As a man and a player, John Terry seems unable to keep himself out of the headlines. This week, another damning story fell on the Chelsea defender as he was given a four-match ban and £220,000 fine for allegedly directing racial abuse towards a fellow professional during a match. The hearing that delivered this verdict followed an announcement by Terry that he was retiring from international football amid beliefs there was a vendetta against him from The FA. All in all, the obvious conclusions that can be drawn are that the man has continued to reinforce his despicable nature as a person to the public whilst also ridding the country of arguably the best centre-back it currently possesses. Just another major chapter in his life then...!
So I guess the first issue that has to be addressed is that Terry has been accused and found guilty of being racist. This is by an FA hearing that has been held nearly a year after the incident occurred. Furthermore, it is a hearing that was called after the Chelsea captain was found not guilty in a court of law. This is why the case has developed with interest. How can an authority, which is clearly lower down the pecking order, charge somebody of a crime that they have already been acquitted from? You can therefore understand Terry’s frustration and sense of injustice regarding the situation. The reason why The FA could continue with the proceedings is because the courts had to decide unequivocally that Terry had used racist language in an insulting manner, i.e. there was intent, whereas they just had to conclude whether racial words were aimed at Ferdinand. The need for proof is lower. Whether this is right or wrong is a different point entirely. You may argue that The FA felt that by going ahead with its charges that they would be able to end this saga once and for all, however, in doing so, they have now tainted the man’s reputation further (if that was possible) by terming him a racist, which although may not be entirely true based on the charge and verdict, is the assumption Joe Public will make.
Terry himself admitted on both occasions to using the word “black”, as well as swearing at Anton Ferdinand, the victim in the case, but argued he was only repeating words he thought Ferdinand had accused him of saying. However, with Terry’s previous misdemeanours and controversies in life, you would have to say the hearing’s committee must have instantly held doubt as to the plausibility of this argument. Yet, the Chelsea stalwart has received an interesting punishment. A four match ban is quite small when you consider a straight red for most cases on the pitch leads to a three match suspension; whereas the £220,000 fine, although only a week or two’s wages for Terry, is a huge sum of money. When you contrast it to what Luis Suarez was dealt with last year (an eight match ban and £40,000 fine) it makes no logical sense, and until the written verdict is revealed, I guess not possible to understand. Some may argue that the verdict is actually weak and lenient, maybe with Terry’s stature as one of the key members of both England and the Premier League aiding him. Maybe, the fact he is English, and The FA cannot comprehend that they have racist players amongst their leagues, including one who has been permanent national captain twice in his career, assisted him. Or maybe the court’s decision affected their judgement. Whatever, there is a clear contrast for two guilty verdicts which certainly proves that The FA look at each case on its own merits though, as they have ignored all precedents previously set!
What the situation has led to is Terry’s international retirement. Clearly irked by the behaviour The FA have adopted has made him unable to represent the body on the playing field. Now this has led to delirious cries by some, predominantly the Terry-haters, of which there are many after his controversial past. However, the Chelsea man, despite being a Class A idiot at times has proven time and time again that he is a magnificent defender, who will put everything on the line to help stop his team losing. Yes, he is evidently no longer at his prime, but he is certainly playing at a higher level than Rio Ferdinand nowadays (anyone who saw Manchester United against Tottenham last night should be able to testify to that) and is arguably the best of an English bunch who are relatively inexperienced on the international stage. I personally have always had reservations regarding Lescott (although his past two seasons have been an improvement) and he is already 30. Jagielka had a nightmare performance against Ukraine last month, whilst Cahill seems to be in-out-in-out both for Chelsea and England. The likes of Smalling, Jones and Caulker are either injured or not representing their clubs regularly, which leads us to now be looking at the England centre-back position with some concern in my opinion. Terry was a leader, and obviously rallied the players in the dressing room as well. He was a key figure in the set-up and one that will be tough to replace.
The situation though has always been more than the John Terry show. It is about how the game deals with discrimination and I think there are still many questions to be asked regarding it, particularly with two contrasting punishments in the space of 12 months. Terry played yesterday for Chelsea against Arsenal for the final time before his ban, which suggests the club are backing their club captain all the way, despite the player appearing to be losing sponsorship deals at an incredible rate. The man’s reputation is now in tatters and will never be rectified, although expect to see an appeal emerge. If it does, then the case will be brought up once again and we will be seeing the spotlight back on the game. If the appeal fails, you have to hope that a greater sentence is imposed as the game is being damaged further and further the more this event is analysed. A decision needs to be made; by Terry, by Chelsea, and by The FA. Criteria need to start being laid down and codes of conduct and laws abided by because otherwise the game’s reputation and name will be ruined. If we are going to kick racism out of football, then let us be heavy-handed on those found guilty of such disgusting behaviour.
Sunday 30 September 2012
Sunday 16 September 2012
The truth of Hillsborough. 23 years on...
The harrowing events that unfolded at Hillsborough, 23 years ago, will remain etched in the memories of football fans for life. The actions that unfolded on that fateful day will forever remain as a significant reminder to all those of a dark day within the sport. However, instead of the correct information being provided and published at the time, this week it was finally uncovered that many of the stories surrounding the tragedy were false and that the blame-game had been inexplicably shifted off those who were to culpable the most, to the victims of the tragedy, who have had to live with false accusations thrown at them ever since. Finally, the truth for the 96 has been revealed.
The independent report discovered that the police had falsified or amended many statements in order to protect their reputation and make the Liverpool fans responsible for the death of their compatriots. That is the story that had been sold to many. But yet, there had always been those doubts, particularly those family members who suffered the most that something else had occurred, but until the documents were allowed to be studied, those beliefs could never be vindicated. Instead West Yorkshire police have come out of the situation looking horribly exposed and fake. How they could happily pass the buck on to innocent individuals, when they were responsible in numerous ways as to the reason why the incident occurred is flabbergasting. In life, everyone needs to be responsible for the actions they take and stand up to them when problems occur. The last thing you do is shirk away or pass the buck. That is shameful, a disgrace, particularly when others have been affected so traumatically.
164 police reports were amended regarding the tragedy, with 116, yes 116, being changed to remover or alter “unfavourable” comments regarding the policing of the match. That means there were a significant number of officers on duty that day who chose not to speak out loudly enough as one group to say the policing was to blame in some capacity in the subsequent time-frame after the story was initially reported. It is all well and good making a statement, but once the news was issued, there must have been wonder by those who criticised the policing in some way, that it was not mentioned and that the blame had been wholly attached to the supporters. The comments should not have been altered that is for certain, and it is by far the more severe act. But this is another aspect I have thought of regarding the altered reports. All it amounted to was a slandering of football supporters in general, considering them all to be hooligans, who were more concerned with causing trouble than anything else. An opinion that stuck for a long while, and in essence, was ultimately incorrect, particularly on the day in question.
What was also devastating to hear about within the report, was that 41 of the 96 who perished because of the crush, could have potentially been saved, had emergency services been swifter or organised more suitably. That is an incredible number. The emergency services are in place to help protect us and save us in times of need. They failed in their act of duty at Hillsborough back in 1989. Those in control points should have been getting them onto the pitch once the match was abandoned. The services themselves should have just reacted when the blind panic that unravelled became apparent. They cannot have failed to see it. They must have known there was a problem. To blame it on a pitch invasion seems bizarre. People are not screaming for their lives or collapsed on a pitch during a pitch invasion. It was as clear a life and death situation as you will see.
Then to top it all, so many people had been sold by the lie that had been constructed; apologies seem to have been constantly said ever since the report was unveiled. The FA, Sheffield Wednesday FC (owners of Hillsborough), West Yorkshire Police Force, MP’s (including the Prime Minister and the opposition), and the media all offered their sincerest apologies to those affected. The Sun who’s damning headline and article full of lies resulted in the paper not being circulated in Merseyside ever since, was obviously expected, but I do not expect that to repair relations with Liverpudlians. Kelvin Mackenzie, the paper’s editor at the time, has only just apologised for the piece. Despite the disgusting claims he made, he stood by the article for years upon years, refusing to believe he had to apologise. Now, with his tail between his legs, he did. It is too late, and due to the role of the media and its affect on the public, he should be held accountable for distributing and spreading lies. No media outlet should publish news unless they are certain of the facts behind it all. The Sun did not publish ‘The Truth’, they published ‘The Lies’.
I am wholly behind the claims to scrap the previous inquest into the Hillsborough events and launch new ones into the actions that occurred. Meanwhile, those that are at the heart of the problem as to why the tragedy unfolded, those that were in the know, those that knew this was a disaster waiting to happen, and certainly those who purposefully hid the truth all need to face criminal charges and face up to the actions and consequences that they caused. The Hillsborough disaster was a tragedy that should never have happened, and even after it did, a whole club, its supporters, the city they are from, should not have been vilified as inexcusably as they have been. Thankfully, there were many there who knew the real truth and fought to uncover it to the general public. It may be 23 years late, but it has arrived. The 96 who lost their lives have the truth, now they deserve justice.
The independent report discovered that the police had falsified or amended many statements in order to protect their reputation and make the Liverpool fans responsible for the death of their compatriots. That is the story that had been sold to many. But yet, there had always been those doubts, particularly those family members who suffered the most that something else had occurred, but until the documents were allowed to be studied, those beliefs could never be vindicated. Instead West Yorkshire police have come out of the situation looking horribly exposed and fake. How they could happily pass the buck on to innocent individuals, when they were responsible in numerous ways as to the reason why the incident occurred is flabbergasting. In life, everyone needs to be responsible for the actions they take and stand up to them when problems occur. The last thing you do is shirk away or pass the buck. That is shameful, a disgrace, particularly when others have been affected so traumatically.
164 police reports were amended regarding the tragedy, with 116, yes 116, being changed to remover or alter “unfavourable” comments regarding the policing of the match. That means there were a significant number of officers on duty that day who chose not to speak out loudly enough as one group to say the policing was to blame in some capacity in the subsequent time-frame after the story was initially reported. It is all well and good making a statement, but once the news was issued, there must have been wonder by those who criticised the policing in some way, that it was not mentioned and that the blame had been wholly attached to the supporters. The comments should not have been altered that is for certain, and it is by far the more severe act. But this is another aspect I have thought of regarding the altered reports. All it amounted to was a slandering of football supporters in general, considering them all to be hooligans, who were more concerned with causing trouble than anything else. An opinion that stuck for a long while, and in essence, was ultimately incorrect, particularly on the day in question.
What was also devastating to hear about within the report, was that 41 of the 96 who perished because of the crush, could have potentially been saved, had emergency services been swifter or organised more suitably. That is an incredible number. The emergency services are in place to help protect us and save us in times of need. They failed in their act of duty at Hillsborough back in 1989. Those in control points should have been getting them onto the pitch once the match was abandoned. The services themselves should have just reacted when the blind panic that unravelled became apparent. They cannot have failed to see it. They must have known there was a problem. To blame it on a pitch invasion seems bizarre. People are not screaming for their lives or collapsed on a pitch during a pitch invasion. It was as clear a life and death situation as you will see.
Then to top it all, so many people had been sold by the lie that had been constructed; apologies seem to have been constantly said ever since the report was unveiled. The FA, Sheffield Wednesday FC (owners of Hillsborough), West Yorkshire Police Force, MP’s (including the Prime Minister and the opposition), and the media all offered their sincerest apologies to those affected. The Sun who’s damning headline and article full of lies resulted in the paper not being circulated in Merseyside ever since, was obviously expected, but I do not expect that to repair relations with Liverpudlians. Kelvin Mackenzie, the paper’s editor at the time, has only just apologised for the piece. Despite the disgusting claims he made, he stood by the article for years upon years, refusing to believe he had to apologise. Now, with his tail between his legs, he did. It is too late, and due to the role of the media and its affect on the public, he should be held accountable for distributing and spreading lies. No media outlet should publish news unless they are certain of the facts behind it all. The Sun did not publish ‘The Truth’, they published ‘The Lies’.
I am wholly behind the claims to scrap the previous inquest into the Hillsborough events and launch new ones into the actions that occurred. Meanwhile, those that are at the heart of the problem as to why the tragedy unfolded, those that were in the know, those that knew this was a disaster waiting to happen, and certainly those who purposefully hid the truth all need to face criminal charges and face up to the actions and consequences that they caused. The Hillsborough disaster was a tragedy that should never have happened, and even after it did, a whole club, its supporters, the city they are from, should not have been vilified as inexcusably as they have been. Thankfully, there were many there who knew the real truth and fought to uncover it to the general public. It may be 23 years late, but it has arrived. The 96 who lost their lives have the truth, now they deserve justice.
Tuesday 11 September 2012
Para-, Para-, Paralympics
As Coldplay brought the climax to the Paralympic Games to the world, the British public exhaled a mighty sigh of sadness that the end was now here. The 12 days that filled the competition were record-breaking as well as extraordinary. Public perceptions were changed, awe-inspiring stories told, stadiums filled to the rafters, all in the name of a mega-event that had for so long lived in the mighty shadow of its brother. Not anymore. Britain showed the world that we were just as interested and supportive of the Paralympic Games as we were of the Olympics. It did not matter that these athletes suffered impairments (although at times it made things even more incredible), because they were the elite. They were the best, and they were determined to achieve the best their body’s capabilities allowed them to do so.
Once again, the British team eclipsed themselves in a magnificent manner. Collecting 120 medals, 13 more than their target set, somehow still only positioned themselves third in the medal table (due to a slight drop in gold medals compared to Beijing), but my, how that cared little, when some of the achievements were brought into question. Sarah Storey and David Weir both captured four gold medals each. Storey’s quadruple taking her overall Paralympic haul to eleven, tied at the top in the modern era with Tanni Grey-Thompson and Dave Roberts. This has come after changing sports as well. Initially a swimmer, she has since discovered her greater talents are on the bike and she absolutely killed her opponents. Each time she beat the same female to gold but she beat her by crushing margins – lapping her or by time gaps that were unfound anywhere else within the field. You can certainly see why she nearly made the Olympic cycling team, and it would surprise nobody I think if she was with them in Rio as well as defending her Paralympic crowns.
Weir was another man on wheels, but this time it was a wheelchair as he competed in athletics. Now the distance and physical requirements for the 800m compared to the marathon vary considerably. However, Weir proved that in the space of the Games he could qualify through heats and win the finals of the 800m, 1500m, 5000m and marathon. That is masses of wheel turning, huge endurance and incredible strength, both physically and mentally. The man was a machine, spurred on by the British public as he was involved in some of the tensest and exciting races of the Games. Every time he headed into the home straight, you felt it was his to lose, but there was still that opportunity it could happen, particularly in the latter races when, understandably, the fatigue must have been setting in. But in the end, the Weirwolf of London was certainly howling with delight!
As spoken about last week, Ellie Simmonds once again became an inspiration for women, whilst track and field found a new star and potentially the start of the end for the man that has until now been the flag-bearer for Paralympic sport. Firstly, Johnny Peacock, destroyed the field in the T44 100m, the top-billing of the Paralympic Games. He got close to his own world record but in the end settled for a record in the Games as he swept the field aside. The man had complete control of everything, as even when the crowd got excited at the start, he managed to quiet them all down to silence. 80,000 people falling silent at your actions, wow. Coming in fourth in that race was a certain, Oscar Pistorius. The South African has been an incredible Paralympic champion and even managed to achieve a dream by competing in the Olympics as well this summer. Maybe that hampered his performance later on as he only took his imperious 400m title once again as well as the 4x100m relay. His 200m defeat was the shock of the Games and was followed by a slightly aggrieved outburst against the champion, Oliveira from Brazil, whom he claimed had a significant advantage with his blades. Now for somebody, like Pistorius, who has gone through an awful lot of interrogation regarding the technology in his blades when he first burst onto the scene, to now be talking about the technology in use does seem rather ironic, but also displays how much the world of Paralympic sport has developed in such a short space of time.
Pistorius’ little outburst may have been the most talked about of the Games but it certainly wasn’t the most aggressive. Step forward Jody Cundy, Britain’s cyclist, who after being controversially disqualified from a race he was expected to win gold in, went on a loud outburst towards the officials, which was audible throughout the stadium and on TV. It wasn’t particularly pre-watershed friendly either! He later apologised for how he acted, but the manner he adopted really underlined how important these Games were for individuals and how they had dedicated just as much hard-work and graft to the cause for the past four years just as the Olympic athletes had. Even now, some of the images I saw make me go “wow” – seeing a one legged high jumper clear huge heights, watching a blind long jumper hit the board perfectly, witnessing the carnage and desire to win by those involved in ‘murderball’. All of these individuals had worked incredibly hard to be there, to be the best they possibly could, to be elite athletes and respected as being that. These Games accomplished that, these Games showed that no matter what card you are dealt with in life, if you want to go out and try and be an elite athlete, then the opportunities are there if you apply yourself the correct way.
The Olympics and Paralympics have never been more parallel in my eyes. Kirani James kicked it off by swapping race numbers with Oscar Pistorius in their Olympic 400m heat. But then the British public filled the stands wanting to see elite sporting prowess displayed their love for the Paralympics – 2.7million tickets were sold, far exceeding expectations and culling concerns of empty stadia. The volunteers once more were superb, receiving all he plaudits that they deserved, and ensuring everyone’s day out was good, if not excellent. Many of them only signed up to the Paralympics after they had done the Olympics. As I have put to you all in this blog before, how people can now turn around and say that hosting these Games the past month or so has been a bad decision truly astounds me. Lord Coe and his team at LOCOG, deserve tremendous credit, as everything has gone as well as it could have done I would say. The come down now is going to be one hefty bump, but I do hope that the positive vibe that is currently being emitted lasts for a good while to come. Thank you Britain.
Once again, the British team eclipsed themselves in a magnificent manner. Collecting 120 medals, 13 more than their target set, somehow still only positioned themselves third in the medal table (due to a slight drop in gold medals compared to Beijing), but my, how that cared little, when some of the achievements were brought into question. Sarah Storey and David Weir both captured four gold medals each. Storey’s quadruple taking her overall Paralympic haul to eleven, tied at the top in the modern era with Tanni Grey-Thompson and Dave Roberts. This has come after changing sports as well. Initially a swimmer, she has since discovered her greater talents are on the bike and she absolutely killed her opponents. Each time she beat the same female to gold but she beat her by crushing margins – lapping her or by time gaps that were unfound anywhere else within the field. You can certainly see why she nearly made the Olympic cycling team, and it would surprise nobody I think if she was with them in Rio as well as defending her Paralympic crowns.
Weir was another man on wheels, but this time it was a wheelchair as he competed in athletics. Now the distance and physical requirements for the 800m compared to the marathon vary considerably. However, Weir proved that in the space of the Games he could qualify through heats and win the finals of the 800m, 1500m, 5000m and marathon. That is masses of wheel turning, huge endurance and incredible strength, both physically and mentally. The man was a machine, spurred on by the British public as he was involved in some of the tensest and exciting races of the Games. Every time he headed into the home straight, you felt it was his to lose, but there was still that opportunity it could happen, particularly in the latter races when, understandably, the fatigue must have been setting in. But in the end, the Weirwolf of London was certainly howling with delight!
As spoken about last week, Ellie Simmonds once again became an inspiration for women, whilst track and field found a new star and potentially the start of the end for the man that has until now been the flag-bearer for Paralympic sport. Firstly, Johnny Peacock, destroyed the field in the T44 100m, the top-billing of the Paralympic Games. He got close to his own world record but in the end settled for a record in the Games as he swept the field aside. The man had complete control of everything, as even when the crowd got excited at the start, he managed to quiet them all down to silence. 80,000 people falling silent at your actions, wow. Coming in fourth in that race was a certain, Oscar Pistorius. The South African has been an incredible Paralympic champion and even managed to achieve a dream by competing in the Olympics as well this summer. Maybe that hampered his performance later on as he only took his imperious 400m title once again as well as the 4x100m relay. His 200m defeat was the shock of the Games and was followed by a slightly aggrieved outburst against the champion, Oliveira from Brazil, whom he claimed had a significant advantage with his blades. Now for somebody, like Pistorius, who has gone through an awful lot of interrogation regarding the technology in his blades when he first burst onto the scene, to now be talking about the technology in use does seem rather ironic, but also displays how much the world of Paralympic sport has developed in such a short space of time.
Pistorius’ little outburst may have been the most talked about of the Games but it certainly wasn’t the most aggressive. Step forward Jody Cundy, Britain’s cyclist, who after being controversially disqualified from a race he was expected to win gold in, went on a loud outburst towards the officials, which was audible throughout the stadium and on TV. It wasn’t particularly pre-watershed friendly either! He later apologised for how he acted, but the manner he adopted really underlined how important these Games were for individuals and how they had dedicated just as much hard-work and graft to the cause for the past four years just as the Olympic athletes had. Even now, some of the images I saw make me go “wow” – seeing a one legged high jumper clear huge heights, watching a blind long jumper hit the board perfectly, witnessing the carnage and desire to win by those involved in ‘murderball’. All of these individuals had worked incredibly hard to be there, to be the best they possibly could, to be elite athletes and respected as being that. These Games accomplished that, these Games showed that no matter what card you are dealt with in life, if you want to go out and try and be an elite athlete, then the opportunities are there if you apply yourself the correct way.
The Olympics and Paralympics have never been more parallel in my eyes. Kirani James kicked it off by swapping race numbers with Oscar Pistorius in their Olympic 400m heat. But then the British public filled the stands wanting to see elite sporting prowess displayed their love for the Paralympics – 2.7million tickets were sold, far exceeding expectations and culling concerns of empty stadia. The volunteers once more were superb, receiving all he plaudits that they deserved, and ensuring everyone’s day out was good, if not excellent. Many of them only signed up to the Paralympics after they had done the Olympics. As I have put to you all in this blog before, how people can now turn around and say that hosting these Games the past month or so has been a bad decision truly astounds me. Lord Coe and his team at LOCOG, deserve tremendous credit, as everything has gone as well as it could have done I would say. The come down now is going to be one hefty bump, but I do hope that the positive vibe that is currently being emitted lasts for a good while to come. Thank you Britain.
Tuesday 4 September 2012
The Girls Are Doing Alright
My current job is working with children and coaching them different sports. Whilst doing this, I hope to inspire them to see the benefits and wonder of participating in the activities that they do. To do this though, I think that role models need to be in the public eye, so these youngsters can aspire to be like them and see what is possible and achievable in life. This is particular true for females, who for some reason seem less infatuated with the world of sport. Thankfully, this past week has produced two young female role models, Ellie Simmonds and Laura Robson. Both come from different backgrounds, from different sports, but their achievements in the past week have certainly made people sit up and take note of what they are doing.
Simmonds achievements are clearly the greater. As a Paralympic athlete, she won the S6 400m freestyle swim in a magnificent manner, smashing the world record by 5 seconds as she retained her title at the age of 17. Yes 17! That means the girl achieved her initial Paralympic medal at the age of 13. A tremendous achievement and one that is a clear demonstration of what you can do with your life, particularly if you have been arguably disadvantaged by the situation you find yourself to be in. Don’t be surprised at seeing her back in the pool later in the week though. Just like her able-bodied compatriots, the Paralympic swimmers compete in multi-disciplined events, and as such, Smmonds is now competing in the 200m individual medley, whilst she is the current 100m freestyle champion as well. The weight of expectation on her will not rescind, but she is proving that she can cope with the pressure and arguably deliver exceptional performance after performance.
Furthermore, Simmonds reaction after winning was heartfelt, touching, and demonstrated what the victory meant to her. She tried valiantly to hold back the tears in the pool after seeing her world record time but in the end, the emotions won over. Then, as a 17 year-old child she belted out the national anthem on the podium. Proud to British, proud to be a champion, proud to be an inspiration. The Paralympic athletes are certainly pulling in the crowds with their work and success and inspirational stories. 17,000 people packed into the Aquatic Centre to see Simmonds take her gold medal. Even runner-up, American Victoria Arlen made people sit up and be amazed by her achievements. As an athlete who was also would have broken the world record, she was once in a vegetative state for two years and had to learn to swim from scratch once again. To push Simmonds as much as she did then should be applauded hugely.
Laura Robson is an able-bodied tennis player but after winning the Junior Singles title at Wimbledon back in 2008 at the age of 14, has just been in and around the circuit without ever displaying anything that suggested a star was there. Now though, she has burst onto the scene! After partnering Andy Murray to silver in the Mixed Doubles at the Olympics, Robson has now achieved one of the best British female performances in a Grand Slam in many years by reaching the last-16 of the US Open. Her run has even put Murray’s tournament into the shadows. Her run included high-profile defeats of Kim Clijsters and Li Na, two highly established members of the women’s game; in fact, for Clijsters, this was her farewell tournament before retirement, and with a good track record at Flushing Meadows, was expected to go far. Robson never looked particularly troubled by either of these opponents though, cleaning hitting the ball and dominating proceedings. The victories were justifiably deserved and brought about through her excellence rather than her opponent’s failings.
To bow out to Sam Stosur, the current US Champion is nothing to be ashamed of, whilst the experience and confidence Robson will have gained from this run should only inspire to continue to push on and hopefully raise her world ranking and go deeper into all of the Grand Slams on a more regular basis now. She is still only 18 and is now sat comfortably amongst the world’s top 100. Meanwhile, it goes to show the continued prominence and rise of female tennis players on the world stage. In the men’s game, the only British representative regularly appearing in all the Grand Slams is Andy Murray. The women now have Robson, Heather Watson, Anne Keothavong, etc. For youngsters out there, they can see that there is a pathway to success in sport at a young age with these role models in place.
Simmonds achievements are clearly the greater. As a Paralympic athlete, she won the S6 400m freestyle swim in a magnificent manner, smashing the world record by 5 seconds as she retained her title at the age of 17. Yes 17! That means the girl achieved her initial Paralympic medal at the age of 13. A tremendous achievement and one that is a clear demonstration of what you can do with your life, particularly if you have been arguably disadvantaged by the situation you find yourself to be in. Don’t be surprised at seeing her back in the pool later in the week though. Just like her able-bodied compatriots, the Paralympic swimmers compete in multi-disciplined events, and as such, Smmonds is now competing in the 200m individual medley, whilst she is the current 100m freestyle champion as well. The weight of expectation on her will not rescind, but she is proving that she can cope with the pressure and arguably deliver exceptional performance after performance.
Furthermore, Simmonds reaction after winning was heartfelt, touching, and demonstrated what the victory meant to her. She tried valiantly to hold back the tears in the pool after seeing her world record time but in the end, the emotions won over. Then, as a 17 year-old child she belted out the national anthem on the podium. Proud to British, proud to be a champion, proud to be an inspiration. The Paralympic athletes are certainly pulling in the crowds with their work and success and inspirational stories. 17,000 people packed into the Aquatic Centre to see Simmonds take her gold medal. Even runner-up, American Victoria Arlen made people sit up and be amazed by her achievements. As an athlete who was also would have broken the world record, she was once in a vegetative state for two years and had to learn to swim from scratch once again. To push Simmonds as much as she did then should be applauded hugely.
Laura Robson is an able-bodied tennis player but after winning the Junior Singles title at Wimbledon back in 2008 at the age of 14, has just been in and around the circuit without ever displaying anything that suggested a star was there. Now though, she has burst onto the scene! After partnering Andy Murray to silver in the Mixed Doubles at the Olympics, Robson has now achieved one of the best British female performances in a Grand Slam in many years by reaching the last-16 of the US Open. Her run has even put Murray’s tournament into the shadows. Her run included high-profile defeats of Kim Clijsters and Li Na, two highly established members of the women’s game; in fact, for Clijsters, this was her farewell tournament before retirement, and with a good track record at Flushing Meadows, was expected to go far. Robson never looked particularly troubled by either of these opponents though, cleaning hitting the ball and dominating proceedings. The victories were justifiably deserved and brought about through her excellence rather than her opponent’s failings.
To bow out to Sam Stosur, the current US Champion is nothing to be ashamed of, whilst the experience and confidence Robson will have gained from this run should only inspire to continue to push on and hopefully raise her world ranking and go deeper into all of the Grand Slams on a more regular basis now. She is still only 18 and is now sat comfortably amongst the world’s top 100. Meanwhile, it goes to show the continued prominence and rise of female tennis players on the world stage. In the men’s game, the only British representative regularly appearing in all the Grand Slams is Andy Murray. The women now have Robson, Heather Watson, Anne Keothavong, etc. For youngsters out there, they can see that there is a pathway to success in sport at a young age with these role models in place.
With this influx of young British sporting starlets, hopefully the future is one full of promise. LOCOG have been pushing the word legacy down our throats ever since they were awarded London 2012, and the impact these young girls are making in their sport at the current time, is surely only going to inspire more young girls to take up sport and potentially discover an untapped talent. I believe that youngsters are more likely to draw upon the success of those they can relate to most, and that will predominantly be via age, so the likes of Simmonds and Robson currently have a huge part to play in raising the profile of female sport. Too many girls turn their nose up at sport, or would rather be involved in something that keeps them fit and active but without the competitive, intense element sport brings. Hopefully, the inspiration these current stars are producing for the next generation will ensure that the conveyor belt of talent never diminishes.
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