Britain is looking to finish top of the European Championships medals table in Zurich. Here is the table as things stand (Top 7)
................................G.....S.....B.......Total
France...................7.......7.....4........18
Great Britain........7.......5.....3.........15
Russia....................3.......3.....11.......17
Netherlands.........3.......2......1.........6
Poland...................2.......4......4........10
Ukraine.................2.......4......1.........7
Germany...............2.......0.......3.........5
European Championships: Adam Gemili breaks 20 seconds barrier to win gold
15 August 2014
BBC Sport
Adam Gemili & Martyn Rooney win European golds
By Tom Fordyce
Chief sports writer in Zurich
Adam Gemili destroyed his French rival Christophe Lemaitre to win European 200m gold and confirm his status as one of his adopted sport's most exciting young talents.
The 20-year-old Briton, who only took up full-time sprinting in 2012 (the former footballer played for Dagenham and Redbridge and spent seven years at Chelsea's youth academy), matched his own personal best of 19.98 seconds despite cold, wet conditions and a headwind of 1.6 metres per second.
Lemaitre was left in his wake on the bend and could not dent that lead down the straight as Gemili won his first senior title and Britain's 100th gold in the championships' long history.
"I'm so happy," Gemili told BBC Sport. "To become European champion was a big target for me this year and to achieve it is amazing."
With Martyn Rooney winning 400m gold earlier ahead of team-mate Matt Hudson-Smith, Jodie Williams taking 200m silver and Laura Weightman's gutsy 1500m bronze, it added up to another mighty night for the British team in Zurich and kept them atop the medal table.
Gemili's performance was the pick as the kid who was playing football for Thurrock three years ago became the first Briton since Dougie Walker 16 years ago to take the European crown.
Gemili previously ran 19.98secs in Moscow on 16 August last year
Rooney took bronze in the European Championships four years ago
Jodie Willams beat her season's best by 0.3secs to take silver
Weightman took charge of the race in the penultimate lap and held on for bronze
BBC Sport - Adam Gemili & Martyn Rooney win European golds
Last time I checked the Welsh, Scots and Northern Irish were "Poms" too.
You just confirm the stereotype of the American who's useless at political geography.
If you lot spent more time studying real subjects at college rather than spending all your time there on an American "football" pitch you might actually learn something.
By the way, how many Six Nations Championships and World Cups have the Scots, Welsh and Irish each won in Rugby Union compared to the English? You might want to look that one up.
Are you trying to say that black people are better at running than white people? Don't your realise how racist that statement is?
Eligibility
The Commonwealth is an important world organisation. It covers peoples of every religion, every colour, many languages, and every level of wealth. The common link is that almost all of these countries were at some point part of the British Empire (some members, like Rwanda, which joined in 2009, and Mozambique, were never part of the British Empire). The United States of America therefore qualifies for membership.
Commonwealth Positives
Within the family of nations that is the Commonwealth are Republics such as India and the Republic of South Africa; Monarchies like Fiji, Canada and Australia; emerging third world powers like Nigeria; and commercial centres like Singapore. Her Majesty is not Head of State of all of these countries, but she is Head of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth's Secretary-General is His Excellency Kamalesh Sharma.
Mozambique is part of the Commonwealth, even though the British flag never flew there. It came in as a side deal when South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth after South Africa became a full democracy.
Advantages of the Commonwealth
If a Commonwealth country has an issue on another continent, there are friends on that continent to whom it can turn for friendly advice and sometimes discreet friendly lobbying.
As Zimbabwe is finding, and Pakistan and Nigeria before that, the united Commonwealth is a formidable bloc to encourage or discourage certain developments. When a country is criticised by a predominantly non-white Commonwealth it is hard to claim racism or colonialism convincingly.
Why Should The USA Join?
The USA has slowly realised that it cannot act alone as a world power. Even world powers need friends.And frankly sometimes it has to be your best friend who tells you home truths in a private setting. What goes on on the fringes of Commonwealth meetings is hugely significant. Side deals to open markets, grant scholarships, and organise placements and training in advanced countries outside any normal rules all help.
Are There Difficulties?
The USA may have to understand that in the Commonwealth economic strength and population size and military capacity are all part of the picture. In every family every sibling gets a look in, and the bigger siblings cannot just push everyone around. Britain and India and Nigeria and South Africa earn respect not only for what they contribute but also for how they behave.
Americans will be able to learn these new forms of diplomacy. Threatening, destabilising, and encouraging military coups are not the way the Commonwealth does things. Reason, encouragement, and mutual help, being part of a shared family, and like siblings looking out for each others interests are what makes the Commonwealth work.
The Americans can learn to behave this way, and might even learn to transfer these techniques and approaches to their diplomacy generally.
Are the Americans big enough to join a community of adults? Yes, if they wish to.
http://charlesjames.hubpages.com/hub/SHOULD-THE-USA-JOIN-THE-COMMONWEALTH
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................................G.....S.....B.......Total
France...................7.......7.....4........18
Great Britain........7.......5.....3.........15
Russia....................3.......3.....11.......17
Netherlands.........3.......2......1.........6
Poland...................2.......4......4........10
Ukraine.................2.......4......1.........7
Germany...............2.......0.......3.........5
European Championships: Adam Gemili breaks 20 seconds barrier to win gold
15 August 2014
BBC Sport
Adam Gemili & Martyn Rooney win European golds
By Tom Fordyce
Chief sports writer in Zurich
Adam Gemili destroyed his French rival Christophe Lemaitre to win European 200m gold and confirm his status as one of his adopted sport's most exciting young talents.
The 20-year-old Briton, who only took up full-time sprinting in 2012 (the former footballer played for Dagenham and Redbridge and spent seven years at Chelsea's youth academy), matched his own personal best of 19.98 seconds despite cold, wet conditions and a headwind of 1.6 metres per second.
Lemaitre was left in his wake on the bend and could not dent that lead down the straight as Gemili won his first senior title and Britain's 100th gold in the championships' long history.
"I'm so happy," Gemili told BBC Sport. "To become European champion was a big target for me this year and to achieve it is amazing."
With Martyn Rooney winning 400m gold earlier ahead of team-mate Matt Hudson-Smith, Jodie Williams taking 200m silver and Laura Weightman's gutsy 1500m bronze, it added up to another mighty night for the British team in Zurich and kept them atop the medal table.
Gemili's performance was the pick as the kid who was playing football for Thurrock three years ago became the first Briton since Dougie Walker 16 years ago to take the European crown.
Gemili previously ran 19.98secs in Moscow on 16 August last year
Rooney took bronze in the European Championships four years ago
Jodie Willams beat her season's best by 0.3secs to take silver
Weightman took charge of the race in the penultimate lap and held on for bronze
BBC Sport - Adam Gemili & Martyn Rooney win European golds
Last time I checked the Welsh, Scots and Northern Irish were "Poms" too.
You just confirm the stereotype of the American who's useless at political geography.
If you lot spent more time studying real subjects at college rather than spending all your time there on an American "football" pitch you might actually learn something.
By the way, how many Six Nations Championships and World Cups have the Scots, Welsh and Irish each won in Rugby Union compared to the English? You might want to look that one up.
Are you trying to say that black people are better at running than white people? Don't your realise how racist that statement is?
Should The USA join the Commonwealth?
Eligibility
The Commonwealth is an important world organisation. It covers peoples of every religion, every colour, many languages, and every level of wealth. The common link is that almost all of these countries were at some point part of the British Empire (some members, like Rwanda, which joined in 2009, and Mozambique, were never part of the British Empire). The United States of America therefore qualifies for membership.
Commonwealth Positives
Within the family of nations that is the Commonwealth are Republics such as India and the Republic of South Africa; Monarchies like Fiji, Canada and Australia; emerging third world powers like Nigeria; and commercial centres like Singapore. Her Majesty is not Head of State of all of these countries, but she is Head of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth's Secretary-General is His Excellency Kamalesh Sharma.
Mozambique is part of the Commonwealth, even though the British flag never flew there. It came in as a side deal when South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth after South Africa became a full democracy.
Advantages of the Commonwealth
If a Commonwealth country has an issue on another continent, there are friends on that continent to whom it can turn for friendly advice and sometimes discreet friendly lobbying.
As Zimbabwe is finding, and Pakistan and Nigeria before that, the united Commonwealth is a formidable bloc to encourage or discourage certain developments. When a country is criticised by a predominantly non-white Commonwealth it is hard to claim racism or colonialism convincingly.
Why Should The USA Join?
The USA has slowly realised that it cannot act alone as a world power. Even world powers need friends.And frankly sometimes it has to be your best friend who tells you home truths in a private setting. What goes on on the fringes of Commonwealth meetings is hugely significant. Side deals to open markets, grant scholarships, and organise placements and training in advanced countries outside any normal rules all help.
Are There Difficulties?
The USA may have to understand that in the Commonwealth economic strength and population size and military capacity are all part of the picture. In every family every sibling gets a look in, and the bigger siblings cannot just push everyone around. Britain and India and Nigeria and South Africa earn respect not only for what they contribute but also for how they behave.
Americans will be able to learn these new forms of diplomacy. Threatening, destabilising, and encouraging military coups are not the way the Commonwealth does things. Reason, encouragement, and mutual help, being part of a shared family, and like siblings looking out for each others interests are what makes the Commonwealth work.
The Americans can learn to behave this way, and might even learn to transfer these techniques and approaches to their diplomacy generally.
Are the Americans big enough to join a community of adults? Yes, if they wish to.
http://charlesjames.hubpages.com/hub/SHOULD-THE-USA-JOIN-THE-COMMONWEALTH
</H1>
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