently this is the most complicated event with indecipherable rules, or so the BBC have been telling us. I thought I would look them up and they seem retty straightforward to me:

"The madison is a conventional race... with riders in each team riding part of the distance, handing over to the other member, resting, and then returning to the race. Teams are usually of two riders but occasionally of three. Only one of the team is racing at any time and the replacement rider has to be touched before he can take over. The touch can also be a push, often on the shorts, or one rider hurling the other into the race by a handsling.

How long each rider stays in the race is for each team to decide. Originally, riders took stints of a couple of hours or more and the resting rider went off for a sleep or a meal. That was easier in earlier six-day races because hours could pass without riders attempting to speed away from the others. As races became more intensive, so both riders from the team began riding on the track at the same time, one going fast on the short line around the bottom of the track and the other idling higher up until his turn comes to take over. Modern six-days last less than 12 hours a day and the madison is now only a featured part, so staying on the track throughout is more feasible.

The aim of each team is to ride more laps than any of the others. Tied positions are split by points awarded for placings at a series of sprints at intervals during the race.

The madison is a feature of six-day races, but it can also be a separate race, as in the Olympic Games. It has its own championships and specialist riders. A madison typically lasts between 30 and 60 minutes."

"This race is a 50 kilometre, 200 lap race. Cyclists compete in pairs, with one resting as the other rides. Placing was determined first by laps, then by points. Points were awarded based on intermediate sprints held every 20 laps. The first finisher in each sprint earns 5 points, the second gets 3, the third finisher earns 2, and the fourth place cyclist after each sprint gets 1 point."

That seems simple enough...

Here's some video of some Madison racing...


And finally from Xinhuanet the rules for this Olympics' race:

"Teams consisting of two riders will compete in a race run over a distance of 50km (200 laps) with intermediate sprints. The final placing will be determined by the accumulated points in the sprints, which occur every 20 laps, or by the distance according to the complete laps covered by each team. Teams having covered the same number of laps will be placed according to their accumulated points. Where there is a draw on laps and points, the place during the final sprint shall decide the final result.

Sprint points will be awarded as follows: 5 points to the first team, 3 points to the second, 2 points to the third and 1 point to the fourth."

The only problem is that I am sure the race can also be won by lapping the field, a British tactic, so maybe more research is needed! The race is on television at 10:30 this morning, see if you can work it out.