Olympics: How will Agenda 2020 change the future of the Games?



Olympic athletes gather in Lausanne, Switzerland for the launch of Agenda 2020 last month (IOC)


By Steven Oldham


The International Olympic Committee's Agenda 2020 will reshape the Games as we know them by focusing on the key themes of affordability, legacy and inclusion.

Since IOC President Thomas Bach introduced the set of 40 (20+20) proposals last month, it is clear that the future of the Olympic movement is changing to reflect economic and social issues faced by the world.

Simplifying the bidding process to host future Games and reducing the costs of doing so is one of the central proposals. Being able to submit joint bids with other cities or countries is a step in the right direction, as is the reduction in presentations by bidding cities. With the IOC also covering some logistical fees for bidders, this should drive down overheads and make hosting the Games an attractive, viable option to a broader range of nations than in previous years.

This will open up the prospect of a first Middle Eastern Games, for example. After securing both the 2019 World Athletics Championships and the 2022 football World Cup, Qatar would be the obvious candidate in this part of the world. However, the sheer scale of the event might mean a joint bid with neighbouring countries could be more realistic.

Another option would be a Nordic Games - and not necessarily a Winter one, given that Sweden has previously hosted the Summer Games. Both Norway and Finland have experience in hosting Diamond League and European Championship athletics respectively.

Hopefully, these reforms will help avoid another situation like the bidding process for the 2022 Winter Olympics, which will now only be contested by Beijing and Almaty after four European cities, for various reasons, withdrew their candidacy in quick succession this year.

Wherever future editions are held, a key part of bids will be legacy plans after the Games have left town.  IOC members will be keen to point to London as a good example, which used a good mix of existing and temporary facilities. New builds are also well used - the Olympic stadium will host the 2017 World Athletics Championships and will become West Ham United's new home. The Copper Box regularly hosts professional boxing and is home to handball and badminton teams as well as community sports facilities. Next year, the Lee Valley Hockey Centre will host that sport's Euro Championships.

Sadly, this is not always the case - just ten years ago, the Games returned to Athens, the birthplace of the Olympics. However, ill-thought plans to build stadia exclusively for beach volleyball, softball, taekwondo and so on have led to them standing derelict and in ruins.  Costing an estimated €9bn, the Greeks have precious little left to show for their money.

The abandoned Olympic Aquatic centre in Athens, ten years on
(Milos Bicanski)

The IOC are looking to take a more hands-on and supportive role for prospective hosts in the sustainability of their infrastructure to avoid this in future. The use of existing facilities is to be further encouraged, and to avoid potential white elephants, temporary arenas will be preferred to costly unviable stadia.

Another aim of Agenda 2020 is for the Games to be ever more inclusive. This includes a target of 50% participation rate for female athletes and the principle of non-discrimination against athletes is to be expanded to include sexual orientation.

The commitment to gender equality follows the first Games in which every country included at least one woman in their team. Concerns about non-participation of women in the Olympics were eased by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei all including women in their teams for the first time at London 2012 but there is still work to be done to reach the desired 50/50 split.

Women's sport continues to grow in popularity and it is vital that the IOC is seen to be trying to balance the number of places to make the event as a whole fairer and representative of participation levels at the grass roots.

Another point of the gender equality recommendation was to encourage the introduction of mixed gender team sports. In recent days, FINA have announced the introduction of mixed diving and synchronised swimming competitions to their events. Whilst there is no guarantee these disciplines will be added to the Olympic programme, the IOC will no doubt look favourably on this development.

Agenda 2020's proposals will no doubt affect how we view the Olympics. Work is now needed by the NOCS to implement them. If they succeed in making the Games fairer, more cost-effective and inclusive, the movement will have changed for the better.

The IOC are due to vote on the Agenda 2020 proposals at the 127th IOC session on December 8-9. This article is not a full summary of the proposals - I have concentrated on what I feel are the most important aspects. A full list of the 40 proposals can be found on the Olympic website here



Will future Olympics feature synchronised swimming with
men competing alongside women? (Sports Tribe)

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Glasgow 2014: DAY 9: Gymnast Claudia Fragapane wins fourth gold, bowls success for Scotland, Sally Pearson wins hurdles gold for Australia

Claudia Fragapane wins her fourth gold of Glasgow 2014 (BBC Sport)

By Steven Oldham MISS DAY 8 HIGHLIGHTS? CLICK HERE
 
Teenage gymnast Claudia Fragapane won her fourth gold medal of Glasgow 2014 today, by taking victory on the floor, and in doing so became the first woman in 84 years to win as many golds for England.
 
She had previously won the vault, all around and team all around gold earlier in the week and the 16-year-old contributed to a highly successful gymnastics programme for the Home Nations, with England, Scotland and Wales all picking up medals.
 

Fragapane's gold medals are proving crucial to her country as England continue to lead the medals table from Australia and Canada.
 
Fellow gymnast Nile Wilson opened his invidiual gold account by beating team-mate Kristian Thomas to the horizontal bar competition.
 
Divers Jack Laugher and Chris Mears added another top medal in the 3m synchro event, with team-mates Nick Robinson-Baker and Freddie Woodward picking up bronze in the same event.
 
Steve Lewis added gold in the pole vault, with Tiffany Porter claiming silver in the 100m hurdles.
 

Darren Burnett is the men's singles winner (Jeff Holmes)

 

Host nation Scotland enjoyed another successful day on the bowling green, picking up two more gold medals.
 
Darren Burnett won the men's singles competition by easily beating Canada's Ryan Bester 21-9, while the mens' fours beat England 16-8 to secure their title.
 
Gymnast Daniel Purvis took his first Commonwealth title by winning the parallel bars from English pair Nile Wilson and Max Whitlock.
 
Runner Lynsey Sharp also put in a stunning performance to break up the African monopoly in the 800m, taking silver behind Kenya's Eunice Sum.

Reigning champion Moses Kipsiro took a grandstand finish in the 10,000m
(Uganda Records)

 
 Uganda won their first gold medal of the 2014 Games as Moses Kipsoro retained his 10,000m title in an incredibly close race.

Kipsiro had trailed Canada's Cameron Levins into the final straight but both he and Kenya's Josphat Bett managed to beat the man from North America across the line.

Kipsiro won the race by just 0.03 seconds, the closest margin at this Games, closer than Kemar Bailey Cole's 0.10 gap to Adam Gemili in the 100m.

Double Commonwealth champion Sally Pearson celebrates
(Fox Sports News)

Olympic champion Sally Pearson was Australia's star performer on day nine, taking the 100m hurdles final ahead of England's Tiffany Porter and Angela Whyte of Canada.

In doing so she retained the title she won four years ago in Delhi, India.

There was also gold for Eleanor Patterson in the high jump, and divers Matthew Mitcham and Dominic Beddggod took the 10m synchro title.

Olympic champion Mitcham now finally has a gold Commonwealth to add to his collection, having won four silver medals in the last Games four years ago.

Tianwei Feng win's womens singles gold (BBC Sport)

Singapore continue to do well in table tennis, winning both the women's singles and men's doubles events today.

Indeed, their women locked out the podium, with Delhi champion Tianwei Feng retaining her title by beating Mengyu Yu 4-1 in the final. Ye Lin took bronze ahead of Australian Jian Fang Lay.

Gao Ning and Li Hu are the new men's doubles champions after they beat Indian pair Sharath Achanta and Amalraj Arputharaj 3-1.

CLICK HERE FOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES HOMEPAGE



DAY 9 DIGEST IN 60 SECONDS...

• Kenya's impressive form in the distance running events continues. They locked out the podium in the men's 3000m steeplechase with Jonathan Ndiku taking gold.
• There was a first medal for St Lucia today. Levern Spencer took bronze in the high jump - matching her achievement from Delhi, where she was again her country's only medallist
• Usain Bolt helped Jamaica through to the final of the men's 4x100m relay
• South Africa added another gold medal; Tracy-Lee Botha and Colleen Piketh won the women's pairs.
• Jennifer Abel was another athlete to retain a title won in India four years ago - she picked up gold for Canada in the 1m springboard diving event.

Glasgow 2014: DAY 8: David Rudisha upstaged by Botswana's Nijel Amos, Daniel Keatings secures individual gold for Scotland, England pull ahead in medal table

Nigel Amos beats favourite David Rudisha (Eurosport)

By Steven Oldham

Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha had to settle for silver today as Botswana's 20-year-old Nijel Amos upstaged his more illustrious rival at Hampden Park.

Amos scored Botswana's first medal of any colour by taking the 800m title, an upgrade of the Olympic silver he won in London two years ago behind Kenya's Rudisha.

This result nicely sets up future clashes between the two, a battle which is sure to continue until the next Olympics in two years time.




Scotland's Daniel Keatings on the way to gold (BBC Sport Scotland)

Scotland again tasted gold with Daniel Keatings taking the men's pommel horse ahead of England's Max Whitlock and Louis Smith.

Eilidh Child took silver in the women's 400m while Alex Gladkov took bronze in wrestling in the 65kg weight class.





Claudia Fragapane, 16, is already a 3x CWG champion (Guardian Sport)

England enjoyed another successful day and continue to lead the medal table past the halfway stage.

Gymnastics continues to be a happy hunting ground and Max Whitlock and Claudia Fragapane both won their third gold medal in the floor and vault events respectively.  

Rebecca Downie's victory in the uneven bars - her second gold - mean the English have locked out every gold medal available in the women's events.

David Weir added a first Commonwealth gold to his Paralympic title in the T54 1500m in Hampden Park, while cyclist Alex Dowsett won the men's time trial after missing out on the Tour de France.

There was also success on the bowling green for the women's triples who took gold by thrashing Australia 22-4.

India's Yogeshwar Dutt celebrates another gold (Economic Times)

India continue to do well in wrestling and also picked up a first gold medal in athletics today.

Yogeshwar Dutt (65kg) has stepped up a weight class since winning Commonwealth gold on home soil, but like compatriot Sushil Kumar the result stayed the same and he won gold today beating Canada's Jevon Dalfour in the final.

Babita Kumari secured a first major international gold by winning the women's 55kg from Brittanee Laverdure of Canada, while discus thrower Vikas Shive Gowda improved his silver to gold four years on.

Meaghan Benefito wins two gold in as many days (BBC Sport)



Canada had another successful day picking up gold in weightlifting, diving and wrestling.

George Kobaladze broke the Games clean and jerk record by lifting 229kg on his way to winning the men's heavyweight weightlifting competition.

Diver Meaghan Benefito won the 10m platform and her team-mate Roseline Filion took bronze a day after they won  gold in synchro at the same height.

The Canadians shared the spoils with India today with both nations winning two gold medals. Tamerlan Tagziev (men's 85kg) and Danielle Lappage (women's 63kg) have helped Canada to seven gold medals in wrestling this time, three more than in Delhi.

DAY 8 DIGEST IN 60 SECONDS...

• Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare took a sprint double by taking the women's 200m
• Geraint Thomas took bronze for Wales in the men's time trial ahead of Sunday's road race
• Malaysia's Ooi Tze Liang took the men's 3m springboard ahead of English pair Jack Laugher and Oliver Dingley
• They may only have two medals so far but Northern Ireland are set for a bumper Friday with NINE medals guaranteed in boxing
• Linda Villumsen took gold in the women's time trial for New Zealand; she had previously won silver in Delhi four years ago.

Glasgow 2014 - Commonwealth Games Sports Guide: Diving

By Steven Oldham

Despite only being an optional sport at the Commonwealths, diving has appeared at every edition of the Games since the first British Empire Games in 1930.

Both men and women will compete in a range of events, from the 1m springboard to the synchronised 10m platform pairs.

One of the most visually spectacular sports on show at the Commonwealths, diving continues to grow in popularity in Great Britain, demonstrated by the 15.9m people who tuned in to watch Tom Daley win bronze at London 2012.

WHEN?

The diving happens from July 30-August 2 and medals will be decided on every day of competition, with the men's 1m springboard the first gold medal handed out.

WHERE?

Glasgow is not hosting the diving - instead the athletes will head to the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh, which has previous experience hosting the Games - both in 1970 and 1986. It's been updated and renovated and brought up to the standard where it can host world-class events.

WHO?

Three countries have traditionally dominated Commonwealth diving - Australia, Canada and England. Canada topped the table last time out with five gold medals, but three of these were won by the now retired Alexandre Despatie - will the younger divers continue the Canadians' fine pedigree in diving?

They will be boosted by Jennifer Abel once again competing - she won the other two golds in Delhi, in both singles and synchro competitions.  10m synchro pair Roseline Fitton and Meaghan Benefito will also be looking to add to their Commonwealth medal collection, after taking bronze in Melbourne eight years ago.

Olympic champion and four time Commonwealth silver medallist Matthew Mitcham leads the Australian contingent in Edinburgh this summer. 10m synchro champion Melissa Wu also returns, with 15-year-old Georgia Sheehan making her senior team debut.

To say England are a one-man team is wrong, there is real strength in depth. Double Commonwealth champion Daley does return and is likely to be one of the stars of the Games again, but the English will be disappointed if they don't improve on the two medals they won in Delhi.

Chris Mears and Jack Laugher head in to the tournament as the leading Commonwealth pairing in the 3m synchro having placed fifth in the World Cup in Shanghai, with Laugher also taking individual bronze in the same event.

Tonia Couch and Sarah Barrow are also expected to do well in the 10m synchro, but face tough competition from Australia, Canada and Malaysia's pairs, who all finished ahead of the English pair in Shanghai earlier this week.

Yona Knight-Wisdom is also set to become Jamaica's first ever diver to compete at the Games.

LET ME SOUND LIKE I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT...

• Dives are taken from one of three heights - 1m or 3m on the springboard, or 10m on the platform
• The single events feature qualifiers with the top 12 advancing to the final. The synchro events are just finals.
• Points are earned for two elements of a dive - the execution and the difficulty of the dive. A panel of judges hand out the marks.
• Style is important - every diver is aiming for the coveted 'rip entry' into the water - with minimal splash. Belly flops are not cool.
• Zimbabwe, no longer a Commonwealth member, were the last country other than the big three and Malaysia to medal at the Games - way back in 1998 when Evan Stewart won gold in the 1m springboard.

CAN I STILL BUY TICKETS?

Sadly not. For the latest on which  tickets are left - including badminton and weightlifting - see here

Can England's Jack Laugher repeat his World Cup medal success?
(zimbio.com)

Glasgow 2014: One month to go! Elite athletes from across the Commonwealth heading to Scotland

By Steven Oldham

Today marks one month to go to the start of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the 20th edition of the Games and biggest sporting event held in the UK since the London 2012 Olympics.

A week ago, myself and the other members of Team 14 were set a challenge to mark the one month to go countdown with one word each, which we were to interpret into our blogs in the way we thought best.

My word is ELITE. As a writer, I thought the best way to use this word was to focus on the elite sporting talent that will be competing in Glasgow this summer.

Across many sports there are household names; Olympic, world and European champions; major tournament competitors with medals from countries all over the Commonwealth.

Here, I preview some of the big names set to compete in Glasgow one month from now. This list is not definitive, and further articles will cover all sports on show at this year's Games.

ATHLETICS

Olympic champion Mo Farah is heading to Glasgow (@BBCSport)

Double Olympic champion Mo Farah leads the English charge in track and field and will be a big draw for fans attending the Games.  The distance runner is the current Olympic and world champion at both 5,000 and 10,000 metres and he will be among the favourites to land yet another medal to his trophy cabinet.

Sprinter Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce is hoping to complete her medal collection in Glasgow - she's never competed at the Commonwealths before and the Jamaican team will be stronger for her presence. A superstar athlete, she holds two Olympic golds and five world titles across three different distances. As yet it's unknown whether Usain Bolt will compete in Glasgow but Jamaica have a strong pedigree even without the megastar. Like Fraser-Pryce, Yohan Blake has Olympic and world gold to his name and if Bolt does not compete, he could lead the island's charge up the medal table.

Grenada's Kirani James heads into the Commonwealths as Olympic 400m champion and will be looking to add to his medal tally here. He has a Commonwealth Youth Games gold in his collection and a senior title is a real possibility. His country have yet to win a gold medal at the Commonwealths but the 21-year-old represents their best chance to change that.

Over the same distance in the hurdles, Wales's reigning Commonwealth champion Dai Greene will hope to retain his title. The 28-year-old, who also counts world and European gold among his medal haul, will be looking to avenge his narrow medal missing performance at London 2012, where he was 0.14 seconds away from a bronze medal.

Australia's Sally Pearson is the proud owner of both an Olympic record and Commonwealth gold in the 100m hurdles and she will be looking to extend her reign over the rest of the Commonwealth. If she is still competing, the next Games are scheduled to take place Gold Coast City in 2018 - where the 27-year-old lives.

Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha will lead Kenya's quest for medals in Glasgow this summer. He is also an African and world champion over the same distance, and hold both world and Olympic records at the mid-distance. He will be key to his country's task of equalling or even bettering their impressive fifth place in the Delhi 2010 medals table.

SWIMMING

The home nation's poster boy is 25-year-old Michael Jamieson who is a silver medallist at both the Olympics and world championships in the 200m breaststroke. He was the star performer in a disappointing Games in the pool for Great Britain two years ago and has said he is better prepared for the Commonwealths both mentally and physically. The Glasgow-born swimmer is bound to get massive support from the home crowd and this may be enough to inspire him to a first senior title.

Michael Jamieson is one of Scotland's best hopes (@sportscotland)

Lauren Boyle will head the New Zealand team's hopes of glory in the pool - last year she won an impressive three bronze medals at the world championships in Barcelona and will be looking to add to her one Commonwealth Games medal so far - earned in the 4x200m relay in Melbourne eight years ago. She missed out on Olympic bronze in 2012 to Rebecca Adlington in the 400m.

CYCLING

The Isle of Man's Mark Cavendish is set to be one of the star turns in the cycling events at this year's Games.  A world champion in both track and road cycling, he also boasts Commonwealth gold from the Melbourne 2006 games and will be looking to again master Glasgow's streets - he won the British title in the city last year.

Many of Great Britain's all conquering cycling team will compete in Glasgow - Laura Trott, Sir Bradley Wiggins and Jason Kenny, Dani King and Ed Clancy will be among England's best medal hopes, while Geraint Thomas will fly the flag for Wales.

Anna Meares, London 2012 Olympic sprint champion, will also look to add to both her own and Australia's impressive Commonwealth medal tally - she has six medals from these events, four of them gold, and Australia are the most successful nation ever in the history of the Games.

Australia's Anna Meares (@EbbeIversen)

DIVING

London 2012 bronze medallist Tom Daley will head a strong English team in Glasgow which also includes world junior champion Jack Laugher and British champion Chris Mears. Hannah Starling and Rebecca Gallantree will look to match the expected achievement of the men's team.

Diving looks to be an area Canada could again do very well in this year, with a trio of bronze medallists from London 2012 leading their team. Partners Roseline Filion and Meaghan Benfeito took third in the 10m sycnrho, an achievement matched by 3m synchro diver Jennifer Abel. The Canadian women have also excelled in the FINA World Series and head to Glasgow hotly tipped as the team to beat, having also topped the medal table in Delhi four years ago.

Canada's Meaghan Benefito could light up Glasgow (@Fina1908)

Malaysia won three medals in diving last time out, and will want to be on the podium again in Glasgow following their most successful games in India four years ago. Canada, Malaysia and Australia again look to be the teams battling for the medals in the women's events.

Other notable entrants include Australia's Olympic champion Matthew Mitcham, who has yet to win gold at the Commonwealths, despite winning four silvers last time out, and Leeds-based Yona Knight-Wisdom, who will make history by becoming Jamaica's first representative in the diving competition.

TRIATHLON

Brothers Alistair and Jonny Brownlee will be among the favourites for triathlon glory this summer. The Englishmen - Olympic champion and bronze medallist respectively - were two of the more unlikely stars of London 2012 thanks to being related and their three-way rivalry with Spaniard Javier Gomez, who stopped a Brownlee 1-2 two years ago.

As well as the Olympics, they have both won the World Triathlon Series, again trading victories with Gomez who sadly will not be able to continue his battle with the Brownlees this summer.

In the ladies event, current WTS chamion Non Stanford will miss out for Wales due to a stress fracture in her ankle, and the Welsh team's loss could be England's gain - WTS runner up Jodie Stimpson could be the woman to beat in Glasgow. Emma Moffatt of Australia - a two time WTS winner - and New Zealand's Commonwealth Games 2006 bronze medal winner Andrea Hewitt will be looking to stop her winning.

BOXING

Northern Ireland topped the medal table in boxing in Delhi four years ago and Commonwealth champion Paddy Barnes is back for another shot at gold in Glasgow.

Boxing was by far Northern Ireland's most successful sport in Delhi, with three gold medals from the boxers hauling the country up to 13th in the medal table.

Barnes, a double Olympic bronze medallist at light flyweight in both 2008 and 2012, is his team's star attraction alongside cyclist Wendy Houvenaghel, herself a world champion and Olympic and Commonwealth medal winner.

India had their best Commonwealth Games to date when hosting in 2010, coming second in the medal table. Like Northern Ireland, boxing contributed three gold medals to their tally and light welterweight champion Manoj Kumar has returned to defend his title. Bronze medallist Vijender Singh will also want to add to his medal collection having been eliminated by the now professional Anthony Ogogo.



Indian boxer Manoj Kumar (@JasvirLota)

Breakout star Nicola Adams will also compete for England. The first women's Olympic boxing champion could be one of the stars of Glasgow 2014 and could again make history as this is the first year women's boxing has been part of the Commonwealth programme.  

This is just a small selection of athletes who can excel in Glasgow this summer. There are always surprise successes - in terms of both athletes and countries outperforming expectations - who will it be this year? How far up the medal table will Scotland go with the 'home nation' effect factored in? There's only one way to find out - and it's now just one month away...