This morning’s online Telegraph ran with comments from US Swimmer Ryan Lochte that Team GB’s swimmers were “too individually focused” and that they should have hidden their disappointment for the sake of the team (thanks to @pullbuoy for pointing it out). Apparently, Nick Gillingham, a former Olympic medallist for Great Britain said otherwise, that Team [...]
Olympic Swimming: What Went Wrong for Team GB and Where Now?
August 5, 2012 by 26 Comments
I’ve skipped a couple of days updates as I finally made it down to London to see some of the games. While I was there I had the pleasure of meeting some of our ex-Olympians among other ex-swimmers and current coaches and support staff. Obviously the disappointing medal tally and lack of great individual performances [...]
Olympics Day 5: Jamieson Bucks GB Trend
August 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment
As a Scotsman and a breaststroker I was always going to be most excited about the men’s 200 breaststroke last night and, despite Michael Jamieson being touched out by Daniel Gyurta for gold, I was not disappointed. Gyuarta’s performance was incredible. He went out after it and held on well, normally (like Jamieson) more of [...]
Olympics Day 4: Phelps & British Breaststroke
August 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Just a quick update today. Work to do! Phelps beats Olympic record but suffers from poor execution Ok, let’s first congratulate Michael Phelps for becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time. But I don’t think Phelps felt that great after his 200 ‘fly last night. Not only did he drift in to his finish, [...]
Olympics Day 3: Meilutyte’s Title
July 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Ruta Meilutyte Wins Gold Day 3 in the Aquatics Centre was all about Ruta Meilutyte for me. In the heats she shocked herself and the world with an outstanding swim and backed that up in the semi-final with a European record. She endeared herself to many with her genuinely humble response and will have had [...]
Olympics Day 2: Expectations, choking and Weapons of Mass Destruction
July 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Two days in to the London Olympics swimming and again expectations are on the agenda. While I ate my breakfast they were talking about the risk of raising expectations in the media and creating pressure, rather than support, for home athletes. Yesterday, the Australians were expected to win and win well. Their own media (not [...]
Day 1: TeamGB Carrying the Weight of Expectation?
July 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Rebecca Adlington Planning for Retirement
July 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment
“Career transitions’ are a major topic of study in sport psychology and none arguably has a bigger impact on sports people than retirement. There have been many examples over the years, borne out by the research, of professional athletes that have struggled to deal with retirement. Alcoholism, drug abuse and depression have all been recorded [...]
Kit Day: Pride and Excitement for Team GB Swimmmers
June 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Yesterday was another busy day on twitter for Team GB’s selected swimmers. Why? It was the day that they got their official Olympic team kit. As a bystander, it really feels like ‘kit day’ was an enormous success. Whether by accident or design, the opportunity was taken to build a real sense of pride and [...]
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