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Gagandeep Bedi 05 July 2012
Athletics: The BOA has announced the 71 athletes that will form the track and field core of Team GB.
UK Athletics head coach, Charles van Commenee, said: “I am very proud to have nominated such as strong team of athletes to Team GB. Our collective philosophy since Beijing has been one of raising the bar as we work towards London 2012. I believe this team is well prepared to go out there, be competitive and achieve on the greatest sporting stage in front of a home crowd.”
For a full list of those selected please follow the link below.
Robbie Grabarz launched himself to first in the European Championships high jump, taking the gold with the least ‘fails’ as nearest competitor, Lithuanian Raivydas Stanys, also cleared 2.31m.
Rhys Williams also took gold in the 400m hurdles, beating Serbian Emir Bekric with an Olympic ‘A’ standard time of 49.33 seconds.
Mo Farah claimed the third gold for Great Britain, retaining his 5,000m title in Helsinki.
There was a silver medal waiting for Lynsey Sharp on the 800m podium as she hit a PB of 2:52.
Jo Pavey, three-time Olympian, secured silver in the 10,000m by finishing behind Portuguese Ana Dulce, with a time of 31:49.03.
The men’s 4x400m relay team experienced the same success as Pavey, finishing 47 seconds off first placed Belgium who secured a winning time of 3:01.09.
The women’s 4x100 relay team failed to qualify for London 2012, following their disqualification when Hayley Jones was judged to have stepped off her lane.
On the following day of action, the men’s team also failed to complete their event as Christian Malcom and Dwain Chambers failed to cleanly exchange. The result has not, however, impacted upon their London 2012 selection.
UK Athletics - Team GB announced
Disability Athletics: With a world record breaking time of 10.85, Jonnie Peacock has taken gold at the US Paralympic track and field trials. Peacock beat Oscar Pistorius and Marlon Shirley who had held the previous world record of 10.91 since 2007.
Hollie Arnold, who made her Paralympic debut at Beijing 2008, took silver at the IPC Athletics European Championships in Stadskannal, recording a lifetime best of 35.88m in the process whilst competing in the F46 Javelin. Arnold lost to Russian Nataliya Gudkova’s effort of 38.46m.
Paul Blake also won silver after finishing in a time of 55.30, just short of his PB, in the T36 800m, losing out to Russian Evgenii Shvetov with a time of 54.93.
Two-time Paralympian Claire Williams won the first medal of her career with a third placed finish in the F11/12 discus, throwing 36.20m.
Kyron Duke also took home a bronze medal with a 10.73 throw in the men’s F40 shot putt, rounding off a successful European Championships in the lead up to the London 2012 Paralympics, including seven PB’s and 28 medals.
UK Athletics
Basketball: The BOA has today announced the men’s basketball squad to compete at London 2012.
GB Basketball Performance Director, Chris Spice, said: “This has been an incredible journey so far for this team since 2006 and we are very pleased to announce our strongest ever team. I would like to congratulate all those who have been selected and at the same time pay tribute to those players that have just missed out. It s only through building our depth that we can continue to compete at the highest levels of international basketball and I am hoping those who just missed this time around will be with us on the road to Rio.”
The confirmed squad; Kieron Achara, Robert Archibald, Eric Boateng, Dan Clarke, Luol Deng, Joel Freeland, Kyle Johnson, Andrew Lawrence, Mike Lenzly, Pop Mensah-Bonsu, Nate Reinking and Andrew Sullivan.
Charlotte Bobcats teammates, Ben Gordon and Byron Mullens, are no longer under consideration for Team GB due to absence and injury, however, Team GB has been boosted by the inclusion of Chicago Bulls Luol Deng.
This news was followed by Team GB’s fifth warm-up defeat, losing to Lithuania 90-80. However, An off the bench performance by Kyle Johnson, who hit 18 points, alongside Joel Freeland who made 14 points and took seven rebounds will leave the squad confident going into London 2012.
GB Basketball
Beach Volleyball: The BOA has confirmed that women’s beach volleyball duo Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin will represent Team GB at London 2012.
President of British Volleyball, Richard Callicott, said: “I am delighted that we have all three disciplines represented for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I commend the Coaches, players and staff for their hard work and commitment, their enthusiasm is inspirational to everyone involved in Volleyball in all its disciplines of Volleyball, Beach Volleyball and Sitting Volleyball. I congratulate both players on their selection and wish them every good fortune in the Games.”
British Volleyball
Cycling: The BOA has confirmed the final five men’s road cyclists to represent Team GB in the road race at London 2012.
British Cycling Performance Director and Team GB Cycling Leader, Dave Brailsford, said: “The final selection for the men’s road race was a tough choice as we had a really strong squad of riders to pick from. We have selected the five riders who we believe are on the best form and will give us the fastest team for the race. All the riders selected have a gruelling few weeks coming up, with Ian [Stannard] due to ride in the Tour of Poland and the rest of the lads riding in the Tour de France, so we’ll be keeping an eye on injury and form but for now, I am confident that we have picked the best team for the race.”
The team of five are; Mark Cavendish, Chris Froome, David Millar, Ian Stannard and Bradley Wiggins.
British Cycling
Equestrian: The BOA has confirmed the four show jumping athletes and their horses to represent Team GB.
Equestrian team leader, Will Connell said: “This announcement completes the selection of the Team GB equestrian team for the London 2012 Olympic Games. The selected jumping team athletes mirror the other Team GB equestrian teams, in that they are a mix of youth and experience. This is an exciting team that is very much in the ascendancy in terms of their results and their horses’ competition experience. 2012 will be the most competitive Games in history; it is going to be exciting, it is going to be very close, it is going to be nerve-wracking, it is going to be memorable.”
The riders, and their horses, announced; Scott Brash riding Hello Sanctos, Peter Charles riding Vindicat W, Ben Maher riding Tripple X III and Nick Skelton riding Big Star.
The BOA has confirmed the replacement of Piggy French, riding DHI Topper W, with Nicola Wilson, riding Opposition Buzz, following an unspecified injury to French’s horse.
British Equestrian Federation
Football: The BOA has announced the final 18 for Team GB, Great Britain’s first squad since the 1960 Rome Olympiad.
Stuart Pearce, Team GB men’s football manager, said: “It has not been an easy task to finalise my squad for this tournament, and the stature of the competition and uniqueness of the occasion has underlined the importance of every choice I have made. With just 18 places it is very different from other international tournaments, the options are limited, but it is the Olympic Games and every player in this squad should be very proud they have a chance to compete for a gold medal on home soil.”
The squad announced; Joe Allen, Craig Bellamy, Ryan Bertrand, Jack Butland, Steven Caulker, Tom Cleverley, Jack Cork, Craig Dawson, Ryan Giggs, Aaron Ramsey, Micah Richards, Danny Rose, Scott Sinclair, Marvin Sordell, Jason Steele, Daniel Sturridge, Neil Taylor and James Tomkins.
The English Football Association
Gymnastics (all disciplines): The BOA has announced the 18 gymnasts to represent Team GB across all event disciplines.
Tim Jones, British Gymnastics Olympic Performance Director, said: “We are extremely proud to be able to name such a strong team to compete for Team GB in the Gymnastics disciplines in London. The competition for places has been intense and we had both the luxury and challenge of so many great gymnasts to select from. This Olympic cycle to date has been the most productive and successful ever for British Gymnastics at international level, and we go into the Games in great shape with more gymnasts capable of making their mark than ever before. The mood in the camp is positive and we are all looking forwards to building our reputation ever further with a strong showing at London 2012.”
The final squad announced: (Women’s Artistic) Imogen Cairns, Jennifer Pinches, Rebecca Tunney, Elizabeth Tweddle and Hannah Whelan. (Men’s Artistic) Sam Oldham, Daniel Purvis, Louis Smith, Kristian Thomas and Max Whitlock. (Trampoline Individual Female) Katherine Driscoll. (Rhythmic Individual) Francesca Jones. (Rhythmic Group) Georgina Cassar, Jade Faulkner, Francesca Fox, Lynne Hutchinson, Louisa Pouli and Rachel Smithre.
British Gymnastics
Handball: The BOA has confirmed the men’s handball team to represent Team GB at London 2012, the team will be captained by Bobby White.
Four of the athletes selected, Bobby White, John Pearce, Dan Mcmillan and Mark Hawkins, are successful graduates of the UK Sport/English Institute of Sport Talent ID campaign Sporting Giants.
Head coach, Dragan Djukic, said: “It was the hardest decision in my life, because our players have invested the last six years of their lives in the GB programme, but the situation that we have a chance up to the quarter-final to change injured players, with any player from the long list, gave us the chance to reward the 15 players who invested the most over this period. In the end, the best 15 (14+1) are selected and now it is time for concentration and to add the final touches for the start of the Olympic Tournament and the opening game against World and Olympic Champions France.”
The squad announced; Bobby White (captain), Jesper Parker, John Pearce, Mark Hawkins, Martin Hare, Ciaran Williams, Chris Mohr, Steven Larsson, Seb Edgar, Seb Prieto, Gawain Vincent, Robin Garnham, Dan McMillan and Chris McDermott.
British Handball
Rowing: The BOA has announced that the final place in the men’s rowing team will be Constantine Louloudis, overcoming a back injury to confirm his spot.
Louloudis said: “I’m delighted to have been selected after such a long period of doubt. I can’t wait to race at the Olympic Games this summer in London.”
British Rowing
Events taking place over the weekend:
Athletics: Diamond League, Paris (6 July)
Cycling: Giro Donne, Italy (29 June – 7 July)
ModernPentathlon: European Championships, Sofia (4 – 10 July)
