Month End - Number of posts per Olympic Sport

This month's focus has been on the 'big two' athletics and swimming. In the leadup to the Swimming World Championships, in March, I will hoping to complete my look at Swimming before the competitions starts.

	Archery	1 post		Athletics	13 posts
	Badminton	4 posts		Baseball	0 posts
	Basketball	3 posts		Beach Volleyball	2 posts
	Boxing	1 post		Canoe - Kayak Flatwater	1 post
	Canoe - Kayak_Slalom	1 post		Cycling - BMX	0 posts
	Cycling - Mountain Bike	1 post		Cycling - Road Race	3 posts
	Cycling - Track	3 posts		Diving	1 post
	Equestrian	2 posts		Fencing	0 posts
	Football	2 posts		Gymnastics - Artistic	4 posts
	Gymnastics - Rhythmic	2 posts		Gymnastics - Trampoline	0 posts
	Handball	1 post		Hockey	5 posts
	Judo	1 post		Modern Pentathlon	0 posts
	Rowing	3 posts		Sailing	3 posts
	Shooting	3 posts		Softball	0 posts
	Swimming	7 posts		Synchronized Swimming	0 posts
	Table Tennis	1 post		Taekwondo	2 posts
	Tennis	1 post		Triathlon	1 post
	Volleyball	1 post		Water Polo	0 posts
	Weightlifting	0 posts		Wrestling	0 posts

Men's Relays

The 4 x 200m freestyle relay squad represents one of Britains best chances for a medal at Beijing.

Form

England's 4 x 200m freestyle relay team won Gold at the Commonwealth Games, edging Scotland into second place in a thrilling final. The combined 4 x 200m freestyle squad, as Great Britain won Silver at the European Championships.

Events	Competitor	2006 World Rank	2006 Ranking Time	Championship Medal
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay	Great Britain	12	3:19.01
4 x 200m Freestyle Relay	Great Britain	3	7:11.63	Silver @ European Championship
4 x 100m Medley Relay	England	6	3:36.40	Silver @ Commonwealth Games

Qualification

The top twelve finishers, in each relay event, at the World Championships, in March will qualify for Beijing 2008. The four other teams shall be selected by FINA on the basis of the fastest times achieved in the fifteen-month period before the Olympic Games.

What to watch

The British relay teams performance at the World Championship should ensure that Great Britain are represented in all three relay events. They could also make the World and Olympic final in all three events. The 4 x 200m freestyle relay final is an event fow which we will be trying to get tickets.

Men's Individual Medley

There were no finalists in the individual medley events at Athens 2004. With the ninth ranked swimmers for both events in 2006, this should be rectified at Beijing.

Form

Gregor Tait won the 200m individual medley. Scotland's David Carry and Euan Dale and won gold and silver respectively in the 400m individual medley.

Events	Men's A	Men's B	Competitor	2006 World Rank	2006 Ranking Time	Championship Medal
200 m Individual Medley	2:01.40	2:05.65	Gregor Tait	9	2:00.73	Gold @ Commonwealth Games
400 m Individual Medley	4:18.40	4:27.44	David Carry	9	4:15.98	Gold @ Commonwealth Games
			Euan Dale	15	4:17.15	Silver @ Commonwealth Games

Qualification

The A and B qualification times are shown in the table above for the specific events. All three featured swimmers have reached the 'A' standard.

What to watch

The individual medley events are not one of those that are on our Medal Chance list, so whether we get to see these swimmers will depend on whether the races occur on the same night as one of the events that we have targeted. This may, of course, change dependant on results at the World Championships in March.

Men's Breaststroke

At Athens 2004, Britain had two swimmers in the 100m Breastroke final. Darren Mew finished sixth, just ahead of James Gibson. With two British swimmers claiming Gold and Silver at the Commonwealth Games, there is a chance that this could be repeated in Beijing. But can it be bettered?

Form

Christopher Cook won Gold with James Gibson claiming silver for England in the men's 100m breaststroke at the Commonwealth Games. Gibson recorded a faster time later in the season, to finish higher in 2006's Woorld Rankings. Both will be hoping to improve at the World Championships in March.

Events	Men's A	Men's B	Competitor	2006 World Rank	2006 Ranking Time	Championship Medal
100 m Breaststroke	1:01.57	1:03.72	Christopher Cook	11	1:00.98	Gold @ Commonwealth Games
			James Gibson	8	1:00.74	Silver @ Commonwealth Games
200 m Breaststroke	2:13.69	2:18.37	Kristopher Gilchrist	14	2:12.79	Bronze @ European Championship

Qualification

The A and B qualification times are shown in the table above for the specific events. All three featured swimmers have reached the 'A' standard.

What to watch

The breaststroke events are not one of those that are on our Medal Chance list, so whether we get to see these swimmers will depend on whetherthe races occur on the same night as one of the events that we have targeted.

Men's Backstroke

Liam Tancock won Gold and two Silvers at the Commonwealth Games. Tancock, suffered a broken wrist after his victory in Melbourne, and narrowly missed bronze in the European Championships. He will be hoping for full fitness and a good performance at the World Championships in March.

Form

Matthew Clay won the gold medal in the 50 metres backstroke. In the Olympic events Liam Tancock won the 100m event and Gregor Tait powered home for Scotland's third swimming gold of the Games in the men's 200m backstroke final.

Events	Men's A	Men's B	Competitor	2006 World Rank	2006 Ranking Time	Championship Medal
100 m Backstroke	0:55.14	0:57.07	Liam Tancock	10	54.53	Gold @ Commonwealth Games
200 m Backstroke	1:59.72	2:03.91	Gregor Tait	11	1:58.65	Gold @ Commonwealth Games
			James Goddard	9	1:58.45

Qualification

The A and B qualification times are shown in the table above for the specific events. All three featured swimmers have reached the 'A' standard.

What to watch

There is a liklihood of appearances in the final, and whether we see a backstroke event will depend on whether it happens on the same night as one of the events that we have targeted as a Medal Chance.

Men's Freestyle

British swimming is staging a recovery after achieving no medals at Sydney 2000, the team came back from Athens 2004 with two Bronze medals and are aiming for four or five medals in Beijing. The men's freestyle events would be in the forefront of that attempt.

Form

At the Commonwealth Games, two British swimmers recorded times that ranked them in the World's top three for 2006. Simon Burnett won Gold in the 200m freestyle and Olympic bronze medallist, David Davies, won Gold in the 1500m freestyle, by over 10 seconds. David Carry won Gold in the 400m freestyle and Ross Davenport won Gold in the 200m freestyle.

Events	Men's A	Men's B	Competitor	2006 World Rank	2006 Ranking Time	Championship Medal
50 m Freestyle	0:22.35	0:23.13	Mark Foster	28	22.49
100 m Freestyle	0:49.23	0:50.95	Simon Burnett	2	48.57	Gold @ Commonwealth Games
200 m Freestyle	1:48.72	1:52.53	Ross Davenport	7	1:47.29	Gold @ Commonwealth Games
400 m Freestyle	3:49.96	3:58.01	David Carry	14	3:48.14	Gold @ Commonwealth Games
1500 m Freestyle	15:13.16	15:45.12	David Davies	3	14:55.46	Gold @ Commonwealth Games

Qualification

The qualification period is from 15 March 2007 until 15 July 2008. The A and B qualification times are shown in the table above for the specific events. To qualify for the Olympics a swimmer must achieve the 'A' standard or if no other British swimmer achieves the standard, a swimmer with the 'B' may be selected.

What to watch

It looks like Britain has genuine medal hopes in the men's freestyle events. We will be hoping to see David Davies, as he looks to improve on his Athens bronze. The first test will come at the World Championship in Melbourne from 17 March – 1 April 2007.

Olympic Boxers aiming for Beijing medals

British Olympic Association's director of elite performance, Clive Woodward, will personally be working with the Amateur Boxing Association on its new performance management group.

With only one boxer qualified for the last two Olympic Games, medals for British Olympic Boxers Amir Khan (Silver at Athens 2004) and Audley Harrison (Gold at Sydney 2000) represent an amazing performance. Amateur boxing has always struggled to retain high calibre boxers due to lure of the professional ranks, but it is hoped that additional funding, in the leadup to London 2012, will help to reduce the flow.

Form

British boxers had a succesful Commonwealth Games in 2006. An overview of the leading British boxers is contained in the table below;

Weight Category	UK Rank	Competitor	Euro Rank	2006 Championship performance
Light Flyweight (48 kg)	1	Darran Langley (England)	-	Silver @ Commonwealth Games
	2	Mo Nasir (Wales)	8	Bronze @ Commonwealth Games
Flyweight (51 kg)	*	Don Broadhurst (England)	-	Gold @ Commonwealth Games
	2	Stuart Langley (England)	-	1/4 Finals @ European Championships
Bantamweight (54 kg)	1	Joe Murray (England)	-	1/4 Finals @ European Championships
Featherweight (57 kg)	1	Stephen Smith (England)	5	Gold @ Commonwealth Games Bronze @ European Championships
	*	Darren Edwards (Wales)	-	Bronze @ Commonwealth Games
Lightweight (60 kg)	1	Frankie Gavin (England)	8	Gold @ Commonwealth Games
Light Welterweight (64 kg)	3	Jamie Cox (England)	10	Gold @ Commonwealth Games
	4	Jamie Crees (Wales)	-	Bronze @ Commonwealth Games
Welterweight (69 kg)	1	Neil Perkins (England)	7	Bronze @ Commonwealth Games
Middleweight (75 kg)	1	Fundo Mhura (Scotland)	9	Silver @ European Championships
	4	James Degale (England)	10	Bronze @ Commonwealth Games
Light Heavyweight (81 kg)	*	Kenneth Anderson (Scotland)	-	Gold @ Commonwealth Games
	2	Tony Jeffries (England)	10	-
Heavyweight (91 kg)
Super Heavyweight (+91 kg)	1	David Price (England)	-	Gold @ Commonwealth Games
	*	Kevin Evans (Wales)	-	Silver @ Commonwealth Games

* competitors who won medals at the Commonwealth Games, but are no longer competing.

Commonwealth Games medal improvement from two Golds to five Golds. It looks likely that there will be more than one British boxer at Beijing.

Qualification

The first eight boxers from different NOCs in each weight category at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Moscow, 15-30 September 2007, will qualify for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (except the heavy weight and super heavy weight categories from which the first four boxers only will qualify). Between seven and nine additional places (dependant on weight category) will be available, to NOCs not already qualified, at two European Continental Olympic Qualifying Events, that will occur in 2008, to determine the remainder of the places from the European Region, and act as a second chance for British boxers.

What to watch

All the finals occur on the final two days of competition.