| Billsticker | Date: Wednesday, 2012-08-01, 9:27 AM | Message # 1 |
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| Anger that NI has been dropped from Team GB
Sir Chris Hoy carries the flag as Team GB enter the Olympic Stadium during
the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Right, Olympic hopeful Wendy Houvenaghel speaks to the media
PICTURES: Tony·MarshaIIjPA; John Giles/PA
BY REBECCA BLACK
r.black@newsietter.co.uk
NORTHERN Irish athletes excelling as part of Team GB will strengthen the argument to make the national team's name more inclusive, a DUP MP has said.
Former sports minister Gregory Campbell has' been passionate for over five years about getting the name Team GB changed to Team UK to include the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man as well as Northern Ireland.
The full name is Team Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but this is usually shortened to Team GB. Mr Campbell said it was important that Northern Ireland be properly acknowledged and included in the team name.
"If, as we all hope, there are a number of athletes from outside the geographical limit of GB who are going. to do extremely well, like if the rowers from Coleraine win medals as they are tipped to, it should hopefully add pressure to the campaign to change the team name," he said.
"It used to always be Team -GB and NI, but it tends to get shortened to simply Team GB. Alternatively Team UK is much snappier.
"Hopefully it would even help some of the athletes who compete for Team Ireland. Some, because of how their sporting bodies are set up, have little option. Hopefully this name change would help them to be able to compete for Team GB too."
However, Mr Campbell' ruled out the possibility of having a Team Northern Ireland to compete at the Olympic Games.
"It works for the Commonwealth Games but I can't see it working for the Olympic Games. You do not tend to get teams for regions at the Olympic Games."
Last year, Mr Campbell, along with his DUP colleague Nelson McCausland, lobbied the British Olympic Association to have the team name changed from GB to UK.
At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Co . Londonderry cyclist Wendy Houvenaghel won a silver medal in the 3km pursuit. She is also competing in London and ranked among medal hopefuls along with Coleraine rowers Alan Campbell as well as brothers Peter and Richard Chambers.
There are also high hopes for Belfast boxer Paddy Barnes who is competing for the Irish Olympic team.
Meanwhile, there was there mixed fortunes for Team GB yesterday when star divers Torn Daley and Pete Waterfield missed out on a medal, but the male gymnasts claimed their first Olympic medal in a century.
Gymnasts Louis Smith, Sam Oldham, Max· Whitlock, Kristian Thomas and Daniel Purvis sent the spirits of British fans soaring hours after divers Daley and' Waterfield
missed out on a podium place. However the achievement in the gymnastics was tinged with an element of disappointment, as the team was initially placed in silver medal position behind winners China.
A successful challenge by the fourth-placed Japanese over marks
they had received saw Team GB drop down to bronze after an agonising wait inside the North Greenwich Arena in south east London.
More Olympic medals lie in Team GB's sights over the next week, including Katherine Grainger and her double sculls' partner Anna Watkins, who are on course to pick up a rowing medal.
The pair smashed a 20-year-old Olympic record by nearly five seconds to win
their heat and reach Friday's final. Britain's equestrians, including Zara Phillips, also strengthened their gold medal bid.
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