Firstly, (former?) GB discus mammoth, Lawrence Okoye, was today drafted in round 7 & will commence his NFL career at the San Francisco 49ers. An incredible achievement for someone only a few months in to learning the sport, but then given the strides he made after such a short time in the super-technical event of discus, it's not a surprise to see this guy apply himself to a task & come up trumps.
![San Francisco 49ers](/assets/dsc01042.jpg)
For me, the relief is that he went to a team I already had an affiliation for following my visit & work with one of their players back in 2007 (picture left). After also spending time with the Giants, Steelers & a visit to the Seahawks, another new team to cheer on would have been a little inconvenient!!
I'm certainly looking forward to seeing you develop at Santa Clara & in Candlestick Park, Lawrence...best of luck.
I'd also like to mention some strong opening performances for several of the athletes who were training out in Florida at both Disney & Daytona, whilst I was out there. Chrissy (Ohuruogu), sister Vicky (picture below left), David (Oliver), Perri (Shakes-Drayton), Eilidh (Child) & Shana (Cox) have all put in sterling performances at both the Penn & Drake competitions over the last couple of days & I'm looking forward to seeing some of you guys on the Diamond League circuit over the next couple of weeks.
![Christine & Vicky Ohuruogu](/assets/dsc02965.jpg)
![David Oliver](/assets/dsc03204.jpg)
So now the shout outs have been completed, what about me? Well, upon returning from Florida, I unpacked, did my laundry, repacked & flew out to Thailand.
Since I have been here, I have been consulting for one of the big soccer teams out here, Buriram United...effectively the Chelsea of the Thai Premier League.
The work has been challenging, involving a complete overhaul & laying down of foundations for a new medical services & exercise science department.
The club has massive potential & will challenge for the Thai Premier League title this season as well as already having achieved a big step on in their aims of being a competitive force in the Asian Champions League.
As I write, I am sitting in a hotel in Bangkok awaiting to depart for South Korea, to play FC Seoul in the last group game of this season's competition on Wednesday. In fact, I need to pack my bag & check out in 5 minutes, so I am going to continue this review over the next couple of days...so bear with me & keep checking back!!!