it keeps out the riff raff…
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That’s a good example though of how interest and opportunity lead to medals, they wanted to drop whitewater entirely from the olympics, but were eventually convinced not to, and built that facility, and here we are now where they already won the womans K1 and C1 golds (although the fact the woman who won was also the daughter of British and French world champions recruited to Aus to be coaches helped, but without the facility they wouldn’t be australian I’m sure.)
Maryka has friends with a daughter who’s racing next week - Sophia Jensen very little “state” funding, trains whilst at university, supported by parents, local club etc. funds raised for competing. So interest/ opportunity (parents into canoeing, access to a club etc.) and money is all that makes it possible.
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4% lager…paging @fruit_thief
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He’s working for one of the NBC in the US as a special Olympics correspondent - and getting plenty of publicity.
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And don’t forget Flavour Flav being the US women’s water polo team hype man
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Chile won a gold medal 
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Controversially. Bring back VAR!
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I wondered how they ended up there, thanks.
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Sounds great , yes please 
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Yeah, that did seems a little bit surprising when it seems a sport prime for it. Especially when the commentary indicated they do normally have it.
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Women’s road race looks exciting! Back home now, so have iPlayer 
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Shame Tommy F let things get to him in the golf
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My swim club was loosely involved with modern pentathlon, so as a kid who’d try anything I took part in a few l biathlon and triathlon (shooting) events. At the time I was swimming ~4:10 for 400fc IIRC, and I ran ~2:40 for 1k in schools comp and 10min for 3k just from swim training and the occasional short run a few weeks before the race, and I was invited on a triathlon (SBR) talent ID day when I was about 16.
Excited, I went along to Loughborough. Immediately it was clear everyone else was already in the system, and I spent most the day being laughed at for the £80 road bike I’d got for it, doing laps of a track on my own getting lapped. We had an OW swim session which was beach entry and exits without any real swimming. And then a 5k easy jog where again everyone knew each other to talk to in their clique.
Needless to say I didn’t want to go back. I did a couple of school triathlons and decided to stay in single sport. Took ~15 years before I did another tri.
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Are those aero ear covers legal?
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Go on Marianne Vos! 
She’s amazing, so classy.
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sweet…
yep…and oh boy, is it ever a clique…
i wonder how many they have lost over the years as a result…
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I wonder if you had a lucky escape?
With those numbers I guess you must have been in with a shout of making the GB development squad or whatever it is, but what then?
Life on the road as an aspiring pro looks pretty tough & I wonder how many people emerge unscathed from the other end.
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Alastair…
Oh, no…
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