Dwain Chambers- Should he have been picked for Team G.B.?

The London 2012 Olympic Games in London bought out the best, not only in athletes from around the world, but especially athletes from the Great Britain team. Unfortunately, there is one exception from the illustrious list, Dwain Chambers.

A statement made by UK athletics said “It is extremely frustrating to leave young athletes at home – eligible for Beijing, in possession of the qualifying standard and committed to ongoing participation in a drug-free sport. In contrast, we have to take an individual whose sudden return, especially when considered against his previous actions and comments, suggests that he may be using the whole process for his own ends.”

UK Athletics Performance director, Dave Collins also said “There is a strong feeling among the committee that we would like to see greater penalties for drug cheats. That’s obviously something that will need to be addressed after this and going forwards.”

These are the comments made by officials after The British Olympics Association (BOA) overturned the rule of lifetime bans for alleged drugs cheats, in order to choose Chambers for the Great British Olympic team. Chambers was banned in 2003 after testing positive for the performance enhancement drug, THG.

On his return, Chambers ran in the Olympic trials in Birmingham. He won his event in the 100m sprint; however, he was still outside the ‘A’ standard qualification time needed in order to compete in the 2012 Olympics. Another standard requirement needed in order to run in the Olympics was to run in the 100m at the European Championships in Helsinki, which Chambers never participated, in order to rest.

However, by breaking almost every rule in the book, he still competed in the most coveted games to date, finishing in 5^th in his 100m race. Known for being Great Britain ‘fastest’ sprinter, did Chambers deserve to compete in London 2012?

Conference- The Table Toppers and Relegation Threatened

With teams firmly condemning where their aim at the end of the season will be, we take a look at who will challenge for that all important promotion prize, and who will have an even longer season ahead battling against the drop.

Grimsby Town currently lead the Blue Square Premier League, with a game in hand on second place, Wrexham, by which the two teams are level on points, and are only separated by goal difference. The Mariners, who are joint managed by Paul Hurst and Rob Scott, are on a tremendous run of form, with their last defeat coming way back in November last year. With their next 3 games easily winnable, and come against teams in mid table and in a relegation scrap, it is safe to say that Grimsby Town will be back in the Football League come May.

Wrexham are on Grimsby’s tail, and are looking to avoid the dreaded play offs and pip the Mariners to the post to the title. With a good FA Cup run to proud of, crashing out to Premier League side, Liverpool, it looks as though they have transformed this to league form. Andy Morrell’ last defeat in the league came against Grimsby back in December last year, and with a similar run of the next 3 games to Grimsby, it will be very tight for the chance to become Champions of the Conference.

As well as Wrexham, Forest Green, Newport and Kidderminster currently occupy the other play off positions to clinch promotion to the Npower League Two. Forest Green, who are unbeaten in their last four, are on 53 points and only 5 points behind Wrexham, while Justin Edinburgh’s Newport are 3 points behind with top scorer, Aaron O’Connor on fire with a great return of 17 goals for the season so far. Kidderminster lie in the last remaining play off place, with Paul Buckle’s Luton Town, and Mansfield, whose Chairman, John Radford, gave manager, Paul Cox, a £85,000 Aston Martin after their 8-1 rout over Barrow, close behind in 6^th and 7^th position respectively.

At the other end of the table, Ebbsfleet are 8 points adrift of safety and with a baron run of form of only 2 wins from their last 10 games, it maybe time for manager Liam Daish to accept the Fleet’s fate is already very much sealed. Nuneatan sit one place above Ebbsfleet in the table, on 28 points, while Barrow, who have conceded a monumental, 62 goals, the worst in the division, are in 22^nd position. After somewhat of a bright start to the season, Telford are on their worst run of form in the division. Not picking up maximum points in the last 10 games, and are yet to win under new manager, former Peterborugh gaffer, Mark Cooper, AFC Telford are struggling to regain their mid table birth. With games against Mansfield, Newport and Macclesfield all to come, can Cooper pull the Bucks out of trouble. Northern side, Gateshead, are just above the relegation zone, while former West Ham legend, Alan Devonshire’s Braintree side are only 6 points above safety, with the Essex side losing their last 3 games on the spin.

What does the 2013 F1 season have in store?

In 2012, Sebastian Vettel won the championship for the third time, the youngest driver to win 3 championships on consecutive occasions; Lewis Hamilton agreed to join Mercedes from McClaren and Kimi Raikkonen drove superbly in his first season back since retiring. Now testing is well and truly underway in Jerez, but who is better equipped ahead of the much anticipated 2013 season.

Red Bull

Following on from last year successes by clinching the drivers’ championship and constructors championship, Red Bull looked to have created a much improved car that is well and truly capable of doing exactly the same in 2013. The new RB9 is said to be hugely consistent, with no mechanical glitches, and is setting a consistent and fast pace that is averaging 1:18:565 in Jerez by both Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. However, as the season approaches, due to Vettel proven record, can Webber produce more of a threat to Vettel and other drivers in 2013?

         

Ferrari

Ferrari had a troublesome time last season. Spaniard, Fernando Alonso was pipped to the post by Vettel, after the F2012 was pegged back in the closing stages of the season. Fellow Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa was nowhere to be seen in 2012, finishing with a rather disappointing 122 points, considering his tremendous ability to drive. However, the new F138 is proving to be a very quick car for 2013, clocking in at 1:17:879, and one of the fastest cars in practice, with improvements still to be made. However, is it still the case for Massa, in that he will always be 2^nd best to Fernando Alonso?

         

McClaren

After setting the pace in Jerez, Jenson Button and co put McClaren as the fastest in practice. Jenson Button recorded a time of 1:18:861 on hard tyres in the first couple days of practice. However, other teams, including Lotus, have caught up, and Martin Whitmarsh may be quacking in his boots. Sergio Perez, who replaced Hamilton, is still to find his feet with the new model, and the new car has had its fair share of problems. The fuel pump and front suspension are the main concerns for McClaren, but can recoup and get it together ahead of the first race in Austrailia?

         

Mercedes

Despite Nico Rosberg experiencing one of his best seasons to date in 2012, with a win, and a couple of pole positions, and Mercedes recruiting Lewis Hamilton as their other driver, the new WO4 has not proven its worth. A fire to Hamilton’s car was not the start Ross Brawn would have wanted for Mercedes, and a brake failure the following day caused Hamilton to crash into the barriers. Looking at the new car, Hamilton said the car needs more work. Are Mercedes ready for the new season, and has welcoming Hamilton on board been too much of a gamble?

         

Lotus

It looks as though there could be a dark horse in the 2013 season, and a challenge for Vettel and Red Bull to face, as Lotus look like a force to be beckoned with. The first 2 days of testing saw Frenchman, Romain Grosjean and the ever eccentric, Kimi Raikkonen produce the fastest times for Lotus. The new E21 is said to carry more petrol than usual and keep a fast speed, which is quite a surprise, according to technical director, James Allison. With a win to his name last season, ending on a staggering 207 points last season, and driving a much improved car for 2013, can Raikkonen rekindle the glory days for Lotus F1?

         

Sauber

Nico Hulkenburg is back in the hot seat with Sauber, alongside new recruit, Esteban Gutierrez, and it looks as though the new C32 can become a threat for 2013. After missing the whole of last season, Hulkenburg has said the new car is’ aesthetically pleasing’ and a ‘fast car’.  Well renowned for its fast cornering and great tyre performance over long runs, the C32 is looking like it may be up for the challenge next season, however, can it sustain amount of pressure to challenge the big hitters of F1?

         

Force India

Young and promising British driver, Paul Di Resta, was tipped to replace Hamilton at McClaren, and continue the all British drivers for the British team. However, he still remains at Force India, and with VJM06 in full swing, from the four days of testing so far, there will not be many changes from last season. Nevertheless, co-driver, and new recruit, Jules Bianchi, looks a driver to look for in the future, setting the second fastest time of day 2 in Jerez and Ferrari are already keeping tabs on the youngster.

         

Williams

Pastor Maldonado and new driver, Valtteri Bottas, have been made to wait before driving the new FW35, as the Williams have decided to skip testing in Jerez, and focus more on testing in Barcelona. Despite a win in Spain, after a pole position on the grid last season, Maldonado rather dipped in form finishing with only 45 points to his name. With Maldonado’s from, an unknown driver in Bottas in the driver’s seat and skipping testing in Jerez, is it time to panic for the Williams team?

         

Toro Rosso

Jean-Eric Vergne has said that there are substantial changes from the predecessors of last term, however, at the moment, there has been a slight change in the times, which have gone slightly faster. With Daniel Ricciardo and Vergne confirmed as the Toro Rosso drivers for 2013, it looks as though they have to push the car to its very limit, come 2013. Unless Toro Rosso make substantial changes to the new STR8, Ricciardo and Vergne are in for a long season ahead.

         

Caterham

With Heikki Kovalainen gone, Vitaly Petrov not even involved for 2013 and Jarno Trulli rejecting advances from Caterham, it looks as though Frenchman, Charles Pic and debutant, Giedo Van Der Garde are in for a long and perilous voyage for Caterham. Furthermore, with lap times tumbling, and a new exhaust filter that was dubbed illegal, it is not the start that Caterham would have wanted. Can they pull it back, in order to mainstay there chances in the upcoming season?

         

Marussia

Marussia’s new line up of Englishman, Max Chilton, who came from Formula 3 racing, and Brazil’s Luiz Razia, a breath of fresh air is set to grace the F1 tracks, with the new drivers and new car. With Marussia not expected to finish in a high position, they can come away with the fact they have completed all four days of testing in Jerez with no major problems, and have finally installed the new KERS system to the new car. Can the Marussia prove most people wrong and finish higher than expected?