Sporting Dominance (TT column 08.07.13)

This Mediterranean climate we are experiencing seems almost too good to be true, but as a proud Briton the weather is not all that has exceeded mine and the nations wildest expectations; I doubt I'm alone as I continue to digest the weekend of sheer sporting excellence produced by our British athletes.

The most obvious triumph is the crowning of Andy Murray as Wimbledon Champion - just to write that gives me goosebumps - I am genuinely still lost for words to describe that tremendous feat.

After Sundays action it might already seem weeks ago, but it was only the day prior to the Wimbledon final that we were celebrating British success down under as the Lions triumphed against the Wallabies in their final test match. For this I managed to make another exception to my rule of "do sport don't just watch sport", I overcame it with the perfect excuse for a cycle - to my friends house to "share" their satellite subscription. I did not expect such an exciting climax to the test series, it certainly made that trip on the bike worthwhile.

In the past our nation hasn't always been viewed as the strongest across such a variety of sports but just one year after hosting the most incredible Olympic Games we could almost be accused of becoming mildly complacent. With all of the excitement in Sydney and Wimbledon the worlds largest cycle race has momentarily taken a back seat in the press. Yes we (Britain) won it last year but the fact (at time of writing) a Brit is already wearing the yellow jersey is surely still quite incredible?

Three huge sporting results and you are probably thinking that must be all, but no, over the weekend we saw two GB champions in the World Triathlon Series, more Gold medals at the European Boxing Championships plus medals in Canoeing and Windsurfing. We are a fortunate generation to be witnessing such an exciting change in British sport.

Summer's here (TT column 30.06.13)

Summer has arrived and no I'm not referring to the weather; right now the list of gripping international sporting events are endless. We have had the glamour of Royal Ascot which saw the Queen receive her first ever winners trophy at that meeting, the smile on the monarchs face said it all. It was then straight over to SW19 where Wimbledon got underway, the hopes of the nation may still be on Andy Murray but there is some exciting new home talent shining through in the form of the young Laura Robson. To fill the gap on the Sunday away from the grass courts there was the strategically placed British Grandprix providing plenty of excitement from the Silverstone track, just not quite a British podium finish. It doesn't end yet, yes you could be forgiven for missing it in this frenzy of sport but there was action on a different version of a track up in Birmingham where our athletes were in impressive form. It was the Diamond League meeting and again golden boy Mo Farah did not disappoint as he cruised to victory.

The list doesn't even end there or on our British shores. The largest competition in the annual cycling Calender had an eventful start, over in Europe the opening day of the Tour De France saw its fair share of crashes and even an incident with a bus when it became stuck on the finish line. Further afield in the Southern Hemisphere it is all about the rugby where the result is currently one victory a piece for our British Lions against the Aussies.

I won't deny I have been incredibly envious of any spectators at any of these events, however I have managed to console myself thanks to the brilliant television coverage. The only problem is that I've been brought up to make the most of outdoors, for me doing sport still beats watching it.