Category: Horse racing

The action finally gets under way tomorrow with medals up for grabs in various sports. Team GB has a chance of a medal in the 400m individual medley where Hannah Miley was the world championship silver medal winner; furthermore her picture is on the back of my cornflakes packet!

Olympic match of the day

In the Women’s football Japan and Sweden clash having both won their opening games.

Scandinavian bragging rights are at stake in Group b of the women’s handball competition with Sweden, Norway and Denmark in the same group. Denmark plays Sweden tomorrow with the Dane’s favourites apparently.

We are competing in Volleyball for the first time and we are not expected to do too well. We face the powerful Russian side tomorrow in the women’s competition. A heavy defeat looks on the cards!

The golden shot

Shooting will provide the first gold medal of these games with the women’s 10m air rifle event being decided at lunchtime tomorrow.

The gentler sex

Back in 1943 employers were advised to “Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day. You have to make some allowances for feminine psychology. A girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day. The women’s 48kg weightlifting gold will be decided tomorrow. We have to wait a little longer for the women’s wrestling and boxing to get under way!

Boxing

The men’s boxing starts tomorrow with the first round of the bantamweight division. Back in 1948 Emmanuel B. Aghassian representing Iran lost in the first round of the bantamweight competition to Spaniard Vicente Namdjou. Ahassian was the father of tennis star Andre Aggassi.

Luke Campbell is our bantamweight man in London. He had a bye in the first round and will meet either an Italian or a boxer from Namibia in round 2. Our middleweight Anthony Ogogo faces a boxer from the Dominican Republic.

Cycling

There is a gold medal up for grabs in the men’s 155 miles cycling road race. Hopes will be high for a GB medal here. In the London 1948 games the men’s road race was won by the Frenchman Jose Beyaert who had been in the French resistance. Our highest placed competitor was Robert Maitland who came 6^th.

Olympic match of the day

Yes, I know it hasn’t started yet but there is more football action tomorrow, this time from the men’s tournament. There is added interest this year as Great Britain has entered a team for the first time since Pontius was a pilot. The last time that the Olympics were held in this country was back in 1948. Matt Busby managed our team back then so it is fitting that are first game takes place at Old Trafford, where Senegal are the opponents.

Elsewhere two of the favourites Brazil and Spain are in action against Egypt and Honduras respectively.

Olympic match of the day

Although the Olympics haven’t actually started yet the football competition does get under way tomorrow ahead of the opening ceremony.

It is a case of ladies first as the women’s competition kicks off tomorrow with action at Cardiff, Coventry and Glasgow. Team GB entertain New Zealand and we will need to get off to a winning start as we also have Brazil to contend with in our group along with Cameroon.

The other big game is up at Glasgow where the USA, who have a great record at the Olympics take on one of the stronger European challengers in France.