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

Last weekend was certainly a great one for our motorsport boys - as well as the McLaren result, we had a one-two in the Indycar 500, with Dario Francitti and Dan Wheldon. Sending best wishes for a speedy recovery to Mike Conway too, following his spectacular crash in the same race. (And to Valentino Rossi - I know, he's not British but we love him!)

Danny Greaves and Heather Cockroft both set new world records in their respective paralympic sports, Greaves in the Paralympic World Cup. In the same championships, Jason Smyth won 100m and 200m Gold, visually impaired sprinter Libby Clegg won 100m, Tracey Hinton the 200m and Stephen Miller won the club event. The GB football team secured a bronze - our basketball team won Gold! Poolside, Ellie Simmonds broke the World Record.

In the rowing World Cup, another one-two for GB, as paralympian Tom Aggar clinched Gold ahead of Andy Houghton in the men's single scull, with victory for the mixed adaptive coxed four of Kelsie Gibson, James Roe, Naomi Riches, Ryan Chamberlain and cox Rhiannon Jones. The rest of the squad aren't doing too badly either - nine golds, six silvers and a bronze!


World champion Alistair Brownlee picked up where he left off, storming to Triathlon victory in Madrid upon his return from injury. Helen Jenkins took third place in the World Championship in Madrid, while Chrissie Wellington hit the winning trail again.

Sailing - World Cup Gold for Ed Wright, European Silvers for him and Lucy MacGregor's crew. And World Cup Gold for Nic Asher and Elliot Willis, plus silvers for Nick Dempsey and another for Lucy MacGregor's crew, with bronzes for Bryony Shaw and Helena Lucas.

In fencing, Richard Kruse took World Cup Silver, as GB also took Bronze with Laurence Halstead in the Tokyo Grand Prix and Chrystall Nicol in the World Cup in Germany.

Modern Pentathlon European Junior Championships saw an individual silver for Katy Burke, contributing to overall team Gold for GB.

And at the Taekwondo European Championship, Aaron Cooke and Sarah Stevenson both won Gold.

Sportsday

Cycling - Steve Peat wins World Downhill Mountain Bike title; Rebecca James wins two world titles and takes a silver in the World Junior Champs.

Bradley Smith picked up a podium place in the 125cc race, coming home third, after the two leading riders fell off on the final lap - then proceeded to play handbags at seven paces with each other ... well, we won't dwell on that - they're not ours!

Boxing - John Simpson retains his Commonwealth Featherweight title; Lucy Shuker wins the womens doubles at the Swiss Wheechair Tennis Open; Para- Dressage titles for Brit paralympians as they top the medal board; Medals for Paralympic Archers Dani Brown, Mel Clarke and Fred Stevens; European Bronze for the Women's Wheelchair Basketball;

Hockey - Britain's men claim victory over World and Olympic champions Germany to take the title in the inaugural EuroHockey Nations championship - and the womens team took bronze!

Rowing World Championships: A gold and four silvers, followed by silver and bronze on the final day to add to the two golds from Tom Aggar and the Mixed Coxed Four;

Sailing - Goodison defend Euro title; World Silver in the 470 class for Patience and Bithell; Euro Silver for Brotherton and Asquith in the 49ers.

Sportsday: Watersport triumphs, motorsport tragedy

Leading with Tom Daley of course, who won the Individual 10m Diving World Championship this week! Swimmer Kerry Payne wins 10km open water Gold, in the same World Champs.

A ‘first’ for rowing Brits and anything the men can do, so can the women in a second ‘first’! GB win the coxless fours in Lucerne and the lightweight women’s double sculls as GB win the World Cup for the third successive season! Woohoo!

Paul Goodison takes his third consecutive World Cup Win in the Laser class, following the brilliant team performance in Holland – *slaps wrist for leaving it too long again*.

Regrettably, I’m ending today’s sport on a sad note. I used to work at Buckmore Park Kart Circuit, as you might know from earlier posts and it was there about ten years ago I met the legendary John Surtees, the only man to win world championships on two and four wheels (the F1 championship in 1964) and his son Henry, who came along and began his karting career with us. During an accident in an F2 race this week Henry, only eighteen years old, tragically lost his life.

As anyone in motorsport knows, it can never be made truly risk-free, even with the advances that have been made – John was and probably still will be a huge supporter of motorsport at grass roots level and I and my family extend our sympathies to him and his family at this terribly sad time.

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

Badminton Agathangelou and Middleton win Spanish Open.

Rowing - Team GB dominate World Cup in Spain with NINE Golds!

Sailors also on top in their own World cup. Rule Britannia? Oh, yes!

Triathlon: Brownlee wins his first ITU World Championship.

Sports Night

All quiet on the sporting front, apart from Jenson winning again, of course. Did I say it was quiet? I’m lying - I just haven’t had the chance to catch up lately …

Here’s the extended Inside Sport interview with cycling’s current main man, Mark Cavendish ... our adaptive rowers bring home a boat full of medals and our sailors are still adding to their tallies. Judo silver for Clark and get this: World Championship Ice Hockey bronze for GB! Ice Hockey??? Not to be outdone - may I present to you our gymnasts, whilst the Scottish Curlers win the World Champs. Here's an introduction to London Marathon medallist Mara Yamauchi. Brit Speed Skier Marc Poncin, World Champ last year, has to settle for third this year.

And I’m off to the football club presentation, where I’m hoping hubby will get the ‘Lifetime Achievement’ Award. It feels like a lifetime he’s been involved! We've another cup final on Sunday, fingers crossed pleased. The Gills drew 0-0 last night against Rochdale, the home leg is also on Sunday. Come on you Gills! It better be worth the rush back! And I know he's not a Brit - but the adorable and cuddly Valentino Rossi won his first Moto GP race this season, last weekend!

3BT: The Sunday Sport. No, not that one! Behave.

The Boat Race was won by Oxford for the fourth time in five years and nobody sank.

I rowed at school and whilst I never sank, I did hit a bridge once. They’d let us out in sculling boats, which was all well and good ‘cept I forgot there was a bend in the river. It wasn’t my fault - you can’t see where you’re going and you don’t get a coxwain in a sculling boat, do you!

The Cyclists didn’t quite hit the heights of last year but still show the ‘bigger’ sports the way home with their World Championship results, with two golds and third in the medal table. Dave Brailsford won’t be settling for that though.

And way to go Jenson Button - a 1st and 3rd for our lads in the first GP in Melbourne. A very messy affair with a lot of debris, except for Jenson who led from lights to flag, whilst Lewis stormed through from 18th on the grid to somehow end up 3rd. We last saw him in around 7th, but they didn’t make it very clear how he got to fourth, as I’m sure not all them in front crashed out. Jake will probably know, I’m sure he’ll update soon! (I'm guessing there might still be a bit of partying to be done yet).

Sportsnight

Archery: Nichola Simpson is assured of at least a silver medal, having won through to the women's compound gold medal match at the latest World Cup event in France. This should also clinch her place at this year's World Cup Grand Final in Switzerland.
Britain's women’s team of Alison Williamson, Naomi Folkard and Charlotte Burgess, collected their second World Cup medal of the season, adding a bronze to April's gold.

Mountain Bike World Championships, Val di Sole: Gee Atherton won gold, with team mate Steve Peat taking silver in the men's elite event, whilst Rachel Atherton, Gee’s sister, secured gold in the women‘s race, almost twelve seconds clear of her nearest rival. Josh Bryceland made it three golds for Britain, in the junior men's downhill, with compatriot Sam Dale taking the silver behind him.

Rowing: Five more medals for Team GB in the Olympic-class finals at the World Cup in Poland. Gold Winners were Zac Pruchase and Mark Hunter in the lightweight doubles, Laverick and Babington in the women's double sculls and the men's eights. The men's four of Tom James, Steve Williams, Peter Reed and Andy Hodge, the chosen team together for the first time this season following injury, took silver while the women's eight claimed bronze. The performances meant Great Britain won the overall title at the final World Cup of the season.