The men’s 4x100m relay team will be made up of two London 2012 Olympians – James Ellington and Danny Talbot – and they will be joined by Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Andrew Robertson as the team looks to improve on the time of 38.91 set by the GB & NI team in Gainesville last week.

Following their success at the European Indoor Championships in March, Great Britain’s gold medal-winning women’s 4x400m team will be back in action on Saturday, having been named as part of GB & NI’s team for the Penn Relays in Philadelphia.

Eilidh Child, Shana Cox, Christine Ohuruogu and Perri Shakes-Drayton will be on the hunt for Great Britain’s first ever podium finish at the event, as GB enters teams for the first time.

GB became the first nation to have won both titles at the same championships with victory in both the men’s and women’s 4x400m relays in Gothenburg and UKA endurance coach Terrence Mahon believes that the team being sent to the Penn Relays proves how seriously they consider their opposition, which will include formidable line-ups from Jamaica, Russia and USA.

18-year old Matt McLaughlin is set to make his senior international debut in America, as he forms part of a distance medley team which also includes Chris Warburton, Martyn Rooney and Joe Thomas.

Warburton will run the first 1200m leg, before passing on to Rooney and then Thomas who will run their 400m and 800m legs respectively. McLaughlin will finish with the 1600m.

For the first time in its 118-year history, the Penn Relays will also put on a women’s 4x800m relay in 2013. Marilyn Okoro, who ran 2:01.95 in at the Mount SAC Relays last weekend, and Olympic semi-finalist Lynsey Sharp, who finished behind Okoro in the race clocking a time of 2:02.63, will be joined by 2008 Olympian Jemma Simpson and senior debutant Tara Bird, the daughter of two-time Olympian Gladys Bird, as they attempt to break the GB record of 8:19.9 set in 1992.

Great Britain & Northern Ireland team for the Penn Relays:

MEN

4x100m: Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Andrew Robertson, James Ellington, Danny Talbot

4x400m: Michael Bingham, Richard Buck, Nigel Levine, Conrad Williams, Richard Strachan

DMR: Chris Warburton, Martyn Rooney, Joe Thomas, Matt McLaughlin

WOMEN

4x400m: Eilidh Child, Shana Cox, Christine Ohurougu, Perri Shakes-Drayton

4x800m: Tara Bird, Marilyn Okoro, Lynsey Sharp, Jemma Simpson

The post Team Christie Representing at Penn Relays appeared first on Nuff Respect.

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The Radcliffe-born director has said that his love of the doomed sculpture saw him turn to its designer, Thomas Heatherwick, ahead of the London sporting extravaganza last year.

Oscar-winner Boyle, 56, created a spectacular opening ceremony which included the unveiling of former Manchester Polytechnic student Heatherwick’s 16-tonne cauldron which held the iconic Olympic flame throughout the Games.

The unique device, fuelled by natural gas and featuring 204 ‘petals’ – one for each of the competing countries – won admirers across the planet.

But its origins can be found in something that was a little less successful.

In his new book, Creating Wonder, Boyle explains: “I used to go and look at Thomas Heatherwick’s B of the Bang sculpture before Manchester City moved in and before the sculpture was dismantled due to structural problems.When asked why he turned to Heatherwick, he adds: “It goes back to the time I spent sitting under his B of the Bang sculpture. I loved it so much; it’s a tragedy they took it down.”

The spiky sculpture was commissioned to commemorate the 2002 Commonwealth Games and unveiled two years late at a cost of £1.72m in the shadow of what is now the Etihad Stadium.

Meant to symbolise track star Linford Christie’s description of a sprinter’s explosion out of the starting blocks it was eventually taken down in 2009 after a series of spikes fell off.

Furious council bosses – who had paid for the sculpture from the public purse – eventually reached an out-of-court settlement with Thomas Heatherwick Studio Limited and subcontractors who worked on the sculpture which saw £1.7m refunded.

As revealed last year the core has been recycled, with the town hall receiving £17,000 for the metal while the spikes remain in storage.

Mr Heatherwick told the M.E.N. that he remains confident it can be rebuilt.

Elsewhere in the book Boyle heaps praise on Oldham council, claiming that their decision to refurbish the town’s Coliseum theatre is an example of a local authority nurturing a creative spark.

He also reveals that the Queen, who appeared in an unforgettable opening ceremony scene with James Bond actor Daniel Craig, told him she was in a bad mood on the day of filming because she had been to the dentist in the morning.

Boyle turned down a knighthood for his role in the show which was called Isles of Wonder and wowed critics worldwide.

The post Danny Boyle: B of the Bang inspired me to Olympic heights of creativity appeared first on Nuff Respect.

And Perri Shakes-Drayton scored her second podium top spot in just a few hours to help erase her painful Olympic memories in Gothenburg.

Hurdles specialist Shakes-Drayton, 24, was one of the poster girls of last year’s Games, born and raised just a few miles from the Olympic Stadium in Bow, east London.

But she failed to make her target final and later admitted she wanted to forget the experience as quickly as possible.

However, she followed her earlier individual success over 400m by anchoring the British women’s 4x400m quartet to a dominant gold on the final day in Sweden.

Eilidh Child, a silver medallist behind Shakes-Drayton in the 400m, gave Britain a first leg lead they never let slip and Shana Cox and former Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu hammered down that advantage.

Their winning time was 3:27.56, rewriting a six-year old national record and also setting a new Championship best.

“I’ve had a great day at the office and I was delighted the effect of winning this morning wasn’t too great and I had just enough to bring the girls home,” said Shakes-Drayton.

There was certainly no doubting the validity of the win, unlike the men who followed.

Strachan’s winning margin seemed convincing but there were worrying moments after a transgression by Buck, when he stepped off the track after some pushing and shoving, appeared to have cost them gold.

But some quick-thinking by head coach Peter Eriksson and his support staff got the medal reinstated within ten minutes.

The post Britain Strike Double Relay Gold at the European Indoor Championships appeared first on Nuff Respect.

European outdoor champion Pavel Maslak set a new Czech Republic national record of 45.66 seconds to take gold, but Levine passed Russia’s Pavel Trenikhin on the final bend to win gold in 46.21 seconds.

Levine insisted he had not ‘done anything illegal’ but appeared to clip the Russian athlete, Trenikhin did launch an appeal but ended up being disqualified himself.

However, Trenikhin was later reinstated into third place which meant Michael Bingham was relegated to fifth and Richard Strachan into sixth.

Levine said: ‘The Russian cut in front of me and I had to chop my stride. But that’s what happens in 400m. I can’t believe I came second.

‘We’re all fighting for the same thing – I didn’t do any illegal move, so I am safe.

‘I’m just trying to do my best here –trying to make a name for myself. You train to win, I didn’t win but I did get the second best.’

The post Nigel Levine claims 400m Silver at the European Indoors appeared first on Nuff Respect.

The 23-year-old is also hoping to reach the World Championships final later in the year.

“I’ve got great confidence going into the Europeans,” the Bedford athlete told BBC Look East.

“Last year I didn’t make the final, so that’s the aim this year and to come in the top three.”

Levine made his Olympic debut last year, reaching the 400m semi-finals, and was part of the Great Britain 4x400m relay team that won silver at the World Indoor Championships.

He has made a bright start to the 2013 indoor season, winning the British Grand Prix in Birmingham and UK Championships in Sheffield.

“I’m still progressing. I’m still learning and I’m still young,” he said, speaking at his Brunel University base in London, where he is trained by 1992 Olympic 100m champion Linford Christie.

“Not very many people know me yet but hopefully they will soon when I start making finals, coming in the top three and hopefully winning.

“I’m not going to say I’m going to win the worlds [in Moscow in August]. But I want to make the final. It’s about stepping stones and chipping away.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/athletics/21606738

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Nigel Levine – 400m, 4x400m

Richard Strachan – 400m, 4x400m

Luke Lennon-Ford – 4x400m

Conrad Williams – 4x400m

Margaret Adeoye – 4x400m

The full team includes:

GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND TEAM

MEN

60m:

Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (Rana Reider), Dwain Chambers (Rana Reider), James Dasaolu (Steve Fudge)

400m:

Michael Bingham (George Harrison), Nigel Levine (Linford Christie), Richard Strachan (Linford Christie)

800m:

Mukhtar Mohammed (Mustafa Mohammed), Michael Rimmer (Norman Poole), Joe Thomas (Arwyn Davies)

60m hurdles:

Andrew Pozzi (Malcolm Arnold)

4x400m:

Michael Bingham, Richard Buck (Steve Fudge), Luke Lennon-Ford (Linford Christie), Nigel Levine, Richard Strachan, Conrad Williams (Linford Christie)

High Jump:

Robbie Grabarz (Fayyaz Ahmed)

Pole Vault:

Steve Lewis (Dan Pfaff, Scott Simpson)

Long Jump:

Chris Tomlinson (Rana Reider)

WOMEN:

60m:

Asha Philip (Christine Bowmaker)

400m:

Eilidh Child (Malcolm Arnold), Shana Cox (Lloyd Cowan), Perri Shakes-Drayton (Chris Zah)

800m:

Jenny Meadows (Captain) (Trevor Painter)

1500m:

Laura Muir (Andy Young)

3000m:

Lauren Howarth (Peter Riley)

4x400m:

Margaret Adeoye (Linford Christie), Meghan Beesley (Nick Dakin), Eilidh Child, Shana Cox, Christine Ohuruogu (Lloyd Cowan), Perri Shakes-Drayton

Pole Vault:

Holly Bleasdale (Dan Pfaff, Scott Simpson)

Long Jump:

Shara Proctor (Rana Reider)

Triple Jump:

Yamilé Aldama (Frank Attoh)

The post Team Christie Prominent in European Indoor Selection appeared first on Nuff Respect.

Margaret Adeoye held off the challenge of 400m specialist Christine Ohuruogu to win the 200m in 23.22 secs.

Gianni Frankis claimed his first indoor National Championships taking the 60mH title in a time of 7.72s.

The post British Athletics European Trials and Indoor UK Championships appeared first on Nuff Respect.

When she turned 50 a few months ago, Sharron, who has three children, celebrated with a holiday in the Maldives and was pictured looking as fabulous in a swimsuit as she did 30 years ago. She tells JULIA LAWRENCE how she does it…

Active: Sharron Davies still exercises regularly

SAVE MONEY ON HAIR

I spent 20 years soaking wet, reeking of chlorine and with goggle indentations on my face, so it’s nice to be able to spend time on my appearance now.

I wore my hair short when I was competing because it was practical, but I always wanted long hair so as soon as I could, I grew it. It’s very fine and grows slowly, though, which is frustrating.

I’m a natural blonde but I’m going grey now. My hairdresser softened the blow by telling me the grey hairs are scattered evenly.

My hair doesn’t take much maintaining and I get away with very few visits to the hairdresser. I had my first haircut in two years this week, and only have highlights every six months or so.

I save a lot of money on my hair, which is how I justify spending more on my face and clothes.

MOISTURISE LIKE MAD

One day about ten years ago, I was driving without my sunglasses and kept catching sight of myself squinting in the rear-view mirror.

There were two deep furrows between my eyes, so I tried Botox for the first time. I’ve been having it every six months since. It costs me about £300 a time and I see nothing wrong with it — doesn’t everyone have it?

It’s important that it’s subtle, and that you find a practitioner you trust. I like to be able to raise my eyebrows.

I also have filler injected into the lines between my nose and mouth once a year, which is something I’ve done since my early forties.

I tried lip fillers once, two years ago, but nature gave me quite full lips and high cheekbones, so I haven’t bothered to have them done since. I like to have a dermabrasion treatment (a deep exfoliating procedure which removes the top layer of skin) every now and then. I had one just before the Olympics, when I knew I was going to be on camera a lot presenting from the poolside.

I’ve been fanatical about all-over moisturising from an early age. I had to be, or my skin would have been dry and itchy with all the swimming. I’ve kept up the habit for more than 40 years, and it has paid dividends.

IMPLANTS DON’T LAST

I had my first breast augmentation in my early thirties after my son Elliott was born — he’s 19 now. I’d returned to racing in 1989 after eight years away and had virtually no body fat.

After breastfeeding Elliott my bust shrank to nothing. The augmentation took me back to my natural size of 36C/D. I had to have them redone four years ago — again staying at my natural, pre-pregnancy size — after scar tissue built up around one of the implants, making it hard and distorting the shape of the breast.

Young girls who rush out and have boob jobs in their twenties don’t realise that implants aren’t meant to last a lifetime. You may have to have them replaced every ten years.

Age is just a number: Sharron still looks as good in a swimsuit at 50, left, as she did in her youth

WORK UP A SWEAT

I rarely swim now. At my age it takes about three days for the goggle marks to disappear from my face, whereas when my skin was young it took 20 minutes.

I work out three times a week for an hour. That’s enough for me to keep in shape, and I have a mini-gym in the basement at home, so I never have an excuse not to exercise.

From the age of eight I trained every day — four hours in the pool and two hours in the gym — so I’m used to discipline. Putting in the hours is something I do quite naturally.

Other athletes understand that drive to win, getting up at 5am every day to scrape ice off the car windscreen and drive in the dark to a cold swimming pool. Everyone else just sees the glamour and the medals.

That said, I’m not as tough on myself as I was. As a busy mum to Elliott, 14-year-old Grace and six-year-old Finley, that would be impossible. Now I fit my workouts around my life, rather than the other way round.

I do 40 minutes on the exercise bike or cross trainer with the TV on, so I don’t get bored, then 100 sit-ups and crunches. I use small dumb-bells for tricep and bicep curls on my arms, and that’s it.

I am a huge believer that we need to keep our metabolism active as we grow older. If I do my three hours a week, I can eat more and look better because it makes my body work more efficiently. I also feel more confident and happier if I exercise.

I’m 5ft 11in, weigh about 10st 7lb and wear size 12 clothes, as I have done all my adult life.

THE GRAZING DIET

Fit for life: Even though she no longer swims competitively, the Olympian said she’ll always feel at home in water

I stopped competitive swimming for the first time when I was 18 to concentrate on TV and modelling work and being a ‘normal’ teenager.

At 19 I moved into a flat with Suzanne Dando, the gymnast I’d competed with at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and over the next year I put on three stone. I got fat and lazy. I’d been used to thinking I could eat what I wanted, and I didn’t know how to adjust. As a child I can’t remember driving past the chip shop with my Dad after training and not going in for chips. Obviously I couldn’t do that any more, and I became obsessed with food and my weight.

I remember a particularly miserable year when I yo-yo dieted, trying every diet fad going — eating nothing but grapefruit and soups, keeping food diaries and fretting all day over what I was going to have for dinner.

I returned to competitive swimming nine years later, in 1989, and picked up a few more Commonwealth medals before Elliott was born in 1993 and I retired for good.

It has taken a while, but now I believe in moderation. Luckily I’m not a foodie. If I’m busy I forget about being hungry, but on a long car journey a bar of Galaxy is sometimes required.

I’m a grazer. I like snacking on nuts and granola bars, and eat little and often: toast and tea for breakfast, and I try to make lunch the biggest meal of the day. I love pizza and salad, and curry.

Grace and Elliott can cook, so often when I’m working they’ll have dinner waiting for me. I try not to eat after 7pm. I’m not a big drinker, and I’ve never smoked.

I HATE HOBBLING

You can tell an older athlete by their injuries. I have rotator cuff injuries in both shoulders. The sockets have worn away, which is painful and will mean surgery at some point.

I damaged my knee when I worked on the TV show Gladiators in the mid-1990s. I tore my cruciate ligament, so I’ll have to have a knee replacement. Hobbling around makes me feel really old.

TURNING 50

It was just a number. Our generation of women is so lucky, in that we stay fitter and more active for so much longer.

We can have babies in our teens or our forties, and live as we want. I celebrated my 50th with a holiday in the Maldives with the children.

It’s only on holiday that I swim every day. As I lower myself into the water, I feel comfortable and in charge. Swimming has given me a wonderful life, and water is where I feel at home.

The post Push ups pizza and a bit of Botox. How to look this good at 50! Olympic Swimmer Sharron Davies reveals her beauty secrets appeared first on Nuff Respect.

Pasta master: Iwan creates his dough during an Il Maggio cookery lesson

With good weather almost guaranteed and a short flight time from the UK, no wonder thousands of Britons head to this part of Italy every year. We flew to Florence, and from there it was a 90-minute drive to our 18th Century farmhouse, Il Maggio, near the delightful city of Siena.

Another of the attractions of this stay was the chance to have a cookery lesson – I was runner-up on the BBC’s Celebrity MasterChef several years ago, and I’m really passionate about food.

Il Maggio was very impressive, with attractive limestone floors, terracotta tiles and original beams. There was underfloor heating throughout the house too, which I particularly liked.

Where the magic happens…the kitchen at Il Maggio

The property had its own spa area, including a Jacuzzi, while outside were lovely gardens, and – this was a nice touch – a small outhouse containing a traditional pizza oven. After a relaxing first day, we headed to the local village for our cookery lesson. We were shown how to make ravioli and other types of pasta (actually, I learned how to make pasta during my stint on MasterChef, but it was great to have a refresher course).

Afterwards, we went to do some food-tasting, and later that evening we went out for dinner. It’s a good job I have a big appetite. The next day I had to remind myself that I was here to get in some last-minute London Marathon training, so I headed into the hills close to our villa. The weather was gorgeous and (believe it or not) I was having such a good time that I ended up covering 15 miles – much more than I had originally intended.

This was my last outing before the Marathon itself and, although it was a harder run than I meant to do, it was great to be able to explore such beautiful countryside.

As an athlete, I was lucky enough to race in Italy several times but this was my first holiday in the country. Wherever I was competing, I rarely had the opportunity to explore a place as much as I would have liked – it was always a case of getting from the airport to the hotel, from the hotel to the arena, and from the arena to the airport for the journey home.

I spent the majority of my career on the athletics grand prix circuit. During the summer months, that meant flying to Oslo, for example, on the Tuesday, racing on Wednesday, going home on Thursday to collect some fresh clothes and kit and then heading to, say, Zurich on the Saturday for the next meeting.

At first, I really enjoyed all the travelling, but eventually living out of a suitcase, queuing endlessly at airports and staying in characterless hotels took its toll.

Competing at a major event such as the Olympics was a more enjoyable experience because we would be based in a host city for longer, which meant we had time to get to know it a little better.

Soul soother: The beautiful Tuscan city of Siena is within easy reach from Il Maggio

I took part in the Atlanta Games in 1996, where I won a silver medal in the 4x400m relay, and I was also involved in the relay team at the Sydney Olympics four years later.

When I was growing up, we travelled a great deal as a family and spent holidays in America and Australia. I’ve also lived in Canada and Germany, while, during my career, I often used to train in South Africa. I’d love to return there, especially for a safari or to stay in Cape Town.

I’m happy to say I finished the London Marathon in four hours, which I was pleased with. That session in the Tuscan hills obviously did the trick.

Travel facts

Ll Maggio sleeps up to seven people. Seven nights costs from €2,000 (about £1,800) in low season. Price excludes heating. To book, contact Tuscan Views on 020 7855 2998 or visit tuscanviews.eu. CityJet (cityjet.com) flies from London City to Florence. Prices start from £83pp one-way.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2272753/Iwan-Thomas-The-perfect-way-prepare-London-marathon-A-Tuscan-diet-pasta-hills.html#ixzz2JweumpiT

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The 23-year-old Brockham sprinter has been working hard over the winter to perfect his starts and his running, with help from Body Mechanics physios and his coaching set-up, which includes former Olympic gold medallist Linford Christie.

And Cackett is looking to shine on the European stage next week as he travels to Austria for part of the triple indoor competition tour of Europe.

Cackett will take part in the 60m in both Vienna and Linz, with the Vienna competition taking place on Tuesday, January 29, and the Linz leg of the competition on Thursday, January 31.

And Cackett can’t wait to go to both places, having injured himself last year in Vienna and missing out on the Linz competition.

“It was a really good experience last year and good fun,” he said.

“I am really looking forward to it, especially in Linz, which is a really good venue.

“Both of them are great cities too and I don’t like to just see my hotel rooms, I like to go and see these places and make the most of it.”

Cackett is not, however, just going there to enjoy the views or make up the numbers though, adding that he is looking to win the competition.

He said: “I want to keep getting personal bests and keep running well.

“The qualifying standard this year is 6.60 seconds and I am feeling good, my running has been going well and training with Linford has been great.

“Obviously he has been there and done it and with Ron as well, I am benefiting from both of their expertise.”

Meanwhile, Cackett is targeting a big year, with aspirations of representing Great Britain at the forefront of his mind.

“I want an international vest,” he said.

“I have worked hard with my new squad and I want everything that comes with it, like going to the major competitions.”

The post Cackett aims for GB vest appeared first on Nuff Respect.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) announced the sporting stars who have been elected by their peers to serve. Each of the athletes have been elected for a four year term.

The composition of the BOA Athletes’ Commission now includes 14 athletes from 10 sport disciplines.

The Commission, which was formed in July 2010, is an advisory group that represents the perspective and expertise of athletes and provides input to the many initiatives and programmes offered by the BOA. The creation of the Commission followed a recommendation from the International Olympic Committee to ensure that athletes possess a meaningful voice in the decision-making processes of National Olympic Committees.

The post Christian Malcolm added to BOA commission appeared first on Nuff Respect.

The live link will be during Gordon’s Christmas Cookalong Live (10am, C4, 25 December). Iwan will begin the programme from inside The Octagon with volunteer lifeguards from the Exmouth Beach Rescue Club.

“During the show, Iwan will tell Gordon that he’s decided to spend this Christmas down the coast from his usual residence in Bournemouth to join in with Exmouth’s Christmas Day swim,” said the Channel 4 spokeswoman.

“While he’s there, he’s also going to reward the local lifeguards who regularly give up their Christmas year after year to patrol the beach event, by cooking them a Christmas dinner to remember.”

Carrots and potatoes

The spokeswoman also said that Iwan may ask some of the lifeguards to help him chop carrots and peel potatoes throughout the morning. It’s likely that Nigel Snowshall, a local firefighter and founder of the Beach Rescue Club, will be a key contributor on the day.

At 11am, Iwan will be joining the revellers on Exmouth beach and will lead them in the countdown before sprinting into the sea for his first-ever Christmas Day swim.

Soup too

A later link in the programme will show Iwan serving soup – “a very welcome warmer for the lifeguards”.

Last year’s Exmouth Christmas Day swim was an enormous event, with around 500 people taking part, watched by hundreds more. Many participants raise money for charity by doing the swim.

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Campbell, who won gold in the 4x100m at the Athens Games eight years ago, believes Torres needed just a fortnight’s specialist training to recover most of his lost pace.

Torres briefly worked with Campbell during his first year at Stamford Bridge, prior to the departure of Dr Bryan English as Chelsea’s medical director during Andre Villas-Boas’s reign.

Interim manager Rafael Benitez suggested on Tuesday that Torres needed to do gym work to regain his explosive power.

And Campbell, a sprint coach who has worked with players such as former Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko and Andy Johnson in the past as well as a number of rugby players, told the Daily  Telegraph: ‘It’s something that is best done in pre-season but I think Fernando just needs two weeks when he hasn’t got to worry about playing on the Saturday and just put in a nice two-week training programme that I think would definitely bring the majority of his speed back.

‘I’m sure I could fix him. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy process because these guys are already extremely fit. That’s the  great thing about working with footballers and rugby players. You’re not having  to worry about the base fitness so you just go in and teach the raw speed.

‘In the case of Fernando, I think he would  also probably need to do a bit of weightlifting as well as the running and the speed drills to put some power back into his muscles. That’s why sprinters lift  weights, to gain that explosive speed and power.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2240810/Olympic-gold-medalist-Darren-Campbell-says-help-Fernando-Torres.html#ixzz2Dha6dfWn

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Mr Christie, who won gold in the 100m sprint at the Barcelona Games, was among the 100 guests, including council and NHS staff and representatives from a range of community groups, at a health and wellbeing event on Friday, November 2.

Mr Christie, who took part in a question and answer session, said: “As a former Olympian, I believe health and fitness are really important, so I was delighted to be asked to speak at this event. I hope it will help improve the health and fitness of local people in Brent.”

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Sharron and Ethan did the grand opening at 10am when they cut the ribbon to open the store, and Tesco kindly gave Ethan a cheque for £500 for the Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital plus a £50 gift card for himself to spend in the store.

With the cheque from Tesco this will take Ethan over the £3000 towards the £10,000 he aims to raise by February

Sharron Davies MBE also brought along a signed GB T Shirt to the delight of Ethan.

The post Tesco Store Opened by Sharron Davies and Ethan Evans appeared first on Nuff Respect.

http://youtu.be/CzQ2E2RjoOM 

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Sixteen of London 2012’s British Olympic heroes (eight men, eight women) will compete against their Team GB teammates in a dramatic and thrilling competition, as they vie to be crowned the two best all-round Superstars. The athletes’ versatility and determination will be pushed to the max as they participate in eight different disciplines – on the track in the 100 metres and 800 metres, on the field in the javelin, take to the pool in a 50 metre swim and test their archery skills. The sporting contestants will tackle a kayak race and use their cycling skills in a hill climb. Their efforts will culminate in a grand finale featuring the classic Superstars event – the gym tests.

The athletes taking part in the 90 minute television special are:

Alistair Brownlee, Olympic gold winner, Triathlon

Jonathan Brownlee, Olympic bronze winner, Triathlon

Mo Farah, Olympic double gold champion for 5,000 and 10,000 metres

Robbie Grabarz, Olympic bronze medal winner, High Jump

Michael Jamieson, Olympic silver medallist in 200 metres breast stroke

Anthony Joshua, Olympic gold winner, Boxing (Super Heavy weight)

Andrew Triggs Hodge, Olympic gold winner, Rowing (Coxless Four)

Peter Wilson, Olympic gold winner, Shooting (Double Trap)

Nicola Adams, Olympic gold medal winner, Boxing

Lizzie Armitstead, Olympic silver medal winner, Cycling (Road Race)

Laura Bechtolsheimer, Olympic gold and bronze medal winner, Dressage

Gemma Gibbons, Olympic silver medallist, Judo

Helen Glover, Olympic gold medal winner, women’s coxless pair

Katherine Grainger, Olympic gold winner, Double Skulls

Jade Jones, Olympic gold winner, Taekwondo

Christine Ohuruogu, Olympic silver medal winner, 400 metres

In addition, London 2012 bronze medallist, swimmer Rebecca Adlington, will also act as a mentor to all the athletes in the swimming event. She’ll be providing useful tips and guidance on technique, as well as of course encouragement to her Team GB teammates.

Superstars 2012 will be hosted by Gabby Logan, who fresh from her success as one of the faces of the BBC’s London 2012 coverage, will oversee the proceedings. Gabby will be following in her father’s footsteps, as her dad, former professional footballer Terry Yorath, also featured on Superstars during the 1970s.

She’ll be joined by former Olympians Denise Lewis and Iwan Thomas as pundits, providing their own unique spin on the action. The Superstars 2012 games will be shot in front of an eager crowd at the University of Bath, which boasts state of the art sporting facilities. The grand finale will see the competitors battle in the historic setting of the city’s Assembly Rooms.

Iwan Thomas said: “I am delighted to be part of the presenting team for Superstars. There is an incredible line up of Olympic Heroes and I am looking forward to seeing them compete against each other in a wide range of sports. Having taken part in superstars before, I know all of the Athlete’s will be extremely competitive so I believe it is going to be a great show.”

Mark Linsey, Controller Entertainment Commissioning, said: “As a great fan of the original series I am thrilled to commission this one-off for Christmas. It will be a real treat especially as it will star an unbelievable line up of medal winning athletes from London 2012.”

Rick Thomas, Superstars Executive Producer at IMG said: “IMG are really excited to be reviving Superstars for the BBC.  It’s an iconic show and we believe that with our stellar list of Olympic medallists it promises to be the most competitive and thrilling Superstars ever.  The chance to rekindle the memories of the summer and find out who is the greatest all round sporting Superstar is a mouth-watering prospect.”

Superstars 2012 will be produced for the BBC by Kate Robinson for IMG. The Executives Producers are Mirella Breda, Executive Editor Entertainment Commissioning for the BBC, Bob Massie for Massive TV and Rick Thomas for IMG.

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