Australian, French and German cyclists raise questions over Team GB's track success

They love to refer to us as “whingeing Poms”, but it is the Australians who appear to have forgotten how to be good losers after questioning how Team GB got so good.

While Britain is flying in the medal table, battling with China for second place, Australia has slumped to 10th.

Anna Meares, Australia’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony and a 2012 gold medalist, repeatedly broke down in tears after coming 10th in the individual track sprint event and immediately cast aspersions over the success of Team GB, even though it was a Chinese rider who knocked her out in the heats.

She said: “The British are just phenomenal when it comes to the Olympic Games, and we're all just scratching our heads going 'how do they lift so much when in so many events they have not even been in contention in the world championships?’
“They've got it together, and to be honest I'm not exactly sure what they've got together.”


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/16/australian-cyclist-anna-meares-raises-questions-over-team-gbs-tr/

Jealous much? It's almost like they're subtly implying impropriety.  We're riding high, suck it up!   Portugal the adopted  'mother country' of the hosts  is nowhere to be seen,  maybe  winning the euro football cup sapped all their energy. *snigger*.


I liked the way mo Farrah got up after taking a tumble and just carried on without breaking his stride and then won the damn thing! For one so skeletal looking he bounced up again quite gracefully from that fall.



This is today's medals of the top 20, I will post another one on the last day and see how it compares.

That is out of date Jules



Great Britain & N. IrelandGB

18 Gold

18 Silver

11 Bronze

47 Total

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/rio-2016/medals/countries

I know.    Even as I  was typing, the results were changing in front of my eyes and I kept having to amend the figures,  this was around 5pm

But it will do as a snapshot in time, showing the relative positions on the table.

So what Drugs are the UK athletes taking?

Don't need drugs,just guts and determination.

yeah it is because you had it in london recently so all the investment in athletes is still paying this games too.

thats why we have done poorer than expected, the olympic frenzy from sydney is over. we need to invest in a new generation of athletes

veya_victaous wrote:So what Drugs are the UK athletes taking?
     

Its called hard work

Blood doping,  EPO,  hgh,  steroids;
And some way of blocking those pesky doping tests...

IT'S always a bit suspicious when a team with less talent and a lower world ranking comes from nowhere and beats a sprinkling of current world champions..
Where was the UK in the last world championships ?

And it's no good looking at past British performances from the last couple of Olympics, when Britain's former champions are now retired from competition.        

veya_victaous wrote:
yeah it is because you had it in london recently so all the investment in athletes is still paying this games too.

thats why we have done poorer than expected, the olympic frenzy from sydney is over. we need to invest in a new generation of athletes

FOR A more realistic appraisal,  people should consider dividing a country's medal haul by their population --  and have a look at the tables being turned on their heads...

EVEN MORE telling again, if one then divides those figures by the country's relative spending on their Olympic teams..    

Britain's cycling team turned heads even without Chris Hoy last time wolfie.

And what is the point in looking at the olympics through any prism than what matters? Of course if your country is bigger in population or spends more then your country will do better. Pure logic.

When the UK spent little we did crap, we invest money and we do well, no problem, it is still the athletes determination that leads them to success- that our country (and others) give athletes the chance to make a career out of this is credit to our nation and others that do the same.

The winners will be tested till their eyes water, so cut the crap until the results are known. In the meantime shut your gob and stop hinting that drugs are involved.

It's no coincedence that Britain's drive up the medals table started when the UK national lottery started. Since then UK Sport has received hundreds of millions in lottery funding for infrastructure projects and support directly to the athletes themselves. Aound £337 million based on 2016 figures. So the funding comes from the UK public who buy the tickets to help all the athletes to be the best they can be so nothing wrong with that. Success breeds success so add to that sponsorship deals from equipment manufacturers who all want to promote their products on the back of it and you have the explanation of why Team GB are having great success in Rio.

Anna Meares is an absolute legend in the cycling world and is revered on OZ where she is pratically a Queen. She describes herself as firstly the duaghter of a coal miner and secondly an Olympian.

It’s what you didn’t know about Anna Meares that says it all

Please read...

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/olympics-2016/its-what-you-didnt-know-about-anna-meares-that-says-it-all/news-story/e3dc90e34d25b79ccb236fb7a10c55ae

What a gal.

Try reading her tweet

https://twitter.com/AnnaMeares/status/765622726023229440
And read her tweet

Click go the shears as champion cyclist Anna Meares loses her locks for Little Heroes Foundation charity

THE nerves kicked in for track queen Anna Meares when she washed her luscious hair for the last time before becoming a baldy on Friday night.

The thought of the 150 guests at the National Wine Centre seeing her shaven skull before she had a chance to take it all in and take a look in the mirror was daunting, she said.

“I was very nervous,’’ Meares said.

“It’s not what people are going to think it’s the thought that others saw me before I can see what happened.

“It’s the great unknown but there are so many women and kids that have to go through it because they have to.”

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/click-go-the-shears-as-champion-cyclist-anna-meares-loses-her-locks-for-little-heroes-foundation-charity/news-story/5da78c3041a626429d4eda96cc94f306