World Taekwondo no1 snubbed by BOA.

[Member 39557]

I can't believe the British selectors would leave a world no1 out of the team!
I can only assume (as Cook himself states) that it's politically motivated due to Aaron Cook deciding to train away from the GB performance programme.

I feel sorry for the lad.

http://www.espn.co.uk/london-olympics-2012/sport/story/155302.html#

Aaron Cook, the current taekwondo world number one, has laid out his frustrations at the GB Taekwondo selectors' decision to omit him from the Olympic team.

The 21-year-old, currently the European champion in the -80kg category, was left out of the London 2012 selection with rival Lutalo Muhammad (-87kg) chosen in his place despite having a much lower world ranking and win record.

A change in the international rules on how head shots are scored make Muhammad a better medal prospect than Cook according to the selectors, and despite repeated appeals Cook has remained out of the picture.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph Cook challenged many of the justifications used by GB Taekwondo to explain his non-selection, underlining the fact he has no personal problem with Muhammad but with the manner in which the decision has been reached.

"The key criteria [in the GB Taekwondo selection process] were performances at the tournaments in A, B and C categories. Then there was the strength of opposition faced, the percentage of matches won and the success on the Electronic PSS," wrote Cook.

"My results are vastly superior to Lutalo's. The quality of the players I have faced is far higher and I have won nine of my last 12 tournaments. I have recently defeated 10 of the top 15 qualified 2012 Olympians and world medallists including five-time world champion and two-time Olympic champion Steven Lopez and the current -87kg world champion Yousef Karami and the -80kg world champion Farzad Abdollahi.

"All of these performances were in the -80kg Olympic weight category, not -87kg. Based on the listed performance criteria of British Taekwondo, I have been overlooked based on a subjective analysis of criteria not listed in the selection policy and due to British Taekwondo casting doubt on world rankings and the change in wording (not the actual rules) of head shots."

Cook also questioned comments made by performance director Gary Hall over the world rankings, and said the reason for his omission was based on his decision to leave the Great Britain world class performance programme last year to pursue his own training schedule outside the guidance of GB Taekwondo.

The World Taekwondo Federation became involved in the matter and questioned a "lack of transparency" from GB Taekwondo and opted to investigate the omission of Cook from the team, but as of June 8 the British Olympic Association had ratified the nomination of Muhammad in the -80kg category, leaving Cook to say he would seek legal advice in a bid to resolve the matter.

 

[Deleted 20801]

I was listening to this on the radio earlier. It's pretty incredible really, when the difference between their rankings in some of the competitions is as large as it is. The reasons given, also do not make any sense. He is not a part of the acadamy though, opting to train himself out of that system instead, and believes that this is the key factor for his repeated snubs.

 

[Member 39557]

Only in Britain would we decide to snub our own world number one in a tournament we're hosting!

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Kind of apt that the body overseeing this cluster-feck are called WTF.

 

[Solius]

I saw Lutalo Muhammad being interviewed and he was refreshingly well spoken and polite for someone from London these days.

 

[Member 39557]

Lutalo is a bit unfortunate to be stuck in this situation. I hope the country gets behind him if he ends up representing GB, which looks likely at the moment.

 

[Brophs]

If I was him I'd get a job as a ninja for a crime syndicate.

 

[Dave89]

Was about to start a thread on this, what a bunch of idiots. £9bn legacy ftw.

 

[kietotheworld]

The media coverage of this in the UK has been incredibly one-sided, that's the first article I've ever seen that gives an explanation for the organisation's decision rather than having a load of quotes about how ridiculous it is from people in Cook's employ.

I've always felt that they must have a pretty good reason for making an ostensibly bizarre decision, if the scoring system has changed and the Taekwondo body think this will make Lutalo a better bet for Gold I think we should defer to their authority on the matter, rather than slating them, at the very least until after the competition. I'm certainly not a Taekwondo expert, and I doubt anyone here is either, the people making the selection are.

 

[Dave89]

People on here don't have vendettas, only objective information indicating Cook is a vastly better competitor.

 

[x42bn6]

The point of the rankings is that it takes an overall view of the competitor. The scoring suggests Cook either doesn't land enough head blows as his style or due to lack of ability. If it's the former, it suggests he's world number one based on some other criteria which would still make him a good competitor. The latter is unlikely, as he is world number one.

 

[kietotheworld]

People on here don't have vendettas, only objective information indicating Cook is a vastly better competitor.

I'd venture to say that people on here know feck all about Taekwondo as well, much less the differences in the rules for the Olympic games. It's entirely possible the ranking system is flawed, God knows we have enough criticism of the FIFA ranking system on here, and that's entirely objective.

The point of the rankings is that it takes an overall view of the competitor. The scoring suggests Cook either doesn't land enough head blows as his style or due to lack of ability. If it's the former, it suggests he's world number one based on some other criteria which would still make him a good competitor. The latter is unlikely, as he is world number one.

Yeah, he'd probably be a good competitor, but if the Taekwondo team feel that the other athlete would be more effective under Olympic rules, they're right to pick him.

 

[Member 39557]

I'd venture to say that people on here know feck all about Taekwondo as well, much less the differences in the rules for the Olympic games. It's entirely possible the ranking system is flawed, God knows we have enough criticism of the FIFA ranking system on here, and that's entirely objective.



Yeah, he'd probably be a good competitor, but if the Taekwondo team feel that the other athlete would be more effective under Olympic rules, they're right to pick him.

Well, according to Cook, It's a change in wording, rather than rules and the BOA's interpretation of the wording. Something doesn't sit right with me because it's his weight division and he has beaten most of the other top competitors in it. I hope the World Taekwondo Federation have something to say about the supposed rule changes and whether it's a fair judgement by the BOA/British Taekwondo when their investigation is done.

 

[lynchie]

Fair few people involved in TKD seem to think there's no problem with this selection, and that most of the uproar is from people who don't understand how their ranking system works. For me, I don't really understand it, but he's come across as a bit of a whiny bitch about the whole thing.

 

[Wibble]

He is world champion FFS. You take him and assume that he will be able to adapt to the slightly different scoring emphasis. It isn't like the bloke who replaced him is anywhere near his standard. I bet if he hadn't left to train on his own he would have been picked. An utterly retarded decision.

I feel sorry for the bloke who was picked as well. He can't win no matter what the result now.

 

[Deleted 20801]

The other guy is ranked 104th for fecks sake! Cook has also fought him three times and won twice. Out of the 15 competitors who will fight at the Olympics, Cook has beaten 10 of them, Lutalo has beaten one. Cook also has a wealth of experience and wins in major tournaments, with several golds across world and european championships, several in the last year alone, to Muhammad's one.

British officials had argued Muhammad was a better choice because he's slightly taller than Cook and therefore more capable of landing head kicks, which score the most points in taekwondo. Remarck dismissed the argument. He said Cook consistently attacks with head kicks and has beaten the best fighters in the world with his strategy, even in the last year where he won two golds at the Euro championship.

 

[lynchie]

The other guy is ranked 104th for fecks sake! Cook has also fought him three times and won twice. Out of the 15 competitors who will fight at the Olympics, Cook has beaten 10 of them, Lutalo has beaten one. Cook also has a wealth of experience and wins in major tournaments, with several golds across world and european championships, several in the last year alone, to Muhammad's one.

From performance director Gary Hall

"There has been a lot of talk of Aaron’s ranking and he’s done fantastically well to reach that top ranked position. The world governing body's ranking system is well respected but the fact remains that the world ranking system has never been a key consideration in the GB team selection policies.

"Rankings are important insofar as they influence seeding at major events, as they will at the Olympics. But our main focus has always been on performance capability and particularly the ability to perform at major championships. Had we suddenly given ranking greater prominence during selection on account of Aaron’s ascent to number 1 then we would have been contravening our selection policy.

“Bear in mind that Lutalo has now risen to no.7 in the world in the -87kg rankings. Had he been given the chance to compete in the Euros at -80kg and won, then his ranking at -80kg would clearly be higher. People can point to the difference in ranking but the simple fact is that we’ve had to choose between two supremely talented current European Champions.

“Lutalo has improved massively over the past 9 months and has performed incredibly well in his three competitions this year, medalling in each of them. He beat Aaron at the German Open, under Olympic conditions and he’s now a European champion.

“More importantly, the selectors feel he has the game to win at the Olympic Games and that ultimately is what this is all about. He’s well placed to benefit from the new interpretation of the head-shot touch rule which is a key factor, whatever people say. The style in which he fights is incredibly difficult to plan against which is crucial going into the Games and gives us a performance advantage. And his temperament is first class.

“Aaron is a fantastic fighter too but we had to consider the risks involved in his selection such as the fact that he often takes matches too close against lesser opposition as much as quality opposition. He is an entertaining fighter, no doubt about it. But that can be high risk too and we can’t afford to take risks with the Olympic Games.”

Seems fair enough to me.

 

[kietotheworld]

Well, according to Cook, It's a change in wording, rather than rules and the BOA's interpretation of the wording. Something doesn't sit right with me because it's his weight division and he has beaten most of the other top competitors in it. I hope the World Taekwondo Federation have something to say about the supposed rule changes and whether it's a fair judgement by the BOA/British Taekwondo when their investigation is done.

Well Cook would say that, wouldn't he? As much as the British Taekwondo Federation may have an agenda against him, he definitely has an agenda in that he wants to go to the Olympics. If another disinterested Taekwondo board find that the decision is ridiculous then fair enough, but until then it's just hot air from people who don't understand the sport.

He is world champion FFS. You take him and assume that he will be able to adapt to the slightly different scoring emphasis. It isn't like the bloke who replaced him is anywhere near his standard. I bet if he hadn't left to train on his own he would have been picked. An utterly retarded decision.

I feel sorry for the bloke who was picked as well. He can't win no matter what the result now.

No, you take the guy who you feel is more likely to win regardless of any titles he holds. How do you know the other bloke is nowhere near his standard? Are you a big Taekwondo fan who watches a lot of their matches?

I agree about the bloke who got picked. He was selected for a spot legitimately and now someone is trying to take it from him.

 

[Dave89]

Well that went well.