Team TTO | Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee | teamtto.org

T&T’s George Bovell won his tenth medal of the  FINA/Arena Swimming World Cup, when he placed second in the 50 metres freestyle, at the SSE Schwimm-und Sprunghall, Berlin, Germany, yesterday.

30th Commonwealth Sports Awards.

Delegates from the International Rugby Board were among officials representing 28 federations participating in the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) London Olympic Games review meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland this week.

With the Rio 2016 cycle well and truly underway and Rugby Sevens set to make its debut in four years time, the highly-constructive meeting provided an invaluable opportunity for the IRB to discuss with federations the key learnings from the London 2012 review process.

ASOIF Director, Andrew Ryan, said: “It was important to have IRB present at the London debrief and understand the key issues as we believe Rugby Sevens will play an important part in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio even though it will be making its first appearance.  We are excited about the growth of the sport worldwide and with its unique qualities we view Rugby Sevens as making a significant contribution to not only the sports programme, but also to the Games atmosphere overall”.

The IRB also met with members of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee to progress implementation of the specific operational and organisational requirements that will underscore a successful and spectacular Rugby Sevens event at the Olympic Games.

Milestone for Rio 2016

The meetings represent another significant milestone on the road to Rio 2016 for the IRB and its Member Federations. A new Sevens strategic plan has been implemented to provide the roadmap for accelerated growth, participation and competition, including the pillars of Olympic Games qualification, to maximise the benefits of Olympic Games inclusion.  

IRB Chief Executive Brett Gosper said: "We are a committed and proactive member of the Olympic family and these highly-constructive meetings provided an invaluable opportunity to advance our planning and preparation for our Rugby Sevens debut at Rio 2016." 

"We enjoy an excellent partnership with the IOC and the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, and are united in our vision of delivering an exceptional event that will be fantastic for the Olympic Games and fantastic for the global Rugby community."

"This is certainly an exciting time for Rugby as we enter the Rio 2016 cycle. We are already experiencing the benefits of Olympic Games inclusion with growth in emerging and new markets. Our Member Unions are establishing strong partnerships with their respective National Olympic Committees and interest and participation in men's and women's Rugby Sevens continues to go from strength to strength."  

The next 12 months will be seminal for Rugby Sevens as the opening round of the  inaugural four-event IRB Women's Sevens Series kicks off in Dubai on November 30, while Sevens will break new ground when Moscow plays host to Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013 - the first time that Russia has hosted an IRB Sevens event.

Source: www.irb.com

Jessica Ennis has been voted British Olympic Athlete of the Year for 2012 by athletics fans across the country, narrowly beating fellow Briton Mo Farah to the honour.

Ennis, coached by Toni Minichiello, secured 48 per cent of the vote, just four per cent more than that gained by the Olympic 5,000 metres and 10,000m champion.

Earlier this month, Ennis and Farah were named as female and male European Athletes of the Year, and both are shortlisted for the International Association of Athletics Federation's (IAAF) Athlete of the Year award.

After winning silver in the pentathlon at the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul in March, Ennis went on to earn heptathlon gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games to the delight of the 80,000 capacity crowd.

En route to victory Ennis recorded the fastest ever 100m hurdles time in a heptathlon, while also extending her British record with a score of 6,955.

"Thank you to all of the UK Athletics fans for voting me the British Olympic Athlete of the Year – what an honour," the Sheffield athlete said.

"The support of all the athletics fans is so important for us athletes and this year especially – your support at all the events running up to London was so important.

"What a great year 2012 has been."

By Mike Rowbottom

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

Dutch banking group to stop sponsorship of cycling team after 28 years in wake of Lance Armstrong doping revelations. The Dutch banking group Rabobank is to pull out of the sport in the wake of the Lance Armstrong doping revelations after almost 30 years of continuous involvement, saying it is "no longer convinced" professional cycling can be realistically viewed as clean.
The surprise announcement will see Rabobank's distinctive orange and blue jerseys disappear from its men's and women's professional teams at the end of the year, though the financial support, worth more than £12m a year,will continue for a period.
In a statement Rabobank said it had made its decision following the publication last week by the US Anti-Doping Agency of an exhaustive and damning report into the organised doping activities of Armstrong, the now-disqualified seven times Tour de France winner, and his US Postal team. The report has sparked fresh coverage about the endemic nature of drug use in professional cycling during the Armstrong era.
The Usada report "speaks volumes" about the sport, Rabobank said. Bert Bruggink, a member of the bank's managing board, said: "We are no longer convinced that the international professional world of cycling can make this a clean and fair sport. We are not confident that this will change for the better in the foreseeable future."
He continued: "Cycling is a beautiful sport, which millions of Dutch people enjoy and a large number of those Dutch people are clients of Rabobank. But our decision stands: we are pulling out of professional cycling. It is painful. Not just for Rabobank, but especially for the enthusiasts and the cyclists who are not to blame in this."
The announcement comes the day after a Spanish Rabobank rider, Carlos Barredo, was suspended for possible doping, though there is no indication the two are linked.
The 27-strong men's team, more than half of whom are Dutch, and the women's squad, led by the 2012 Olympic road race champion Marianne Vos, will not be immediately broken up but will continue to ride under the "white label" of a new foundation, the teams' managers said in a statement.
"We will honour our contracts with the riders," Bruggink told a press conference, according to Cycling News. "The pro teams come in a separate foundation and hence contractual and financial obligations are unconditional."
The announcement was nonetheless unexpected and brought criticism, with Robert Gesink, a Dutch Rabobank rider, saying he was "extremely bitter that we are now paying for what happened in the past".
David Millar, the British rider who returned from a drugs ban to play a leading role in the vehemently ani-doping Garmin squad, was even more vehement, tweeting: "Dear Rabobank, you were part of the problem. How dare you walk away from your young clean guys who are part of the solution. Sickening."
Millar's point is that the Dutch bank stood by the team even when they were embroiled in some of the worst aspects of the doping era. In 2007 Rabobank looked set to gain their only Tour de France win through Michael Rasmussen, who led the race with four stages to go. But the Danish rider was sacked by the team as pressure built over his failure to attend a series of earlier doping tests.
Levi Leipheimer, one of Armstrong's key Tour de France lieutenants who confessed to doping as part of the Usada investigation, is a former Rabobank rider. The Usada report named another former rider for the team, Johan Bruyneel, who went on to manage Armstrong, as a key player in the doping conspiracy, charges he says he will fight.
The decision is a significant reverse for professional cycling as it seeks to emerge from the shadow of Armstrong's legacy and convince the public and other sponsors it is becoming largely drug-free. These efforts have been boosted by the appearance of vehemently and publicly anti-doping teams, also including Team Sky, led by Britain's 2012 Tour de France winner, Bradley Wiggins. In the wake of the Armstrong revelations Sky this week announced they would oblige all staff and riders to sign a pledge saying they have never doped.
Rabobank's departure is all the more significant given both the company's long association with cycling and its base in the Netherlands, one of the most enthusiastic cycling nations in the world.

By Peter Walker

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A DAY after handing in his resignation as coach of the Canadian men’s national team, Trinidadian Stephen Hart explained his decision.

“This is not like a league where you can redeem yourself the following Saturday or whatever,” Hart said in a conference call yesterday. “Before every game, I always reminded the players that regardless of the outcome I want them to walk off the field with their dignity intact, and this freakish result was impossible for me to accept.

“Especially after completely outplaying the same opponent at home.”

The “freakish result” Hart referred to was Tuesday’s horrific 8-1 loss in Honduras that eliminated Canada from World Cup qualification, despite the Canadians only needing a point in that match to advance to the final round of qualifying.

The former coach said that the nature of the loss left his position as national team boss untenable, but that he will always leave the door open to working with the Canadian Soccer Association in another role.

“If asked (by the CSA), I will continue to do so,” he said. “I’ve always worked with the best interests of the game in Canada (at heart). Understanding the soccer reality here, my approach has always been to do my little part rather than simply talk or moan about it.”

One of the ways Hart is open to do his part is to work with the CSA to dissect what went wrong in a promising qualification campaign. The hope is that problems can be identified and avoided in the future, something the Trinidad and Tobago native seemed keen on assisting with.

“I told them I’m willing to do anything to help because this is something close to my heart,” he said.

Hart has his own ideas about what Canada needs to do to succeed at the international level, and he pointed to a more unified infrastructure as a key area that needed to be worked on if his successors are to enjoy improved results.

“The best programmes in the world have sort of a common thread,” he explained.

“There’s always a working relationship for the common good of players and the game — between the federations, the associations and the professional clubs — so collectively we must ensure that this happens in an effort to improve the entire system.”

The CSA has stated that it hopes to name Hart’s replacement as soon as possible.

Source: www.newsday.co.tt

New Zealand fell inches short in their bid to equal the world record of 17 straight Test wins by a top-tier nation after an 18-18 draw with Australia.

The world champions trailed 15-6 with half-an-hour left but four consecutive Dan Carter penalties put them ahead.

Mike Harris's fifth penalty for the Wallabies levelled it after 75 minutes.

But New Zealand, opting for a scrum on their own 22 in injury time, nearly snatched victory only for Carter to miss a drop-goal with the last kick.

It was an incredible finish and the sense of disappointment and disbelief on All Blacks faces after seeing their run come to an end was evident at the final whistle.

The All Blacks had won 16 successive Tests since their final game before last year's World Cup triumph - a 25-20 loss to Australia, also in Brisbane - and were looking to equal the joint record of their New Zealand predecessors from 1965-1969, and South Africa from 1997-1998.

Lithuania hold the official International Rugby Board record of 18 successive wins from 2006-2010, but none was against a Tier One or Two nation.

For the first 50 minutes at the Suncorp Stadium New Zealand were way below their usual lofty standards, a string of handling errors and indiscipline at the breakdown allowing Harris - with four penalties before the interval - and Kurtley Beale, with a long-range effort in the 51st minute, to give the Wallabies a nine-point advantage.

Even the great Richie McCaw momentarily lost his composure - understandably perhaps - after Wallaby flanker Scott Higginbotham appeared to knee him in the face as he lay on the ground. When the All Blacks captain took exception, Higginbotham then aimed his head in the direction of McCaw's, an act that may interest the citing commissioner.

"Another cheap shot on the bloke, he seems to get it every week, and everyone seems to miss it," said All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.

But the world champions showed their character to turn the match around, aided by the sin-binning of Wallabies flanker Michael Hooper for a late hit on scrum-half Aaron Smith.

Back to a full complement of 15 after the yellow card issued to prop Tony Woodcock in the last minute before half-time, the All Blacks chipped away with four Carter penalties between the 52nd and 71st minutes.

Nerves appeared to afflict the injury-ravaged Wallabies, losing a line-out near their own line before Adam Ashley-Cooper dropped a high kick from replacement Aaron Cruden on his own 22.

When the ball rebounded to Nick Phipps in an offside position, Carter put the All Backs ahead for the first time since the 11th minute.

But Australia responded and after Harris had levelled the scores with five minutes left, it was the hosts who threatened to win the game, camped in the All Blacks half but failing to create a position for a drop-goal attempt.

Instead the All Blacks, awarded a penalty on their own 22 two minutes into injury time, opted for a scrum and thrillingly worked their way up to the Australia 22 with some superb handling.

But when the opportunity knocked to make history at the last, Carter - the record points scorer in Test rugby - pulled his snatched drop-goal attempt narrowly wide of the right-hand post.

Saturday's match was the third in this year's Bledisloe Cup series between the trans-Tasman rivals, but New Zealand had already retained the trophy after home and away wins in the recent Rugby Championship.

Australia: Mike Harris, Nick Cummins, Ben Tapuai, Pat McCabe, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Kurtley Beale, Nick Phipps; Benn Robinson, Tatafu Polota Nau, James Slipper, Sitaleki Timani, Nathan Sharpe (capt), Scott Higginbotham, Michael Hooper, Wycliff Palu.

Replacements: James Hanson (for Polota Nau, 72), Sekope Kepu (for Slipper, 41), Kane Douglas (for Timani, 21), Dave Dennis (for Palu, 45), Liam Gill (for Douglas, 64), Brett Sheehan (for Phipps, 71), Drew Mitchell (for Cummins, 67).

Sin-bin: Hooper (54-64)

New Zealand: Israel Dagg, Cory Jane, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Hosea Gear, Daniel Carter, Aaron Smith; Tony Woodcock, Keven Mealamu, Charlie Faumuina, Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Liam Messam, Richie McCaw (captain), Kieran Read.

Replacements: Andrew Hore (for Mealamu, 57), Owen Franks (for Faumuina, 50), Luke Romano (for Retallick, 68), Victor Vito (for Messam, 71), Piri Weepu (for A Smith, 60), Aaron Cruden (for Nonu, 62), Ben Smith (for C Smith, 52).

Sin-bin: Woodcock (40-50)

Att: 51,888

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

By Bryn Palmer

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Every once in a while you come across someone who appeals to your senses in a special way and in my reading about a young woman named Aimee Mullins, I found my most recent inspiration.

Mullins challenges her listeners to reassess their typical view of paralympic athletes, breaking all the social definitions of appearance and beauty as she shares her accomplishments and perspectives as an athlete and as a person in society, living as a female double amputee.

After making changes to please the IOC, the sport is confident of winning race to be at 2020 Games

Six days before Christmas the representatives of seven sports will gather in Lausanne to pitch for a part in the greatest show on earth: a place in the Olympic Games. It is an eclectic grouping of sport climbing, karate, a Chinese martial art called wushu, a joint baseball/softball bid, roller sports, wakeboarding and squash.

There will be no early Christmases for any of them as a decision as to which should be added to the 2020 Games will not be reached until next summer, but for the sport of squash a few more months of waiting will not seem an eternity. They have been here before.

This is its third attempt to gain access to an exclusive club. In February the International Olympic Committee will decide which from the current roster is dropped, then in May there will be a last presentation, to the IOC's executive board, which will in turn recommend a single sport to be put before the full IOC membership at their gathering in Buenos Aires in September.

Three years ago in Copenhagen squash lost out to rugby sevens and golf, which make their debuts in Rio in 2016. The sport will begin this round as favourites and the determination of the World Squash Federation to succeed at long last is demonstrated by hiring Mike Lee, who was involved in helping London win the Games and, most remarkably, Qatar clinch the 2022 World Cup finals, to advise on their campaign.

Tomorrow is World Squash Day, a campaign that existed pre-Lee, and one that will see the involvement of some 40,000 players in 72 countries. It is all about backing the bid.

"It will show to the Olympic movement what we do bring to the Olympics in terms of numbers and passions," said Andrew Shelley, chief executive of the WSF.

Squash has been part of the Commonwealth Games since 1998 and it is also included in the Asian, Pan American and All African Games. "We are in everything else," said Shelley. "We would like to make the last step. As a young, healthy, drug-free sport, we've had world champions from every continent. We are genuinely world-wide."

It was rugby and golf's better "commercial viability" that helped secure IOC backing and this is matters a great deal to the IOC. The WSF have worked hard to sell the sport and make it more media-friendly, in particular with the approach to to TV coverage. Courts now have glass walls and floors – the entrance to the court has even been moved from its traditional place in the back wall to the side to improve the cameras' view.

"We have spent a lot of time listening to what the IOC have had to say and we think we are ready now," said Shelley.

Squash will never match the commercial appeal of golf, but it can push its global support. Argentina, Namibia and Korea will compete for the first time at the women's world team championships in France this year.

Olympic recognition would bring financial advantages to the sport and that is why there is intense competition to earn a place. Rugby sevens' involvement has already seen the number of full-time teams rise. China and Netherlands are among countries that now have professional women's teams. Here, it would mean funding from UK Sport towards its Olympic athletes.

Two Britons, James Willstrop and Nick Matthews, are currently ranked one and two in the world, but if squash's time does come there's will be gone. The current generation though are well aware of what an Olympic opportunity would mean.

"I would trade all six of my world titles for just one Olympic gold medal," said Nicol David, the women's No 1 from Malaysia. "Every world title means the world to me – that's how important the Olympics is in my heart."

By Robin Scott-Elliot

Source: www.independent.co.uk

If New Zealand defeat Australia in Brisbane on Saturday they will equal South Africa's 17-game unbeaten record.

The doctor at the centre of the Lance Armstrong scandal could face criminal charges in Italy relating to an alleged £24 million doping ring.