On, Golden Blondes
‘REMEMBER when for a few days two years ago, curling was big news?
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| An Yngling sensation |
Who could forget the team of Scottish housewives who brought back a gold medal from the winter Olympics? There was Thingamee and Whatsername and the ones with the brush.
So, dont forget the names of Shirley Robertson, Sarah Ayton and Sarah Webb, the three blondes who won Britains first gold of the Athens Olympics yesterday in sailing.
The three yachtswomen who won the new Yngling class not only dominate the sports pages, but even make it onto the front page of the papers in a wash of bad puns.
And heres to you, Mrs Robertson, says the Guardian; the Telegraph talks of that Yngling feeling, while the nostalgic Times boasts: Britain rules the waves again.
The gold medal, won with a race to spare, is doubly good news because it keeps badminton off the back pages.
On radio yesterday, overexcited commentators were talking of an explosion of interest in the sport following the silver medal won by Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson in the mixed doubles.
But we are prepared to wager large sums of money that the next time badminton makes an appearance on the back pages of anything other than Shuttlecock Weekly is about this time in 2008.
Completing our Olympic round-up, we should mention that there is still a chance that Britain could win another gold medal in an event that has already finished.
Britain, France and the United States have lodged a joint appeal with the Court Of Arbitration In Sport (CAS) after German rider Bettina Hoy 12-point time penalty was cancelled.
Hoys error, the Telegraph explains, is the sort of mistake novices are warned about.
During her warm-up before starting her show-jumping on Wednesday night, she managed to cross the start line twice.
What should have happened is the clock should have started the first time she crossed, instead some technician set the clock back to zero.
Its hardly in keeping with Baron de Coubertains vision of the Olympics lawyers emerging from a committee room with a 10-page judgement in one hand and a gold medal in the other.
And so to cricket where Englands golden summer continues, as another debutant makes his mark in his very first Test.
The Guardian reports that Ian Bell came in with England struggling at 64-3 and departed some two and a half hours later with the score on 210 and with 70 runs to his personal tally.
That England finished the day in a commanding position at 313-5 owed a lot once again to Andrew Flintoff, who passed 50 for the eighth consecutive Test match and is unbeaten on 72.
He can do no wrong at the moment.
And finally, news that Jonathan Woodgate is off to Real Madrid has caused huge excitement in the Spanish capital.
And the question on every Madrilenos lips is: Is Kate Lawlor coming too?
Whats the Spanish for wicked?’
Posted: 20th, August 2004 | In: Back pages Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
