Team GB medal hopefuls in action today: August 9
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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...
Jade Jones
Age: 19
Place of Birth: England
Main Event: Taekwondo -57kg
Rival: If she wants to win gold she’ll have to get past Hou Yuzhuo of China who beat her in the World Championships.
Medal Prospect: Aiming for gold but bronze would be a good result.
Jones is the current Youth Olympic Champion and was the first GB athlete to claim a title at the competition in Singapore in 2010. She then moved up to senior level and added a 2010 European Championship bronze medal and then a 2011 World Championship silver medal. Although at the European Championships in May this year she only won bronze despite being tipped for gold, Jones has her eyes set on gold.
Date of event: August 9
Odds: 12/1
Tom Stalker
Age: 28
Place of Birth: England
Main Event: Boxing Light Welterweight:
Rival: Munkh-Erdene Uranchimeg, Mongolia
Medal Prospects: Hot favourite for gold
Tom Stalker is the current Commonwealth Games champion and two-time European silver medallist. Stalker was named BOA Olympic Athlete of the Year in 2010 and after missing out on the 2008 Games, the 28-year-old, who is currently ranked number one in the world by the AIBA, is tipped to win gold in London.
Dates of event: July 31 – August 11
Odds: 13/2
Keri-Anne Payne
Age: 24
Place of Birth: South Africa
Main Event: 10km Open Water Swimming
Rival: Martina Grimaldi, Italy
Medal Prospects: Is the favourite but a lot can happen in open water swimming.
Keri-Anne Payne narrowly missed out on gold at the Beijing Olympics in the final stretch. Since then she has cemented her place at the top of the sport winning the
World Championships in 2009 and 2011. Payne relies on a fast start to get herself out of the scrapping that goes on in the group and she will need all the acceleration she can get as the Serpentine in Hyde Park will offer fairly cramped conditions for the swimmers to battle it out in.
Date of event: August 9
Odds: 11/5
Laura Bechtolsheimer
Age: 27
Place of Birth: Germany
Main Event: Dressage
Rival: There are several individuals who will prove stiff competition for a medal.
Medal Prospects: In what will be a tight competition she has a good chance of getting on the podium.
The dressage event at London 2012 is predicted to be a very close fought affair but Team GB’s Laura Bechtolsheimer has a very good chance of wining a medal. She has an impressive list of achievements to her name having won the British National Championships three times and Britain’s first ever medal at a World Championship event.
Dates of event: August 2 – August 9
Odds: 4/1
Nicola Adams
Age: 29
Place of Birth: England
Main Event: Boxing Flyweight
Rival: Cancan Ren, China
Medal Prospects: Will probably be yet another showdown between Adams and Ren for gold.
Nicola Adams was the first British woman to win a major title when she triumphed at the European Championships in 2011. She has finished second place in the World Championships three times in a row and this year has been characterised by bouts with current World number one Cancan Ren. Adams and Ren have met twice this year, Adams won the first encounter but Ren triumphed in the second to win the World Championships.
Dates of event: August 5 – August 9
Odds: 7/4
Andrew Osagie
Age: 24
Place of Birth: England
Main Event: 800m
Rival: He will have to overcome a very competitive field to make the medals.
Medal Prospect: Outside chance of a bronze
Andrew Osagie has been heralded by some as a possible return to the days of successful men's British middle-distance runners. He may not have huge experience or many major medals but the 24-year-old won a bronze medal in March at the European Indoor Championships and is looking to build on for the Games. He insists on taking everything one step at a time but some people are already tipping him for great things.
Dates of event: August 6 – August 9
Odds: 66/1
Phillips Idowu
Age: 33
Place of Birth: England
Main Event: Triple Jump
Rival: Current world champion Christian Taylor, USA
Medal Prospects: If fully fit has a good chance of taking gold
Phillips Idowu, while considered one of Team GB’s best gold medal hopes, has cast a lot of doubt on his chances through his actions this year. He has only competed three times since January, most recently pulling out of the London Diamond League meeting with a hip problem. His reported injury issues and his supposed non-existent relationship with team manager Charles Van Commenee will hopefully not prove to be too much of a distraction when it comes to the competition.
Dates of event: August 7 – August 9
Odds: 6/1
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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