European Championships bode well for 2012
Now the European championships are complete the British team and supporters can reflect upon a highly successful tournament, which makes the prospect of the 2012 London Olympics even more mouth watering.
There’s no doubt that the 2008 Olympics were an outstanding achievement with Britain’s finest scoring a 47-medal haul, which included 19 golds. However, there was just the one British athlete from the track or field who got to stand aloft the podium. Athletics is very much the bread and butter of the Olympics and although wining sports like cycling and rowing is something to be proud of, it would be nice to pick some up in the athletics’ stadium as well.
Christine Ohuruogu took home the only gold in 2008 and afterwards there were slight concerns that Britain is not producing decent track athletes. However the men and women who went out to Barcelona have dispelled this belief with an excellent overall performance.
A superb showing saw Britain take six golds, seven silvers and six bronzes, finishing third on the overall table and reasserting the nation as a powerhouse in European athletics.
Mo Farah was the star of the show. His opening-day win gave a scintillating prospect of the future with his glorious 10,000 metres victory which was a standout moment in the tournament. He followed that up with a 5,000 metres success and a lot of the nation’s hopes will be pinned on the Somali-born long-distance runner to reproduce that form in two years’ time.
The man behind all this is turnaround in the nation’s fortunes is Dutchman Charles van Commenee, who has been working to produce the best talent the UK has, and he was very pleased with the championships. He said: “Quite a few athletes stepped up a level, but there is a lot of work to be done,” adding “Overall it's very encouraging for the next few years. Quite a few athletes stepped up a level."
Charismatic triple jumper Phillips Idowu came away with gold and now needs one in London to complete his set of the major championship titles. The Londoner would love to do so in his own backyard as the likely swansong to his career as an international athlete but Jessica Ennis is the great hope.
The heptathlete is a machine and at 24 she will be coming into peak age in 2012 and will more than likely be the face of the Olympics. She showed with her stunning display in Barcelona that she can cope with pressure and challenge the best, she just needs to spend the next two years fine-tuning to be a serious contender in 2012.
There is a fantastic attitude among the squad and a great winning mentality is being installed. Andy Turner and Dai Greene pulled of surprise golds in the hurdles and Mark Lewis-Francis triumphed with silver in 100 metres. They have shown that traditional bulldog spirit of grinding in and succeeding against the odds that all Britons love to see and will hope to see plenty of in London.
Commenee suggests there is still much to do before we hit fifth gear. He said: "But there is a lot of work to be done. We have too many athletes at home with injuries. That needs to be addressed. We don't have enough athletes across the events, especially the field events, especially the women."
However if things keep progressing like this then Britannia really will rule both the waves and the field in 2012.
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