Team GB medal hopefuls in action today: August 10
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Your support makes all the difference.Your one-stop guide to the Team GB medal hopes in action at the Olympics today...
Ed McKeever
Age: 28
Place of Birth: England
Main event: K1 200m
Rivals: Piotr Siemionowski of Poland and Ronald Rauhe of Germany will both push him very hard.
Medal Prospects: Is the favourite to win gold.
Ed McKeever was part of the successful GB team at the Canoe Sprint World Cup in May where he won gold in the K1 200m and was part of the winning relay team in the same discipline. Although some of his main rivals were missing from the competition it was an encouraging warm-up for London 2012 and he comes into the competition as favourite for gold.
Dates of event: August 10 – August 11
Odds: 5/4
Jonny Schofield & Liam Heath
Ages: 27 & 27
Main Event: Men’s K-2 200m Sprint
Rivals: France
Medal Prospects: The duo will be battling it out with rivals France for gold.
Jonny Schofield and Liam Heath have been at the top of their game for the last few years. They were crowned European champions this year for the third time running
and were runners up in the 2011 World Championship. Their European gold was complemented by silver medals at the two World Cup events of this year and they look to be in a good position to mount a serious challenge for gold at the Games.
Dates of event: August 10 – August 11
Odds: 5/2
Sarah Stevenson
Age: 29
Place of Birth: England
Main Event: Taekwondo -67kg
Rival: Seham Sawalhy of Egypt is favourite for gold.
Medal Prospects: Her injury will have severely hampered her preparation so she will probably be happy with another bronze medal.
Sarah Stevenson won gold at the World Championships last year while also being European Champion. However, a cruciate ligament injury forced her to undergo surgery in February and relinquish her European title. Stevenson has since recovered and been back in the gym and according to her coach is looking to be in good shape to add to the bronze medal she won for years ago.
Date of event: August 10
Odds: 5/1
Tom Daley
Age: 18
Place of Birth: England
Main Event: Diving 10m platform
Rival: Qi Bo, China
Medal Prospects: Silver
Tom Daley was Britain’s youngest representative at the 2008 Beijing Games, at only 14-years-old, and managed to make the final. This year Daley is a veteran after winning the World Championships in 2009 and the Commonwealth Games in 2010. 2011 saw Daley finish a disappointing 5th place in the World Championships but his form has recovered and he comes into these Games tipped as the only diver who can challenge Chinese Qi Bo for gold.
Dates of event: August 10 – August 11
Odds: 3/1
Women’s Hockey
Rival: The Netherlands are favourites and are also in Team GB’s group.
Medal Prospects: The team should be in the hunt for bronze.
Team GB’s women are ranked 4th in the world coming into the Olympics. An encouraging performance saw them finish runners-up in the Women’s Championship Trophy at the start of the year but their most recent competition, the London Cup, saw them finish in fifth. However, four of the side’s key players were unavailable for the competition so the team will almost certainly put on better displays in the Games.
Dates of event: July 29 - August 10
Odds: 11/2
Hannah Mills & Saskia Clark
Age: 23 and 31
Main Event: 470 Class
Rival: Spain are tipped to push them the hardest.
Medal Prospects: The duo are in a great position to take gold.
This year has so far looked promising for the newly formed partnership and they enter the Games as favourites. The duo took silver at their first major regatta in April followed by two more – including one at the Olympic test event. The Games will of course bring a different level of competition, but the two should be more than motivated as Clark looks to put the disappointment of not winning a medal in 2008 and Mills tries to prove a point at her first Olympics.
Dates of event: August 3 – August 10
Odds: 11/4
Hannah England
Age: 25
Place of Birth: England
Main Event: 1500m
Rival: Her biggest obstacle will be her fitness.
Medal Prospects: Dame Kelly Holmes believes that if she can recover her fitness she should be able to get on the podium.
Hannah England has been dubbed the next Dame Kelly Holmes after her surprise silver medal at the World Championships last year. However the young runner has had very little preparation time this year after having a spike tear through her Achilles tendon in May. Her performance at the London Grand Prix was her first one back and she lagged in the last 300m, unsurprisingly since she wasn’t allowed to stand up for more than three minutes at a time over a two week period. If she can keep working and recover her fitness she has the ability to make the medals.
Dates of event: August 6 - August 10
Odds 1500m: 25/1
Shanaze Reade
Age: 23
Place of Birth: England
Main Event: BMX
Rival: Sarah Walker, New Zealand
Medal Prospects: Will have her sights set on an overdue gold
Shanaze Reade was expected to take gold in Beijing in 2008 but her aggressive style saw her crash out on the last bend and miss out on a medal. She was impressive at last year’s World Championship where she won gold despite withdrawing four days before the event with a damaged wrist and then re-entering. If she can keep her head she should be the one to beat.
Dates of event: August 8 – August 10
Odds: 7/4
Anthony Ogogo
Age: 23
Place of Birth: England
Main Event: Boxing Middleweight
Rival: The favourite is Ievgen Khytrov of Ukraine
Medal Chances: In with a good chance of gold.
Anthony Agogo has taken up the mantle of GB’s Beijing gold medal winner James DeGale. He won silver in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and thanks to some intensive training is now in top form for of the Games. He has been training in the same gym as current IBF world super-middleweight champion Carl Froch and this may give him the inspiration and edge he needs to win gold.
Dates of event: July 28 – August 11
Odds: 20/1
Luke Campbell
Age: 24
Place of Birth: England
Main Event: Bantamweight boxing
Rival: Lazaro Alvarez Estrada. Cuba
Medal Prospect: One of Britain’s best chances for boxing gold.
Luke Campbell took silver at the World Amateur Boxing Championships last year and is seen as a favourite for gold at the Olympics this summer. Two years ago Campbell was described as the benchmark for British boxing after going on an unbeaten run of 23 matches and he is still seen as the example for other British boxers to follow.
Dates of event: July 28 – August 11
Odds: 13/2
Annie Lush, Lucy MacGregor and Kate MacGregor
Age: 32, 25 and 20
Main Event: Women’s Elliot 6m Team
Rival: Team USA are their closest competitor for top spot.
Medal Prospects: Should get at least silver but will be aiming for gold
The team first came together in 2010 and have since won National, European and World Championship titles. Annie Lush has experience at Olympic level having been part of the GB set up in Athens in 2004. Lucy MacGregor, the elder of the two sisters,
skippers the boat and has a long and impressive track record for a 25-year-old. Her younger sister Kate, 20, may not have as much experience but has ample skill. As a group they have already shown their ability and will be firmly in the hunt for a medal come Games time.
Dates of event: July 29 – August 11
Odds: 11/5
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