The Olympics are not even over yet, but I’ve been
really impressed by team GB’s amazing performance , bringing in a fantastic
haul of medals , which has them sitting at present in 2nd place in
the Medals List.Well done, Team GB!
What is even more impressive, is that their achievements
are showing themselves even in areas where medals were not expected. From all
reports, I understand that this amazing success has been the result of years of
investment in Sport, in the form of Government Grants, and National Lottery
Funding, with the steady rise in improved training and performance starting
from around the time of the start of the Lottery Funding.
This confirms to me what I’ve always believed in-
that for a country to achieve in Sport, it HAS to invest in coaches, equipment
and facilities.
This seems to be exemplified again in the case of my
native country, Cuba. While I lived and trained there, sport was of the utmost
importance to the country, and it was invested in to a high level, which paid
off by Cuba producing some of the highest achieving athletes in the world.
Sadly, in recent years, the government seems to have
invested less and less in Sport, and this is now showing in the poor
performance of Cuba in the medals list. This is heartbreaking for me, to see my
country lose so much of its Sporting reputation at the moment, and I really
hope that this is something which can be addressed and recovered in the future.
Back to Team GB though, and one thing which has
puzzled me, is the lack of representation in the Triple Jump from the UK.
Considering that the UK has held the world record in this event, set by
Jonathan Edwards, it’s strange that the UK have no athletes at all in the
Olympics, in this Sport. Even Philips Idowu seems to have disappeared, and the
same goes for the Women’s Triple Jump.
Jumps are my
passion, and especially Triple Jump, and I would love to see a resurgence of interest
here in the UK. As a Coach, I offer specialist one-to-one training here in the
UK, in both Long Jump and Triple Jump, with a wealth of knowledge and
experience in the Jumps field. If any athletes out there would like to discuss a
coaching plan to improve their performance, you can contact me via my blog or
at panicoach@gmail.com
