Celebrating Team GB's best European Athletics Championships ever!

The heady days of Split in 1990 have been eclipsed, with Team GB bringing home 19 medals from Barcelona and finishing third in the medal table, behind Russia and France.

Although we won 9 golds back in Spilt, the overall total is encouraging as we head towards London 2012, especially as some of our key athletes are currently sidelined by injury.

The six gold medallists are: Mo Farah (5,000m and 10,000m double); Phillips Idowu (Triple Jump); Andy Turner (110m hurdles); Jessica Ennis (Heptathlon); Dai Greene (400m hurdles);

There were silvers for: Chris Thompson (10,000m); Mark Lewis-Francis (100m); Michael Bingham (400m); Christian Malcolm (200m); Rhys Williams (40m hurdles); Michael Rimmer (800m); Mens 4x400m;

And bronze medals to: Martyn Bernard (High Jump); Martyn Rooney (400m); Perri Shakes-Drayton (400m hurdles); Jenny Meadows (800m); Womens 4x400m; Chris Tomlinson (Long Jump)

And here's what they said afterwards!

Sportsday

So we didn't win the football or the tennis - there's a lot more to British sport and we know it, even if Mr and Mrs Average Joe Public don't! And did I say we didn't win the tennis - it's GB versus GB in the Boys Doubles today! Lewis Burton and George Morgan play Liam Broadby and Tom Farquharson in the first ever all British boys doubles final.

Here's a headline you won't see often - since it's about squash and not football: "England Dominate World Rankings."

Oh, and look here - more World Number One status for Britain - oh, hang on, still not football. No, this time it's Taekwondo, sorry ...

Have I mentioned that we beat the Aussies in cricket? Again.

Archery: Silver and Bronze for Nicky Hunt and Simon Terry at the World Cup in Croatia.

Athletics: Team GB second in the European Team Championships - beating Germany into third place. Well, fancy that! There were victories over their closest rivals in the European Championships for Dwain Chambers, David Greene, Martyn Rooney, Andy Turner and Mo Farah.

Rowing: Six Golds in Bled; another five Golds in Munich, plus sundry others - only missing a medal in two events!

Sailing: Sarah Ayton and Saskia Clark win World Cup Gold.

Cycling: Emma Pooley is the first British cyclist to win the prestigious Tour de l’Aude in France.

Paralympic sport: New world record for Shelly Woods! Hannah Cockroft sets four! Danny Greaves gets in on the act too, in the discus.

Triathlon: Chrissie Wellington wins, Tim Don also wins, the juniors picked up European Team Silver and the Paratriathletes won too!

Golf: Graeme McDowell wins the US Open! The US Open ... I know, who? He's from Northern Ireland.

Equestrian: Sharon Hunt wins the Classics event in Germany.

And it might not be a world victory but it means as much to handball as world glory to us in football (Ok, more than that!) Well done! Onwards and upwards!

Canoeing: Rachel Cawthorn won two gold and a bronze at the Canoe Sprint World Cup in Germany; Liam Heath and Jonathan Schofield took World Cup Gold in the Kayak double in Hungary, with Ed McKeever taking Gold in the Kayak singles at the same event; Liam and Jonathan followed with a repeat result in Germany, although a bronze this time for Ed. Fiona Pennie has taken silver and bronze in recent Slalom World Cup events.

We're just so terrible at sport, aren't we ;-)

Sportsnight

Mhairi Spence took a Bronze in the Modern Pentathlon, held here in little ol' Medway! Check out the Rochester People site for some pics too :)

Lee Westwood was runner up in the U.S. Masters at Augusta.

Mara Yamauchi won the New York Half Marathon.

The cyclists continue to bring home the medals, finishing top of the table for Olympic disciplines in the recent World Championships in Copenhagen, with more to come.

In the IBSA 6th World Judo Championships, Ben Quilter won Gold, with Silvers for brothers Sam and Joe Ingram and a Bronze for Lesley Reid.

Paralympian Danny Greaves set a new world best for the discus, swimmers Jonathan Fox and James Crisp also set new world records.

In sailing, Ed Wright won World Cup Gold in the Finn class.

Squash world number 2, Nick Matthew won his first ISS Canary Wharf tour title.

The triathletes are off and running (and swimming and cycling) as Stuart Hayes and Liz Blatchford take silver and bronze in the first world cup event of the year.

And at the Curling World Championships in Italy, Scotland's curlers win Bronze.

Sportsnight

At the World Indoor Athletics Championships, Jessica Ennis won pentathlon Gold, Dwain Chambers the Men's 60m Gold, while Jenny Meadows grabbed 800m silver in another new British record, after beating Kelly Holmes' time in February, and the Men's 4x400m scooped the bronze.

British boxers won seven medals at the Commonwealth Boxing Championships in Delhi, with Iain Weaver, Scott Cardle and Simon Valilly taking Gold, Frank Buglioni a Silver, with Daniel Phillips, Callum Smith and Frazer Clarke all winning Bronze.

In Sailing, British match racers, Lucy Macgregor, Annie Lush and Ally Martin have toppled French skipper Claire Leroy from the World number one sport (she'd held it for four years!) following a silver in the Miami World Cup meet.

Squash World number two, Nick Matthew beat Egypt's world number one, Ramy Ashour, to win the North American Open.

Britain has another new swimming star in Jazmin Carlin beats Rebecca Adlington and Jo Jackson as Britain beat Germany 207 to 109 points. And our synchronised swimmers won silver at the German Open.

Sportsnight

A little late, I know, sorry!

The big BIG news of course is Amy Williams storming to Olympic Gold in the Skeleton! Yay, way to go Amy!

The BBC are making a movie charting the rivalry between Seb Coe and Steve Ovett, possibly being released before th 2012 Olympics. I knew someone would beat me to it, my screenplay is still up here *taps temple* waiting for a chance to be written.

In Boxing, Nathan Cleverly won the European Light Heavyweight title ... Peter Norfolk is still World Number One in Wheelchair tennis ... Greg Harlow won the World Indoor Bowls title, with Stewart Anderson and runner-up. In women's bowls, Debbie Stavrou beat Alison Merrien in the World Matchplay Championship final.

Sportsday

Athletics - our 4x400m relay team will finally be awarded their Gold Medals from the 1997 World Championships, following the American's being stripped of the title, due to Antonio Pettigrew admitting he was on drugs. So that's Team GB, World Champions twice in the 4x4 - 1991 our other glory year - Roger Black the only athlete in both teams. Double world champion - doesn't that have a lovely ring to it!

Swimming - Hannah Miley won 400m IM gold in the European short course championship. What is it with us and the 400m distance! We seem to have always done well, be it running or swimming!

The Winter Olympics begin on 12th February, good luck to all our competitors - particularly the bob skeleton guys, fingers crossed you get more sliding time! It's a shame, they could've all stayed here a bit longer! *peeks out window* Brrrrr.

Sportsday

Athletics - and Hayley Yelling claims a shock win in the European Cross Country Championships! In Boxing, Lee Haskins claims the Commonwealth superflyweight title. Our disabled swimmers again took their place on the world stage, with an impressive 46 medals in the IPC World Short Course championships. The US won the Duel in the Pool - but our lad Michael Rock beat the legend-in-his-own-lifetime that is Michael Phelps! More Triathlon world champions for the media to ignore - Jodie Swallow and Julie Dibens. And a bronze for paralympian slalom skier, Sean Rose in the European cup, adding to the silver and two bronzes from last weekend.

Sportsday

Don't let the football result get you down - remember, our women's team were runners up in the recent Women's 2009 Euro Championship and Phillips Idowu has been named European Athlete of the Year; Dario Franchitti has regained the IndyCar series; England's netball team scored an historic victory over Australia in the World Series! Success at the World Darts World Cup for Tony O'Shea, Karen Lawman & Lisa Ashton and Jamie Lewis. And triathlete Chrissie Wellington has won her third successive World Ironman Championship - she's never been beaten! Rio who?

Sportsnight

We won the Ashes again - the first Athletics Ashes v the Aussies, at Gateshead. Thought it was worth reporting!

In the boxing world, Matthew Macklin won the European Middleweight title.

David Weir breaks the course record to win the Wheelchair event at the Great North Run.

Great Britain's eventing team win their eighth successive European Team title, with Tina Cook also taking the Individual Gold and Piggy French (that's what it says on the website, who am I to argue!) winning the Silver. I've even double checked it.

British gymnastics looks to be in safe hands for a while yet - five Golds internationally for 13 year-old Jay Thompson - it's all relative, remember! And he was in the Under 16's category ...

World Athletic Championship Round Up

On top of the Gold medals for Philips Idowu and Jessica Ennis, Team GB won two silvers on the final day - Lisa Dobriskey in the 1500m and the Mens 4 x 400m Relay - to go with two bronzes, the Mens 4 x 100m Relay and Jennie Meadows in the 800m, which put us 8th in the medal table, for our best World Championships since 1999. Our team coach says it's encouraging, read the report here!

3BT: Phillips; Joe or Michael? Dining table tennis.

Congratulations to our second athletics World Champion - Phillips Idowu, Triple Jump Champion!

I'm going for a curry with some of the mums from cricket on Friday - we thought, let's ask a mum we haven't seen awhile and Debbie tells one of the lads, Michael, to phone his mum and ask her if she wants to come, which he duly does.

Debbie received a call back a few days later, from Joe's mum, thanking her for the invite! Fortunately she couldn't come, cos it would have been a bit embarrassing really, since none of us have ever actually met Joe's mum - it's a shame we don't know Michael as well as we do his mum, we might have recognised it wasn't him ...

Following on from 'Celebrity Wiff Waff' on The Daily Scatter, Matt and I cleared the dinner table and set up the table tennis net, only it was suspended horizontally between the chairs on either side - it was an extra point if you could land the ball on the net.

All Hail Jessica Ennis!

Our new World Champion heptathlete - she led the table from start to finish and finished in style with victory in the last event, the 800metres. Yayyy!!

SportsDay

Archery: Gold for Terry ; Canoeing Bronze for Florence, Hounslow and Cawthorn
Bronze for womens kayakers.

Gymnastics – but not as we know it! Louis Smith, Olympic Bronze medallist, is taking part in this year’s X-Factor. He mentions Montel Jordan in this clip and I’m reliably informed by The Hobbit that he is 'legend', so I’m expecting great things from Louis! He’s setting himself up post 2012, good luck to him.

European success for Modern Pentathletes, along with one I missed on an earlier round-up *slaps wrist* Alistair Brownlee wins second ITU Triathlon on the bounce.

Athletics: Third for GB in European Team Championships. Weir, Woods and Bushell all record wins in Jona International, with Bushell adding to his recent world record.

Three Golds and a silver for adaptive rowers with Gold for Lightweight Womens Double Scull, three silvers and three bronzes also.

Goodison takes third sailing world cup victory; Windsurfer Bryony Shaw clinches a Bronze medal in European Champs (but the link isn’t there so not sure when it was!)

Sportsnight

Women’s cricket - The England ladies team are in the World Cup final again!

Athletics: Gold for Mo Farah and Dwain Chambers at the European Indoor Championships, and silvers for both relay teams.

Paralympians set world records.

Curling: GB Junior Women win World Champs.

Swimmers break World, European and Commonwealth records.

Sportsnight

Those were the days - Senna was my hero.

Athletics: Success for Stephanie Twell, with Andrew Lemoncello and Freya Murray taking 3rd places.

Darts: Phil Taylor and Ted Hankey win the World Championship(s).

Winter Sports: Shelley Rudman takes Silver in the World Cup; Zoe Gillings takes a Bronze.

David Vine: I hear the start of Ski Sunday and he’s the person I immediately think of. A sad loss; my sympathies to David’s family and friends.

Sportsnight

Boxing: Luke Campbell becomes England's first European amateur boxing champion for 47 years and Joe Calzaghe maintained his unbeaten record when he outpointed US legend Roy Jones Jr in New York.

Athletics: British Olympian Mara Yamauchi clocked a new personal best as she finished third in the International Women's Marathon.

Re-arrange the following well known phrase or saying. Team GB of Loads Again Cycling Gold Win

Darts Phil Taylor wins again.

Sportsnight and Scripting

Athletics: Shaunna Thompson followed up her 100m Gold with victory in the 200m in another championship record performance in the Commonwealth Youth Games.

Squash: Vicky Botwright was runner up in the World Open Squash Championship final in her last match before retirement.

Last night’s course saw us splitting into groups - to plot an episode of acclaimed U.S. sitcom ‘Friends’, no less. We decided on the first scene and the four of us in my group are each going to write a version - it’ll be interesting to see how similar - or not - we are. I did end up using ‘Friends’ (you’d think amongst all the dvd’s we've got as a family there’d be something else, wouldn't you?) as the homework set the previous week - to appraise an episode of a sitcom ie. how many scenes, plot strands, characters etc. It’s a measure of how funny it is, that even after watching it three times, I was still laughing out loud at every line - and it was almost every line. But then, they did have up to sixteen scriptwriters!

3bt: Sportsnight

Commonwealth Youth Games British successes to report: 100m gold for Shaunna Thompson, in a championship record of 11.46 seconds, whilst Curtis Griffith Parker also won gold and set a new games record with an incredible throw of 18.56m in the men’s shot put. Jade Ive won the women’s pole vault with a new games record of 4.05m, with England team-mate Abigail Haywood taking Bronze. Peter Smith won the men’s hammer with 68.38m. Benjamin Williams won Silver in the men’s triple jump - just one centimetre behind the winner! Sophie Hitchon won gold and broke the hammer record with 58.43m, while Curtis Griffith Parker won silver in the discus. Abigail Irozuru won Gold in the women’s long jump. Hannah Lewis claimed the first athletics silver for Northern Ireland. Bronze in the men’s 400m was won by Jordan McGrath.

Phil Taylor 8th world grand prix win.

Leaving the football club - where they held the cricket club presentation - Matt reminded me to 'miss the wall, mum'. Thank you, I will. He reminds me every time we leave, since the night I came out and forgot the wall was there (it was dark) and with it only being shin height and me holding stuff, I walked straight into it and fell flat on my face. I'd love to say that everyone rushed to help but no; they were all too busy laughing ...

Sportsday

Cycling - Nicole Cooke has become the first woman in history to win both the Olympic and World Title Road Race in the same year.

Athletics - Shelley Woods finished a close 2nd in the Great North Run.

Archery - Nichola Simpson won silver at the FITA World Cup Grand Final .

Darts - Phil Taylor won his 2nd South African Masters Title.

And a tenuous link to health, see The Daily Scatter for ways to bust your stresses!

Sportsnight

Shooting: At the European Championships in Cyprus, Steve Scott won two medals - double trap gold and a silver in the team event, with Tim Kneale and Stevan Walton.

Athletics: Montell Douglas broke Kathy Cooke’s long standing British women's 100m record at a meeting in Loughborough on Thursday, clocking 11.05 seconds. This seals her spot in the individual event in Beijing as well as her relay place.