Road to Rio: 53 days to go

Just 53 days remain until this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio, but there is still plenty keeping our Team GB athletes busy.

Whether that is attempting to qualify or fine-tuning preparations for those already selected, no-one is resting on their laurels.

Each Monday we will look back at what our athletes have been getting up to during the last week and who to keep an eye on over the coming seven days.

The Brownlee brothers dominated their home race to take a one-two in the ITU World Triathlon Series event in Leeds, on Sunday.

After being named in Team GB’s Rio 2016 roster earlier in the week Alistair took the win, as he did at the London 2012 Olympics, with younger brother Jonathan coming home 32 seconds behind him.

In the women’s race Vicky Holland celebrated her selection to Team GB for Rio 2016 with a podium spot in Yorkshire, one place ahead of compatriot Jodie Stimpson.

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Team GB’s sailors proved they are in fine form ahead of Rio, picking up five gold medals in the final World Cup event before they head to Brazil.

On home water, in Weymouth and Portland, the home sailors threw down the gauntlet to the rest of the world.

Giles Scott won gold in the Finn class, Nick Thompson matched that in the Laser, and Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves took first in the Nacra 17.

In the women’s 470 Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark took gold with Charlotte Dobson and Sophie Ainsworth repeating the trick in the 49erFX.

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The Murray brothers, Johanna Konta and Heather Watson were confirmed as Team GB’s four players heading to Rio.

Andy will be looking to defend the Olympic title he won at Wimbledon four years ago, and will team up with brother Jamie in the men’s doubles.

Konta and Watson will both play singles as the latter appears in her second Olympic Games, while Britain’s number one Konta will be making her Team GB debut.

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Elsewhere in the tennis world, Andy Murray announced he is to renew his partnership with former coach Ivan Lendl.

Team GB’s Rio rowing squad was announced last week with Olympic champions Helen Glover and Heather Stanning the headline names on the list.

Katherine Copeland will also be hoping to defend her lightweight women’s double scull title, alongside debutante Charlotte Taylor.

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A four-strong squad was named to Team GB for the modern pentathlon with Samantha Murray out to go one better than the silver medal she won at London 2012.

Kate French will join her in the women’s event with Joe Choong and James Cooke competing in the men’s competition.

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Teenager Amber Hill won bronze in the skeet competition of the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in San Marino.

Rio-bound Hill, 18, held her nerve in a shoot off in the bronze medal match against Ning Wei.

Great Britain’s women matched the achievements of their male counterparts as they made their Sevens debut in Kazan.

The GB Lions finished third in the cup competition while the GB Royals won the plate.

The Royals beat Spain 44-0 in the plate final while the Lions bounced back from a cup semi-final defeat to defeat Ireland 32-0 in the third-place play-off.

The best of British were on show in Sheffield over the weekend as Tom Daley headlined with two gold medals.

The Olympic bronze medallist from London 2012 took home the 10m individual and synchro titles, winning the latter with Dan Goodfellow on Friday night.

Alicia Blagg and Becky Gallantree took the 3m synchro title while Tonia Couch and Lois Toulson did the same from the 10m platform.

On Saturday Jack Laugher took the 3m springboard crown, while Sarah Barrow won the 10m individual event, and on the final day of competition Grace Reid took the 3m springboard title.

Great Britain’s men began their final warm up ahead of Rio with a goalless draw against world champions Australia in the Champions Trophy at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre.

They followed that up with a 2-1 loss to India, but bounced back with a 4-1 win against South Korea.

Earlier in the week Kate Richardson-Walsh was named as captain for the women’s squad, in what will be her seventh Champions Trophy, which begins on Saturday.

The men continue their Champions Trophy campaign with matches against Olympic champions Germany, and Belgium.

The format of the competition sees the top two teams in the six-nation event go straight through to a final.

The final matches will be played on Friday, with the women’s event set to begin the following day.

The cream of world athletics will be in action in Stockholm, on Thursday, as they compete in the Diamond League event at the Olympic Stadium.

Laura Muir will return to the track, fresh from her Scottish mile record in Oslo last week, with Christine Ohuruogu and Dina Asher-Smith just some of the other Brits in action.

With the Team GB squad set for Rio, this will be the last chance for our boats to show the rest of the world what they’re capable of before the Olympic Games.