TSFE's Team GB 2012 Awards

Team GB's stars are truly deserving of this mural outside Adidas' Oxford Street store

Over seven years ago, London was announced as the host of the 2012 Olympics and a set of events was set in motion which resulted in the unparalleled glory and national fervour which has reverberated around the capital, and the rest of the country, for the past two and a half weeks. To mark the end of a truly remarkable tournament, I thought I would pinpoint some of the finest athletes, sports and moments of the thirtieth Olympiad. It would prove a near impossible task to cover the entire cast of this fantastic festival of sport, consisting of over 10,000 athletes from 204 countries so I have narrowed down The Search for Excellence's awards to those that are part of Team GB. After all, the British have had their greatest Olympic performance for over half a century, and on home soil as well. Here we go...


Best man -  Ben Ainslie (Sailing)

Ainslie nabbed his fourth gold in four Games

Also in contention: Sir Chris Hoy (Track Cycling), Mo Farah (Athletics), Alistair Brownlee (Triathlon), Andy Murray (Tennis).

The sailor, already assured a place in the pantheon of greats, made sure that what will probably be his final Olympics was one to remember. Pushed every step of the way by Danish rival Jonas Hogh-Christensen he showed up when it mattered most and defeated his opponent in the final medal race to claim his fourth successive sailing gold at different Olympic Games. The eight-times world champion is now 35 and also won a silver way back at Atlanta 1996 but victory in front of a home crowd at Weymouth is a truly majestic way to cap a magnificent career. Ainslie's success at multiple Olympiads, one tournament short of equalling Sir Steve Redgrave's five golds in a row, puts him ahead of the others in this category, although Sir Chris Hoy's double gold haul, which takes his total tally to six was mightily impressive. He will be much happier with the result of the next award...


Best sport- Track Cycling

The velodrome was the scene of much British success

Also in contention: Rowing, Boxing, Equestrian.

The velodrome was the scene of some of Team GB's finest victories with seven golds, a silver and a bronze claimed by our incredible cycling team. Before the indoor variety of cycling got underway, Team GB had already claimed three gongs on the road thanks to Bradley Wiggins' gold, Lizzie Armitstead's silver and Chris Froome's bronze but that achievement was blown out of the water by the utter domination seen under the roof of the 6,000 capacity venue. Established heroes Hoy and Victoria Pendleton embellished their reputations further at the tail-ends of their respective careers while a new generation arose led by newly-confirmed couple Laura Trott and Jason Kenny. Keirin, sprint, team sprint, team pursuit, omnium...you name it, Team GB won it. An exciting sport to watch and showcasing some of Britain's most likeable athletes, this track cycling effort will take some beating next time out in Brazil.

Biggest surprise success- Andy Murray

Murray exceeded expectations to defeat Djokovic and Federer

Also in contention: Peter Wilson (Shooting), Greg Rutherford (Long jump), Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott (Canoe Slalom)

Andy Murray has been one of the great enigmas of British sport over recent years. Love him or hate him, it is impossible not to share in his frustration as he repeatedly gets so far in tennis Grand Slams only to be slain by one of the holy trinity - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic. With Nadal out of the way at the Olympics because of injury, Murray still had a mighty task on his hands to get past Djokovic and Federer. Not only that but he had to juggle his men's singles schedule with a run to the final of the mixed doubles with team-mate Laura Robson, which meant he had to play multiple games in the same day and compete on eight of the nine days that the tennis tournaments ran for. To contend with this and still manage to despatch both Djokovic and Federer in straight sets is an achievement not to be shirked at. The silver earned with Robson was an added bonus but Murray conquered his Wimbledon demons as part of Team GB and will be looking forward to returning for next year's traditional tennis tournament.


Best support act - The Opening Ceremony

Boyle's ingenious works were in stark contrast to Beijing

Also in contention: The Games Makers, The Army (for their security work), Boris Johnson

It is hard to consider Danny Boyle's incredible show as a support act for the sport, as it so magnificently took centre stage on the opening night and will remain fresh in the memories of all those that watched it forever more. But the mood which was set on Friday 27th July echoed throughout the whole of the Olympics tournament and for Team GB in particular reminded fans and athletes alike why they are proud to be British. From the Queen to the Beatles and from Mr. Bean to James Bond, the cacophony of craziness which was broadcast to the world at the start of London 2012 truly reflected the good and the great of Great Britain's culture, and the inclusion of Sir Steve Redgrave, David Beckham and the seven young athletes who lit the Olympic flame made sure that the sporting ideals of the Olympics were never quite forgotten. The thousands of volunteers and security staff who have ensured the smooth running of the tournament also deserve recognition but of all the non-sporting achievements during these Games, Boyle's show was emphatically unbeatable.

Best woman- Nicola Adams (Boxing)

Adams' smile is arguably the best seen since footballer Dwight Yorke

Also in contention: Jessica Ennis (Heptathlon), Katherine Grainger (Rowing), Laura Trott (Cycling)

Many at London 2012 have legitimate claims for making history but for the women's flyweight boxer from Leeds, that claim is extra strong. Adams is the first ever woman to win a gold medal for boxing at the Olympics, as this was the first time the sport was ever included in the schedule for the Games. The 29-year-old fought hard not only to claim her gold medal but also to promote a sport which was only truly accepted in Britain in the late 1990s. The first ever woman to represent England in boxing, back in 2001, she has now become a national icon and is likely to have played a key role in London 2012's aim of 'inspiring a generation'. Boxing, and the women's version in particular, went down extremely well at the Excel arena, and people will be looking forward to women's boxing becoming more prominent in future. Adams herself is almost always seen sporting a huge grin and after her incredible victory, she certainly deserves to be smiling.

Best moment- Ennis, Rutherford and Farah's 46 minute hat-trick (Athletics)

Ennis, Farah and Rutherford will never forget the 4th August 2012

Also in contention: Grainger and Glover bring home Team GB's first gold (Rowing), Gemma Gibbons emotional semi-final victory (Judo), the Brownlee brothers both reach the podium (Triathlon)

On the middle weekend of London 2012, excitement peaked for Team GB when in one golden hour three British athletes stormed the Olympic Stadium like never seen before. First, Jessica Ennis confirmed her utter domination of the heptathlon event, finishing first in the final event, the 800m, to end the standings over 300 points clear of second place. Then, almost immediately, the unheralded Greg Rutherford claimed Great Britain's first long jump gold since 1964 to send the crowd crazy. And it got even better as everybody's favourite British distance runner Mo Farah stormed to glory in the 10,000m race, one of the hardest track and field events. Timing his run to perfection Farah stormed ahead towards the end of the 25 lap race and proved uncatchable.  Dubbed the finest moment in the history of Great Britain's athletics team, it is hard to imagine another sporting hour ever capturing the heart of the public in quite the same way again.

Best team-  Nick Skelton, Ben Maher, Scott Brash and Peter Charles (Men's Show Jumping - Equestrian)

Age wasn't a barrier for this generation-spanning quarter

Also in contention: Laura Trott, Dani King, Joanna Rowsell(Women's Team Pursuit - Cycling), Andy Triggs Hodge, Pete Reed, Alex Gregory, Tom James (Men's Coxless Fours - Rowing), Sam Oldham, Louis Smith, Dan Purvis, Kristian Thomas, Max Whitlock (Men's Team - Gymnastic)

One of the most dramatic team successes saw GB take the gold in equestrian show jumping, the first time the Brits have achieved a medal of any colour in this event for 60 years. With two men in their 50s and two in their 20s making up the quartet, it was a triumph of great teamwork and team ethic as the Dutch were defeated in a high pressure jump off at the fantastic Greenwich Park venue. The Irish-British 52-year-old Peter Charles sealed the success with a flawless round but this medal was one which reflected the efforts of a genuine team and another medal which wouldn't have been expected before the tournament began.

Best coach - Alberto Salazar (Mo Farah)

Salazar is sandwiched by his apprentices Galen Rupp and Farah

Also in contention: Ivan Lendl (Andy Murray), Toni Minichiello (Jessica Ennis), Charles van Commenee (head coach of UK Athletics)

Mo Farah is one of the greatest success stories of London 2012. Not only did he storm to the 10,000m gold but he added the 5,000m title a week later. However, back in Beijing 2008, the then 25-year-old didn't even make the final of the 10,000m. So how did things turn around so much? Much credit has to be given to the 54-year-old American coach Alberto Salazar. Farah himself claimed that his success was down to Salazar's 'brilliant tactical nous' but his coach says one of the major factors is getting the runner to work out more in the gym. 'I got him lifting weights...You can't win races at this level without upper body strength' says Salazar. Whatever he has been getting Farah to do in training, it is certainly doing the trick as his apprentice is now one of the true British Olympic greats.

That wraps things up for The Search for Excellence. Thank you to everybody who has read these articles throughout the Olympics, hopefully they were enjoyable. James will now return to @jfaphillips on Twitter (still the same account, just under a different name from @TSFE2012) and you can continue to read his work on his football blog Born in an Offside Position at jfaphillips.blogspot.com. Expect that to return later this week. Here's to Rio 2016!

Committing to the cause: Runners and walkers earn the respect

 Plenty of fans turned out for the race walk by Buckingham Palace

As London 2012 reaches its grand climax, I made sure to make the most of it by getting down to two of the final unticketed events this weekend. Today, I witnessed the men's marathon, traditionally one of the final events of an Olympic Games, but yesterday I saw something completely different - the women's 20km race walk. Both listed under the athletics banner on the London 2012 website, they are considerably different both from each other and from the array of events which have taken centre stage inside the Olympic Stadium over the past nine days. However, they undoubtedly show unbelievable levels of commitment, endurance and skill which the average human just wouldn't be able to put themselves through.

Great Britian's Johanna Jackson was unfortunately disqualified

The women's race walk was certainly one of the most interesting things I have seen over the past fortnight. Taking place in view of Buckingham Palace in the pleasant surroundings of Green Park, the sight of 61 women wearing little more than beach volleyball players do, and walking at speed in the bizarre iconic way that race-walkers go about their business was admittedly a slightly amusing and surreal sight. But that should not detract from the athleticism and focus that these athletes clearly show. To fight the temptation not to go faster when for much of the race they feasibly could is no mean feat. It is one that got the better of Team GB's sole entrant Johanna Jackson, the Commonwealth Games champion  who was disqualified after 8km of the race. She was one of four competitors who were penalised for not using the correct technique. There are judges spaced around the course and if they notice a competitor is lifting both feet off the ground at the same time (meaning they are running, technically) then they are shown a red paddle. Three reds and they are disqualified. This difficulty makes it even more impressive that victor Elena Lashmanova set a new world record when claiming her gold.

The race walkers must always be in partial contact with the ground

Lashmanova stormed to victory, winning with a time of 1 hour, 25 minutes and 2 seconds, more than 17 minutes faster than the Venezuelan Milangela Rosales who came in 55th place (two other competitors didn't finish the race, as well as the four who were disqualified). The 20-year-old overtook her compatriot Olga Kaniskina, the defending champion, in the very last stages of the race. Along with the even more exhausting 50km men's race walk which took place earlier on Saturday, the women's race walk is clearly one of the more difficult endurance tasks at the Olympic Games. Often derided as not a 'real' sport, race walking in fact shows much more commitment than many other disciplines, both through the determination shown to excel at something which isn't exactly popular with spectators (Olympic crowds aside) or prominent on school's P.E curriculums and the intense levels of fitness required to maintain a fast walking pace over such long distances. The sport is also one of the oldest in the Games, with its routes in the 1800s as an original track and field event, and debuting at the third modern Olympiad.  It is one of the great things about the Olympics that these athletes who work so hard and usually remain under the radar, are granted the chance to take centre stage. 

The Union flags were out in force for the marathon

Today's men's marathon again showed the commitment required to succeed at these Olympic Games. Out of 105 entrants only 85 finished as the roads of London got the better of 20 runners. Shockingly, that included the three Ethiopians Ayele Abshero, Getu Feleke and Dino Sefir who were all amongst the top six favourites to win the gold before the race started. In the end it was Uganda's Stephen Kiprotich who finished first, ahead of Kenyan duo Abel Kirui and 2012 London Marathon champ Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich (no relation), recording a time of 2 hours 8 minutes 1 second. The medal was only the second gold that Uganda had ever won in Olympics history. Just like last week's women's marathon a runner from East Timor, this time Augusto Soares, won over the support of the enthusiastic London crowd by giving his all despite trailing by a considerable distance. And yet again, the East-Timorese managed to rein in another straggler and finish second from last. Lesotho's Tsepo Ramonene was this week's unlucky competitor finishing last, a full ten minutes behind Soares and clearly in some pain. Yet at least he finished, unlike the twenty other competitors who couldn't manage it.

East Timor's Soares brought up the rear for most of the race

On occasions throughout this tournament I've heard people asking why do athletes bother carrying on in these long distance events if they know they can't win a medal? Well it is clearly a matter of pride and a huge success even to reach the finish line. After all, how many of us can say we have completed an Olympics marathon, or triathlon? Not many. Across all sports in these Olympics, athletes make thousands of sacrifices and put incredible amounts of effort and more often than not they walk away without a medal. But for all the nights out they would be forced to turn down, meals they would have to say no to and hours which they spend training, they at least end up with a sense of achievement. And for that they deserve everybody's respect. After all without the commitment of these athletes, there would be no Olympics for us to go crazy about every four years. Well done, I say, and keep up the good work. You won't be forgotten.

James will be back tomorrow with the final Search for Excellence blog: TSFE's Team GB awards 2012. Return for that, and in the mean time, follow him on Twitter @TSFE2012

A generation inspired

This is a guest post by Simon Hall

This label should  probably be stuck to the back of everybody in Britain's heads

By now, just about everyone in the UK should know that the underlining motive of London 2012 is ‘Inspire a generation’. Fortunately, over the last two weeks the British public has not needed to look too far for sources of inspiration. Bradley Wiggins, Jessica Ennis, Sir Chris Hoy, Mo Farah and a number of other members of our golden generation have firmly cemented themselves as household names thanks to truly outstanding displays of sporting domination. But ‘legacy’ is arguably about something deeper than individual performances and the Olympic Games offer a truly unique platform which some ‘lesser’ sports can use to inspire fans and viewers. Here TSFE pinpoints some of the sports that have grasped the opportunity to take centre stage with both hands.

Women’s Football

For years women’s football has faced a struggle to break through and make its mark on the British public’s psyche. While London 2012 may not have provided an all-encompassing solution to this age-old enigma, it has gone a long way to help disprove a number of common misconceptions. As TSFE noted earlier this week, the quality of women’s football during the Games has been outstanding, easily good enough to rival its male equivalent. The real tragedy was Team GB’s failure to make the semi-final stage of the competition. One can only hope their premature exit was not enough to break the momentum that the sport undoubtedly created during the first week of the Games. Sir Bobby Charlton perhaps best summed up the changing tide surrounding women’s football when he said: ‘I have had to remind myself that I am not watching the men. I was sceptical of women's football - that was a mistake. Women's football used to be ridiculed, but not anymore.’ This is a view that many (myself included) can relate to.

The USA were crowned champions on Thursday

Judo

Amazingly, if I look back and pick out my favourite London 2012 moment, it isn’t Bolt blowing away his competitors in the 100m final. It isn’t the historical moment when Hoy became Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s most decorated Olympian. In fact, it isn’t even a moment involving a final or gold medal. The moment that did it for me was Gemma Gibbons landing an Ippon in her judo semi-final. After one of the toughest weeks in British judo history, it was like the weight of the world being lifted from the shoulders of an entire sport.The emotional reaction was compounded by the fact that Gibbons’ boyfriend Euan Burton had suffered a painful exit from his individual competition just two days before. In the interview after his defeat, Burton broke down in tears, claiming to have let himself, his coaches and his family down. It was a heart-wrenching moment and the despair was laid bare for all to see. The couple embodied the rollercoaster ride British judo has been through; it hit rock bottom but rose like a phoenix from the ashes on the back of Gibbons’ semi-final triumph and eventual silver medal.

Gemma Gibbons eventually won a silver medal

Women’s Boxing

London 2012 was always going to represent an amazing opportunity for women’s boxing to make its big breakthrough with the sport appearing in an Olympic Games for the first time. However, few could have predicted the extent to which the female fighters could capture the public’s imagination. They are every bit as skilful, agile and precise with their punches as their male counterparts. Of course, some British success never goes amiss when trying to introduce our public to a new event and Nicola Adams proved to be the perfect boxing heroine, becoming the first ever women’s boxing Olympic gold medal winner. The only real question mark there may have been over the discipline was whether it could engage and entertain the masses. This was a query quickly put to bed. Anyone who witnessed Ireland’s star Katie Taylor taking on Great Britain’s Natasha Jonas has been quick to claim it as the most extraordinary atmosphere of the entire Games. This is a claim carrying considerable weight as the contest actually generated the highest decibel level of any London 2012 event. It’s plain for the whole world to see that women’s boxing packs a heavy punch.

Nicola Adams boxed her way into the public's affection

Beach Volleyball

Prior to the Games, beach volleyball was inevitably one of the hottest tickets in town. Since its first Olympics inclusion in Atlanta 1996, the sport has gained considerable momentum every four years. What made the event extra special this time around was its iconic location right in the heart of London on Horse Guards Parade. Spectators of the beach volleyball have been afforded the luxury of fantastic views stretching to some of the capital’s notable tourist attractions, including the London Eye and Big Ben. The beach volleyball is also the sport which appears to have nailed the ‘Inspire a generation’ objective. The focus of the visitor experience was almost exclusively on fun, entertainment and participation. At no other event did I experience such a desire to jump onto the playing surface and get involved in the action. In Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the sport returns to its spiritual home and, with the success it has experienced during these Olympics, don’t be surprised to see some of London’s spectators gracing the sandy courts themselves by then.

Beach volleyball has been a resounding success

These are the just events that have grabbed my attention during the last two weeks. The beauty of the Olympics is that it is a personal experience for each individual who watches it and takes it in. In all honesty this list could easily have been double in length, such is the inspiring nature of Olympic sport. Different events will have inspired different people; for some it might have been the rowing, others something more innovative such as the BMX competition. Ultimately, these personal sporting discoveries and journeys will prove to be the lasting legacy of London 2012 and hopefully the generation that has been inspired will go on to repeat some of the amazing feats of Team GB’s current golden crop. 

We hope you enjoyed this excellent guest post from Simon Hall. Follow him on Twitter @Simon_Hall22 and follow James @TSFE2012. James will return tomorrow with the penultimate blog as the OIympics nears an end...Enjoy it while it lasts!

The Friday Feeling #3

This is the Friday Feeling. The third and final installation of a hat-trick of features which have appeared on The Search for Excellence each Friday (you guessed it) during the Olympics. Expect some astute observations, irreverent opinions and priceless nuggets of information...possibly. 

Daley will be looking for a late GB gold this week

TODAY

It's day 14 of the 2012 Olympics and with only two more days to go it really is reaching the business end of the tournament. There is still plenty of action left to be packed into these final 72 hours though and today will see Tom Daley in the individual 10m platform diving preliminary rounds as well as Lisa Dobriskey and Laura Weightman competing in the final of the 1500m in the Olympic stadium. It is hard to believe that two weeks have already passed since Danny Boyle's mood-setting Opening Ceremony and what we have witnessed in the fortnight since has been nothing short of incredible, with heroes arising wherever you look, as well as a generous amount of upsets, surprises and controversy. After Usain Bolt last night proved his dominance of the track with another display of raw pace in the 200m, the definitive hero of the Games may already be set in stone but there is plenty more to talk about.

THE MOOD

The slow start for Team GB is all but a distant memory now leaving an overriding feeling of satisfaction, from a British perspective at least. We have now stormed past our performance in Beijing 2008 with over 50 medals and well over 20 golds. The incredible gold rush which ensued over last weekend peaked with Saturday night's wonderful triple whammy of Jessica Ennis winning the heptathlon, Greg Rutherford taking a surprise gold from the men's long jump and the amicable Mo Farah storming to success in the men's 10,000m. This was sandwiched nicely by plenty of success for Great Britain's rowers and cyclists with Sir Chris Hoy making himself even more of a legend by claiming two more gold medals to overtake Sir Steve Redgrave as Britain's Olympian with the most golds. In fact the mood in the cycling camp was made even more clear by Thursday's announcement from double gold winner Laura Trott that her and fellow double gold winner Jason Kenny were now an item. Everybody's happy. Or are they? Let's take to Twitter for another round-up of thoughts and opinions....

This Liverpudlian was won over to the Olympic cause by gold medallists Usain Bolt and Jess Ennis...

#London2012 nearly over actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would, Usian Bolt boss & Jessica Ennis all I can say is WOW what a woman!
— Scouser_Mikey (@Scouser_Mikey) August 10, 2012

While this Hartlepool United midfielder thinks the media should be more focused on the Brits than the Jamaicans...

So #TeamGB win golds yesterday and make history yet the front and back pages of newspapers are full of Usain Bolt and co! Not right!!
— Simon Walton (@SimonWalton8) August 10, 2012

And I think this man has pretty much hit the nail on the head for how a lot of us are feeling right now...

Is contemplating life without the Olympics #whattodo #teamgb
— sam (@samtcity) August 10, 2012

As has this proud Brit...

Can't believe the Olympics are nearly over!! It has been such an amazing couple of weeks!! Definitely makes you proud to be British! #teamgb
— matthew Burnett (@burney96) August 10, 2012

And in fact, try as I might, it has proven impossible to find a negative tweet about the Olympics. I have trawled through various Twitter hashtags but to no avail. Looks like nearly everyone has enjoyed it. No doubt that would be news to Seb Coe's ears.

THE BLUNDERS

Somewhat surprisingly there have been very few blunders during the actual tournament from LOCOG or Team GB. The tournament has gone extremely well from the organisers' perspective and even better from the perspective of the athletes who have ensured that Great Britain have their greatest medal haul since 1908, which doesn't really count anyway as back then very few athletes travelled from around the world meaning most competitors were from the host nation. But that doesn't mean nobody has messed up. The prime blunderer of this week has got to be Belgian cyclist Gijs van Hoecke. The 20-year-old who competed in both the omnium and the team pursuit earlier in the week was photographed when he was clearly absolutely hammered, leaving a London nightclub. Seemingly drenched, with what was presumably alcoholic beverages, and borderline unconscious, albeit with a smile on his face, the cyclist was sent home from the Olympic village by a fuming Belgian Olympic Committee. It is perhaps excusable after what would no doubt have been gruelling training for months in advance of the tournament, but van Hoecke hasn't done himself any favours. The Gent-born Olympian was more concerned about his parents than his country's Olympic governing body though, and was relieved when they didn't tell him off saying, 'I made a big mistake [but] I'm happy that my parents didn't tell me off. They understand that I needed this.' Another worrying issue, of a completely different kind is that involving several Cameroonian athletes. The group, consisting of five boxers, a footballer and a swimmer went AWOL this week without the Cameroon Olympic Committee having a clue of their whereabouts. It is believed that they are seeking asylum but as they all have visas which last until November, they technically haven't done anything wrong yet. It would be pretty surprising if they turned up any time soon...

van Hoecke was far from sober on his big night out in London

THE QUESTION

So, Sir Chris Hoy landed gold medals in the keirin and team sprint events to add to his three golds from Beijing, one from Athens and the solitary silver from way back in Sydney. But does that make him the (drum roll) 'Greatest British Olympian of All Time'. Well quite possibly, but Sir Steve Redgrave is still perfectly within his rights to claim that title. The cyclist may have won more golds than him now, but the fact Redgrave won his over five different Olympiads makes it a different kind of achievement. Hoy was excellent in 2004, world-conquering in 2008 and confirmed his legendary status in 2012. But Redgrave showed he was the bees knees in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000. To be good enough to win a gold medal in both 1984 and 2000 is an incredible achievement. To be consistent enough to have won one at every Olympics in between is beyond comparison. Hoy has proven himself to be a fantastic role model and a hero to millions, a genuine legend and one of the finest sportsmen of all time. But Redgrave is still the daddy.

Two of Britain's finest specimens of men

THE VILLAIN

It pains me to say this as I am a fan of the controversial triple-jumper but Phillips Idowu has done himself absolutely no favours with his recent behaviour and performance at this Olympics. One of the stars of Team GB in the build up to London 2012, I blogged earlier in the tournament about how winning gold might be too much to ask of the Hackney man. That proved to be more than true as Idowu slumped so low that he didn't even make it out of Tuesday's qualifying heat and was absent from Thursday's final. The 33-year-old effectively exiled himself from the rest of Team GB by refusing to travel to the athletics training camp in Portugal to receive personal treatment in London. Two months of missed competition didn't help but the fact that he claimed he wasn't injured for much of that time alienated himself from a lot of people, as he quite clearly was. At his age, it would be easy to throw in the towel but Idowu has stated he intends to continue. He sure has a lot to do if he wants to win over the British public again, and making it to Rio 2016 as a 37-year-old seems unlikely. It is a difficult time for the Beijing silver medallist and it remains to be seen whether he can recapture his form.

THE SUPERHEROES

They aren't hard to find. Outside of Team GB, Usain Bolt continues to go from strength to strength with another two golds and will be hoping to complete his second three-gold haul of his Olympics career in Saturdays 4x100m relay. Amongst the Brits there are plenty but Jessica Ennis stands out for her utter domination of one of the hardest sports. The heptathlon consists of seven disciplines and for to Ennis to win by such a margin (306 points, the gap between second and third was just 21 points) was truly inspirational. The diminutive athlete from Sheffield will be over the moon with her performance and rightfully so. Mo Farah is another man writing his name into the history books. To take gold in the 10,000m event which is usually dominated by Ethiopians and Kenyans is no mean feat, and at the age of 29 Farah has certainly served his time to earn his medal. The Somali-born Londoner is now contemplating a step up to the marathon, but will be competing in the final of tomorrow's 5000m event first. Elsewhere Alistair Brownlee put in a monumental performance in the triathlon and Nicola Adams won a gold medal in women's boxing, the first time the discipline has appeared in the Olympics. Andy Murray and Ben Ainslie both deserve praise for their incredible triumphs and the afore-mentioned Sir Chris Hoy does too. As does pretty much the entire track cycling squad, and it is particularly sad to see Victoria Pendleton retiring from the sport. When everything to do with London 2012 has been said and done, one thing will be certain. It was a time to be truly proud of Great Britain.

Ennis was the poster girl for London 2012 and didn't fail to deliver

 James is now off to celebrate his 22nd birthday! But fear not, The Search for Excellence will return tomorrow yet again, with a second guest post from another fantastic writer. And don't forget to follow James on Twitter @TSFE2012

Keri-Anne tastes the Payne as Brits fail to rule the pool

The Serpentine Bridge decked out especially for the Olympics

It was a crushing afternoon for Great Britain's marathon swimmer Keri-Anne Payne when she came agonisingly close to taking a medal at Hyde Park today, only to miss out on bronze by 0.4 seconds. Payne was in fact only four seconds behind gold medal winner Eva Risztov of Hungary, which over a 10km swim lasting approximately two hours is the tightest of margins. I was stood on the banks of the Serpentine this afternoon in the baking sun where one of the Olympics' harshest events ensured a good turnout from the Brits. But the race left a subdued crowd at the end of the two hours as Team GB's representative, who had been favourite to take the gold, was denied in the cruellest fashion. The 24-year-old had claimed the silver medal in Beijing back in 2008 and since then had won the world championships twice, in 2009 and 2011, and with the home advantage of London 2012 she will look back on this with much disappointment. As she put it herself, 'Fourth in the world is not too bad but not what I really wanted.'

Payne was devastated to miss out  on the podium

Yet while Payne will be disappointed, it has to be taken into account that her event is one of the most horrendous to compete in. China's Fang Yanqiao pulled out before the race started with an unspecified injury and the Serpentine then claimed two victims during the event itself. South Africa's Jessica Roux couldn't continue after three laps and was hauled out of the water and taken away in a wheelchair, while Brazilian Poliana Okimoto fainted from dehydration after being pulled out of the lake during the fifth lap. This meant only 22 out of the initial 25 entrants finished the race with 22nd placed Greek Marianna Lymperta crossing the line nearly seven minutes behind the victorious Risztov. It must be said that the incredible levels of durability, stamina and energy required to succeed in this event is clear for all to see and just completing the race is more than an achievement.

Some Olympic jobs look more fun than others

The marathon swim was only introduced to the Olympics for the first time in 2008 and is the equivalent of swimming 400 lengths of a 25m pool. The Hyde Park course was a relatively serene one as it had been oxygenated to keep the course clear of algae and the only wildlife consisted of ducks and geese, as opposed to jellyfish or dead dogs, which Payne has encountered in previous marathon swims in Australia and China respectively. Yet despite the lack of unsavoury obstacles it still took a lot of ability and experience to win the race, with the action in the pack during the first stages of the race being particularly physical. Risztov has bags of experience having competed in the pool back in the early 2000s, including at the 2004 Olympics before retiring in 2005. She announced her return in 2009, deciding to primarily compete in the open water swimming discipline although she did make some appearances in the aquatics centre last week.

The top five swimmers on the final lap (Payne - blue cap,centre)

But while Risztov can look back on her tournament with much satisfaction this caps a disappointing showing for Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the swimming events which have taken place at London 2012. There is one final event tomorrow, the men's 10km marathon swim, but Team GB's only entrant Daniel Fogg is a real outsider and is unlikely to achieve a medal. The home nation appear set to finish the tournament with only three swimming medals, one silver from Michael Jamieson and the two bronzes achieved by Rebecca Adlington, who of course had won double gold four years ago. This looks particularly bad when compared to the USA's haul of 31 medals- 16 of which were gold, so it is certainly something for the British swimming authorities to work on ahead of Rio in 2016. With so many medals on offer for swimming, if Great Britain can start winning more often in the pool then the impossible gap between USA and China and the rest of the world may no longer seem so impossible.

James will return tomorrow morning with the third and final edition of The Friday Feeling. If you haven't already, make sure to follow him on Twitter @TSFE2012 and if you haven't read some of his earlier blogs then feel free to check them out using the menu on the right hand side of the page!

First, third and final photographs by James Phillips.

Britain's Brownlee brothers serve up triathlon treat

Alistair,left, and Jonny show off their medals in Hyde Park

I took to Hyde Park yesterday for one of the Olympics' most exciting sports - the men's triathlon. It turned out to be a fantastic day for Team GB as not only did Alistair Brownlee take the gold in style, his younger brother Jonny overcame a 15 second penalty to claim a bronze medal for his efforts. The crowds had turned out in huge numbers, reportedly over 300,000, to surround the Serpentine where the first swimming leg of the event took place, as some of the cycling leg and much of the running. While the massive crowds meant it was difficult to see much of the action that well, an electric atmosphere, influenced by the fact Great Britain fans knew they were in with a great chance of at least one medal, made it a more than worthwhile visit. In fact, despite having vast stretches of unticketed areas alongside the triathlon course, it was still the most over-subscribed event with approximately 500,000 people applying for the 5,000 paid seats which were available in a grandstand north of the Serpentine.

5,000 people had seats in the grandstand but plenty more turned up anyway

Triahlon, is in fact a relatively new addition to the Olympic programme, having been included for the first time at Sydney 2000. The sport itself was only properly invented in the 1970s in the USA, although there were some similar three sport events held in France during the early part of the 20th century. Triathlons can vary in distances and rules but Olympic triathlons consist of a 1.5km swim followed by a 43km bike ride before a 10km run. Alistair completed the event in 1 hour 46 minutes 25 seconds, including a running time of 29 minutes 7 seconds, only 97 seconds slower than Mo Farah ran when he claimed gold in the 10,000m event on Saturday night. Brownlee's incredible running time has even led to calls for him to try out his luck on the track, as he would certainly be able to perform competitively without swimming or cycling beforehand. The elder Brownlee brother has in fact gone on record to say he would consider taking to the track for the 2014 Commonwealth games, and that would certainly be some story.

Alistair crosses the finish line holding a Union flag which was thrown from the crowd

The Brownlees are true role models amongst the athletes at London 2012. Alistair,24, only recently came back from a serious achilles injury which ruled him out for five months earlier this year, although he proved his fitness by taking first place in the World Cup event in Kitzbuehel, Austria back in June. Meanwhile Jonathan, the 22-year-old, managed to achieve a 2.1 in his History degree from Leeds University, and in the last year wrote his 10,000 word dissertation on Richard III, who hails from Yorkshire, the brothers' home county. The Brownlees enjoy Yorkshire so much, in fact, that they chose to stay there until the weekend immediately before their race. The duo spent the first week of the Olympic Games training and enjoying their mother's home-cooking in their home village on the outskirts of Leeds. However, now the hard work is over Jonny has made it clear they plan to make the most of life in the Olympic village.

The men line up ahead of the swimming leg of the triathlon

Jonny, is targeting overhauling his brother in time for Rio 2016, where at 26 he will be in his prime. The 15 second penalty which was inflicted upon him was the first of his triathlon career and was given due to his mounting of the bicycle slightly too early in the transition period between swimming and cycling. The younger Brownlee chose to take the penalty just before the final lap of the running section of the event, despite his coaches advising him to take it earlier, but he appreciated the recovery time it allowed him. Javier Gomez, the Spanish former world champion finished 20 seconds ahead of Jonny and while the Brit feels he probably wouldn't have been able to catch the Spaniard anyway, it is a shame that we will never know if there could have been a British sibling top two at London 2012. Nevertheless, two brothers on the same podium is an achievement to be proud of. With both athletes still the right side of 25, there is plenty of potential for them to achieve much more in their careers. In an Olympic tournament where Great Britain is performing better than ever seen in recent decades, the Brownlee brothers success in Hyde Park genuinely stands out as one to remember.

James will return to Hyde Park tomorrow to watch Keri-Anne Payne attempt to claim gold in the 10km marathon swim event so make sure to return for more Olympic articles. And in the mean time follow James on Twitter @TSFE2012

Olympics show women's football is ready to shine

Wembley has played host to many Olympic football games this tournament

In the past few days I have had the privilege of visiting Wembley Stadium twice to watch Olympic football matches. On Saturday I was present to witness Mexico's entertaining 4-2 extra time victory over Senegal in the quarter-finals of the men's tournament, while yesterday I returned to observe Japan's 2-1 win over France in the semi-finals of the women's tournament. Despite there being more goals in the former game, I must say that the latter was vastly more entertaining particularly in a second half in which the French took the game to Japan, the reigning world champions, and could count themselves highly unlucky not to at least earn extra time. In fact the match was an incredible advertisement for the women's game and one which has led me to draw the conclusion that it is high time women's football was treated with more respect and given much more attention in the media.

Japan's women will look to add Olympic gold to their world title this week

In my experience with sports journalism, I have researched and written the odd feature for my old student newspaper on women in football, but had only reported on a couple of women's matches at university level. In these games I saw much skill and entertaining football but some of the excellent technique and quality of play shown at Wembley yesterday, in what was the first high level women's football game I had attended, provided a spectacle which is on a par with the many men's games I have been to in the past. Admittedly there are a couple of aspects of on-field play in which the women’s game is behind the men’s. Most noticeably the goalkeepers seem to struggle more even at such a high level and are less dominant in the penalty area. As well as this, they seem less capable of performing the long goal kicks which have become commonplace in the men’s game, instead preferring to play short passes almost all of the time. That though, can be seen as a good thing as it encourages attractive played-on-the-floor football. In fact with the tiki-taka style of football played by fantastic men’s teams like Barcelona and Spain, this is something which is often encouraged.

Elodie Thomis impressed playing out wide for France

Goalkeeping faults aside, the technical ability possessed by many women’s players is truly of the highest quality. I have previously observed a couple of 30-yard screamers at university level and on the pitch in the Olympic semi-final there were some fantastic skills on display. France’s speedy winger Elodie Thomis showed incisive play which would put several members of the the French men’s team to shame after their Euro 2012 shambles. The 25-year-old was not the only player on her team with skills and the forward Louisa Necib pulled off an incredible turn, worthy of Andres Iniesta, in the second half and unleashed a dipping shot which was not quite good enough to beat the Japanese ‘keeper. Yuki Ogimi and Mizuho Sakaguchi’s goals for the Asian nation both came from well executed set plays, showing that the female game has mastery of a skill which is often lacking in the men’s game – the delivery of accurate free kicks. Another accusation often levelled at women’s football is a lack of pace, but this was completely not evident from the Japan vs France game where a lot the Japanese players and notably Thomis, amongst others, on the French side had pace to burn. In fact there was little aesthetically different about the speed and precision of the game compared to the men’s game. Another observation was the apparent flexibility of formations with midfielders drifting forward to support the strikers and full-backs also pushing up regularly, a far cry from the rigid systems which often appear in the men’s game, notably with England’s national team.

The flags of all the nations competing in football are displayed beneath the Olympic rings

The Olympic football tournament on the whole is a different experience to regular matches with more of a family or carnival atmosphere. The increased presence of the somewhat irritiating Mexican waves is proof of this but whereas this can belittle the men’s tournament in the eyes of some, the Olympic crowds are actually an improvement compared to the usual levels of interest in women’s football. The Mexico-Senegal men’s quarter final was a sell-out in a 90,000 seater stadium yet only 61,482 turned up for the women’s semi final. But compared to a normal Women’s Super League game (only 4,500 capacity at the champions home stadiun), or even the 2011 Women’s Champions League final (14,000) or 2011 Women’s World Cup semi-final (25,000) attendance this is actually an improvement. On top of this, whereas the men's tournament is under-23 only, bar three overage players, there are no age restrictions for women, increasing the quality of the tournament. The women’s game is getting some of the attention it deserves thanks to it's role in the Olympics, which it has only been included in since 1996.

Mexico's Giovani dos Santos (green no.10) starred at Wembley on Saturday

Some farcical news which appeared this week was the fact that the Japanese men’s team were given business-class flights by their football association yet the women, despite being world champions, were only provided with economic class flights. This blatantly unfair display of favouritism is something that should surely be eradicated from sport and athletes of both genders should be treated equally. At the end of day, women’s football is just as good a spectacle as the men's game which can even rake in large crowds at very low levels. The time has come where women’s football should no longer be derided and people should watch it whenever possible. They won’t be disappointed. And in an era where Arsenal are charging over £100 for some non-executive tickets to their stadium, the fact it is a whole lot cheaper to get in is a fantastic additional bonus. The more people that support it, the quicker it will develop, and eventually it might just come close to enjoying the attention which the men's game will surely always receive.

The Search for Excellence will return tomorrow, where James will give his views on triathlon heroes Alistair and Jonny Brownlee who he witnessed claiming medals at Hyde Park earlier today. Meanwhile make sure to follow @TSFE2012 on Twitter for all the latest!