Welcome to EliteBlog

Hi there.

Well the Olympics have come around, and myself Linford and Darren are heading to the Far East for the Games.

We will all be working for the media, myself and Darren for BBC 5Live.

I am very much looking forward to the Games, as this will be my first one on the other side of the fence in the media world, having attended a couple as an athlete!

In my 5Live remit I am working on Athletics, Modern Penthatlon and Triathlon. I feel we have a great chance of TeamGB medals in all those events.

Please bear with us in regards of answering questions for the next 3 weeks, as the Olympics will take over all our time, but we will be on the case after the Games!

Enjoy the Games, and hopefully it will be a very good one for all concerned.

Katharine

 Hi all

As the Olympic Games race nearer and nearer the usual confidence boosting stories and frustrating stories come thick and fast.

With the athletic season now up and running I have been excited already by Usain Bolts fantastic new world record, but saddened by Jessica Ennis having to withdraw from the games due to injury.

As with life, when something good happens like Bolt’s 9.72s run, the good and bad balance in the world is kept by the bad news of Jessica Ennis withdrawing from the heptathlon.

I feel so much for Jess who was heading to her first games in great shape, and looking to build on her 4th place in last years World Champs.  It brings back memories for me of 2001 when I was number one in the World over 400m, and I had to make the sad decision to withdraw from the World Champs 3 weeks before it started due to injury. Argggghhhhhh…bad times!

There is nothing that anyone can say to Jess, she will cope with it in her own way. She knows how talented she is, and how wide open the event is this year with the defending champion Carolina Kluft out, but at 22 years old, she will be back and be able to fight for 2012 and 2016 gold.

She is an adorable girl, great athlete and hopefully the last British medal hope that we will lose. On that note, fingers crossed for Paula Radcliffe who is battling her own injuries to reach the Games. 1 sentence on Paula…” If anyone can, Paula can! ”

Back to the young Usain Bolt though, and a great round of applause for a truly great run. I have watched the race. He started well and was gone! I believe the new 6ft 5 inch world record holder can reduce the record further. He was simply outstanding. He is the not only the youngest ever world 100m record holder but also the tallest! Many say he could become the new Micheal Johnson….I believe he has the talent to become maybe the best combination sprinter EVER…over 100m,200m and 400m. He is that good.

It is nice as in recent times the sport of Athletics has had a great big black cloud over it with all the drugs issues, and how refreshing it is to see a young man of 21 continuing to improve. I remember when his name was first mentioned 6 years ago when he won the World Junior 200m title at 15 yrs old, then in 2004 smashed the World Junior 200m record becoming the first man under 20 years old to run under 20sec, 19.93s.

Many may dismiss this performance and raise the question about drugs….the sport has been hurt alot and the public question every great athletic performance, but as I said on BBC 1Xtra today….Look at where the athlete has come from, look at the development and his rise over the years. This leads us all in athletics to believe and shows that it can be done by talent and hard work. It has been done before, and will be done again.

I believe the likes of him have the opportunity to really get Athletics back on the map, and I am looking forward already to more clashes with him, former World record holder Asafa Powell and World Champion Tyson Gay. Gay must have thought he only had Powell to deal with over 100m this season, but running a personal best of 9.85s himself in New York over the weekend and still getting beat by Bolt, he now realises loud and clear that Jamaica has 2 forces for him to handle!

Personally I am enjoying the busy year, working with BBC 5Live is great fun. Our ‘Road to Beijing’ monthly shows are really enjoyable, we pack in so much to the couple of hours and its really firing up my excitement at going to Beijing and working.

Best wishes

Katharine

Good luck to all those taking part in the London Marathon on Sunday.

We here at Elitementor have many friends taking part and who are going to raise alot of money for many worthwhile causes.

Here is hoping the weather is kind and all the training you have put in pays off!

Best of luck everyone!

Darren, Linford and Katharine

Hi.

Well things are very busy as usual, but I have made sure I find time to get involved in this years SPORT RELIEF and I will be in Albert Square Manchester on Sunday for the Sport Relief mile.

The races kick off at 1pm and the entries close on Thursday, so sign up and come along for some fun. Loads of entertainment is planned for the day, which of course raises lots of needed cash for UK and World wide projects.

Katharine I know is attending her home town Sport Relief mile in Rugby, which she tells me is sold out already, and knowing Kath she will not be able to help herself and get all competitive and have some fun on the course!

So check out your nearest mile and get involved in anyway you can to make this years Sport Relief even bigger and better!

www.sportrelief.com

All the best

Darren.

 Hi there.

Well what fun did I have on Friday night in London, playing the new TV show on Virgin 1 called Bingo Lotto?! It was soooo fun. Cheesy, but fun.

It’s a new hour long show where you can win loads of prizes, by buying a ticket in the week and playing along live. In one section I was playing on behalf of UKA, and managed to win UKA grassroots schemes £50,000, so that was cool.

The game was easy, guessing common ailments chanted out by cheerleaders and buzzing in with the answers. I had boils and flatulence that night! Then I spun the magic wheel with a chance to win up to £100,000, so me coming away with £50,000 in total for UKA was pleasing all around.

Get more info on Friday night live Bingo Lotto playing on www.bingolotto.tv

After my Bingo win I spent Saturday at Lee Valley in London with the Special Olympics athletes at their National Athletic Championships. 2 days of great competition was had, and I had real fun all day Saturday meeting the athletes, watching the action, and presenting all the medals etc. Thanks to everyone who was there for making it such a fun Saturday.

So it’s the World Indoor Athletic Championships this weekend. I will be watching for some British success, which we should have in many events. The Mens 60m, the Womens Pentathlon, the Mens Triple jump just to name a few. This should give us a little indication of how the Olympics will go later in the year, and how some of our big names are shaping up. So good performances now will raise the profile and confidence of the British Team.

Best wishes

Katharine

 Hi.

Well it’s the middle of February and Athletics has had an explosive start to this 2008 Olympic season.

Some great performances around the world, but mainly the fireworks have unfortunately come from the dark side of sport with Dwain Chambers.

Dwain has been selected for the World Indoor Championships in 3 weeks time, and whether you think he should be there or not, he is.

Until the rules are changed, he presently has every right to be in the team. Personally I would like to see Dwain tell us the whole story of how a young man from Islington London ends up in America in the situation he was in. It is not something that you can do on your own. If Dwain wants the public to understand and be more forgiving then tell us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Until he does this I feel many people will still not warm to his return.

On a brighter note, things are going well for me. We had a great Norwich Union Grand Prix on Saturday in Birmingham. I enjoy very much my infield presenting role, getting up close and personal with some of my personal favourite athletes and being in the thick of the action. My passion for sport really comes out in this environment, and when you are sitting on the edge of in field and Kenenisa Bekele whizzes pass in a world best time, it doesn’t get any better than that!

So I am busy with presenting work and I am looking forward to going the NIA again this weekend to watch the Junior Indoor Champs in my Norwich Union mentoring role. We, as always, have great juniors, who also are doing some good performances this year. As they build up the World Juniors later this year I am very much looking forward to continuing to use my experience to assist them.

Best wishes

Katharine

 Well the 2008 year has started as busy as the 2007 one ended! It is all good though….I am working hard and continue to heavily involved with the Street Athletics plans for 2008, and I am currently doing alot with the Youth Sports Trust. Actually I will be at the Schools Sports Conference this week in Telford doing some stuff with YST and for Elitementor, so I am looking forward to that.

I am enjoying the football season, and catching as much as I can of the African Nations Cup. My involvement with the Premier League and certain players is keeping me busy, as I continue to enjoy the Premiership. Man Utd are performing well, so that always helps!

My involvement with Radio 5 has started with Kath and the ‘Road to Beijing’ series, and I know how fast an athletic season flies by, so before you know it we will be Fast East bound and enjoying the Games.

Fitting all this around a young family is hectic, but alot of fun, so I hope everyone has had a good start to 2008………and had a great Christmas and New Year.

I have a feeling 2008 is going to be a hectic but fun and successful year on alot of fronts!

Best wishes

Darren

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Best wishes from all of us here at ELITEMENTOR…..

Hi there.

Well in between the rain, snow and occasional rays of sunshine I continue to keep myself busy in these cold months.

After living in the desert of Pheonix for a year, and spending a winter in glorious sunshine, I swear I feel the cold even more now! On Saturday I went into the cinema with a little drizzle of rain, and re entered the world 2 hours later to 3 inches of snow! The British weather hey!

So I’ve been keeping busy work wise, enjoying a variety of speaking gigs recently, TV presenting and dinners also. I mentioned before the Special Olympics dinner that as Ambassadors myself and Darren were due to attend.

Well I had a lovely night in London, and left inspired like the other Ambassadors to really play a part in the SOGB, and help raise the profile of this great organisation.

I’m off to Loughborough this weekend, as the 80 Under 20 athletes who are now on World Class Funding, have a weekend to learn what UKA can do for them, and in my Norwich Union UKA Advisor role, I am very much looking forward to meeting everyone. Athletes, coaches, parents etc. All the important people that assist talented athletes to progress!

I am very disappointed this morning as an English football fan, the we failed to qualify for Euro 2008. The unthinkable has happened and we will not be there, and predictably Steve Mclaren has been sacked.

Was it just me, or were you shouting at the screen, not just at the players poor showing, but at Mr Mclaren and his blimin’ umbrella? Show some passion, get stuck in there, lose the umbrella that is protecting your perfectly combed hair, get it wet and do your job. It summed up his whole approach to his job to me.

Arhhhh it was annoying. It would have been a touch less hurtful, only 1% less maybe, that we lost 3-2, BUT Steve Mclaren had showed some passion and emotion and not hovered under his blue and red umbrella keeping dry.

Best keep your hands on that brolly Mr Mclaren, as it the only thing you will be holding up over your head next year, as the trophy is going somewhere else!

Anyway, we have the Olympics next year to keep us sports fans busy, and hopefully, you won’t see hair protecting colourful umbrella’s on the side lines. Just some real welly and effort from our athletes and staff !

Best wishes

Katharine

Hi all.

Well the winter training sessions are well under way again, and I am frequently down coaching at Brunel University. It is very cold, but we do have luxury of the gym there and the indoor bit, which helps as all athletes hate the cold!

A couple of weeks ago I had a good time in London at the Urban Music Awards. I was presenting an award, and it’s nice to be reminded of the great talent we have in the UK.

So Christmas is coming and I am busy rushing around with the family trying to get presents. I can’t believe how quickly this time of year comes around, and how much kids change their mind on what it is they exactly want!

Here’s hoping your keeping warm where ever you are!

Best wishes

Linford