quinta-feira, janeiro 18, 2007


Graeme Randall, seen celebrating his gold at Manchester in 2002, is now head judo coach at the Scottish Institute of Sport and upbeat about the future.Picture: PA Glasgow lays welcome mat for judo
JONATHAN COATES


ON THE mat, Scots have plundered 18 Commonwealth medals from just two Games appearances. Last year in Melbourne, a spectacular renaissance in the pool was coloured by 12 medals, six of them gold. Put judo and swimming together and they could be dangerous.
As Graeme Randall observed yesterday, it's a great pity judo wasn't on the 2006 programme. Even without it, Scotland reaped a harvest of 11 gold medals that put 70 years of posterity to shame. Again, in 2010, we will have no cause to reacquaint ourselves with the word "ippon" in New Delhi, but if Glasgow wins the 2014 Games, a red carpet for judoka will be laid out far and wide.

The martial art was named yesterday as one of seven non-mandatory sports in the bid directors' blueprint for 2014. Its medals-per-Games ratio for Scotland easily dwarfs those of the other six: cycling, shooting, wrestling, gymnastics, table tennis and triathlon, the latter two boasting no history of success.
Randall, gold-medallist in the sub-81kilo category in Manchester in 2002, is now head judo coach at the Scottish Institute of Sport.
His senior performers, the likes of European sub-63kg champion Sarah Clark, will probably never be Commonwealth champions now but he talks even more passionately about the next generation, who might.
"Come along to our training sessions and see the young talent starting to emerge," said the 1999 world champion. "You would soon recognise the potential - there is a real strong age group that would be just about ready for 2014.
"We missed out on Melbourne, we're missing out on Delhi - but, in many ways, not being in every Games shows the commitment of our athletes. They are prepared to stick it out and allow the dull years to occur, then come back and show what a consistent sport we can be."
Scotland also boasts an exciting crop of 15 to 19-year-old swimmers who should be at the peak of their powers come 2014. If the two sports can maintain their progress and Glasgow can win its schmoozing contest, we can be fairly sure Scotland will at least do itself justice on the medal table.
"I have spoken to the swimming coaches up at the Institute and it's an unfortunate part of our history that we'll never be able to see what might have been last year," said Randall, 31. "But I really think we are getting stronger all the time. Even if judo wasn't involved, I would hope to see Scotland moving up the medals table if it was a home event."
Most of the selections were made with home medal prospects in mind, but some to curry favour with the far-flung ambassadors who will decide between Glasgow, Abuja and Halifax for 2014. "Table tennis and triathlon, throughout the Commonwealth, are top sports," explained CG Council for Scotland chairman Louise Martin.
"Our youngsters are doing exceptionally well in those sports, but we also have to give people something that is exciting to watch, and believe it or not, table tennis ... when you get that going, it is phenomenal."
Scots have "medalled" in wrestling at 11 Games, but it has only been seen twice in the past 20 years and is pinning its hopes, like judo, on Glasgow winning the race. While celebrating the merits of the traditional favourites, Ms Martin admitted to a feeling of regret that more mainstream sports could not be accommodated, with Twenty20 cricket lurking as a possible late addendum.
"As far as we are concerned, our program is set at 17," she said. "There is a possibility we could be given the dispensation to go to 18 and it would be great to have Twenty20 cricket. We had a 20-sport program, but we had to go down to 17 and one that had to go was golf, which would have been nice. But the sports we have got in ... yes, they are tried and tested, but there are ways we can make them more appealing."
Fonte: Scotsman - Edinburgh, Scotland, UK - http://sport.scotsman.com/i

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