London 2012 chairman Lord Sebastian Coe has backed Great Britain long-distance runner Mo Farah (7/4 5,000m gold medal winner with bet365) to claim his second gold medal of this summer’s Olympic Games.
The 29-year-old stormed to victory in the 10,000m final last Saturday backed by huge support from the home crowd at the Olympic Stadium.
Farah looked less convincing in his 5,000m heat in midweek but has now had time to recover for what is set to be a thrilling race tonight in East London, with Ethiopian Dejen Gebremeskel (6/4 5,000m gold medal winner with bet365) set to be another athlete to look out for in this high competitive event.
Lord Coe, who helped bring the Games to the British capital, was delighted with Farah’s performance in the 10,000m and believes there is no reason why the Somali-born runner can’t complete a famous double.
“Yes he can – a lot will depend on how much he really wants it. The double is tough enough, I tried it on four occasions and messed up on each one.
“It’s not the physicality of winning both distances or running both distances, it’s what goes on in your head for the three or four days between events.”
Tags: athletics betting, dejen gebremeskel, Gold medal, london 2012, lord sebastian coe, mo farah, olympic games, olympics bet, olympics betting, olympics odds
London 2012 | Olympics Betting News | August 11, 2012 13:51 |
Usain Bolt will be going in search of his third gold medal of the London Olympics when he takes part in the 4x100m relay heats with the Jamaican (1/5 – 4x100m gold winner outright with bet365) team on Friday night.
The 25-year-old has already made history at the Games in the English capital after he completed the defence of his 100m and 200m Olympic crowns on Thursday night.
Bolt saw off contenders Yohan Blake and Warren Weir to record a time of 19.32 seconds at the Olympic Stadium and in the process secured his second gold of the Games.
The Jamaican sprinter was delighted with his landmark win in the 200m and now believes he can be called one of the greatest athletes to compete in the prestigious competition as he looks to beat Team USA (10/3 – 4x100m gold winner outright with bet365) in the 4x100m event.
He said: “I’m now a living legend. Bask in my glory.
“Now I am going to sit back, relax and think about what’s next.
“I don’t know what I really want to do after this, whether to run the 100 or 200 or try something else. I need to find a (new) goal that’s going to motivate me to great things.
“But I am not ready to retire. I love this sport. The rest of the season I am just going to have fun because I did what I came here to do.”
Tags: 100m, 200m, atheltics betting and odds, jamaica, london 2012 betting and odds, olympic stadium, olympics betting and odds, USA, usain bolt, warren weir, Yohan Blake
London 2012 | Olympics Betting News | August 10, 2012 13:17 |
Jack Green admitted he had something to prove after he helped Great Britain qualify for the Olympic 4x400m relay final, for which Team GB are on offer at 12/1 with bet365.
The 20-year-old was more than disappointed at his nightmare semi-final in his specialist event, the 400m hurdles, when he crashed after hitting the third hurdle.
However, he responded with a strong third lap for Team GB – who ran without Dai Greene – with Martyn Rooney anchoring the team home in a season-best time of three minutes 0.3 seconds.
“I felt I had a lot to prove,” said Green. “I wanted a chance to run after my disappointment in the 400m hurdles. I would like to think I deserve to be on this stage.”
Rooney did ease up before the line which allowed Trinidad and Tobago (10/1 to win the gold medal with bet365) to claim first place, with Cuba coming home in third.
However, the USA look like the team to beat having been priced up at 8/15 with bet365, despite finishing second in the other semi-final to the Bahamas.
Tags: 4x400m relay, athletics betting, athletics odds, bahamas, Great Britain, jack green, london 2012 olympics, martyn rooney, trinidad & tobago, USA
London 2012 | Olympics Betting News | August 9, 2012 13:39 |
Shanaze Reade is ready to make up for her disappointment in Beijing in the women’s BMX event and admits she has been inspired by Team GB’s success at the Games (Reade 2/1fav To Win with bet365).
The 23-year-old went into the 2008 Olympics with high hopes of landing the spoils but she fell in the final when attempting a tricky manoeuvre that would probably have given her the gold.
The Crewe-born star was applauded for her decision not to settle for silver despite the fact that her actions ultimately cost her a medal in China, but she is now four years older and ready to make amends.
The road and track cyclists have been destroying their opponents throughout the 11 days of competition in London and Reade is hoping to feed off the positivity that has been created when she begins her assault on gold on Wednesday.
“I have got nothing to lose. I have kept my eye on everything that has been going on,” she said. “Everyone keeps coming out with something exceptional and I have just bought into it all.”
Frenchwoman Magalie Pottier (9/2) is Reade’s biggest threat after her success at the World Championships back in May, while Caroline Buchanan (8/1) of Australia will also be there or there abouts.
But the talented rider has form over course and distance and is relishing the chance to perform in front of what will be a vociferous and partisan crowd.
“I have been on the BMX course and I won the test event,” she added. “I have been buzzing since then and that was only half of the crowd; there will be 6000 there.”
Having wrapped up the gold medal in the men’s 100m final at the Olympics on Sunday night, Usain Bolt (1/5 200m gold medal winner with bet365) is hoping to have a better start out of the blocks in the 200m final.
The Jamaican managed to run an Olympic record time of 9.63 at the showpiece event in London, as he became only the second athlete of all time to defend his 100m crown.
Bolt saw off the challenges of Yohan Blake (7/2 200m gold medal winner with bet365) and Justin Gatlin, who had to settle for second and third respectively, despite having what he thought was a poor start.
He said: “I was slightly worried about my start, I didn’t want to false start again.
“My coach said, ‘stop worrying about the start, the best part of your race is at the end, that’s where you rule’.
“So I stopped worrying about the start and I executed.”
Bolt will now be looking to rest up for the 200m heats which take place on Tuesday, with a strong start being important if he is to make it a golden double in London.
All expect the 25-year-old to reach the final of the 200m on Thursday, when the eyes of the world will once again be on the fastest man on the planet.
American sprinter Justin Gatlin has admitted it’s hard not to be in awe of Olympic champion Usain Bolt (8/11 100m gold medal winner with bet365) ahead of the 100m final on Sunday.
The Jamaican superstar is hoping to defend his Olympic crown at the London Games tonight, in what is set to be one of the highlights of a star-studded competition.
Bolt has been struggling with injuries ahead of the showdown with the likes of countrymen Yohan Blake and Asafa Powell to keep the favourite on his toes.
However, USA sprinter Gatlin (25/1 100m gold medal winner with bet365) believes Bolt is still the man to beat, as they prepare for one of the biggest nights of the Olympic calendar.
He told The Globe and Mail: “He’s the equivalent of the guy walking on the moon for the first time. He’s done something that no one has ever done before. You have to line up in the blocks, shoulder-to-shoulder, with this guy? You’re going to be in awe sometimes.
“I think a lot of runners almost have that audience mentality: See what he’s going to do, even while you’re running. You’ve got to block that out, go out there and compete against that guy.”
Andy Murray will put thoughts of revenge to the back of his mind when he takes on world number one Roger Federer in Sunday’s Olympic men’s singles tennis gold medal match (Federer 4/7, Murray 11/8 Match Betting with bet365).
Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam champion, lifted his seventh Wimbledon title last month by beating Murray in an absorbing final. The Scot was left in tears but insisted his sole aim will be to win gold on centre court tomorrow.
“I want to try to win. I don’t think going into matches trying to get revenge for something that’s happened in the past really helps. I think you need to try and focus on the future,” said the 25-year-old.
“It’s going to be a tough match. I’ll need to play great tennis to win. I hope it’s a great match because the way the semi-finals went, the tournament deserves a great final. I hope we can provide that.”
Murray overcame Novak Djokovic to reach his first Olympic final, while Federer beat Juan Martin del Potro in the longest match in Olympic history. That could give Murray the advantage in the energy stakes (5/1 Murray to win 3-1 with bet365).
“I don’t feel tired at all. Mentally I feel really fresh. Normally after playing a match with Novak, you will feel a bit fatigued. I feel fine,” added the British number one.
“Anybody that knows me knows I won’t go into the match happy with just having a silver medal. I go into the match 100 per cent trying to win. I’ll give everything I can on the court.”
Long jumper Chris Tomlinson (16/1 Long Jump outright with bet365) believes London 2012 presents him with the perfect opportunity to finally fulfil his potential and win Olympic gold.
After bursting onto the scene a decade ago the 30-year-old has regularly showed that he has the ability to challenge the world’s best, but currently only has two major championship medals to his name.
However, the games in London present a unique opportunity for Tomlinson as he goes in as Britain’s second best athlete behind Greg Rutherford (4/1 Long Jump outright with bet365).
Rutherford is currently the world leader after jumping 8.35m at the recent Diamond League meeting at Crystal Palace, meaning the country’s hopes and expectations now lie on his shoulders.
Tomlinson says the situation has definitely suited him in his preparation and is hoping to catch his rivals napping once qualification starts on Friday night.
“There are favourites within that but there’s a group of people, myself included, sitting back saying I’ve got to get my act together because this is a golden opportunity,” he said. “I want to go out there and make sure I jump the longest jump of my life, simple.”
British swimming star Rebecca Adlington (2/5 800m freestyle final gold medal winner) is preparing for the biggest test of her career so far as she gets set for the Olympic Games 800m freestyle final at 19:45 tonight.
The 23-year-old is up against the Danish talent Lotte Friis in the final, having already bagged the bronze medal in the 400m freestyle earlier this week from the outside lane.
Adlington has enjoyed a good rivalry with Friis (2/1 800m freestyle final gold medal winner) in recent seasons and the duo are set to go head-to-head in the highly-anticipated showdown.
The Mansfield swimmer is looking forward to the contest and is adamant she won’t be holding anything back as she goes in search of her third Olympic gold medal, having claimed two in Beijing four years ago.
She told the BBC: “We’ve been racing each other since the European juniors in 2004. One year I win, the next year she wins.
“I’m going to give it my all in the final, it’s all about who can get that finish.”
Olympic 800m freestyle champion Rebecca Adlington (2/5 Women’s 800m freestyle outright with bet365) will defend her title, as the Great Britain star booked her place in the final on Friday.
The Mansfield swimmer backed up her bronze medal in the 400m freestyle with a fine display in qualification for her favoured event.
Adlington, who claimed gold in the event four years ago, finished as the fastest qualifier ahead of her closest rival Lotte Friis (2/1 Women’s 800m freestyle outright with bet365) of Denmark.
The 23-year-old is now looking to go all out to claim gold in the final on Friday night.
She said: “I just put my head down and went for it especially after the 400 heat only scraping in. I was like ‘I am not risking that even if I give it a little bit more than I should do, I’d rather get in safely’, so I just went for it and I am pleased with that time.
“Obviously it’s going to be a battle tomorrow but I’ve just got to see what I can get.”
Sport News 24/7
London 2012 chairman Lord Sebastian Coe has backed Great Britain long-distance runner Mo Farah (7/4 5,000m gold medal winner with bet365) to claim his second gold medal of this summer’s Olympic Games.
