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Post by Shireblogger on Jul 11, 2016 10:48:15 GMT 1
I'm feeling really good about British sport at the moment.
So, I thought I'd create a feel good thread on the subject...
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Post by Shireblogger on Jul 11, 2016 10:53:56 GMT 1
TENNISLet's start with the obvious:- Britain is current Davis Cup Champion. Andy Murray has just won the Wimbledon men's singles, and was finalist in this year's Australian and French Open. Heather Watson has just (brilliantly) won the Wimbledon mixed doubles. Gordon Reid won the wheelchair singles and doubles at Wimbledon (the latter with Alfie Hewett). Jordanne Whiley won the wheelchair women's doubles. Johanna Konta became the first female Brit to reach a glam slam semi-final for over 30 years, in Australia. She is also the highest ranked Brit since 1983.
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Post by Shireblogger on Jul 11, 2016 11:01:55 GMT 1
CYCLINGAfter 9 stages of the Tour De France, the world's toughest road race:- Brits are 1st (Chris Froome) and 2nd (Adam Yates). Froome is defending champion. Yates is currently leading the Young Riders' competition. Brits have won 5 of the 9 stages so far - Froome (1 stage), Mark Cavendish (3 stages) & Steve Cummings (1 stage). Cavendish is now the 2nd most successful of all-time (over 100 years) in terms of Tour De France stage wins, and is currently leading the sprinters' competition. The leading team, Sky, is British-based, British-managed, and has 4 British riders in the Tour De France team (Froome, Geraint Thomas, Luke Rowe & Ian Stannard). We're also pretty good at the Velodrome:- At the 2016 World Championships, Britain topped the medal table with 5 golds and 9 medals in total - both more than any other nation. Our gold medallists:- Laura Trott (x2), Jason Kenny, Jonathan Dibben, and Bradley Wiggins + Cavendish.
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Post by Shireblogger on Jul 11, 2016 11:10:27 GMT 1
CRICKETEngland have just comprehensively thrashed an admittedly inexperienced Sri Lanka team in Test Matches, One Day Internationals and Twenty20. We were 2 balls away from winning the T20 World Cup in April. We hold the Ashes, having won 4 out of the last 5 series. Jimmy Anderson is ranked #1 in the world for Test Match bowling, with Stuart Broad #3. Batsman Joe Root is ranked #4 in the world for Tests, #7 for ODIs, and #5 to T20s. Only one other player is in the world Top 10 for all 3 forms. England Women are ranked #2 in the world. Anya Shrubsole is world #1 T20 bowler, Katharine Brunt is world #2 Test match bowler. Charlotte Edwards and Sarah Taylor are both in the world Top 10 for batting in both Test and T20.
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Post by Shireblogger on Jul 11, 2016 11:15:53 GMT 1
GOLFDanny Willett, from Sheffield, won the Masters in Augusta in May. Europe holds the Ryder Cup , with Brits having made up 7 of the 12-man team. Britain has 3 of the world's top 11 players at the moment - Rory McIlroy, Willett and Justin Rose.
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Post by Shireblogger on Jul 11, 2016 11:22:17 GMT 1
MOTOR RACINGLewis Hamilton has just won the British Grand Prix. He is defending world champion, and 1 point behind the championship leader. The teams that are currently 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th in the Championship are all based in Britain, with primarily British engineers and technicians, and most management positions filled by Brits. (Don't let the name of the primary sponsor fool you into thinking they are foreign). The team that is sitting 3rd in the World Rally Championship is also British. British drivers finished 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 8th in the recent Le Mans 24 hours race.
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Post by Shireblogger on Jul 11, 2016 11:26:32 GMT 1
RUGBY UNION & RUGBY LEAGUEEngland (Union) has just won a 3-match test series in Australia for the first time ever. It was the first time Australia has been whitewashed at home for 45 years. England (League) concluded the 2015 season by beating world #1 team, New Zealand, 2-1.
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Post by Shireblogger on Jul 11, 2016 11:32:34 GMT 1
YACHTINGThere are three leading contenders, from 6 entrants, to challenge for the 2017 Americas Cup - the pinnacle of yacht racing. One of those contenders is a British team - Land Rover BAR - based at the Isle Of Wight's Royal Yacht Squadron, and skippered by 4-times Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie. In the 2013 Americas Cup (the most recent event), Ainslie was appointed chief tactician for the US team, which was losing 0-6 to New Zealand. Under Ainslie, they completed an amazing turnaround, to win the series 9-8.
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Post by Shireblogger on Jul 11, 2016 11:38:25 GMT 1
ATHLETICSWith the Olympics just around the corner, Britain has just won 16 medals at the European Championships. No nation won more. Our gold medallists:- Dina Asher-Smith (200m), Martyn Rooney (400m), Greg Rutherford (Long Jump), Men's 4x100m Relay team, Women's 4x400m Relay team. Jonathan Edwards is still the world record holder for the Triple Jump, 21 years after he set the record. Paula Radcliffe holds 3 world records (10km, 30km & marathon).
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Post by Shireblogger on Jul 11, 2016 11:44:11 GMT 1
FOOTBALLOh yes... Mark Clattenburg has just refeered the Euro 2016 Final and the 2016 Champions League Final. He was selected by the man widely considered to be the world's best referee of the past 30 years (Italian Pierluigi Collina). The Wales national team has just concluded its most successful tournament ever, being eliminated by eventual Euro 2016 winners Portugal at the semi-final stage. The England women's national team finished 3rd at the 2015 FIFA World Cup, our best ever result.
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Post by Shireblogger on Jul 11, 2016 11:52:31 GMT 1
SWIMMINGWe currently hold 5 world records:- Adam Peaty (50m & 100m breaststroke) Liam Tancock (50m backstroke) Gemma Spofforth (100m backstroke) 4x100m mixed medley relay Britain won 7 golds at the 2015 World Championships (placing 5th in the medal table). We also finished 5th in the medal table at the 2015 Paralympian Swimming World Championships.
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Post by Shireblogger on Jul 11, 2016 11:57:48 GMT 1
TRIATHLONThere have been 12 events so far in the 2016 World Triathlon Series, out of 18. British triathletes have won 5 of the 12 events so far:- Alistair Brownlee (x2), Jodie Stimpson, Helen Jenkins & Non Stanford. We have also placed athletes second 4 times and third 4 times. Jonathan Brownlee has 3x seconds and 1x third. Rio beckons.
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Post by Earl Purple on Jul 11, 2016 13:25:48 GMT 1
Also in Rugby Union, Saracens (my local team) were European champions
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Post by Shireblogger on Jul 11, 2016 13:32:34 GMT 1
Also in Rugby Union, Saracens (my local team) were European champions Good point. I meant to say, please keep adding to the list...
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Post by suedehead on Jul 11, 2016 15:12:08 GMT 1
Mark Selby is World Snooker Champion and ranked number one in the world.
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Post by rubcale on Jul 11, 2016 16:02:33 GMT 1
ATHLETICSWith the Olympics just around the corner, Britain has just won 16 medals at the European Championships. No nation won more. Our gold medallists:- Dina Asher-Smith (200m), Martyn Rooney (400m), Greg Rutherford (Long Jump), Men's 4x100m Relay team, Women's 4x400m Relay team. Jonathan Edwards is still the world record holder for the Triple Jump, 21 years after he set the record. Paula Radcliffe holds 3 world records (10km, 30km & marathon). Very depleted field though given the proximity to the Olympics. Interesting dilemma for the selectors in the woman's 400m - Christiner Ohuruogu only finished 4th behind Anyika Onuroa and only one of them can be picked.
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Post by Panda on Jul 11, 2016 19:38:56 GMT 1
BOXING:
Britain is currently enjoying an unprecedented level of success in the professional ranks with 13 boxers currently holding world titles:
Heavyweight: Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua Cruiserweight: Tony Bellew Super Middleweight: James DeGale Middleweight: Billy Joe Saunders Light Middleweight: Liam Smith Welterweight: Kell Brook Light Welterweight: Ricky Burns Lightweight: Anthony Crolla and Terry Flanagan Super Featherweight: Lee Selby Bantamweight: Jamie McDonnell and Lee Haskins
In addition, Carl Frampton held a title at Super Bantamweight until recently and is now moving up to Featherweight.
In women's boxing, Olympic champion Nicola Adams won gold at this year's world amateur championships and Savannah Marshall won bronze.
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Post by Shireblogger on Jul 25, 2016 6:47:51 GMT 1
Update from this weekend:
CYCLING
Chris Froome won his 3rd Tour de France, supported by the British-based Sky Team, which included three other British team members - Geraint Thomas, Luke Rowe and Ian Stannard.
Adam Yates, who is only 23 years old, finished 4th overall, and took the White Jersey for best young rider. On this evidence, Yates will become Britain's third Tour winner (after Bradley Wiggins and Froome), at some point in the future.
Froome, Yates, Thomas, Stannard and Steve Cummings (who won a stage of this year's Tour) are the British men's team for the Olympic road race event.
TENNIS
Johanna Konta won her first WTA tournament, beating Venus Williams in the Stanford event in California. Only two British women have won WTA events in the past 28 years - Konta and Heather Watson (who has now won three). Konta will be ranked #14 in the world when the list is updated later today.
SAILING
Ben Ainslie's Land Rover BAR boat won the latest America's Cup series event, in Portsmouth, at the weekend. They now lead the series overall, with two events (Toulon in September and Fukuoka in November) to come. The British team leads teams from the USA, New Zealand, Japan, Sweden and France in the battle to challenge Oracle Team USA in Bermuda next June.
MOTOR RACING
Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix, to overtake his team mate, Nico Rosberg, at the top of the Championship standings.
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