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Grace Cullen 16 January 2013
Athletics: Malcolm Arnold has been appointed to the role of Lead Hurdles Coach, based at Bath University, with James Hillier named as Assistant Coach and Lloyd Cowan has been appointed to the role of Lead Sprints Coach in the latest coaching appointment by Performance Director Neil Black and Head Coach Peter Eriksson.
Arnold, who coached former 110m hurdles world record holder Colin Jackson to three World titles and an Olympic silver medal, is excited by the opportunity of building on what he has already achieved in a coaching career spanning over four decades.
He said: “I’m delighted to have been given the opportunity to continue the work we have done over recent years. Both James and I are looking forward to new challenges under the leadership of Neil Black and Peter Eriksson and to furthering the excellence of hurdling in both competitors and coaches throughout the UK.”
Appointed to the role of Assistant Coach, Hillier was previously a UKA Apprentice Coach working under Arnold and completed his apprenticeship in 2012. The former Commonwealth Games 400m hurdler is coach to 19 year old James Gladman, who finished fourth in the 110m hurdles at the World Junior Championships in Barcelona last summer.
Cowan, who coached former 400m World Champion and 2008 Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu to a silver medal at the London Games last summer, is relishing the opportunity to continue coaching his group in the lead up to Rio 2016.
He said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to continue working with Neil Black and Peter Eriksson so that the athletes in my training group can continue their development and capitalise on the success of London 2012. It’s important that we keep our momentum going to keep progressing and enjoy more good results in the future.”
Boxing: The British Lionhearts lost 4-1 against a highly experienced Ukraine Otamans team in the World Series of Boxing.
In a tough away fixture in Kiev, the young Lionhearts team put in a brave performance but was unable to match a Ukraine outfit which featured two of its biggest names in current Olympic champions, Oleksandr Usyk and Vasyl Lomachenko.
A second World Series victory for Wales’ Commonwealth Games gold medallist Sean McGoldrick in the first bout was the high point of the night for the Lionhearts as the Ukrainian team fought back to record its second win of the season.
Despite the loss, the British Lionhearts remain ahead of the Otamans in Group B of the World Series of Boxing. The Lionhearts are in second place with nine points, following wins against USA Knockouts, Italia Thunder and the German Eagles whilst the Otamans have moved-up to third with eight points from two wins and two losses.
The teams meet again in the home return for the Lionhearts at York Hall in London on Friday 1 March 2013.
Tickets for the return match and the British Lionhearts next home fixture against USA Knockouts on Thursday 11 January 2013 are on sale now, priced £20, and can be purchased at British Lion Hearts or from York Hall.
Canoeing: GB Canoeing has announced the appointment of Steve Harris as the Programme Manager for the sport over the next quadrennial.
Harris set up the Paracanoe performance programme in September 2011 and has led it though a hugely successful 2012 season with the British team winning multiple medals at the World and European Championships. An impressive tally of five gold and one bronze was the best ever performance for Great Britain in Paracanoe, which saw them finish top nation at the World Championships in Poznan.
Harris brings a wealth of experience to the role having been represented GB at senior level, holding the title of World Champion in the marathon event from 1994 – 1997.
Commenting on his new role Harris said: “I am delighted to have been appointed as the Programme Manager for Paracanoe. Having started the Paracanoe journey some 18 months ago I feel very privileged and excited to have the opportunity to continue that journey to Rio and beyond. With funding now in place for the Paralympic programme from 1st April 2013, I feel that GB Canoeing will be able to build on the success it has had over the last 18 months and further enhance its programme to be able to compete for the first ever Paracanoe Paralympic medals in Rio 2016.”
Cycling: British Cycling has confirmed the twelve riders selected to represent Great Britain at the forthcoming UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships taking place on 2-3 February in Louisville, Kentucky.
Recently crowned National Champions Ian Field, Nikki Harris and Billy Harding are included in the squad, along with current European Champion Helen Wyman and Olympic mountain biker Annie Last.
Speaking of the team selection, GB Cyclo-Cross Team Manager Phil Dixon said: “The women’s team in particular have had a very strong season, with Helen Wyman and Nikki Harris now both ranked in the top five in the individual UCI rankings whilst the GB women are ranked second in the nation rankings so that should make for a very exciting race. Following on from the National Championships at the weekend, Ian Field was the standout men’s rider for me having won the national champion jersey for the second consecutive season. I’m also interested to see how the Under-23 and Junior squads get on – we’ve selected some young development athletes to take to the Worlds and they’re looking to build on the experience they gained by racing at the European Champions in Ipswich in November. Overall, the team is looking in good shape and we’re all looking forward to the racing.”
Full Squad
Elite Men: Ian Field, Elite Women: Gabby Day, Nikki Harris, Annie Last, Helen Wyman, U23 Men: Steven James, Adam Martin, Hugh Robinson, Junior Men: Billy Harding, Adam King, Jack Ravenscroft, Jake Womersley
Fencing: British Fencing will host the senior women’s World Cup from 25-27 January 2013 at Surrey Sports Park, Guildford. This event represents the first major senior world ranking event held in Great Britain since the 2012 Olympic Games.
The FIE (International Fencing Federation) will also hold the inaugural celebrations of its Centenary year alongside the event – a great honour for British Fencing, one of the founding members of the FIE in 1913.
For the first time the event will be named the Beazley Trophy in recognition of Beazley Group’s sponsorship of British Fencing. The individual event will start on 25 January 2013 and conclude with a gala final the following day, with the team event taking place on 27 January. Entries are flying in for what promises to be a spectacular competition featuring the world’s top fencers.
It will also be the first time that a major international fencing event is hosted at the fantastic Surrey Sports Park. For those wishing to attend tickets will be available every day at the venue at a competitive price. (Friday £2, Saturday (preliminaries) £2, Saturday (Gala final) £5, Sunday £3.) For those unable to attend, the entire event will be broadcast live on the FIE’s Livestream YouTube channel – FIE Videos (also available at http://www.fie.org) with live commentary provided by British Fencing’s Karim Bashir and David King. Access to the FIE100 Hall of Fame and Centenary Exhibition will be available throughout the event.
Judo: The 2013 British Championships will take place at the English Institute of Sport Sheffield this weekend (19-20 Jan), with Olympic silver medallist Gemma Gibbons and Paralympic silver medallist Sam Ingram both competing.
The pair will be joined by London 2012 Olympian Ashley McKenzie in the -60kg category and 2011 European bronze medallist Colin Oates in the -66kg category. Two-time Olympian and 2011 European bronze medallist Sophie Cox will compete in the -57kg category.
The English Institute of Sport (EIS) Sheffield is located at Coleridge Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S9 5DA.
Adult Day Ticket: £10 / Concession (under 16’s and OAP’s) Day Ticket: £5
Adult Weekend Ticket: £15 / Concession (under 16’s and OAP’s) Weekend Ticket: £7.50
Spectator tickets are available at EIS, Sheffield from 07:30 during the event weekend (12th and 13th Jan 2013)
Skiing: Great Britain's James Woods has won his second consecutive ski slopestyle World Cup in the latest round in Colorado.
Woods, 20, took the honours with a best score of 93.4 to repeat his historic success from the season’s opening World Cup in Argentina in September, when he became the first British man to win a World Cup.
Snowboarding: Billy Morgan finished fifth in the World Cup snowboard slopestyle event at Copper Mountain in Colorado, securing 450 qualification points toward the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
