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tokyo2021

Team GB demonstrates its support for Tokyo with One Year to Go

written by Hugh

The 23rd July marked one year to go until the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games following the historic decision to postpone the event until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Team GB has reaffirmed its support for its friends and partners in Japan with the latest iteration of its ‘This is What Makes Us’ marketing campaign, which focusses on the diverse characteristics of the nation’s favourite sports team, as it seeks to bring the nation together in the build-up to and during Tokyo 2020.

‘Tokyo is What Makes Us’ is an open letter to Tokyo; a destination that holds a very special place in the heart of Team GB. In 1964, the city hosted the first Olympic Games to be staged in Asia in an event that symbolised re-emergence and peace. 56 years on, Tokyo represents something just as powerful; a beacon of hope to the world and a celebration of unity.

25th July 2020 0 comment

Rowing

Tokyo Infographic

written by Hugh

20th July 2020 0 comment

Athletics

BRITISH ATHLETICS JOIN FORCES WITH BLUE PETER TO ‘TRAIN YOUR WAY TO TOKYO’

written by Hugh

British Athletics are joining forces with British Cycling and British Rowing and iconic BBC children’s television show Blue Peter to run, cycle and row the distance from Manchester to Tokyo in just 30 days.

Officially launching today [May 28], the ‘Train Your Way to Tokyo’ challenge will see Blue Peter presenter Lindsey Russell team up with athletes from athletics, cycling and rowing to cover the 9948km distance from the Blue Peter studio in Salford to the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo.

Averaging at over 300km a day across the 30 days, Lindsey will try her hand at all three sports and get an insight into how Olympic and Paralympic athletes are currently training. She will combine her total with the athletes taking part, all completing the challenge from inside their own homes or outdoors within the current government guidance.

Lindsey will be mentored by five-time European champion Laura Muir for the running part of the challenge while British teammates Charlotte Purdue, Melissa Courtney-Bryant, Callum Hawkins, Oliver Dustin, Alex Botterill and Derek Rae among others are counting their kilometres covered in training over the 30-day period towards the overall total. From cycling, Olympic and world champion Elinor Barker is acting as a mentor to Lindsey as is Paralympic and world champion from rowing, Lauren Rowles.

The group effort is running until June 16 with the final film being shown on Blue Peter on June 18 at 17:30 on CBBC and iPlayer. The 2020 Sport Badge was designed by a Blue Peter viewer to celebrate the Olympic Games in Tokyo. To earn a sport badge, kids aged 6-15 must try a new way of getting active.

Laura Muir, five-time European champion, said: “It is great to be supporting Lindsey as part of Blue Peter’s ‘Train Your Way to Tokyo’ challenge. I loved the show when I was growing up and so jumped at the opportunity to take part. It was so exciting to receive the new Blue Peter badge and I hope everyone watching can learn something along the way. I’ll be contributing my normal training miles as part of the challenge and I am excited to be offering my support and tips and advice to Lindsey – I have no doubt she will do a fantastic job.”

Olympic and world champion Elinor Barker said: “I’m enjoying being part of the Train Your way to Tokyo challenge with Blue Peter and already in our first week, myself and my Great Britain Cycling Team teammates have clocked up a good number of kilometres in training to help Lindsey on her way. Hopefully, we will help to inspire the audience to take up more activity themselves especially as we’re in this difficult period of lockdown.”

Paralympic and world champion Lauren Rowles MBE said: “I’m incredibly excited to be part of the Train Your Way to Tokyo challenge with Blue Peter and our friends at British Cycling and British Athletics. During these tough times it’s more important than ever for kids and parents to stay active and I hope this challenge inspires them to get involved in sport and take on new challenges”.

Blue Peter presenter Lindsey Russell said: “Though I’ve completed many Blue Peter challenges, I’ve never taken on a multisport challenge quite like this. It’s daunting but I can’t wait to train with these incredible athletes and hopefully show what can be achieved by working together, all from our own homes.”

28th May 2020 0 comment

Sailing

British Olympic Association and Royal Yachting Association joint statement on athletes selected for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

written by Hugh

The 15 sailors already named to represent Team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will remain the same for the rescheduled Games in 2021, the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) have today confirmed.

The announcement follows the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games by 12 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In light of the postponement, the BOA asked the RYA to consider and confirm its position regarding the selection of athletes for Team GB.

A meeting held by the RYA Olympic Selection Committee (OSC) unanimously agreed that the selections previously agreed should stand for the rearranged Tokyo Olympic Games, which will take place from July 23 to August 8 next year.

It was the OSC’s view that the sailors selected in all ten Olympic classes remain the best choices to maximise Team GB’s medal-winning potential in Enoshima, the sailing competition venue.

Team GB’s sailors were the first to be announced back in October 2019, with an initial 12 sailors selected including Olympic champions Hannah Mills (470 Women) and Giles Scott (Finn).

Partnering Mills will be her world championship-winning crew Eilidh McIntyre, while in the men’s 470 Luke Patience and Chris Grube were selected. In the men’s 49er class Stuart Bithell teams up with Dylan Fletcher, while Charlotte Dobson returns in the 49erFX alongside Saskia Tidey. Alison Young will make her third Olympic appearance in the Laser Radial discipline. Both representatives in the RS:X windsurfer class are newcomers to the Olympic Games: Tom Squires and Emma Wilson.

The 12 selections were followed by a further three in February of this year. John Gimson and Anna Burnet were selected for the Nacra 17 class, while Elliot Hanson (Laser) completed the 15-strong line-up in late February in the Laser. All three will be making their Olympic debuts at the re-arranged Games.

Mark Robinson, RYA Olympic Performance Manager and Team GB Sailing Team Leader, said: “I am delighted to re-confirm the 15 athletes already selected for Team GB will stay the same for the rescheduled Games.

“Over the past eight months we have nominated an incredibly talented group of sailors to the British Olympic Association and we strongly believe they remain the right athletes to represent the nation in 2021.

“The global pandemic has caused much uncertainty but, combined with release of the new dates for the Olympic Games, this decision will give our sailors the confidence, clarity and motivation to charge towards Tokyo 2020 and the goal of bringing home medals for Team GB.”

Mark England, Team GB Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020, said: “We are delighted with the sailing team selected for the Games and think they bring a great mix of proven Olympic success along with exciting new talent.

“We feel with the re-confirmation of these names, the athletes can firmly set their sights on next July and ensure that when training resumes they can thoroughly prepare and be in the best possible position to show Team GB supporters and the world, what they’re capable of in Tokyo.”

The selected athletes are:

Giles Scott: Finn (Men’s One Person Dinghy Heavy)
Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre: 470 Women (Women’s Two Person Dinghy)
Luke Patience and Chris Grube: 470 Men (Men’s Two Person Dinghy)
Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey: 49erFX (Women’s Skiff)
Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell: 49er (Men’s Skiff)
Elliot Hanson: Laser (Men’s One Person Dinghy)
Alison Young: Laser Radial (Women’s One Person Dinghy)
Emma Wilson: RS:X Women (Women’s Windsurfer)
Tom Squires: RS:X Men (Men’s Windsurfer)
John Gimson and Anna Burnet: Nacra 17 (Mixed Multihull)

14th April 2020 0 comment

TSF News

Joint BOA, BPA and UK Sport statement

written by Hugh

The British Olympic Association (BOA), British Paralympic Association (BPA) and UK Sport welcome the news of the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Chief Executive of the BOA, Andy Anson, said: “It is with profound sadness that we accept the postponement, but in all consciousness it is the only decision we can support, in light of the devastating impact COVID-19 is having on our nation, our communities and our families.

“Alongside UK Sport and the BPA, we have consulted with the National Governing Bodies of summer Olympic and Paralympic sports and with athlete representative groups, including our Athletes’ Commissions and the British Athletes’ Commission. It is with their input and support that we have a unanimous view that the impact of COVID-19 on athletes’ training and preparation means their regimes are now compromised irreparably. It is time for them to stop thinking about Tokyo 2020 for now and be home and safe with their families.

“It would have been unthinkable for us to continue to prepare for an Olympic Games at a time the nation and the world no less is enduring great hardship. A postponement is the right decision.

“We have incredible sympathy for the Tokyo 2020 organising committee and indeed our colleagues at the IOC, who are working tirelessly to seek a positive outcome to this difficult scenario. The Olympic Games is a symbol of hope for us all and we are sure that we will be in Tokyo at the right and appropriate time as the world re-emerges from this dark period.”

Sally Munday, CEO of UK Sport said: “We welcome today’s decision from the IOC, IPC and Japan that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be postponed. Given the unprecedented global challenge we face, today’s news means that athletes, their coaches and support staff can now fully focus on what really matters at this terribly difficult time, keeping themselves and their families safe.

“We are working closely with government to ensure we can effectively support sports and their athletes through this distressing period. I’d like to take the opportunity to reassure sports that our guidance from last week remains in place that we will not seek to recover any financial performance investment or Athlete Performance Awards due to disruption caused by COVID-19. We also realise that today’s decision has significant financial implications for our high performance system and we are working hard to identify the wide ranging impacts and scenarios and are in close contact with government to establish how best to support our summer Olympic and Paralympic sports and athletes to be ready for the Games when they do take place.

“I’d like to thank all our athletes who are playing a role in so many different ways in these challenging times, from supporting their local communities to inspiring us to stay active in our own homes. I’d also like to reassure the public that whilst the games are postponed, we strongly believe the power of sport will inspire the nation again.”

Mike Sharrock, CEO of the BPA, added: “The British Paralympic Association fully supports the decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Stemming this global public health crisis and doing everything possible to safeguard the health and wellbeing of people should clearly take priority in these unprecedented times.

“We welcome the clarity this now gives Paralympic athletes throughout the world who have had their training and qualification plans severely disrupted but also recognise it will still be a deeply unsettling time for athletes who have worked for years focussed on delivering their best possible performance in Tokyo this summer.

“The British Paralympic Association is already implementing contingency plans to ensure ParalympicGB athletes have everything in place to be best prepared for the Games when they are staged in 2021.

“We recognise that there are a huge range of factors to be considered when looking to postpone an event at this scale and we acknowledge the scale of the challenge for our friends at the Tokyo organising committee, the IOC and IPC in addressing these.

“Now is the time for us all to work together to overcome this global threat. Sport has a unique power to inspire and bring people together and we are certain that the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games can be that beacon of hope for the whole world to focus on to show what the human spirit can achieve.”

We wish to state that this decision – to postpone the Games – should in no way be a reflection on the excellent organisation of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games by the IOC, the Tokyo Organising Committee and the Government of Japan.

Our thoughts remain with the families and individuals affected by COVID-19, as well as the front-line workers – including many health care professionals from the UK sports’ network – who are working to keep our communities safe and well.

We also sympathise with the many hundreds of athletes, both in the UK and globally, whose careers and personal ambitions are being impacted after many years of hard work and training.

We remain committed to taking our Olympic and Paralympic athletes to Tokyo for the next edition of the summer Games, at the appropriate time, in the hope that it will be a celebration of the world re-emerging from this unprecedented time.

24th March 2020 0 comment