Sport-in-brief- your weekly update from the high performance sports community
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Elise Christie
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Grace Cullen 24 January 2013
Athletics: Olympic bronze medallist and European high jump champion Robbie Grabarz will captain a talented British team at the British Athletics Glasgow International Match at the Emirates Arena on Saturday (26 Jan) as they target their eleventh win in the fixture.
The Brits will go head-to-head with teams from the USA, Germany, Russia and the Commonwealth, and Grabarz will be joined by former European Indoor 60m champion Dwain Chambers; Olympic 800m finalist and World Indoor bronze medallist Andrew Osagie; World Indoor triple jump champion Yamile Aldama; British pole vault record holder Holly Bleasdale; World Indoor 4x400m champion Perri Shakes-Drayton; as well as a host of established internationals and upcoming youngsters.
Peter Eriksson, UKA’s Olympic Head Coach, believes that the British Athletics Glasgow International Match is an important event for British athletes.
He said: “It’s a great way to start the indoor season and I’m really excited about seeing British athletes competing on the track again after the winter break.
“After such a successful 2012 it’s really important that we keep the momentum going as we head for the World Championships in Moscow this summer, and the international format in Glasgow means that we’re able to come together as a team and continue to progress.”
Full British team:
Men: 60m - Dwain Chambers, 200m - Conrad Williams, 400m - Nigel Levine, 600m - Andrew Osagie, 1500m - Charlie Grice, 3000m - Andy Vernon, 60m H - Gianni Frankis, High jump - Robbie Grabarz, Women: 60m - Anyika Onuora, 200m - Margaret Adeoye, 400m - Perri Shakes-Drayton, 800m - Lynsey Sharp, 1500m - Laura Muir, 60m H - Sarah Claxton, Pole vault - Holly Bleasdale, Long jump - Dominique Blaize, Triple jump - Yamile Aldama.
In other athletics news, Mara Yamauchi has announced that she has decided to retire from elite competition. After becoming Britain’s second fastest ever marathon runner, and competing both in the Beijing and London Olympic Games, she has decided that now is the right time to move on to new challenges.
She said: “I have achieved my childhood dream of becoming an Olympian, and enjoyed many years training and competing as an elite athlete. To be able to do what you love as your job is a rare and special privilege, and I am very grateful to all the people who have enabled me to do that. I have now decided that it’s time to leave elite competition behind, and instead I will run for enjoyment and to stay healthy.”
Bobsleigh: Competing in the eighth round of the FIBT World Cup in Igls, Austria, GB’s crews achieved two more top ten finishes to earn more ranking points in the 2012-13 season.
The four-man crew of John Jackson, Stuart Benson, Bruce Tasker and Joel Fearon finished in joint sixth position, along with Germany’s Manuel Machata and team mates, while Paula Walker and Gillian Cooke were seventh in the women’s race.
The second GB four-man crew of Lamin Deen, Jim Galvin, Ben Simons and Andrew Matthews were 19th, while the second GB women’s crew of Victoria Olaoye and Kelly Denver finished 16th.
In the men’s two-man races, GB’s John Jackson and former sprinter Craig Pickering were 21st, with the second British crew of Lamin Deen and Ben Simons in 23rd.
Crews will now be focused on the FIBT World Championships in St Moritz, Switzerland.
Boxing: The British Lionhearts maintained its one hundred percent home record in the World Series of Boxing with a dominant 5-0 win over the USA Knockouts at York Hall in London.
Victories for Andrew Selby, John Joe Nevin, Joe Ward, Joe Joyce and Kaupo Arro secured the victory to ensure the Lionhearts stay second in Group B of the World Series of Boxing with 12 points and four wins from six fixtures.
British Lionhearts Coach, Dave Alloway said: “To win all five bouts was an excellent performance by the team. The boxers are continuing to adjust well to the different demands of World Series Boxing and means the team is well placed to get to the knockout stages of the competition.”
The next home fixture will be at York Hall on Thursday 7 February 2013 against Group B leaders Astana Arlans Kazhakstan. Tickets are available at www.britishlionhearts.com or from York Hall.
Cycling: British Cycling has announced that it has awarded the hosting of the 2013 Elite Men’s and Women’s National Road Race Championships to the city of Glasgow.
The event, which takes place on Sunday 23 June, will form part of the proposed course for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, and with the majority of racing based within Glasgow’s city centre, will provide a spectacular backdrop for an epic weekend of elite level cycling.
Jonny Clay, British Cycling’s Cycle Sport and Membership Director said: “In recent years we’ve seen our national road championships won by riders who between them have won numerous Olympic and World Championship medals, as well as the Tour de France. The stature of the event and the calibre of the riders who contest it have been reflected in the competition to host the race for 2013.
“We received some great applications and there were several bids that would each have provided a fantastic National Championships. We’d like to express our thanks to all those who bid for the event in 2013 and we hope to reward their enthusiasm by working with many of them to create other new events in the future”
Fencing: British Fencing will host the senior women’s World Cup 25-27 January 2013 at Surrey Sports Park, Guildford.
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.
Gymnastics: This Saturday (26 Jan) marks 1,000 days to go to the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow.
The event will take place from 23 October-1 November 2015, bringing together more than 500 gymnasts from over 80 countries around the world, for ten days of exhilarating competition in a stunning new arena.
The 2015 World Gymnastics Championships was awarded to Glasgow by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). The event will be delivered in partnership by British Gymnastics and Glasgow Life on behalf of Glasgow City Council, with significant support from UK Sport and EventScotland.
The world will be watching and you could be there. Visit www.2015worldgymnastics.com and register for exclusive event news and updates plus your chance to win a 2015 World Gymnastics Championships season ticket.
Judo: Olympic silver medallist Gemma Gibbons won British Championships senior gold for the first time on her return to action at EIS Sheffield on Sunday (20 Jan).
With anticipation high for the return of British Judo’s first Olympic medallist in 12 years, Gibbons, who has recovered from breaking her hand at the Olympics, produced a professional display to win all five of her contests in emphatic fashion.
The Metro Judo Club star, who now trains at JudoScotland’s Performance Centre in Ratho, defeated Samurai’s Laura Dangerfield in just eight seconds as she dominated the category. An eagerly-awaited contest with Abu Dhabi Grand Prix silver medallist Natalie Powell did not materialise as the Welsh judoka, along with her teammates, did not attend due to the inclement weather.
Gibbons said: “I didn’t feel at my best today, it was my first competition back so I wasn’t at my sharpest.
“It’s good to be back and this was my first senior British Championships win which was very pleasing and was good preparation for returning to the international circuit.”
Paralympic silver medallist Sam Ingram, who has aspirations to compete at Glasgow 2014, faced the country’s leading fully sighted judoka in the -90kg category.
Ingram’s fighting spirit was on show as he tenaciously pressed forward against fully sighted judoka to defeat Conor Muphy, Daniel Roberts, Frazer Chamberlain and David Groom to fire himself into the second and final round. Ingram lost out on a shot at the gold medal after defeat to Matthew Pursey, but then triumphed against Michael Horley to claim the bronze medal.
Ingram said: “I’ve realised one of my career ambitions in winning a British Championships medal, it was a good experience for me and I enjoyed being back competing.”
Short Track Speed Skating: British speed skaters won three individual medals and one overall medal at the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Malmo (18-20 Jan).
Elise Christie finished second in the overall classification and the team also achieved eight top eight finishes coming from both relay teams and four individuals.
On the first day of the competition, Elise Christie and Charlotte Gilmartin, both 22, won gold and bronze respectively in the 1500m, with only Arianna Fontana (ITA) separating the British duo.
After her race Gilmartin said: “I’m really pleased with a bronze medal. It’s my first major international individual medal and it shows that the training is working. It’s also given me a lot of confidence moving forward, so I’m looking forward to the next World Cups.”
On the final day of competition Christie skated to another exceptional victory in her best event, the 1000m (1:30.44), leaving Fontana (ITA) and Jorien Ter Mors (NED) fighting for silver (1:30.74) and bronze (1.30.75).
However the world number one had been on track to win the overall classification, until a fall in the last lap of the 3000m super final which cost her overall gold.
She said: “I was disappointed to fall on the last lap because I was skating away from the others. I just lost my left blade and that was it. It’s a shame I haven’t won overall, but falls happen so I just have to learn from it and move on.”
The next ISU World Cup event will take place in Sochi, 1-3 February, and is a test event for the Winter Olympics taking place there in 2014.
Skeleton: Britain’s athletes continued to gather ranking points at the eighth round of the FIBT World Cup in Igls, Austria, with all six finishing inside the top 15 in their respective races.
In the women’s race Lizzy Yarnold was ninth, with last season’s champion Shelley Rudman just behind in 11th, and Donna Creighton in 15th.
Kristan Bromley was the highest placed British man in tenth place, with Dominic Parsons in 11th and Ed Smith in 14th.
The results leave Yarnold fourth in the overall rankings, with Rudman eighth and Creighton 14th. In the men’s rankings, Bromley is sixth, with Parsons 13th and Ed Smith 17th.
The athletes will now be focused on the FIBT World Championships in St Moritz, Switzerland.
Wheelchair Tennis: Great Britain’s Andy Lapthorne and Lucy Shuker will both be in action this week at the Australian Open Wheelchair Championships at Melbourne Park (23 - 26 Jan), with both players contesting the Grand Slam for the third time.
World No. 4 Lapthorne will be second seed for the quad singles behind American world No. 1 David Wagner and will bid to reach the final for the first time since making his Grand Slam debut in Australia in 2011.
In the elite field of eight players for the women’s singles, world No. 7 Shuker will bid to go beyond the quarter-finals for the first time in a field containing four of the world’s top ranked Dutchwomen.
