Team GB Selections; Judo Qualification; North Korea in Paralympics

Team GB Selections

Three sailors, six archers and nine synchronized swimmers are among the latest athletes tapped for Team Great Britain.

The addition of Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes in the 49er class as well as Alison Young in Laser Radial round out the British Olympic Association’s selection of 16 total sailors for London 2012.

Also on Wednesday, archer Alison Williamson, 40, joined a group of only three others Olympians as the only Brits to compete in six Summer Games.

Amy Oliver and Naomi Folkard complete the women’s squad while Simon Terry, Larry Godfrey and Alan Wills make up the men’s.

Earlier this week, the BOA named Yvette Baker, Katie Clark, Katie Dawkins, Olivia Federici, Jennifer Knobbs, Vicki Lucass, Asha Randall, Jenna Randall and Katie Skelton to Team GB’s first-ever full synchronised swimming team for an Olympics.

Judo Qualification

With last week’s end to continental championships, the International Judo Federation is releasing its 252 direct qualification places for the London Olympics.

Click here to browse the qualifiers by category. (PDF)

Click here to browse the qualifiers by country. (PDF)

Paralympic First

North Korea is now preparing for its Paralympic debut, AFP reports.

The country is expected to field athletes for London 2012 in sports such as table tennis, athletics and swimming after joining the International Paralympic Committee earlier this year, according to the Korea Sports Association for the Disabled.

Water Polo Draws

The draws are set for men’s and women’s water polo at London 2012.

FINA and Technical Water Polo Committee officials conducted the ceremony Saturday on the sidelines of the sport’s Olympic test event.

On the men’s side, Greece, Italy, Kazakhstan, Spain, Australia and Croatia are in one group with Hungary, Montenegro, Romania, Great Britain, Serbia and USA in the other.

And on the women’s side, Hungary, Spain, China and USA are in one with Italy, Great Britain, Russia and Australia in the other.

Group play kicks off on July 29 with the top four finishers in each men’s group advancing to elimination rounds. All eight women’s teams move on to the quarterfinals, meaning group play is good for ranking only.

Team Canada Taps Nash

Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash is the new general manager of the Canadian men’s national basketball team.

The two-time NBA MVP captained Canada at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where he engineered upsets of Spain and Yugoslavia en route to a quarterfinal finish. He then reprised the role during qualifying for Athens 2004, his last appearance on national duty.

"It really is a beautiful thing to see our kids and the game grow and the talent continue to reach new heights; it's amazing," Nash, 38, said Tuesday at an introductory news conference in Toronto.

"I have a lot of excitement generated for the young kids in this country, many of which are making a name for themselves already, and many of which are coming up behind them."

After missing out on London 2012, the Canadian team’s next major competition is in the summer of 2013 when Nash and company will try to qualify for the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.

Written by Matthew Grayson.

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