Phillips Idowu has revealed that Charles Van Commonee has confiscated his mobile telephone and personal computer "for the rest of the season" and banned the Triple Jump star from "going near a computer". Van Commonee - who branded Idowu a "clown" on the BBC - is said to be furious that the Belgrave Harrier used Twitter to withdraw from this weekend's European Team Championships.
"It's a total joke" thundered Idowu from a phone box "who the hell does he think he is? I'm the World Champion and yet I can't be trusted with a mobile phone. Ridiculous." The triple jump ace added that it "was none of Van Commonee's business" what he did online. "Where exactly is Charles' Gold medal?" pondered Idowu "when he wants some fashion advice he should call me."
Idowu went on to say that the ban was having a "negative impact" on his performance because he was unable to call the AA when his new car broke down last week. "I tried to fashion a device with a paper cup and a bit of string, but it didn't work" said Idowu "in the rain, the cup just disintegrated".
Van Commonee has defended his decision, but faces serious problems within the Team GB camp after Helen Clitheroe was caught on Facebook chat after lights out yesterday evening and Dwain Chambers was found to be "following" the out of favour Idowu on Twitter. Meanwhile, a row has erupted within the BBC after Denise Lewis 'unfriended' Colin Jackson in a row thought to be over shoes and Jonathan Edwards revealed that he didn't even know what Twitter was.
Showing posts with label Lewis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lewis. Show all posts
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Friday, 27 August 2010
UKA MUST SHARE THE LOVE IF RECOVERY IS TO CONTINUE
The 2010 athletics season will be largely remembered as the year that British distance running remerged from its hiatus of nearly three decades. The performances of Mo Farah and Chris Thompson in Barcelona were no doubt inspirational and Farah’s imperious performance in relieving Dave Moorcroft of his 28 year-old British 5,000m record was one of the season’s many highlights. Strangely, after a cross country season where UKA were lambasted from pillar to post (deservedly so in some cases), something appears to have gone at least half-right over the summer. The performances of Stephanie Twell and Michael Rimmer also show that the middle distances are, whilst not thriving, making solid progress under Stewart, Gandy et al. Whilst it is important not to get carried away – the European Championships are a fair way from World Class as was demonstrated at the Crystal Palace hangover – the British performances in a scandal-free Barcelona will have gone someway to reengaging the British public at large with Track and Field athletics. The only risk being that televisions across the nation are quickly turned off again when the viewer is forced to endure a tortuous interview by Phil Jones or some useless analysis from Denise ‘110%’ Lewis.
With the top level of the sport doing fine (if not well), attention will no doubt shift to the up and comers. It is here that excitement can perhaps be tempered. With some very notable exceptions (Niall Brooks, Richard Goodman and several female 800m runners), this has been a summer without significant breakthroughs. The number of men who are regularly running under 3:40 for 1500m this summer has been lower than ever before and promising winters (and proclamations of 3:36 not being a problem) have come to very little. Whilst bad luck, injury and illness has to take at least some of the flack, the British Milers Club too has seemed a little jaded this summer. This scribe has been one of the BMC’s most outspoken advocates and did himself enter into a pointless dispute on Eightlane about the organisation of the Watford Grand Prix. However, now looking back over the course of the season, it has become clear that all is not what it was.
The aim of the BMC is to advance the performances of the middle-distances by producing a number of quality races throughout the summer. There are many who will question the efficacy of paced races and their role in developing the racing instincts of an athlete, however there is no doubt that this is a sport that is fundamentally judged by time. Therefore, you would think that an organisation that nobly claims its raison d’être is to advance the sport would do their best to ensure that timing was accurate. Alas, timekeepers have been repeatedly embarrassed by the wonderful new initiative that is Athleticos. It has been clear to everybody except those who matter that the timing at several races was completely wrong and yet little has been done to rectify the problems. This culminated in the ultimate humiliation of one evening’s race times being completely void after protocol had been thrown out of the window; several athletes made personal breakthroughs to no avail. One is well aware that this sport relies upon volunteers to run it and it is with a heavy heart that they must be criticised. But the fact remains that when you pay £5 to enter a race, the very least you expect at the end of it is a time that counts. For a timekeeper to allow a race to be run without a starting pistol is the equivalent of a football referee arriving without a whistle. However voluntary, it is unacceptable.
Having alluded to pacemaking, it seems prudent to evaluate it. There are mixed feelings surrounding whether such races are really a good thing. Do they teach the athlete to actually race, or simply teach them to brainlessly follow? Either way, it is irrelevant; the BMC advertise Grand Prix and Gold Standard races on the premise that they will be paced to suit the athletes within each race. Why then were there, in some cases, only 2 pace makers to cover 7 events? Why were ‘A’ 1500m Gold Standard races going with a pacemaker who could only go as far as 500m and some without a pacer at all? It cannot be disputed that quality pacemakers are difficult to come by, but it costs money to enter and it is generally understood that this money is used to pay pacemakers.
Perhaps the BMC has been a victim of its own success. More and more athletes are seeking places with less and less willing to take on the burden of pacemaking. The blame should not be laid squarely at the door of those in charge. The high standard of this organisation means that when these standards slip ever so slightly, it is jumped upon. It has been a fabulous summer and the BMC has no doubt played its part in that. With UKA deservedly patting itself on the back for a job well done in Barcelona, perhaps a little of that good will should cascade down to a bit of funding for an organisation that will doubtless continue to offer a quality platform of British distance talent across the country. Such funding might just make that quality a little higher.
With the top level of the sport doing fine (if not well), attention will no doubt shift to the up and comers. It is here that excitement can perhaps be tempered. With some very notable exceptions (Niall Brooks, Richard Goodman and several female 800m runners), this has been a summer without significant breakthroughs. The number of men who are regularly running under 3:40 for 1500m this summer has been lower than ever before and promising winters (and proclamations of 3:36 not being a problem) have come to very little. Whilst bad luck, injury and illness has to take at least some of the flack, the British Milers Club too has seemed a little jaded this summer. This scribe has been one of the BMC’s most outspoken advocates and did himself enter into a pointless dispute on Eightlane about the organisation of the Watford Grand Prix. However, now looking back over the course of the season, it has become clear that all is not what it was.
The aim of the BMC is to advance the performances of the middle-distances by producing a number of quality races throughout the summer. There are many who will question the efficacy of paced races and their role in developing the racing instincts of an athlete, however there is no doubt that this is a sport that is fundamentally judged by time. Therefore, you would think that an organisation that nobly claims its raison d’être is to advance the sport would do their best to ensure that timing was accurate. Alas, timekeepers have been repeatedly embarrassed by the wonderful new initiative that is Athleticos. It has been clear to everybody except those who matter that the timing at several races was completely wrong and yet little has been done to rectify the problems. This culminated in the ultimate humiliation of one evening’s race times being completely void after protocol had been thrown out of the window; several athletes made personal breakthroughs to no avail. One is well aware that this sport relies upon volunteers to run it and it is with a heavy heart that they must be criticised. But the fact remains that when you pay £5 to enter a race, the very least you expect at the end of it is a time that counts. For a timekeeper to allow a race to be run without a starting pistol is the equivalent of a football referee arriving without a whistle. However voluntary, it is unacceptable.
Having alluded to pacemaking, it seems prudent to evaluate it. There are mixed feelings surrounding whether such races are really a good thing. Do they teach the athlete to actually race, or simply teach them to brainlessly follow? Either way, it is irrelevant; the BMC advertise Grand Prix and Gold Standard races on the premise that they will be paced to suit the athletes within each race. Why then were there, in some cases, only 2 pace makers to cover 7 events? Why were ‘A’ 1500m Gold Standard races going with a pacemaker who could only go as far as 500m and some without a pacer at all? It cannot be disputed that quality pacemakers are difficult to come by, but it costs money to enter and it is generally understood that this money is used to pay pacemakers.
Perhaps the BMC has been a victim of its own success. More and more athletes are seeking places with less and less willing to take on the burden of pacemaking. The blame should not be laid squarely at the door of those in charge. The high standard of this organisation means that when these standards slip ever so slightly, it is jumped upon. It has been a fabulous summer and the BMC has no doubt played its part in that. With UKA deservedly patting itself on the back for a job well done in Barcelona, perhaps a little of that good will should cascade down to a bit of funding for an organisation that will doubtless continue to offer a quality platform of British distance talent across the country. Such funding might just make that quality a little higher.
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
NEW AGE FOR SKY AS MNF RETURNS
It isn’t athletics but it should be. Sky’s brand spanking new series of Monday Night Football returned to our screens last week and it didn’t half do it in style. Richard Keys and Andy Gray put the footballing world to rights with the very latest gadgets and gismos including – as we discovered this week – an indoor mini-pitch. “We don’t really need technology for this, do we?” pondered Keys of one incident. The usually perfectly sensible anchor was surely speaking somewhat ironically given that the whole premise of this ridiculous and unnecessary hour long build-up to the Monday Night match relies on pointless and malfunctioning technology. This week, the “boys downstairs” ran a Stoke non-goal through a computer that magically removed all the other players on the pitch clearly showing that the ball was over the line. “He [referee Chris Foy] will know in his heart of hearts that he should have got that right,” opined Gray of the incident lasting less than a second, having had the opportunity to look at it several million times from several million angles.
Elsewhere, the problem of penalties was thoroughly addressed. “Is the balance of power shifting towards keepers?” asked Keys, “Why?” snapped Gray. Err, because more are being saved than ever before. “Here we have a left footed goalkeeper,” puzzled Keys, “who chooses to dive to the left. Anything in that theory?” Five minutes, probably 30 researcher hours, several thousand pounds and a tired audience later, it was concluded that keepers may or may not be advantaged at the moment and amazingly there may just be something in Keynes’ theory. “So what I’m saying is,” said Gray in a light bulb moment, “if a keeper goes the right way, he has a chance of saving it.” Right, well that’s money well spent then. Afterwards, as if desperate to justify his £25,000 per week price tag, Gray revealed that he had “been thinking about penalties for a couple of weeks.” Uh oh! Sounds dangerous. Indeed it was: “I’m right handed, Richard, so I would go to my right….I’ve been talking to the lads in the office all day….and it’s noticeable that the keepers who are right handed went big right.” Ok fine, but what about Ben Foster? He’s left footed isn’t he? And yet he went right. “Yes, but is he right handed? I was left footed and right handed.” Phew.
Here comes the tenuous link! Wouldn’t it be great if the BBC invested in the same technology for their athletics coverage? Steve Cram and Brendan Foster could thrash out the complexities of the Bekele kick on a virtual track, Jonathon Edwards could thoroughly examine Philips Idowu’s take off having removed everything except his spike. Colin Jackson could play with the heights of the hurdles to debate whether if they were an inch taller, David Oliver would be as proficient. The possibilities are endless. Surely even Phil Jones could use it; a crowd-o-metre could measure “supporter impact” and then comparisons could be drawn with other crowds around the world. Inverdale could be seen hovering above the stadium, conducting things in his Godfather-like way, whilst Denise Lewis could….well, there are always going to be some flaws.
It surely won’t be long before grumblings emerge about the lack of technology in the Beeb’s coverage. The very least they should get is one of the snazzy new iPads that Keys has replaced his clip-board with, even if it was deemed “a bit heavy” last week. Watch this space.
Elsewhere, the problem of penalties was thoroughly addressed. “Is the balance of power shifting towards keepers?” asked Keys, “Why?” snapped Gray. Err, because more are being saved than ever before. “Here we have a left footed goalkeeper,” puzzled Keys, “who chooses to dive to the left. Anything in that theory?” Five minutes, probably 30 researcher hours, several thousand pounds and a tired audience later, it was concluded that keepers may or may not be advantaged at the moment and amazingly there may just be something in Keynes’ theory. “So what I’m saying is,” said Gray in a light bulb moment, “if a keeper goes the right way, he has a chance of saving it.” Right, well that’s money well spent then. Afterwards, as if desperate to justify his £25,000 per week price tag, Gray revealed that he had “been thinking about penalties for a couple of weeks.” Uh oh! Sounds dangerous. Indeed it was: “I’m right handed, Richard, so I would go to my right….I’ve been talking to the lads in the office all day….and it’s noticeable that the keepers who are right handed went big right.” Ok fine, but what about Ben Foster? He’s left footed isn’t he? And yet he went right. “Yes, but is he right handed? I was left footed and right handed.” Phew.
Here comes the tenuous link! Wouldn’t it be great if the BBC invested in the same technology for their athletics coverage? Steve Cram and Brendan Foster could thrash out the complexities of the Bekele kick on a virtual track, Jonathon Edwards could thoroughly examine Philips Idowu’s take off having removed everything except his spike. Colin Jackson could play with the heights of the hurdles to debate whether if they were an inch taller, David Oliver would be as proficient. The possibilities are endless. Surely even Phil Jones could use it; a crowd-o-metre could measure “supporter impact” and then comparisons could be drawn with other crowds around the world. Inverdale could be seen hovering above the stadium, conducting things in his Godfather-like way, whilst Denise Lewis could….well, there are always going to be some flaws.
It surely won’t be long before grumblings emerge about the lack of technology in the Beeb’s coverage. The very least they should get is one of the snazzy new iPads that Keys has replaced his clip-board with, even if it was deemed “a bit heavy” last week. Watch this space.
Sunday, 15 August 2010
INVERDALE UNDERLINES MONOPOLY, BUT THERE’S NO ESCAPING PHIL JONES
“And a word, Tyson about the crowd?” The obligatory ‘crowd question’ dominates just about all of the BBC’s Phil Jones’ interviews, as if the crowd is that much different from any other the world class athletes have competed in front of on the European circuit (or indeed the Olympic Games or World Championships). Jones is never content with just a cursory “it’s always nice when the spectators are so enthusiastic”. Such a flippant response will be met with a follow up: “but what about this crowd?” Yesterday, Blanka Vlasic was deemed to have sounded less than absolutely ecstatic about the crowd support and so Jones tried a different angle: "in this weather too". Seemingly, there is no escaping the man with the BBC microphone as some bright spark at the Beeb came up with the idea that he could be a ‘roaming’ reporter from now on. Gone are the days when disappointed failures can hurry through the mixed zone avoiding eye contact. Now you get the feeling that Jones will chase any potential interviewee all the way back to his/her hotel in order to understand how the crowd may or may not have influenced their performance.
No such problems for John Inverdale who is fast becoming the Godfather of BBC sports coverage. Only the very select few (BBC darling Jess Ennis) got the nod to be interviewed by the great man. Inverdale's interviews are astoundingly effective as there is a feeling of the headmaster's study about his booth: the athlete is almost certainly more in awe of Inverdale than the other way around. If athletes are battling to escape the Jones treatment, any sports fan really can’t get away from Inverdale. Whatever the sport, Inverdale is there: swimming, horse jumping, tennis, golf, rugby, athletics: you name it- he's covering it. Indeed back in June, on what should have been his day off from Wimbledon coverage, the maestro was hurriedly dispatched to Birmingham Alexander stadium to cover for the bungling Jonathan Edwards. One can’t help thinking that the veteran broadcaster does as he wishes as producers are fearful of what could be an almighty kick off. Surely it is no co-incidence that Sue Barker is looking increasingly uncomfortable on A Question of Sport and Gary Lineker looks like a dead man walking on Match of the Day. The Inverdale juggernaut is seemingly unstoppable; just ask Hazel Irvine who has been sent to the wilderness of women's golf, probably after knocking the Godfather's water over or something.
Inverdale’s showing at Crystal Palace after what was an obviously draining European campaign was made to look all the more impressive by the limp displays of Colin Jackson and Denise Lewis. For too long now, these two have failed to deliver and Inverdale was only too ready to pounce on such weakness. And so when it came to analysing Mo Farah’s 3000m, the distance runners in the commentary box were deemed surplus to requirements by the rampant Inverdale who decided to quiz Lewis (a heptathlete) and Jackson (a hurdler) about it instead. In a ‘rabbit caught in headlights’ moment, Lewis concluded that Farah had “given it his all”, which was met with an “absolutely” from Jackson. Inverdale could barely hide the smile from his face.
Happily, Denise Lewis seems totally incapable of saying anything nasty (or indeed of any value). This is perfect for a meeting in which the British athletes undoubtedly crashed back down to earth from the dizzy heights of European glory. “It’s really hard to get yourself motivated for meetings like this after the major Championships” preached Lewis. Is it? The obvious first question is whether an event in which 10.18 seconds is good enough for a silver medal in the 100m can really be classed as “major”; and then there is the question of whether it should matter. We do not hear of many surgeons who, after a patient dies, sigh and say that they were struggling to get over performing well at a “major” operation last week. Sensationally, the only individual who appears to have conceded as much was the much loved Mark ‘most definitely’ Lewis-Francis. “This is what I do for a living,” said the European silver medallist whilst making some strange movements with his hands, “there’s no excuse”. Unfortunately, Lewis-Francis had already humiliated himself by choosing to point enthusiastically at his baton having won the 4x100m relay whilst mouthing to the camera, “I’m number one!” That’s debatable, but what cannot be debated is that the baton was clearly embossed with the number 3. Such stupid behaviour could well be met with an Inverdale summons early next week.
No such problems for John Inverdale who is fast becoming the Godfather of BBC sports coverage. Only the very select few (BBC darling Jess Ennis) got the nod to be interviewed by the great man. Inverdale's interviews are astoundingly effective as there is a feeling of the headmaster's study about his booth: the athlete is almost certainly more in awe of Inverdale than the other way around. If athletes are battling to escape the Jones treatment, any sports fan really can’t get away from Inverdale. Whatever the sport, Inverdale is there: swimming, horse jumping, tennis, golf, rugby, athletics: you name it- he's covering it. Indeed back in June, on what should have been his day off from Wimbledon coverage, the maestro was hurriedly dispatched to Birmingham Alexander stadium to cover for the bungling Jonathan Edwards. One can’t help thinking that the veteran broadcaster does as he wishes as producers are fearful of what could be an almighty kick off. Surely it is no co-incidence that Sue Barker is looking increasingly uncomfortable on A Question of Sport and Gary Lineker looks like a dead man walking on Match of the Day. The Inverdale juggernaut is seemingly unstoppable; just ask Hazel Irvine who has been sent to the wilderness of women's golf, probably after knocking the Godfather's water over or something.
Inverdale’s showing at Crystal Palace after what was an obviously draining European campaign was made to look all the more impressive by the limp displays of Colin Jackson and Denise Lewis. For too long now, these two have failed to deliver and Inverdale was only too ready to pounce on such weakness. And so when it came to analysing Mo Farah’s 3000m, the distance runners in the commentary box were deemed surplus to requirements by the rampant Inverdale who decided to quiz Lewis (a heptathlete) and Jackson (a hurdler) about it instead. In a ‘rabbit caught in headlights’ moment, Lewis concluded that Farah had “given it his all”, which was met with an “absolutely” from Jackson. Inverdale could barely hide the smile from his face.
Happily, Denise Lewis seems totally incapable of saying anything nasty (or indeed of any value). This is perfect for a meeting in which the British athletes undoubtedly crashed back down to earth from the dizzy heights of European glory. “It’s really hard to get yourself motivated for meetings like this after the major Championships” preached Lewis. Is it? The obvious first question is whether an event in which 10.18 seconds is good enough for a silver medal in the 100m can really be classed as “major”; and then there is the question of whether it should matter. We do not hear of many surgeons who, after a patient dies, sigh and say that they were struggling to get over performing well at a “major” operation last week. Sensationally, the only individual who appears to have conceded as much was the much loved Mark ‘most definitely’ Lewis-Francis. “This is what I do for a living,” said the European silver medallist whilst making some strange movements with his hands, “there’s no excuse”. Unfortunately, Lewis-Francis had already humiliated himself by choosing to point enthusiastically at his baton having won the 4x100m relay whilst mouthing to the camera, “I’m number one!” That’s debatable, but what cannot be debated is that the baton was clearly embossed with the number 3. Such stupid behaviour could well be met with an Inverdale summons early next week.
Thursday, 29 July 2010
'ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN FINAL' SHOCK
The British athletics community is reeling from the revelation that "anything can happen in a final". It seems that theory was developed by top UKA boffins and has been drilled into every single athlete competing, either that or it is a competition to see how many times you can say the phrase. Alas, Echo favourite, James Dasaolu was unable to see if anything could happen as he did not manage to make the final of the 100m. Speaking shortly before the Championships, Dasaolu confidently told Phil Jones of the BBC that "firstly, I want to make the final....anything can happen in a final....firstly, I want to win a medal. In order to win a medal, I have to make the final". Right.
Further credence was given to the theory last night when Mark Lewis-Francis (self styled: MLF) stormed to a silver medal in 10.18 seconds- just 0.6s off the World Record. It was incredibly unfortunate for the BBC as they spent much of the time we all had to wait for the result pondering what colour medal Dwain Chambers might have won. Completely oblivious to the fact that Lewis-Francis had quite literally rolled his way to silver, Denise Lewis and Colin Jackson launched into a post mortem on Chambers' race: "he over strides and it cost him the race...it might even be that Bronze," opined Jackson of Chambers (who finished fifth), before confirming that Lamaitre "so certainly" won the race. In fact, so sure were Beeb producers that Lewis-Francis was not going to win a medal that they didn't even bother to put a front-on camera in his lane, thus meaning viewers were robbed of the opportunity to hear the pundits' views on his facial expressions.
"I'm so happy right about now," said Lewis-Francis of his "new beginning", before ruining his moment by deciding to speak in the third-person: "this is the new Mark Lewis-Francis". Is it? Would that be the same "new" Lewis-Francis who actually ran quicker a few years ago, won an Olympic (relay) medal and then went on to test positive for marijuana in 2005? Perhaps not. Thankfully, the BBC had wasted so long dwelling on the demise of Chambers that we weren't able to find out much about MLF's views on his medal. He did, however, state that it "was all thanks to Linford [Christie, Lewis-Francis' coach and convicted drug cheat]" before going onto say that it was also thanks to just about everyone else in the stadium.
Lewis-Francis was clearly delighted and rightly so. But he wasn't half as delighted as Steve Cram was when Chambers failed to medal: "Chambers has crumbled!" he gleefully proclaimed before continuing his pre-race love in with the victorious Frenchman. Oh well, Steve, we all agree that we shouldn't ever forgive people for their past mistakes- particularly cheats! Just like I hate people who run off and cheat on their wives when they have kids at home. I'm sure you'll agree.
Further credence was given to the theory last night when Mark Lewis-Francis (self styled: MLF) stormed to a silver medal in 10.18 seconds- just 0.6s off the World Record. It was incredibly unfortunate for the BBC as they spent much of the time we all had to wait for the result pondering what colour medal Dwain Chambers might have won. Completely oblivious to the fact that Lewis-Francis had quite literally rolled his way to silver, Denise Lewis and Colin Jackson launched into a post mortem on Chambers' race: "he over strides and it cost him the race...it might even be that Bronze," opined Jackson of Chambers (who finished fifth), before confirming that Lamaitre "so certainly" won the race. In fact, so sure were Beeb producers that Lewis-Francis was not going to win a medal that they didn't even bother to put a front-on camera in his lane, thus meaning viewers were robbed of the opportunity to hear the pundits' views on his facial expressions.
"I'm so happy right about now," said Lewis-Francis of his "new beginning", before ruining his moment by deciding to speak in the third-person: "this is the new Mark Lewis-Francis". Is it? Would that be the same "new" Lewis-Francis who actually ran quicker a few years ago, won an Olympic (relay) medal and then went on to test positive for marijuana in 2005? Perhaps not. Thankfully, the BBC had wasted so long dwelling on the demise of Chambers that we weren't able to find out much about MLF's views on his medal. He did, however, state that it "was all thanks to Linford [Christie, Lewis-Francis' coach and convicted drug cheat]" before going onto say that it was also thanks to just about everyone else in the stadium.
Lewis-Francis was clearly delighted and rightly so. But he wasn't half as delighted as Steve Cram was when Chambers failed to medal: "Chambers has crumbled!" he gleefully proclaimed before continuing his pre-race love in with the victorious Frenchman. Oh well, Steve, we all agree that we shouldn't ever forgive people for their past mistakes- particularly cheats! Just like I hate people who run off and cheat on their wives when they have kids at home. I'm sure you'll agree.
Monday, 21 June 2010
VAN COMMENEE “SCARIER THAN CAPELLO” SHOCK
ICE MAN: Van Commenee is famed for his deathly stare of disapproval
Charles Van Commenee has been branded as “downright frightening” by several leading British athletes as they return home from Norway and the European Team Championships. Dwain Chambers described a “look that could kill a thousand elephants” when the sprint ace was spotted using a mobile telephone at the dinner table. “He grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and marched me outside,” said the Belgrave man, “I have never been so terrified. He didn’t even say anything and just looked at me like the Demon Headmaster.” Elsewhere, Emily Freeman said that she was “losing sleep” at the thought of letting Van Commenee down. “I can’t think straight when I am around him,” said the 200m Olympic Semi-Finalist, “I think it’s those glasses, they just make you shiver.” Despite the official line emerging from the Team GB camp that Chris Thompson was ruled out through illness, insiders have revealed that it was actually because of a major bust up with the UKA performance chief. “Chris was sent home,” confirmed a camp insider, “he called Mr. Van Commenee ‘CVC’ and then there was a very big argument. I saw Chris emerge from the meeting in tears and then went straight to the airport.” This is not the first time that somebody has made such a gaffe. Steve Lewis was forced to apologise to the supremo after failing to register a legal height and was accused of mumbling the ‘Van’ portion of the name. Sources have said that Lewis was forced to write out Mr. Van Commenee’s name 1,000 times before being allowed to eat his supper of dried toast and water.
When asked about his demeanour by some fearless (and now barred) journalists, Van Commenee said that he had to “up his game” in the scary stakes as Fabio Capello was “hogging all the attention”. “He [Capello] thinks that by forcing everyone to eat together and banning the WAGs, he is some kind of hero,” snapped Van Commenee, “well, how many of his players has he made cry? How many letters from parents has he had?” Independent observers have confirmed that it is “very likely” that the Dutchman has a greater capacity to scare that Don Fabio. The Court of Arbitration for Sport have twice warned Van Commenee over his “intimidating behaviour” after many athletes complained that they felt “unduly stressed” in his presence. A spokesman for CAS revealed that the UKA top man would have received a firmer punishment but he succeeded in "terrifying" the entire panel of independent judges.
Sunday, 20 June 2010
TEAM GB IN CRISIS AFTER STRING OF BUST UPS
UK Athletics have been keen to play down what some are calling the "biggest crisis in the history of British sport". Officials were hurriedly flown to Norway late last night amid fears that some of the nation's best athletes were on the brink of a mass walk out from the European Team Championships. Insiders have told of a "massive row" between team captain Mo Farah and long jumper Chris Tomlinson over what is fast becoming known as 'TV-Gate' and anger has also been expressed at Charles Van Commonee's decision to remove all mobile telephones from the athletes. "Chris and Mo fell out when Tommo [Tomlinson] couldn't work the tele," said a source close to both athletes, "we missed most of the first half because Tommo insisted on watching the Big Brother eviction." Farah was said to be fuming when Tomlinson demanded a front row seat for the entire game, despite pledging a swap at half time. Farah's official spokesman said that his charge was also upset at the "repulsive" accommodation. "I told Mo that he is going to have to tough it out this time," said the spokesman, "he was heavily criticised when he skipped the World Cross after party".
Van Commonee has caused a great deal of unrest after confiscating the mobile phones of all the athletes and banned them from access to "any fun whatsoever". Defending his decision, the bespectacled chief said "all smiling is banned. Even if they do well. Athletes have been having way too much fun in this country and that has to stop." This decision has caused outcry with many athletes slamming the treatment as "barbaric". An unnamed female athlete said that she was "unlikely to perform well in such a horrific, slave-like environment. It's like prison, pure and simple." It is thought that a coup organised by Dwain Chambers only failed when he inadvertently got the timings wrong- completely misunderstanding the time difference in Norway.
Elsewhere, Colin McCourt has been isolated by his team mates when he chose to wear an Algeria shirt on Friday evening. The Scot clashed violently with Martyn Rooney, who attempted to rip the shirt off his back after the England football team had failed to impress in the World Cup. McCourt was heard to be singing into the early hours and it was only when Ian Stewart told him something so awful that we cannot report it, that he went to bed.
UKA will no doubt be hoping for a quieter end to the Championships today, but with vaulter Steve Lewis having yet another argument with his pole after no-heighting, it looks like wishful thinking.
Van Commonee has caused a great deal of unrest after confiscating the mobile phones of all the athletes and banned them from access to "any fun whatsoever". Defending his decision, the bespectacled chief said "all smiling is banned. Even if they do well. Athletes have been having way too much fun in this country and that has to stop." This decision has caused outcry with many athletes slamming the treatment as "barbaric". An unnamed female athlete said that she was "unlikely to perform well in such a horrific, slave-like environment. It's like prison, pure and simple." It is thought that a coup organised by Dwain Chambers only failed when he inadvertently got the timings wrong- completely misunderstanding the time difference in Norway.
Elsewhere, Colin McCourt has been isolated by his team mates when he chose to wear an Algeria shirt on Friday evening. The Scot clashed violently with Martyn Rooney, who attempted to rip the shirt off his back after the England football team had failed to impress in the World Cup. McCourt was heard to be singing into the early hours and it was only when Ian Stewart told him something so awful that we cannot report it, that he went to bed.
UKA will no doubt be hoping for a quieter end to the Championships today, but with vaulter Steve Lewis having yet another argument with his pole after no-heighting, it looks like wishful thinking.
Friday, 11 June 2010
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: ISINBAYEVA- WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
Echo reveals how a fight with her pole could spell the end for the greatest vaulter of all time
HAPPIER TIMES: Isinbayeva declared her love for the pole as recently as last year
The World Record holder for the women's pole vault has not resumed competition this season after an argument with her pole, the Lufbra Echo can reveal. Yelena Isinbayeva has "not even looked" at her pole since it badly let her down at the back end of last season. In an exclusive interview, the Russian told of how the pole simply "wasn't giving anything back anymore." "Everyone knows I always speak to it [the pole]," said a tearful Isinbayeva, "well in that event [IAAF World Athletics Final], it just wasn't behaving like normal. It's almost as if it had something to hide."
Insiders at the Russian Federation of Athletics described an "almighty row" between Isinbayeva and her equipment after "no heighting" at the Berlin World Championships. An anonymous ex-KGB source said, "Yelena was furious. She spent several hours ranting and raving at the pole. There was no reply. In the end, I think she smashed a bottle of vodka over it." Close friends of the star are said to be "gravely concerned" at the recent developments. A neighbour said, "we have asked her to seek counselling to try and build bridges, but she won't. She seems so upset since it all happened." Another close friend revealed that the issues had been underlying for sometime. "It's so sad," revealed the now exiled Russian spy, "they seemed so happy together- but there have been problems. I know that Yelena had some doubts about the pole's fidelity after reading some texts."
Other vaulters have been known to have issues with their poles. British number one, Steve Lewis recently courted criticism after deciding to part company with his. Lewis informed his pole of the split via email and many Loughborough insiders have said that this was unfair. "Steve just upped sticks and left," said a senior aide to Ian Anholm, "I think he was upset after the Loughborough International. As you can imagine, the pole and everyone else has taken it badly."
Meanwhile, Isinbayeva has said that she "does not know" when she will be back competing. "It's like I am in limbo" said the multi-millionaire, "I can't bring myself to move on and find another pole yet. There might be some hope- maybe we can get back together. I don't know- the ball is in his [the pole's] court."
HAPPIER TIMES: Isinbayeva declared her love for the pole as recently as last year
The World Record holder for the women's pole vault has not resumed competition this season after an argument with her pole, the Lufbra Echo can reveal. Yelena Isinbayeva has "not even looked" at her pole since it badly let her down at the back end of last season. In an exclusive interview, the Russian told of how the pole simply "wasn't giving anything back anymore." "Everyone knows I always speak to it [the pole]," said a tearful Isinbayeva, "well in that event [IAAF World Athletics Final], it just wasn't behaving like normal. It's almost as if it had something to hide."
Insiders at the Russian Federation of Athletics described an "almighty row" between Isinbayeva and her equipment after "no heighting" at the Berlin World Championships. An anonymous ex-KGB source said, "Yelena was furious. She spent several hours ranting and raving at the pole. There was no reply. In the end, I think she smashed a bottle of vodka over it." Close friends of the star are said to be "gravely concerned" at the recent developments. A neighbour said, "we have asked her to seek counselling to try and build bridges, but she won't. She seems so upset since it all happened." Another close friend revealed that the issues had been underlying for sometime. "It's so sad," revealed the now exiled Russian spy, "they seemed so happy together- but there have been problems. I know that Yelena had some doubts about the pole's fidelity after reading some texts."
Other vaulters have been known to have issues with their poles. British number one, Steve Lewis recently courted criticism after deciding to part company with his. Lewis informed his pole of the split via email and many Loughborough insiders have said that this was unfair. "Steve just upped sticks and left," said a senior aide to Ian Anholm, "I think he was upset after the Loughborough International. As you can imagine, the pole and everyone else has taken it badly."
Meanwhile, Isinbayeva has said that she "does not know" when she will be back competing. "It's like I am in limbo" said the multi-millionaire, "I can't bring myself to move on and find another pole yet. There might be some hope- maybe we can get back together. I don't know- the ball is in his [the pole's] court."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)