Betfair Official Blog

Brit Watch: DeGale available at a good price to go all the way

Synchronised swimming is not, repeat NOT, a real sport, says Dan Fitch.

The Olympic scheduling is a funny thing. Some days there's so much going on, that I'm hard pressed to chronicle all of the Brits that have a chance of glory.

This isn't the case on Wednesday, when the Olympics seem to be on some kind of half day, like a 1970s shopping precinct. There's very little going on and as we don't get involved in such silliness as baseball, beach volleyball or wrestling, then British medal hopes are somewhat thin on the ground.

Which gives us time for a little reflection. Here's something that's been bothering me. The other day when I was watching the BBC's coverage, I realised that Sue Barker had developed a massive wart on the side of her face. But upon looking closer I realised that it wasn't a wart, but one of those microphones that strap onto the side of your face, like Madonna and employees at drive thru McDonalds wear.

The microphone was flesh coloured and was clearly meant to blend into Sue Barker's face, but instead looked like a testicle sprouting from her cheek. Since noticing this, I've seen other presenters with the same microphone/wart stuck to their face. Can the BBC please stop this? What's wrong with a good old fashioned microphone that you hold in your hand anyway? When I think of David Coleman, I picture him clutching an old fashioned mic to his mouth. It's a somehow reassuring image.

Well now that I've got that off my chest and spun out enough words to compensate for the lack of action on Wednesday, we can commence with Brit Watch. Our best chance of medals comes in the sailing, where Nick Dempsey and Bryony Shaw compete in the RS:X. This is another Olympic annoyance. Why do all the sailing events have silly names that mean nothing to the man on the street? For the uninitiated, RS:X means wind surfing.

On the track, all eyes will be on the Men's 200m and Usain Bolt. I will be just as interested in watching the twitchy Michael Johnson in the commentary box, to see how he copes with his world record being under threat. Great Britain's only competitor going into the semi finals is Christian Malcolm, who can be backed at [500.00]. When you consider the promise that Malcolm and other sprinters like Mark Lewis Francis once had, it demonstrates that something is askew in British athletics. Elsewhere, Natasha Danvers can be backed at [42.0] in the Women's 400m Hurdles.

In the pool, Synchronised Swimming is a good value [11.5] to win gold in the Women's 10km Marathon. She can also be backed at [2.5] for a podium finish, having won silver in the 2007 World Championships. Also competing in this event is Keri Anne Payne, who can be backed at [24.0].

Other than in the Synchronised Swimming (and Olympic status or not, that is not a real sport) those are the only medals on offer for the British on Wednesday. We do have James DeGale in action in the quarter finals of the Middleweight Boxing and he can be backed at [15.0] to go all the way.

Like in your average working week, Wednesday is the mere hinge that connects the drudgery of the start of Monday and Tuesday, with the excitement of the forthcoming weekend. It's an unpleasant day, but once we get though it, it's all gravy from there on in.