Changes To Olympic Programme Impact GB Cyclists

The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee has announced the changes in the 2012 Games programme around the tennis and cycling events, impacting several GB athletes including Gold Medallists Rebecca Romero, Bradley Wiggins and Victoria Pendleton.

The IOC has approved the inclusion of a mixed doubles tennis event, as well as several changes to the track cycling programme, which came from requests by the International Tennis Federation and the International Cycling Union.

According to the IOC, the changes reflect its desire to continually refresh the programme, as well as its commitment to increase women’s participation.

The inclusion of the tennis mixed doubles event will not increase the current number of athletes, but will provide the opportunity for men and women to compete together on the same field of play.

The changes to the track cycling programme see the number of women’s events increase from three in to five in London, with the total number of track cycling events now at five each for men and women. There were seven men’s events and three women’s events in Beijing.

The changes mean that the individual pursuit, won by Wiggins and Romero in 2008, has been dropped for more sprint events.

Romero and Wiggins both told the media that they were ‘disappointed’ in the change, but happy for fellow GB cyclist Pendleton, who now has more opportunities to medal.

The changes in the track cycling programme bring the number of women cyclists at the Games to 84, up from 35 in Beijing. Women will now make up 45% of the total number of track cyclists at the Games (compared to 19% in Beijing).

Both men and women will now compete in the sprint, team sprint, keirin, team pursuit, and omnium events. To make room for the increased participation of women and the inclusion of the new event, omnium, the men’s and women’s individual pursuit, men’s and women’s points race and men’s Madison events will no longer be part of the Olympic programme.

Omnium, a track cycling competition that is part of the UCI’s World Championships, can be compared to the decathlon in athletics, with six competitions, including individual pursuit and a points race.