Jason Kenny

[Mike G]

He may not have been at his best this Olympics, but that ride in the Kieren was incredible. To win Gold riding off the front of a sprint for 3 laps........that's unforgettable. He's now the greatest medal winning sportsman in British history. Arise, Sir Jason.

 

[novocaine]

Guys a leg end and so is his partner. All hail the kennys.

 

[TrimTheKing]

Agreed, doesn’t have the same personality/charisma as Sir Chris Hoy but has to be spoken about in the same breath as an absolute legend of then track. As Dave says, Laura too, awesome cyclist.

 

[Woodbloke]

Arise, Sir Jason.

Yep, I think almost certainly and probably something for his missus as well - Rob

 

[AndyP]

Saw the replays this morning. Can't say I am an expert on the keirin but those I have watched have always ended with a close finish. Taking the lead like that and holding on to it was a new one on me.

Says something for the sport of cycling too that the all time top 5 Olympic medal winners are all cyclists.

I have to wonder what Jason Kenny could have achieved on the road.

 

[Mike G]

........Says something for the sport of cycling too that the all time top 5 Olympic medal winners are all cyclists.....

Very much a British thing, that. Some countries have swimmers as their leading medalists, because they can take part in so many events in any one Games. We've a tradition of track cycling which many other countries haven't.

Kenny would have had a better chance on the road than Hoy.....because as a sprinter you have to haul your big frame over hundreds of kilometres before you get the chance to sprint, and Kenny is at least a realistic size to have been able to achieve that if he'd wanted. Hoy? No chance.

 

[AJB Temple]

I thought the motorbike always wins.

Great achievement from the cycling team once again. And the equestrian team. The rowers need a serious wake up call and a non-woke coaching set up.

 

[novocaine]

Hoy once said "can i beat cav in a sprint, yep. Can i beat him in a sprint after riding 200 miles, not a chance"

Whilst they look the same, track and road are very very different sports.
Japan has a long history of track cycling, but is very very different to the rest of the world, its 1 of 2 sports allowed to be gambled on and its very very regulated.

 

[fezman]

Saw the race this morning, was outstanding.

I was astounded when I saw Jason was only a CBE, thought he had already (and probably should have) been Knighted.

 

[flying haggis]

sorry, but why should sports people get gongs etc just for doing what they have chosen to do?
so they won a medal....

 

[Mike G]

sorry, but why should sports people get gongs etc just for doing what they have chosen to do?

For the same reason civil servants get a gong for doing their job, air-sea rescue pilots get a gong for doing their job, soldiers get medals for doing their job, and so on. I have no idea of what that reason is. Not the slightest inkling. But it's the same reason for all of them, and there doesn't seem to be a good reason why sportspeople shouldn't get access to the same silliness and frippery as the rest of the population.

so they won a medal....

Seven, actually. Making him the most prolific winner in British Olympic history.

 

[Raymedullary]

sorry, but why should sports people get gongs etc just for doing what they have chosen to do?
so they won a medal....

I know its Sunday and I am on holiday so my grey cells may be on a go slow but your reply needs more detail before it is possible to understand???
Are you suggesting that sports people should only get reward for competing in a non specialism? Maybe a power lifter could run a marathon or a cyclist try the shot put? :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[AJB Temple]

I suspect Ray that he's saying why should they get gongs at all for simply playing a game that they chose to play, probably lottery funded. The medal is enough.

If that is what he is saying then I agree: personally I would ditch all knighthoods, Lords and other similar nonsense.

 

[Raymedullary]

I suspect Ray that he's saying why should they get gongs at all for simply playing a game that they chose to play, probably lottery funded. The medal is enough.

If that is what he is saying then I agree: personally I would ditch all knighthoods, Lords and other similar nonsense.

I am with you on your final point but least sporting medals/rewards are won as a result of honest hard work and in many sports with not much monetary gain.

 

[Woodbloke]

I suspect Ray that he's saying why should they get gongs at all for simply playing a game that they chose to play, probably lottery funded. The medal is enough.

If that is what he is saying then I agree: personally I would ditch all knighthoods, Lords and other similar nonsense.

I think the ‘gong’ thing is a recognition in whatever field of endeavour (military, sporting, civil etc) that the recipient has gone ‘above and beyond’ a certain defined level, though what that is I’m not sure. I personally like the whole concept of knighthoods, gongs, medals, whatever as it’s part of what makes Britain typically British - Rob

Edit - I had to chivvy someone on Faffbook in the US the other day who forgot to put the ‘Sir’ in front of David Attenborough; he was suitably aggrieved

 

[flying haggis]

As AJB says, they chose to do the sport so why do they deserve a gong as well as a medal. I also dont undersatand how some sports get obscene amounts of taxpayers money given to them ( I think it was £27 milion to one sport !!) Give the money to people like scientists to develop vaccines for instance not to someone who is persuing a hobby. OK others will disagree but I think if people want to do sports etc let them fund it themselves. Birdwatchers, mountain climbers and lots and lots of other people do their hobbies and dont expect the taxpayer to fund them so why just because people want to do an olympic sport do they think we should fund their lifestyle choice.

 

[flying haggis]

sorry, but why should sports people get gongs etc just for doing what they have chosen to do?

For the same reason civil servants get a gong for doing their job, air-sea rescue pilots get a gong for doing their job, soldiers get medals for doing their job, and so on. I have no idea of what that reason is. Not the slightest inkling. But it's the same reason for all of them, and there doesn't seem to be a good reason why sportspeople shouldn't get access to the same silliness and frippery as the rest of the population.

so they won a medal....

Seven, actually. Making him the most prolific winner in British Olympic history.

I also dont understand why some civil servants get knighthoods just because of the level of their job. If someone has done something worthwhile, the air sea rescue pilot in your example, then fair enough but getting an OBE etc just for winning a medal in the olympics or doing your highly paid civil service job with all the perks then NO.

 

[Woodbloke]

As AJB says, they chose to do the sport so why do they deserve a gong as well as a medal. I also dont undersatand how some sports get obscene amounts of taxpayers money given to them ( I think it was £27 milion to one sport !!) Give the money to people like scientists to develop vaccines for instance not to someone who is persuing a hobby. OK others will disagree but I think if people want to do sports etc let them fund it themselves. Birdwatchers, mountain climbers and lots and lots of other people do their hobbies and dont expect the taxpayer to fund them so why just because people want to do an olympic sport do they think we should fund their lifestyle choice.

I think you’re getting into a political statement here and are likely to have the wrath of the mods descend! :lol: - Rob

 

[AndyP]

I’ve been thinking the same thing.
Suggest we drop the gong element to this thread.

 

[novocaine]

I’ve been thinking the same thing.
Suggest we drop the gong element to this thread.

That will be noisy. :lol:

 

[TrimTheKing]

As AJB says, they chose to do the sport so why do they deserve a gong as well as a medal.

Multiple medals over a 12-16 year period. Most successful British Olympian of all time. That's a person at the absolute pinnacle of their field of human ability!

Nobody is suggesting 'win one medal get a Knighthood', but excellence, world leading excellence over that time period fits with the current criteria so why not? Nobody is also suggesting they 'deserve a gongs as well as a medal', but that happens to be the way GB's honours system works so they meet the criteria.

I also dont undersatand how some sports get obscene amounts of taxpayers money given to them ( I think it was £27 milion to one sport !!) Give the money to people like scientists to develop vaccines for instance not to someone who is persuing a hobby.

Not all of the money comes from the public purse, the lions share is Lottery money which is not "taxpayers money', or at least not once said taxpayers spent it on a Lotto ticket...

OK others will disagree but I think if people want to do sports etc let them fund it themselves. Birdwatchers, mountain climbers and lots and lots of other people do their hobbies and dont expect the taxpayer to fund them so why just because people want to do an olympic sport do they think we should fund their lifestyle choice.

I think you're missing the point of national sporting teams. Yes they chose to do it, and if they were competing at a local level (as I do with football) then they would be funding it themselves. Elite level sport where anyone is representing their country, governed by a National Governing body and beholden to all the rules and testing then that is state, Lottery or benefactor funded. It's the same the world over and if it's a choice of the money going to sportspeople who can win and generate national good feeling, rather than given away to cronies by corrupt politicians of every flavour (that's as close as I will get to a political statement and I won't repeat it because of the rules of the forum) I know where I'd prefer the money to go...

There are plenty of things in this country that are funded by taxpayers money that I don't see the point in or take no enjoyment from, but some people will so there has to be something for everyone surely.

 

[AJB Temple]

Not convinced Mark. In the vast majority of cases, sports men and women at the elite level are paid professionals. They are funded in many ways: local authority and government money via sporting body, lottery money (which some regard as a form of tax on the poorest in society), sponsorship, prize money.

If they reach the higher echelons they usually get paid more, and if they come in the top three this is rewarded with a sporting medal. Why does it require further recognition by way of some "honour" doled out by politicians?

Why do they deserve it more than say the people who work the night shift year in, year out cleaning up bodily emissions in hospitals and care homes?

The value system that determines who gets what honour is not transparent and so we cannot tell if it is fair. In the absence of that, I regard all such honours as having no value. (Along with all inherited titles, which clearly are not deserving of respect).

Military honours are an interesting area. Years ago I spend some time with an old soldier who had very strong views on this subject. He felt that when medals are handed out for valour, it is quite nice but was a pat on the back "on the cheap". He said you can't spend medals and he would rather have had a proper pension for himself and his wife. He had been awarded a Victoria Cross for, as he put in, being "a bit reckless with a gun".

He was the sole surviving brother of my maternal grandmother - from 7 boys and three girls, the other six being killed during WWII and the other two girls killed in the blitz in Coventry. He told me that many old soldiers thought this way - medals did not assuage the nightmares or bring back dead comrades. They are worn with pride, but he was right - they are of little value to the living.

 

[Mike G]

............. Birdwatchers, mountain climbers and lots and lots of other people do their hobbies and dont expect the taxpayer to fund them so why just because people want to do an olympic sport do they think we should fund their lifestyle choice.

Just for the record.......we DON'T fund them. They are funded by the National Lottery, so people who pay that voluntary tax are the ones actually funding the Olympic athletes. For many years Olympic athletes actually had to fund themselves, and many worked full time or part time. The reason we now finish in the top 3 or 4 every Olympic games is that Lottery funding has enabled athletes to train full time, and provides coaching and physiotherapy. Now, your choice.........you can buy a lottery ticket, or not.

 

[AndyP]

How does one measure the pleasure that the sportspeople have given to the country? Or the inspiration they have provided to get kids out of their bedrooms and into sport?
Personally I would like to see sporting honours for a lifetime of achievement and good works rather than being given while they are still competing.
Ian Botham for example was not knighted until 2007 (26 yrs after his heroics at Headingley )as much for his charity work for leukaemia than for his cricketing success.
The current trend of knighting sportspeople seems to me to be a politically motivated attempt at PR.
I could mention the PM who I deem responsible for this but I have already said this subject is very close to being on dodgy ground so I will resist.

 

[AJB Temple]

True of some Mike but far from all.

Some of the main team sports get some state funding.

And in addition:
Tennis - professional and paid by sponsors etc
Golf - ditto
Equestrian - ditto (and significant wealthy people owning the horses usually)
Football - professional
Basketball - largely professional
Sailing - significant sponsorship as well as other funding
Cycling - at least some of it is professional

No issue with me for funding if it brings general kudos to GB, but knighthoods and OBE / CBE (what empire would that be then?) are an anachronism in my opinion.

Botham is a prime example of someone who should never be in the Lords. He has a personal vendetta against Chris Packham (who is a genuine conservationist - though far from perfect) and seems to think that shooting birds and animals has popular support in the electorate at large (I suspect he is wrong). Most game birds shot are pulped or buried, not eaten.

 

[AndyP]

Surely minority interests have as much right to be represent (in the Lords) as any other? I would have to assume that there are conservationists peers there too.

I know little about the Botham vs Packham debate other than what I have just googled

 

[AJB Temple]

Well, we are potentially veering into politics so I will simply say Botham is incentivised by the shooting lobby and I do not believe in unelected and unaccountable people in any kind of governance role in this country or anywhere.

 

[Mike G]

Prior to being enobled, Lord Botham posted a photo of his genitalia on one of the social media outlets, and then claimed that his account had been hacked. Now, if that isn't enough to disqualify you from any sort of office I'm struggling to think of what is.

We seem to have drifted quite a way from track cycling and olympic medals.

 

[NickM]

Back on topic, it's always good fun to see where the Kenny family place in the medal table.

The Keirin was brilliant. You could almost see the others thinking "what's he doing?!" and by the time they paused to think about it there was nothing they could do about it. It's like a breakaway on a stage of the Tour de France played out over a few seconds.

 

[TrimTheKing]

Back on topic, it's always good fun to see where the Kenny family place in the medal table.

The Keirin was brilliant. You could almost see the others thinking "what's he doing?!" and by the time they paused to think about it there was nothing they could do about it. It's like a breakaway on a stage of the Tour de France played out over a few seconds.

Yep a great ride for sure. I've watched it back numerous times and it's interesting to see how he kept looking back after the initial gap opened up and could see the rest looking at each other. He didn't commit fully until the second bend and kept looking back, saw the next man look away then just hammered it! By the time second place looked back he'd already gained another 10 yards and wasbn't letting up and by that point it was all about whether he had the legs to sustain it for 3 laps. Magnificent ride.

:text-bravo: bscene-drinkingcheers: