[bom-jiggy]

First of all, I'm hoping I'm not the only one in here who's interested in athletics

I just can't help but wonder where British athletics has gone wrong over the years Gone where the days when we could rely on at least 5 individual athletes to gain medals- including gold - at international competitions. Now, even with the the lottery funding, things just seem to be going downhill and fast Is it bad management or just athletes sitting in "comfort zones" cos there's no pressure on them to perform, i.e their funding is not reliant on performance (unlike the Americans) What is it? I was watching the IAAF season-ending final yesterday and in the men's 100m (no guessing there was no British representative in it ) ALL of the 8 contestants that lined up including guys that had been competing as seniors for nearly 10 years had all posted personal best (PB) times this season. Just to give you some indication, Mark Lewis-Francis has not improved on his PB in 5 years The only athlete that improved immensely this year was Tim Benjamin and i'm very encouraged by him. He doesn't talk big but produces the goods. He sure is a star of the future as long as he keeps his head down.

As a huge athletics fans I'm very disappointed indeed and hope whatever's causing the problem is solved as soon as possible.

Originally Posted by bom-jiggy

Now, even with the the lottery funding, things just seem to be going downhill and fast

Well at least we should do well in the Giant Slalom then.

[bom-jiggy]

Originally Posted by bob.bobsta

Well at least we should do well in the Giant Slalom then.

Winter sports is a different story altogether. The only "medalist" we thought we had last time around was stripped of his medal due to a failed drugs test.

[andy614]

yes i am intrested in athletics! i was asking myself the same question! We dont take it seriously enough!Alot of our athletes WORK aswell as being an athlete!They are part0time athletes.I agree that uk athletics and sport england are not managed very well.Training has to improve and the way i can see that happening is getting in foreign coaches!

[valskey]

I think the problem goes back to sport in schools. Until you try something out you don't know if you like it, or if you may be good at it. A lot of schools don't have competitive sports, others do, but its limited. They concentrate on team games, there is little encourangment for athletics unless a child chooses to join a club outside of school.
My daughter is at high school and for sports day she did Shot Putt - they showed her what to do the day before! Her next opportunity to try it will be in the summer term if she joins the after school athletics club that only runs for that term.

[bom-jiggy]

Originally Posted by valskey

I think the problem goes back to sport in schools. Until you try something out you don't know if you like it, or if you may be good at it. A lot of schools don't have competitive sports, others do, but its limited. They concentrate on team games, there is little encourangment for athletics unless a child chooses to join a club outside of school.
My daughter is at high school and for sports day she did Shot Putt - they showed her what to do the day before! Her next opportunity to try it will be in the summer term if she joins the after school athletics club that only runs for that term.

To a large extent, i agree with you BUT there ALWAYS seem to be a wealth of youngsters performing very well as juniors but then they find it very hard indeed making the transition into the senior ranks Mark Lewis-Francis was a fantastic junior, as well as Dwayne Chambers and a good few others. They seem more interested at being "British No.1" than world No.1

Alot of our athletes WORK aswell as being an athlete

This used to be the case before the lottery funding started. You'd be hard pressed to find any British athlete who still works for a living except if that's what they've chosen to do themselves.