- 13 Jul 08, 10:17 PM
All the drama was around Dwain Chambers and it was always going to be.
Whatever decision is made later in the week it was a fascinating race. Most athletes struggled with the conditions this weekend but all the 100m runners performed excellently.
You want the younger guys to step up and do well and Simeon Williamson and Craig Pickering did just that. There is some irony in that Tyrone Edgar - who has always been a big supporter of Dwain - .
He stormed off the track and didn't speak to anybody after the race so I'm wondering if Tyrone's still got the same thoughts as he did earlier in the week
At this moment, Dwain is not eligible to be nominated in the team so they'd be well within their rights to not name him at all. If they do name someone and Chambers wins the case, they'd have to deselect him, so the wisest thing to do would be to name two people - like Williamson and Pickering - and then say to someone like Edgar his place would become available if the case is unsuccessful.
Or they might not name anybody or just name Williamson. This is what I get annoyed about as this situation causes issues for all the other team members not knowing what they have to do. So I would understand if the selectors go halfway.
There haven't been many startling performances overall, but given the injuries and the personal problems (his grandfather was recently diagnosed with cancer) he had in his build-up I will go for in the long jump as my favourite. The 100m was the show of the championships, but considering the level Greg needed to get to in that situation was brilliant.
It was indicative of the type of athlete he is. It's disappointing we haven't seen more young athletes grasping the opportunity.
run in the 3,000m steeplechase was my highlight for Sunday. You could see she was very keen to secure her Olympic place and it was great to see that exuberance and hunger at the age of 34. Tom Lancashire also won a brilliant 1500m.
Marilyn Okoro got her tactics rights and did what she had to do in the 800m. Jemma Simpson looked disappointed, but, along with Jenny Meadows, I think it will be those three - they've got the potential to make the Olympic semis.
We haven't seen too many genuine medal prospects. Yes, we want to get them selected safely, but sometimes you want them to come on to the Olympic trials and push on.
Although they didn't run in the 400m, Nicola Sanders and Christine Ohuruogu have met the criteria easily. There was a slight risk if somebody other than Lee McConnell had got a qualifying time, but that wasn't likely.
I think would like to have done better. She did OK in the javelin but that is a key event for the heptathlon and she'll need that to be a mediocre event for her, rather than a really bad one. But she's very good at raising her game at major championships.
If is able to produce his best form then he's favourite for triple jump gold. If you want to win a gold in Beijing it's really helpful to go there as world number one, be in form and consistent, and he's doing all those things.
He's just got to continue this path and if he does that, he won't come back empty handed.
I think five Olympic medals is achievable for Britain. To win five you would want them to go in with seven or eight good medal chances and convert 75%-80%. The team are probably going with five good medal chances and will hope to convert 100%.
There are a few fringe athletes, but the five are Idowu, Ohuruogu, Sanders, Sotherton and the 4x400m relay girls.
There is enough ability in the men's 4x100 squad but it's an untried team, and we'll be up against the Americans and Jamaicans. I would prefer to see more athletes in the 4-8 category and have one step up like Katherine Merry in Sydney in 2000.
And then there's who beat Tasha Danvers in the 400m hurdles. She doesn't have the Olympic qualifying time, but she's rapidly improving and only 19.
Four years from now she's going to be a huge talent. You have to look at the future and I would take her to Beijing. It's harsh on Tasha, but there's an athlete with bags of ability rising to the occasion. It's a wide open event as well, so I say send her out there and give her some experience - it will make her an even better athlete for 2012.
I went to the Olympics when I was 19 and of course it's intimidating. But you have to learn that. My medal was making the final. It pays huge dividends years later.
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