Why Russia's ban was a painful necessity

The IAAF’s blanket ban on Russia’s participation in athletics events at Rio 2016 was always going to be polarising. No matter what Seb Coe said to world’s press in Vienna on Friday, his organisation was bound to come under criticism for approaching the issue of doping in the wrong manner.

Since the announcement, cries from St Petersburg to Vladivostok have denounced the decision as politically motivated - an accusation that seems to meet any bad news for Russia in 2016.

In my humble opinion, the decision was not driven by politics, or at least not the kind of western imperialism that many have alleged; the IAAF would have struggled to maintain any semblance of integrity had they chosen to allow Russian participation in light of WADA’s damning report.

Nonetheless, the announcement will have considerable political ramifications in Russia. I such a corrupt country, sport is a useful tool of the government; citizens can be distracted from government failings with athletic achievements that boost national pride.

Had the IAAF not maintained its ban, the Russian authorities would have felt nothing more than a slap on the wrist - Russian athletes would have competed as though nothing had happened and Russian officials would not have missed out on the chance to show that their country is in some way superior to others.

This is where we get to the crux of the issue. We are dealing with a system of state sponsored doping. The Kremlin clearly believes that cheating in international sport is somehow beneficial to their country, and this mentality will continue unless the consequences for having such a system outweigh any potential benefit.

That is what makes the IOC’s pending decision on a potential “compromise” so concerning. If concessions are made for certain individuals such as Yelena Isinbayeva, the impact of the IAAF’s decision will be greatly undermined as athletes close to Putin would have no complaints over the ban, giving the Kremlin little reason to tackle doping.

The IOC may feel itself caught between a rock and hard place. They have to contend with their internationalist ideology and their aim for representation of every country in the flagship Olympic sport. However, more important is ensuring the level playing field for athletes, and if doing so involves draconian measures, then the IOC simply have to bite the bullet.

What next for Athletics?

Athletics has entered a new moral crisis. After the release of WADA’s report concerning Russian doping, a blanket ban on Russian athletes in international competitions seems more likely than ever. The IAAF has been put into an unprecedented situation for sport; do they try to protect their remaining integrity against future doping scandals, or do they strive towards the Olympic ideal of participation for all nations?

The decision primarily lies with IAAF President Lord Sebastian Coe and whatever course of action he takes it is sure to be momentous; he was elected to the role of President, in part, due to his strong anti-doping stance. This would suggest that he would jump on the opportunity to exclude Russian athletes in order to ensure the survival of his sport.

But then we have to consider Coe as a former athlete, one who competed at the boycotted Olympics of Moscow and Los Angeles. Coe himself stood against the politicisation of the Games, supporting the view of the British Olympic Association that no athlete should be prevented from competing at the Olympics.

Nonetheless he did refuse to compete in South Africa during the apartheid era, showing it is not beyond his moral compass to punish certain actions through boycotts, even those issues that are not strictly confined to the world of sport.

The implications of a blanket ban could be huge; WADA aims to work in the best interests of ‘clean athletes’, yet their recommendation will almost inevitably damage the opportunities for some clean Russian athletes. The Olympic Games could also lose some of their commercial appeal, especially in Russia, the planet’s 9^th most populous country.

The ban would also hinder Yelena Isinbayeva’s hopes of becoming a member of the IOC, through the Athletes’ Commission elections at the Rio Games. However this would not be possible if she is denied the opportunity to compete based on her nationality. This could prove crucial in the decision making process for the IAAF, given Isinbayeva’s considerable stature within the federation as well as her support for Coe’s bid for Presidency.

Yet the consequences of not following WADA’s recommendations could be even more grave; Coe’s every move as President has been monitored by Sunday Times journalists looking for their next front page scoop, and any perceived failure to tackle doping could result in another barrage of bad publicity for the sport. Furthermore any positive drugs tests from the Rio Games could blow up in his face several years from now and threaten his tenure as leader of Athletics’ governing body.

We also need to make sure that we do not turn Russia into a scapegoat for doping. It is very easy for people in the west to criticise rival nations for cheating in sport, but the issue is not confined to former Soviet shores, and we cannot act as though a Russian ban would be like waving a magic wand around the sport.

It is clear that Seb Coe is leading the IAAF through choppy waters, and it is imperative that he picks the right course for the organisation, or else risk being run aground.

Will Eurosport cause a crisis for the Olympics?

Olympic sports have been dealt a series of blows in recent weeks, from doping allegations surrounding Alberto Salazar’s athletes to heated debates over the eligibility of competitors representing Britain, but today’s news of Eurosport’s Olympic rights in is likely to hit the games the hardest.

Let me be clear, I have nothing against Eurosport: they show the events that other channels daren’t, they don’t cut away from the live action for needless punditry and their commentators are far more knowledgeable and dedicated to sport than most BBC staff. Despite this, the channel is not best suited to be the main broadcaster for the world’s largest sport event given it only attracts about 5% of the TV audience compared to 72% for BBC One.

Due to Government regulations, this deal does not mean Eurosport will hold exclusive rights over the 2022 and 2024 Games, and 200 hours must be shared with a free-to-air broadcaster. However this amount is minimal compared to the BBC’s London 2012 coverage, and we are open to adverts from commercial channels such as ITV and Channel 4 that could pick up the rights instead of the BBC.

Then we have to worry about the cost at which Eurosport will sub-license the television rights, which could paralyse the eventual free-to-air broadcaster into a position of poor quality coverage or minimal broadcast hours.

I for one can guarantee that the BBC is at least partly responsible for my love of the Olympics; from Newsround reports to Blue Peter pieces, I always knew to be excited about the Five Rings.

And that’s before I mention the BBC’s extensive coverage of the Beijing games in 2008 that captivated the imagination of a 10 year old version of myself and fuelled a passion for sport. It fills me with regret to think that so many children will be deprived of inspiring experiences like mine simply because the main rights holder isn’t a free-to-air channel.

Imagine the consequences of that. Fewer children taking up sports, a smaller talent pool, fewer Olympic medalists, reduction of funding for athletes. It is a chilling thought.

To say this was a short-sighted decision by the IOC would be an understatement. They are risking the exposure of the games on an entire continent for the sake of €1.3bn to fill their coffers. Now we are just left to hope that Europsort are generous to the BBC and that a replica deal will not be made in future. In the mean time, let’s just enjoy the Beeb’s Olympic coverage for as long as we can.

Sochi 2014 Opening Ceremony - My Verdict

Well the 22nd Olympic Winter Games are officially underway and after a ceremony of extravagance I feel mixed emotions to the production.

Personally I felt that Sochi's Ceremony was derivative of previous ceremonies; The entire premise was fitted into the cliché of a young girl discovering the heritage of the host country, something that was perfected in Sydney in 2000.

Not only this the formation of the Olympic Rings, although clever and relevant, appeared to resemble that of London, not to mention the fact that it failed in practice (I choose not dwell on this fact though as I fear someone could be executed over this error given the extremity of Russia's government).

However some parts of the ceremony were beautifully fantastic: The Swan Lake doves were a stroke of genius and Peter the Great's Navy made a great use of the projections onto the stadium floor.

It is plainly obvious why the stadium roof was seen as a necessity for the spectacular and it was crucial to the constellations segment which seemed to tick the box of the apparently obligatory winter sports portion. The constellations were somewhat reminiscent to the constellations featured in Vancouver which had more cultural significance yet Sochi's starry figures were more dazzling.

I was very surprised that the director chose to include a reference to the Soviet years and even more so that it was portrayed positively. In my opinion this was much better than dancing around the subject and the organisers should be congratulated.

The lighting of the cauldron did not seem as breath-taking as in the previous editions of the event and seemed to borrow a concept of the lighting the cauldron with fireworks from the games of Torino.

In summary I can't help but feel that this would have been mesmerizing had London's ceremony not been among the most original in the history of the games and so by comparison these appeared to lack originality. Given that these are the most expensive Olympics in history I was quite disappointed with the quality of this Opening.

How Scottish Independence could change sport in the UK

In 365 days time Scottish residents will vote in a referendum that could change the future of the United Kingdom forever, in this post I will be exploring how Scottish independence could affect athletes both north and south of the border.

According to BBC Sport, the Scottish Sports Minister, Shona Robison believes that, should Scotland be granted independence, it could compete at the 2016 Olympics under St Andrew's Cross.

Among the criteria to receive a National Olympic Committee (NOC), is being an internationally recognised independent state, which could prove difficult to achieve within the limited time frame.

Although Robison draws parallels to Montenegro which became independent in 2006 and managed to compete in the Beijing Olympics just two years later, which proves it is possible.

However it should be noted that the referendum on independence only has the power to start discussions between in Edinburgh and Westminster over Scotland's detachment from the rest of the UK, which could postpone Scotland's sovereignty indefinitely, making it challenging for Scotland to receive a recognised NOC in time for the Rio games.

But how successful will Scotland be in the Olympics?

During the 2012 London Olympics Scottish athletes were part of teams that were responsible for winning 12 out of 65 medals for Team GB. Nevertheless only 3 medals were won by Scottish athletes competing in individual events.

In the 2010 Commonwealth games, Scotland achieve 10th place on the medal table, with 9 gold medals and 26 medals overall. I would consider this to be low for a country as developed as Scotland with a sophisticated sporting infrastructure, even with consideration to its relatively small population.

That is not even giving consideration to the cut in funding that Scottish athletes could face if Scotland does leave the United Kingdom; most athletes rely on UK Sport for funding but that funding could be withdrawn for Scottish athletes post 2014. Not to mention sponsors, who may not see financial benefits in supporting a Scottish athlete, who would be unlikely to receive media attention south of the border after the referendum.

Furthermore, Britain's greatest ever Olympian, Chris Hoy, said in May that Scottish athletes would suffer as they would be restricted from certain training venues and would not be able to train with as many experienced athletes like he did when he trained in Manchester.

In conclusion, Scottish Independence would harm Team GB due to the loss of some of the nation's best athletes from the team, while also badly endangering the dreams of potential Scottish Olympians.

Where are the 2020 Olympics going?

The IOC is just hours away from announcing the host city of the 2020 Olympic Games, choosing from one of Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul. While all three cities have their individual merits, they are each faced with their own individual problems. In this post I will be exploring these issues and which city is most likely to win.
 
Madrid
The Spanish capital is bidding for third consecutive Olympic Games after losing out to the cities of London and Rio de Janeiro in which they achieved 2^nd and 3^rd respectively. On that basis they could continue their upward trajectory and leave Buenos Aires with the rights to host the Olympic Games. However their bid is fraught with issues that harm their potential.
 
The most obvious issue is that the Spanish economy is in a terrible state (when I went their last October it became apparent that striking is the national pastime), undoubtedly the budget for the games would be restricted by the recession on the Iberian Peninsula.
 
However it should be noted that Madrid’s bid takes advantage of the city’s existing infrastructure and sports venues which in some respects makes it the safe option for the IOC to choose.
 
It could be argued that the Santiago train crash in July displays a weakness in Spain’s infrastructure although I do not think that the crash will drastically change the minds of any IOC members who would have considered voting for Madrid.
 
Tokyo
Bookmakers consider this to be the frontrunner in the race to host the games due to its good infrastructure and compact venue plan however like their competitors they have hurdles to overcome.
 
The biggest issue affecting Tokyo is the Fukushima Nuclear plant, which has been leaking radioactive water, and may be contaminating water in Japan. The worse part of this is that the Tokyo bid committee keep trying to downplay this rather than showing that they are trying to deal with this. People also seem to forget that Japan sits on the boundary of three tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes which could slow down construction of venues in preparation for the games.
 
Istanbul
In my opinion this is the strongest bid of three, the Turkish economy is one of the fastest growing in the world and Istanbul is supported by a unique culture that sets it apart from the rest.
 
The Istanbul bid is hampered by high levels of doping within Turkey, which Lamine Diack, President of the IAAF, drew attention to earlier this year. To respond Turkey issued 31 2-year bans to athletes convicted of doping. In my opinion this shows that Turkey is determined to address the issues that affect sport in rather than turning a blind eye to these issues.
 
Earlier this year it became apparent that Turkey may not be as politically stable as was previously though amid anti-government protests, however these protests seem to be forgotten and I don’t think they will affect the outcome even though at the time of the protests I thought hope was over for Istanbul.

 
Overall each city has its unique charm and many are describing this as the closest race to host the Olympics in a long time however I feel confident that Istanbul will get the games, partly on the basis that they have never hosted the games before and due to economic prosperity within the Eurasian country that gives it the edge over the others.

Why are wintersports underfunded?

Last week UK Sport announced a funding increase for British Winter Sports in order to prepare for the Sochi Olympics in February. While a boost of £443,200 may sound like a lot, sports that take place in the colder half of the year aren't getting a fair share of funding.

The 2012-13 winter sport season was an incredibly successful season for British athletes; overall they won 2 Gold medals, 1 Silver and 3 Bronzes, which would equate an all time best for Team GB at the Winter Olympics. However despite this success the total sum of funding for these sports is just shy of £14 million.

Now I understand that you may be reading this thinking that is a lot, especially in the economic climate in the UK at this moment in time however, Summer sports such as Field Hockey receive more than all winter sport, even though at best it can win us 2 Olympic Gold medals, which I see unlikely against the likes of The Netherlands and Argentina.

While I understand that UK Sport is not swimming in cash, the figures are depressing. The best funded of all Winter sports is Skeleton which is receiving less than £3.5 million according to the UK Sport website, even though British skeleton athletes are among the best in the world.

Whereas sports in which Team GB are hopeless, funding is comparatively abundant. Basketball was awarded £8 million on an appeal even though we are unlikely to get anywhere spectacular in this sport dominated by the USA.

British Skeleton told me that they cannot even afford a youth programme until after the Sochi Olympics. This deeply worries me as our success will not only be limited in the Winter Youth Olympics in 2016 but possibly in Pyeongchang 2018 onwards.

I find it depressing that sports on snow and ice are overlooked by UK sport while they still splash their cash on hopeless summer sports. I hope that this will change soon or else we may never surpass the record Winter games tally set in 1924.

We don't want you West Ham

Today the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) announced that West Ham United has won the right to move into the Olympic Stadium and in turn the LLDC has lost the right to have Legacy in its name.

The fact that West Ham are moving into the Olympic stadium frustrates me for so many reasons, the first one is the fact that London's Olympic bid was focused on legacy and that there would be a world class athletics venue in the east end of London. I personally think that stick seats for a football club over the athletics track compromises on this promise given in 2005.

Furthermore the public funds of refurbishing the stadium are ridiculous considering the stadium opened a year ago. I do not usually worry about public money being spent on sport (probably because I'm too young to pay taxes) however £60m for a privately owned team to use it is ridiculous.

It puzzles me even more when you consider that Arsenal not only paid for the construction of the Emirates Stadium, but they also had to pay for changes to infrastructure with no support from the government.

Clearly there is a fantastic record of football clubs playing in athletics stadia, take Juventus for example who stayed in Stadio delle Alpi for a whopping 16 years and let's not forget Bayern Munich who played at the Munich Olympiastadion from 1972 to 2005. It is incredibly likely that West Ham will follow this route and put the Olympic Stadium into jeopardy once they get tired of playing there.

The one argument that might make West Ham an exception is retractable seating, which will most likely be very disappointing, considering the lower tier already sits in front of the upper tier as well as the fact the lower part of the stadium is dug into the ground. Changing to the seating would also ruin the view for athletics spectators, therefore ruining the stadium and its primary purpose.

If the FA allow the Hammers to move into the Olympic stadium they will be ignoring their own rules to protect small clubs. The stadium sits within the zone entitled to Leyton Orient and letting West Ham move in would destroy their ability to generate profit.

I wouldn't mind the stadium being used in the Rugby World Cup, I would happily see it in the Football World Cup if it is ever in England again, the stadium would be a brilliant place to host big cricket matches due to the large capacity. The stadium is fully sustainable without a football club as tenant; it could be used for concerts, making use of the pixels that dazzled the world last summer as well as hosting world class athletics.

Hopefully common sense will prevail and something will stop West Ham moving in, but for now I fear for the stadium that brought you Super Saturday and Thriller Thursday.

What effect will the loss of wrestling have?

Today the IOC shocked the world by voting to remove Wrestling from the Olympic Programme, rather than the bookies' favourite, Modern Pentathlon and Field Hockey. But what I want to know is how will this affect the Olympic Games of the future?

Needless to say I was shocked to find out that Wrestling was dropped from the games this sport has been held at all games bar one (1900) and has become a staple of the games for many. I expected Table Tennis or Badminton to get the axe due to their general dullness and complete dominace by China as well as the cheating scandal that faced Badminton at the London Olympics.

In contrast Wrestling is a global sport in which 29 nations won medals in during the 2012 Olympics, and although it doesn't receive much media attention it greatly affects how the medal table shapes out.
Take Russia for example, seldom seen away from the top 5 of the Olympic medal table, due in part to the success of their nation's wrestling team. In London they secured 4 of the 24 golds that were taken home to Russia and in Beijing Russia would have only managed a fourth place finish on the medal table if Wrestling wasn't part of the core programme.

The presence of Wrestling at the Five Ring Circus allows many countries to achieve their only medals: Azerbaijan won the majority of their Olympic medals at ExCeL while Uzbekistan won its only gold of 2012 on the wrestling mat.

The loss of Wrestling will hinder Baku's chances of hosting the Olympics in the future, without the sport Azerbaijan will struggle to get onto the medal board. Due to a lack of sporting success the IOC would hesitate to award the games to Baku as this may cause lack of interest in the host nation. Ironically if Baku were still in the running for the 2020 games Wrestling almost certainly wouldn't be dropped, their bid included Wrestling being held at the 25,000 seat Crystal Hall that hosted the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.

However from a British point of view this many be good news: Russia will be less of a threat on the medal table, a new sport will be introduced (most likely Squash or Karate) which Team GB will have better chances in.

I think it is a shame that we are likely to not see Wrestling at the 2020 Olympics although the competitive Brit in me smiles at the likelihood of beating Russia on the medal table in years to come. I also am glad that Modern Pentathlon has been saved from the chopping block however for the growth of the Olympic movement in more nations I believe that we need the sport of Wrestling to act as a catalyst for the growth.

If you wish to support Wrestlings bid to return to the Olympics click here

Channel 4 to broadcast future Paralympics

Today I am in a good mood, entirely due to one piece of exciting news. On tonight's episode of The Last Leg, Channel 4's hit comedy show that spawned from the Paralympics, it was announced that Channel 4 will broadcast both the Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympics and the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics to viewers in the UK.

This is really news for British Paralympic sport; this will help keep Para-sports in the spotlight with a major TV channel showing the world's best disabled athletes competing in a variety of different sports.

I am especially excited for the Winter Paralympic coverage. Over the years the BBC has been more than disappointing when it comes to showing any Winter Sport, let alone Para-Sports of the snow variety.

In 2010 the Beeb couldn't even be bothered to show the opening ceremony on a mainstream channel and what passed for publicity for the games was a 30 second report on children's news show Newsround.

Whereas Channel 4 are going to broadcast 45 hours from the Black Sea Resort next year including The Last Leg which has proved to be a major success both during and after the Paralympics, hopefully boosting the profile of the Winter Games, which are facing an uncertain future.

I am also looking forward to the coverage of the 2016 summer edition of the Paralympics, of which C4 will broadcast 500 hours from the city of Samba.

With Channel 4 slowly gaining a monopoly over Paralympic Sport on British television we are going to see disabled sports on our screens for quite a while, creating a legacy of the London Paralympics that will last until the unforseeable future.

Armstrong you don't deserve to compete

Apologies for the lateness of this post, I had exams I was pretending to revise for. I know it's a week late but it is big news I need to rant about.

A few weeks ago we saw Lance Armstrong trying to save what little dignity he has left on international television on a sofa next to Oprah Winfrey, the aim of this wasn't to give the public info on how he cheated; instead it was a pathetic excuse for an apology so he can compete in Triathlon.

I find it disgusting that throughout the interview Armstrong showed no remorse for those cyclists trying to win clean, and gave little thought as to the cloud he has left hovering over the sport of cycling.

The 7 time cheat remained insistent throughout the interview that everyone else was taking the disgusting decision to dope, however he still won't name any names and refuses to give any evidence on the matter: That doesn't scream liar at all does it?

The truth is Armstrong has no right to walk the streets freely, let alone compete, throughout his career he made money through sponsorship that he had no right to, he won several lawsuits against media outlets that purported to the fact he never won honestly by any definition that is fraud and it is a wonder he hasn't been arrested yet.

I do feel that this is partly due to western legal systems that cannot prosecute anyone who is moderately famous even if there is no evidence to suggest their innocence: take Harry Redknapp for example who obviously is guilty of tax avoidance but still got through with no punishment whatsoever.

But I digress: Armstrong is a disgusting cheat who should be in an orange jumpsuit behind bars, not trying to compete against the world's best triathletes such as the Brownlee Brothers and Javier Gomez.

Don't take away the Modern Pentathlon

In September the IOC will decide on a new sport to enter the Olympic program for 2020, and in doing so, will decide upon a sport to exit the schedule of the greatest sporting event on earth.

And sadly, current speculation suggests that the unlucky sport will be none other than the Modern Pentathlon, the brainchild of Pierre de Coubertin, the man accredited with reviving the Olympics from their ancient roots.

I personally feel that to lose the modern pentathlon from the games would be to remove the soul from the Olympic games. The victor of the Modern Pentathlon isn't just the best athlete in many disciplines of the same sport like the Heptathlon on Omnium, they are the best all round athlete in the world in all sports, it follows the ideal of a soldier with the skills to carry a message using the skills of Shooting, Fencing, Swimming, Horse Riding and Running.

The argument for removing Modern Pentathlon from the Olympics is that it lacks a following outside of Eastern Europe. I would not deny this fact however I would point out that the 23,000 seat stadium at Greenwich park was full to the rafters during the London Olympics. I think if more attention was given to the sport, people would flock in their thousands to see stars like Samantha Murray and Laura Asadauskaite.

The sport's governing body, the UIPM has offered a way of squeezing all 5 disciplines into one stadium; the idea has pros and cons: it includes a difficult to see fencing piste and a wasteful pool that would only be used for a few races, however it does offer an improved, less distracting format for the fencing and a more exciting running portion held on a 400m track.

In conclusion the IOC has a responsibility to keep the Modern Pentathlon in the Olympics, if only to prevent Baron de Coubertin from rolling in his grave although the UIPM needs to carry its weight and raise the sport's profile before it's too late.

Why the Paralympic grassroots stats are wrong

On Friday, the Sport and Recreation Alliance revealed results of a study which suggest that participation in Paralympic grassroots sport has barely risen since the London Paralympic games. But if this study is accurate, why haven’t we seen an increase in disability sport?

This study has been dismissed by the chief executive of the British Paralympic Association, Tim Hollingsworth who said "There is still a long way to go, but just four months on from the Games it's wrong to suggest nothing has changed."

I think it is worth pointing out that immediately following the close of the Paralympics the weather took a turn for the worse and we had enough rain to make 2012 the second wettest year on record in the UK, only surpassed by 2000.

To me it seems incredibly unlikely that people would start taking up sport in such disgusting, and I struggle to imagine that many disabled people, who are often made vulnerable by their impairments, would want to take up a new sport.

I would also note that many of clubs surveyed may not advertise the fact that they facilitate to disabled participants and in fact the study reported that only 24% of the sports clubs that were used to compile the data had all of the required facilities to cater to participants of Para-sport, a figure which completely disproves the findings of the report

Overall I struggle to believe the findings of this study, it was created much too hastily and didn't even survey clubs that will accept disabled athletes, in July I think we will start to see the real legacy of the Paralympics when it comes to grassroots sport, but for now the only legacy we can measure is how life for disabled people has improved since the world was stunned at the achievements of Paraltmpians in the Summer of 2012.

Why Splash was a massive flop

Rather than my usual ranting about the world of sport, in this post I will be taking the role of TV critic and evaluating everything that is wrong with Tom Daley’s new TV show Splash.

I had very low expectations for this show and it still managed to fall well below them.

My first problem with the show is the title and the tagline, “Who can make the most Splash?” both of which go against the main aim of diving; to create as little splash as possible.

The show itself will not benefit Tom Daley in any way shape or form; He is wasting his time teaching D-List celebrities to do the most basic dives meanwhile his fellow Olympic medallists David Boudia and Qiu Bo are training every day, both of whom will undoubtedly beat him in Rio, just as they did in London. When Tom Daley doesn’t reach the Olympic podium in 2016, Splash will be Exhibit A as to why.

I’m not the type of person who would normally criticise an Olympian for making media appearances, I love to see the world’s finest athletes appear A Question of Sport or A League of Their Own but Tom Daley has let the fame get to his head by letting a show to be centred on the athlete.

I am fine with recently retired athletes like Victoria Pendleton and Beth Tweddle taking part in shows like Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing on Ice as they no longer need to worry about training and considering Louis Smith’s prospects of competing in Rio are slim I was happy to see him lift the strictly glitter ball.

Ignoring all of the above, the show fails as basic entertainment: figure skating and ballroom dancing have been developed as performance arts whereas diving is just a sport, which is not improved by ridiculous strip teases and five minutes of build up.

The hosts, Gabby Logan and Vernon Kay, knew very little about what they were presenting. Not to mention having a comedienne to judge a diving contest, there was little consensus in the scores given and Leon Taylor kept looking into the camera when giving his comments.

In 10 years time when we reflect on awful TV from the 21^st century this will be high up on the list of “That show was ridiculous!”

In conclusion, this show is cringe-worthy, inaccurate way for ITV to extort money from weak-minded viewers through the medium of televoting.

Top 5 sportspeople of 2012

Well it's New Year's Eve (I need to get a life) and we are forced to wave goodbye to the glorious year of sport that was 2012. We were treated to a summer showcasing the pinnacle of human achievement. In this post I will be reliving the most amazing displays of ability that we saw over the past 366 days.

5. Mo Farah

The first ever Briton to win an Olympic gold medal in distance running, he managed to do the distance double by becoming Olympic Champion in both the 10,000m and the 5,000m. His victories were the crowning glory of 'Super Saturday' and united an entire nation in a state of euphoria. Because of this he is my number 5 on my list of 2012 sportspeople.

4. Serena Williams
This year the face of women's tennis finally achieved a career grand slam by winning an Olympic gold medal, as well as the Wimbledon and US Open championships. She cemented her title as the best female tennis player in the golden era of tennis. 

3. Michael Phelps
The greatest swimmer of all time stole Larissa Latynina's title of greatest Olympian of all time by bringing his Olympic medal total up to 22, 18 of them gold. His year wasn't without  surprises; he was beaten to gold in the 200m Butterfly by a young Chad le Clos from South Africa. He also had stiff competition from his compatriot Ryan Lochte and all of the USA 4x100m relay team was beaten by France. His entertaining races have earned him the third spot on my list.

2. Usain Bolt
Before the London Olympics doubts were raised over the sprint king's ability to win the blue riband event of  track and field after his training partner, Yohan Blake, beat him in the Jamaican national championships as well as Bolt's false start in Daegu at the world championships in 2011. However the big man pulled out the stops and won gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m becoming the first man in history to do the sprint double triple which earned him as my 2nd favourite sportsperson of 2012.

1. Bradley Wiggins
The first ever Brit to win the Tour de France. After winning one of the World's most gruelling sport events, he still had the energy to act as a domestique for Mark Cavendish in the Olympic Road Race and still had enough in the tank to win gold in the Olympic time trial. He was also elevated to third place at the 2009 Tour de France. After becoming the only man in history to win an Olympic Gold as well as the Tour, he became my favourite athlete of 2012.

This list is based on achievement rather than personality, athletes like Jessica Ennis would be on here but I decided to base it on their achievement rather than the effect their medal had (Jess' gold was my favourite of the London games).

Don't moan about the honours

The other day the 2013 New Year's Honours were announced and unsurprisingly the list was dominated by Olympians and to a lesser extent, Paralympians. However many people both members of the public and Paralympic athletes have been complaining about the honours that the "superhumans" have received.

The honours list most notably includes knighthoods for the sideburned Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins, as well as 4-time Olympic Champion Ben Ainslie. Paralympic cyclist Sarah Storey was appointed a dame while the performance directors of both British Cycling and Rowing were awarded the title of ‘sir’.

However many people were surprised to find out that David Weir was only awarded a CBE despite winning 4 gold medals earlier this year. Weir himself has tweeted that he is “extremely happy to have been given a CBE...” although has said that Paralympians must work harder than Olympians for recognition, which he later clarified on Twitter as a reference to the fact that Sarah Storey only received a Damehood now when “she should have been honoured a long time ago because of her achievements in Paralympic sport...”

I agree with Dave on this matter, Paralympic sport stars struggle to get the attention qnd recognition they deserve even in the run up to the 2012 Games, the biggest event in Para-sport history.

Some however cannot be as gracious Weir; Lee Pearson, the face of Paralympic equestrian told the Independent on Sunday that he was disappointed to receive a CBE rather than a knighthood. This really saddens me to see that he cannot be happy with what he has and must be criticising the fact that he hasn’t been awarded higher.

Let’s face it, 2012 wasn’t even Lee Pearson’s best year, although he won gold in Greenwich it was a poor performance from the rider who won three Paralympic titles at each of the three preceding Paralympics, and yet he still expects to be raised from an OBE to a knight.

Given this arrogance I would hesitate to award him a knighthood, even if he did manage to win three gold medals at the 2016 Olympics.

Overall I think that we do need to start treating both our Olympic and Paralympic athletes with equal respect although I think that anyone should moan about the prestigious titles they have been awarded, especially considering that there is only one MBE between all of the code breakers of Bletchley Park, without whom we wouldn’t have a nation to compete for.

Are the European Games going to be so great?

Today at the European Olympic Committees (EOC) General Assembly it was announced that the first European Games will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan (which isn't in Europe) as it was the only bid city.

The idea of the games is to promote European success in the Olympics which has been on decline all around the continent with the exception of Britain, which has the Commonwealth games for its athletes to prepare.

I have been wanting a European equivalent of the Pan American Games for years; a continental multi-sport event will provide an opportunity for cities that wouldn't normally host something like this to host a big sporting event.

In the case of Baku, they can gain experience for future Olympic bids from hosting a city, which will ultimately result in more new Olympic hosts.

Baku has the potential to be an incredible host; the oil rich nation planned and constructed a purpose built arena for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in less than a year. Although the existing venues in Baku tops out at 2 arenas and a stadium under construction.

Political tensions over the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic mean that we can almost immediately rule out the possibility of seeing an Armenian representation; as the people of Armenia are banned from entering Azerbaijan.

I fear that the inaugural European Games are going to lack one of the keys to any multi-sport event: Athletics. The European Athletics Association (EAA) voted against taking part in the competition instead opting to keep their biennial competition which fails to gain much publicity in Olympic years.

Although it should be noted that the EOC believe that the EAA will eventually give in, although another competition in the year of the World Championships may not get the all star names that would be hoped for.

LEN, the European Aquatics governing body are still in talks with the EOC, potentially leaving out another staple of the Olympic programme.

I hope that if these games take off, a Paralympic counterpart will be introduced to get more attention for Para-sport.

Baku really have their work cut out, they need to host a fairly large competition with only 2 and half years of preparation and whatever happens in 2015 will affect the survival of this competition. I really hope that athletics and aquatics play a part in the games or it will all be in vain.

Why has NBC won three Golden Rings?

Yesterday NBC won three Golden Ring Awards from the IOC for their coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Just to clarify, this is the same NBC that failed to broadcast the 7/7 tribute at the Opening Ceremony in favour of a Ryan Seacrest interview with Michael Phelps as well as preventing viewers without cable or satellite subscriptions from watching live sport.

This is on top of adverising faux pas during their coverage including a commercial for a Today Show interview with "Gold medallist Missy Franklin" right before they showed her race, spoiling the result for millions of Americans.

You think they would learn, guess again; immediately after Gabby Douglas became the first African American to win a gold in gymnastics, the network showed an advert featuring a monkey on the uneven bars - that won't cause trouble will it?

I think very few people would disagree that 2012 was NBC's worst year of Olympic broadcasting since the infamous Olympic Triplecast of 1992 which cost the network's partners around $100 million.

And despite all of this the American broadcaster still managed to win the gold award in the 'Best Olympic Programme', 'Best On Air Promotion' and 'Best Olympic Feature Film' categories.

Making this achievment more incredible is that NBC beat out the BBC's 'Super Saturday' coverage for the Gold Award on best programme: The BBC, the national broadcaster of the UK that recieved overwhelmingly positive reviews over their coverage was beaten out by the same people who brought you #NBCFail.

This post would be longer if the Golden Rings actually mattered and if they weren't controlled by who pays the most to broadcast the games.

Sports Personality 2012 - Who's deserving of the shortlist

Today the BBC released the 12 member shortlist for Sports Personality of the Year 2012, the list includes 8 Olympians, 3 Paralympians and a Golfer. Clearly however, some are much more deserving of their place than others.

Nicola Adams - The very first female Olympic boxing champion on this planet; not only did she win a gold medal, she won it in style in front of a screaming crowd at the ExCeL. On top of her sporting achievments she came out as bisexual, suggesting how much her sport has moved on this year.

Ben Ainslie - The most successful sailor in Olympic history, although I doubt his ability to achieve any of the three Sports Personality trophies, he has definitely shown himself as an incredible British Olympian over the last 16 years.

Jessica Ennis - If this girl wasn't on the list I would have sent a strongly worded letter to the BBC demanding that she be put on the shortlist. She was undoubtedly the face of the games both before and after, she united an entire nation in a state of ecstasy when she won gold. On top of all of that she ran the hurdles in a time that would have won the 2008 Olympic Gold in 100m Hurdles. I fully expect this girl to achieve one of the three trophies this year, whether it will be better than her third places from 2009 and 2010, we will have to wait and see.

Mo Farah - The only British Olympian of 2012 to have won two individual gold medals and the first Brit ever to win Olympic Gold in the 5k or 10k. Furthermore he got the entire planet doing the Mobot, including Usain Bolt, this man is truly something and will almost definitely win something on the night.

Katherine Grainger - And now for a change of mood: don't get me wrong, it was incredible to see her finally win Olympic gold after three consecutive silvers, but this year she won a single gold, as a member of a team: Yet Anna Watkins nor 3 double gold medallists are nowhere to be found on the list. I think her chances of an award are low, she is very unknown to non-Olympic fanatics and her achievements are mediocre in comparison to many others.

Sir Chris Hoy - Britain's Greatest Olympian of All Time. Enough Said.

Sarah Storey - It is so great to see Paralympians on the shortlist this year, not only is she one of this Nation's best Paralympians, she is also one of the nations best cyclists: her ability matches that of our Olympians and very nearly got her onto the Olympic squad. Let's not look at all of the 'What ifs' though, she won 4 Paralympic Golds.

David Weir -  Briefly the first suggested 'David' on Google search, but still proud owner of 4 London 2012 Paralympic Gold Medals. Many were amazed to see what this man could do, more were speechless about his incredible ability to keep going for more.

Rory McIlroy - From the heights of human endeavour to the lows of laziness in sport. In the year 2012 this man won a single competition worth winning, instead of training to the degree he should he is more interested in partying with his girlfriend, Caroline Wozniacki (another overrated sportsperson). Furthermore, should the BBC give an award to a man who is threatening to compete for Ireland in Rio 2016?

Ellie Simmonds - The teenage swimming superstar won 4 Paralympic medals this year; 2 of them gold. Her attitude to competition was incredible this year; while the media was moaning about Victoria Arlen's classification she celebrated the competition she recieved from racing the American of a similar age to her. She definitely has the Personality for this award, as well as sporting achievement to back it up.

Andy Murray - Every year I moan that this man has reahed the shortlist yet again, but not this year; he won Olympic Gold, Olympic Silver, the US Open and reached the final of Wimbledon (and gave Federer a run for his money). He is definitely one of my sporting heroes of 2012 and has definitely changed a few minds.

Bradley Wiggins - Finally, to round off the 12 for 2012 is Britain's first ever winner of the Tour de France, and one of the most decorated British Olympians there are. To say this man is incredible is an understatement. He is definitely a contender for the trophy but most of the people shortlisted are.

Overall I agree with the list; although it seems to be lacking Charlotte Dujardin, Jason Kenny and Laura Trott, each of whom won 2 gold medals in London. I strongly disagree with the inclusion of Rory McIlroy for his mediocre year in comparison with the incredible year some of our Olympians and Paralympians have had.

To go higher, We must start lower

29 Gold medals, 17 Silvers and 19 bronzes; 3rd in the world isn't bad for a small island nation just across the channel from Europe. It was quite a result for Team GB however after overcoming the short term challenge the British Olympic Association (BOA) now has to cement itself as a force to be reckoned with in international sport.

Now we could spend UK Sport's funding on coaching and athlete's funding however, in my opinion instead of blowing all of the money on the top athletes of today, we should spend a considerable amount on the athletes of the future.

From the 13th of August onwards sports clubs were overflowing with enthusiastic youngsters eager to emulate their new found heroes, sadly these clubs didn't have enough coaching staff to nurture the talent before them, sadly this meant some of the children had to be turned away. Whether there was a potential Olympic Champion among them in unknown, but no child should be refused the right to take part in sport.

In a nation of high unemployment it would not be hard to find volunteers to coach, especially after the hundreds of thousands of people willing to volunteer for the London Olympics and upcoming Glasgow Commonwealth games.

The curriculum of Physical Education in Britain should be reviewed, in my experience, months are spent on sports such as Rugby, Netball and Cricket which have little importance internationally while very few lessons are spent on athletics in preparation for a school sports day.

While the British use of sport in education is one of the many factors that inspired Pierre de Coubertin to start the modern Olympics, PE teachers have been known to replace some of the lessons of the week with theory lessons, stopping children achieving the legal requirement of two hours of exercise a week in school. This prevents some children from achieving their 5 hours a week in total.

Children's talents often go unnoticed until it is too late to nurture the talent, unlike in the USA due to most High schools possessing their own artificial tracks, which not only allows young talent to be scouted but allows for good training conditions all year round.

So in conclusion, to ensure British Olympic success for years to come as much emphasis needs to be placed on youth sport as is placed on professional sport.