Royal Mail Golden Stamps 14 #London2012

It may the Sunday in the middle of the Paralympics, but just like their Olympic counterparts the Paralympians were not giving the Royal Mail stamp designers a day of rest.

Over at Eton Dorney there was the first gold of the day. The Mixed Coxed Four LTAMix4+ of Pam Relph, Naomi Riches, David Smith and James Roe and cox Lily van den Broecke took the gold to add to their world championship. Gold post boxes will appear in Weston Turville (for Pam), Marlow (Naomi), Stratford upon Avon (James), Aviemore (David) and Oxford (Lily).

Over in the Olympic Stadium there was a young 21 year-old going for his second medal of these games in his preferred event. Aled Davies in the Discus F42 threw 46.16m in the final round after already a guaranteed gold to add to his bronze in the shot putt. So there will be a gold post box in Bridgend for the Welsh thrower. His medal was presented to him by the future Princess of Wales, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.

Then it was over to the velodrome where there chances in all three events on the final day. In an all British final in the men's tandem sprint saw Anthony Kappes and his pilot Craig MacLean take the first race. They then took the banking round and jumped with over a lap and half to go than Neil Fachie and pilot Barney Storey had to settle for only silver today and had sat up before the bell.

Next up the gold rush headed into the Aquatic Center in the women's 200m Freestyle S14 Jessica-Jane Applegate was only 4th at the half way stage and third at 150, but in the final 50 metres she came through to  touch out with a win by 0.55 secs.

At Greenwich Park Sophie Christiansen onboard Janeiro 6, surely a horse named for four years time scored 82.7% in Grade 1A Dressage.

 

Sophie's win along with Natasha Baker in her class yesterday and the three silver in the other classes also ensured that Team GB yet again took the team gold. So Lee Pearson wins his 10th with Sophie Wells and Debbie Criddle also forming part of the team. Gold has been the exclusive domain of the GB equestrian team since Dressage was introduced to the Paralympics in 1996.

Finally back on the track in the last race of the night it was time for another GB Paralympics poster boy to follow in the footsteps of Mo Farrah and take men's T54 5000m gold. Dave Weir did not disappoint coming into the back straight of the last lap he was starting to come up on the rear wheel of the leading Korean and then with 200m to go he went on the attack and surged away in the last 100m to win with a gap between his rear wheel and the chair behind. So a gold post box for Wallington, Surrey.

Gold at last for Kath #London2012

Always the bridesmaid...

...and then...

Today was the day that Katherine Grainger started in her fourth Olympic rowing final. After six world titles she had never managed to stand in middle of an Olympic podium. Indeed in all three of the last Olympics she has been in the second spot. Silver in the Quadruple Sculls in Sydney 2000, in the Coxless Pairs in Athens 2004 and again in the Quad Sculls in Beijing 2008.

But in the double sculls with the women who will become a pub quiz answer in years to come, Anna Watkins, she had long been tipped to end the drought of British women's gold on Olympic rowing lakes at Eton Dorney. Of course the other day Heather Stanning and Helen Glover took that first away from Kath.

But today on the rowing lake the two of them got off to a start leading from 100m out and never giving the lead away. Reaching the line with half a length advantage over the Australians to finally claim a gold for Kath Grainger.

Elsewhere at Eton Dorney today George Nash and Will Satch in the men's pair like the women's pair before them thought to have been a make up crew took bronze. While a second medal will be heading to Coleraine after these Games as Alan Campbell added to the Team Northern Ireland medal total with a bronze in the mens's single scull.

The women are so far leading the way in the rowing with 2 golds. But with the final day of rowing finals tomorrow we may see some more medals to go with the 2 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze Team GB now have.

Silver for Team NI (plus two from Team GB) #London2012

My grandfather used to row on the Bann for Coleraine Inst. but two other old boys of the same school, Richard and Peter Chambers, today were racing at Eton Dorney for Olympic gold.

In what was the closest race of the Olympic regatta so far the Northern Irish pair along with Rob Williams and Chris Bartley were in a four way tussle with the Danes, Aussies and South Africans.

The Danes had taken the lead early while the other three crews were left somewhat in their wake. But at half way the other three were starting to make inroads into the Danish lead. Australia were second at the 1000m mark.

However as the crew neared the stands and the final 500m both GB&NI and South Africa started to get close to the Danes. Both the other crews continued to make inroads. With 100m to go all three were more or less neck and neck, each pull or reach changing the lead it seemed.

In the end as you can see above the the top four were separated by about half a length while the three medals by a matter of feet. The GB crew had just finished a stroke before the line so were at top speed while the Danes were just starting one it was a difference that earned a slightly higher medal.

While GB may be disappointed about not taking gold, the rainbow nation won their first Olympic gold in rowing with a mixed race crew.

Sadly it also means I won't be trying to contact family in the Coleraine area to send me an envelope with the new gold medal stamp from Coleraine tomorrow.

Royal Mail Golden Stamps #London2012

As promised the Royal Mail are issue stamps and commemorative First Day Covers for any British Olympian who wins gold at London 2012.

90 Royal Mail vehicles are heading off tonight to over 500 post offices so that the stamps will be on sale by lunchtime tomorrow. Or you can order a First Day Cover stamped with the address of the Olympic Stadium, with a date of issue the day after any win.

So here are the stamps to honour Helen Glover and Heather Stanning

and Bradley Wiggins

c

Also in Chorley, Bradley Wiggins home town, Lossiemouth for Heather Stanning and Penzance for Helen Glover the Royal Mail will be painting a post box gold in honour of the occasion.


My order is in for the first two first day covers.

Golden Girls #London2012

Never in the history of Olympic rowing had a female GB crew won gold....

....until today.

Heather Stanning and Helen Glover were picked out from the Olympic Giants scheme to be potential Olympians for London 2012. Four years ago they had not been anywhere near a boat. Two years ago they were considered to be the reserves for the GB team, but someone decided to put them out in a pair to see how they fared.

They took World Silver and did so again in 2011.

Andy Murray's pic from the men's locker room at Wimbledon

But this morning they took off from the gun and had clear water by the 500m mark over the world champions from New Zealand. By 1500m they had opened up a lead of almost four lengths. Yes the gap started to close over the last 500m but at Olympic venues all over London a cheer went up. From fans and competitors the gold duck has been broken.

The first time British women took gold in the Olympic rowing regatta and Katherine Grainger, three times silver medalist, has yet to come in the double sculls.

Andy Holmes Set to Row Over the River Styx*

There once was a time which younger readers may find odd that Britain didn't turn up at international rowing regattas and expect to pick up medals. However, before Los Angeles in 1984 there was not a sniff of gold since the London Olympiad of 1948 for the rowers.

1984 saw the arrival of an Olympic giant Steve Redgrave but along with Adrian Ellison, the cox, Richard Budget and Martin Cross was the man that would be Redgrave's pairs partner to two World, two Commonwealth golds as well as a gold in the coxless and bronze in the coxed pairs in Seoul in 1988.

Andy Holmes was the man, who was then replaced by Matthew Pinsent, was the first to switch boats with Redgrave and help set him up for the gold at 5 successive games. However, the sad news is that after 17 years away from the sport before a recent return 51 year old has died from the bacterial infection Weil's disease, also known as leptospirosis. This is picked up from river water infected by urine of animals in the water.

As a tribute here are Andy's two Olympic gold medal performances.

1984



1988



Andy Holmes 1959-2010

* The River Styx is the mythological Greek boundary between Earth and the afterlife.

Three Men Won A Gold

Yeah the Brits finally have put three men on the top of a medal podium in the Beijing Olympics on the first day of the track cycling as Team GB exploded unto the velodrome.

Jamie Staff got the qualifying round off to a flyer with the fastest opening 250 metres ever in the team sprint, allowing Jason Kenny to lead out Chris Hoy for the final 250 setting a World Record 42.950 secs to set the standard. They eased through the first round to face France in the final which they secured with a run of 43.128 over half a second up on the French.

Elsewhere in the velodrome Bradley Wiggins was quickest with an Olympic record in qualifying for the men's 4000m pursuit with debutant Steve Burke a credible 5th. In the women's 3000m version Britain were 1st and 2nd with Wendy Houvenaghel and Rebecca Romero dominating proceedings.

Elsewhere on the various bits of water the sailors are guaranteed at least a silver and bronze medal going into tomorrow's match races as Ben Ainslie in the Finn and the Yngling girls finished far enough ahead of their challengers to make it a two horse race for Ben and at least a bronze for the Yngling crew with the Brits leading both standings. Paul Goodison also now heads the Laser class and Nick Dempsey has moved up to third in teh RS:X Windsurfing class.

Meanwhile in the rowing more British crews secured final places as both the lightweight men's double scull, Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter, and lightweight men's four, Richard Chambers, James Lindsay-Fynn, Paul Mattick and James Clarke. It makes 10 finals at the rowing lake that Britain will have representation.

Britainia really is doing rather well on and in water at this Olympics.

It's Team GB & Norn Iron

It was good to see Alan Campbell power over the last few hundred metres of the men's single sculls this morning for a number of reasons. Firstly he has only just recovered from knee surgery but also because his that oft forgotten part of Team GB's name. Yes the Coleraine lad was proud to remind viewers who were able to watch his post race interview with Sir Steve of the Five Golds that he was Northern Irish and wanted to thank the team at the Sports Council for Northern Ireland in Belfast.

Elsewhere Emma Pooley showed that she had learnt how to ride that circuit from the women's road race well when she secured the silver in the women's time trail of the finishing circuit she twice launched attacks over on Sunday. She finished behind and American called Armstrong, but we're quite sure that Lance hasn't undergone gender reassignment to compete as this was Kristin Armstrong who had ended the 23.5 km tough uphill then down again time trail 24 seconds ahead of the Brit. Pooely was 4 seconds ahead at the intermediate check at the Wall 10.8km in but as the commentators said due to her diminutive climbers stature she had to make up time on the climb for the hard work on the descent to the finish.

Yesterday individual bronze for Zara Philips' replacement Tina Cook (must be the name these games) and the team bronze were also won by the eventers at the equestrian centre added to the British medal tally.