Battery life – it’s not a sexy sell but arguably it’s one of the most important. That’s where Coros gave the training-tool market much-needed CPR with the lower-end Pace and has extended to the pricier Apex Pro with a mooted 40hrs in training mode. Over testing, we’d reduce that to 35hrs but it’s still impressive. But at £460, what else justifies buying this over Garmin, Polar and Suunto? Well, it’s swimming in features. We’re talking the usuals of GPS and optical heart rate monitor, but also optical pulse oximeter and barometer.
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Triathlon multisport watches: 7 of the best reviewed
Multisport watches: 5 key functions to look for when buying
GPS pick-up and retention is pretty good. Just make sure you’ve fully connected with the satellite or else your data won’t catch up. The optical HR system is borrowed from the more expensive Vertix and does a solid job. The pulse oximeter should come into its own at altitude, which was tricky while locked down in Bristol, but in theory this is a useful addition to monitor acclimatisation time (although it won’t match clinical-grade devices).
Usability is okay. Two buttons sandwich a larger scroll dial that switches between the myriad features. It’s easily done, though clumsy hands – ours – can easily knock it when clambering over a log. There’s also a touchscreen for some sections that’s not really necessary, and a cumbersome security feature. The app is clean and concise but lacks the depth of its rivals. And at this price point, that’s arguably what you want. All in all, it’s not a bad device but not unique enough to challenge its older rivals. JW coros.com
Battery life – it’s not a sexy sell but arguably it’s one of the most important. That’s where Coros gave the training-tool market much-needed CPR with the lower-end Pace and has extended to the pricier Apex Pro with a mooted 40hrs in training mode. Over testing, we’d reduce that to 35hrs but it’s still impressive. But at £460, what else justifies buying this over Garmin, Polar and Suunto? Well, it’s swimming in features. We’re talking the usuals of GPS and optical heart rate monitor, but also optical pulse oximeter and barometer.
Advertisement
Triathlon multisport watches: 7 of the best reviewed
Multisport watches: 5 key functions to look for when buying
GPS pick-up and retention is pretty good. Just make sure you’ve fully connected with the satellite or else your data won’t catch up. The optical HR system is borrowed from the more expensive Vertix and does a solid job. The pulse oximeter should come into its own at altitude, which was tricky while locked down in Bristol, but in theory this is a useful addition to monitor acclimatisation time (although it won’t match clinical-grade devices).
Usability is okay. Two buttons sandwich a larger scroll dial that switches between the myriad features. It’s easily done, though clumsy hands – ours – can easily knock it when clambering over a log. There’s also a touchscreen for some sections that’s not really necessary, and a cumbersome security feature. The app is clean and concise but lacks the depth of its rivals. And at this price point, that’s arguably what you want. All in all, it’s not a bad device but not unique enough to challenge its older rivals. JW coros.com
Verdict:Solid offering that doesn’t quite do enough at a congested price point 70%
Sport in England took a major step towards resuming today, as the government announced the latest easing in lockdown measures would allow pools (outdoor and indoor) and gyms to reopen.
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Outdoor pools will be the first to welcome swimmers back in the water, with a date of 11th July set (although check your lido’s website and social media to see what additional booking systems may be in place and what date they will be ready to welcome you). Indoor pools, gyms and sports facilities will come a little later, from 25th July. In addition, grass roots sports will be able to start up again from this coming weekend (11th July).
Facilities will be subject to changes though in line with areas including social distancing and cleanliness. For a full guide to these, see the gov.uk page here.
British Triathlon have issued a statement today here, welcoming the news, in which Andy Salmon, British Triathlon Chief Executive, said: “We are all excited to get our swim, bike, run community back into action. We want to thank the government and colleagues at Sport England for working alongside us to find a safe way for our sport to resume.
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“We ask that our community bear with us while we finalise our guidance and ensure that when you return to the sport you can do so in a safe and straightforward way. We are also delighted to see a plan for the opening of pools, indoor gyms and sport facilities across England.”
Sport in England took a major step towards resuming today, as the government announced the latest easing in lockdown measures would allow pools (outdoor and indoor) and gyms to reopen.
Outdoor pools will be the first to welcome swimmers back in the water, with a date of 11th July set (although check your lido’s website and social media to see what additional booking systems may be in place and what date they will be ready to welcome you). Indoor pools, gyms and sports facilities will come a little later, from 25th July. In addition, grass roots sports will be able to start up again from this coming weekend (11th July).
Facilities will be subject to changes though in line with areas including social distancing and cleanliness. For a full guide to these, see the gov.uk page here.
British Triathlon have issued a statement today here, welcoming the news, in which Andy Salmon, British Triathlon Chief Executive, said: “We are all excited to get our swim, bike, run community back into action. We want to thank the government and colleagues at Sport England for working alongside us to find a safe way for our sport to resume.
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“We ask that our community bear with us while we finalise our guidance and ensure that when you return to the sport you can do so in a safe and straightforward way. We are also delighted to see a plan for the opening of pools, indoor gyms and sport facilities across England.”
Following the news last week that grassroot sports can return to England, British Triathlon have produced a set of guidelines for clubs, coaches and event organisers to follow. These are designed to ensure each event is as Covid-secure as possible, and safe for participants.
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From the 18th July English clubs and coaches can host events for more than six people, providing they follow correct procedures, while in Wales clubs and coaches can organise activities for up to 30 people.
Event organisers in England can apply to British Triathlon for a permit, and permitted events can take place from 25 July, providing they follow procedures.
In a statement British Triathlon CEO Andy Salmon said: “I am delighted that we are able to resume swim, bike, run activity in England over the coming weeks and look forward to supporting clubs and event organisers to deliver safe and exciting events.
“We hope to see a similar relaxation of restrictions in Scotland and Wales in the near future.”
You can read the full statement from BTF here
We will be including a full feature exploring the return of triathlon in issue 381 of 220 Triathlon, on sale 6th August 2020. You can subscribe to 220 Triathlon magazine here
More lockdown news
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Lidos, pools and gyms set to reopen across England
Following the news last week that grassroot sports can return to England, British Triathlon have produced a set of guidelines for clubs, coaches and event organisers to follow. These are designed to ensure each event is as Covid-secure as possible, and safe for participants.
Advertisement
From the 18th July English clubs and coaches can host events for more than six people, providing they follow correct procedures, while in Wales clubs and coaches can organise activities for up to 30 people.
Event organisers in England can apply to British Triathlon for a permit, and permitted events can take place from 25 July, providing they follow procedures.
In a statement British Triathlon CEO Andy Salmon said: “I am delighted that we are able to resume swim, bike, run activity in England over the coming weeks and look forward to supporting clubs and event organisers to deliver safe and exciting events.
“We hope to see a similar relaxation of restrictions in Scotland and Wales in the near future.”
You can read the full statement from BTF here
We will be including a full feature exploring the return of triathlon in issue 381 of 220 Triathlon, on sale 6th August 2020. You can subscribe to 220 Triathlon magazine here
More lockdown news
Advertisement
Lidos, pools and gyms set to reopen across England
Landowners in North Carolina may be forced into having fracking take place on their property, according to a decision made Wednesday by a state government commissioned panel.
The forced fracking proposal, which the News & Observer reports could be enacted by legislature this fall, would allow an energy company to drill a fracking well and extract gas, whether the homeowner consents or not, after 90% of acreage of a drilling area has been voluntarily leased to energy companies.
While the homeowner would receive some monetary compensation in way of royalties for the sold gas, terms for this were not laid out, and no mention of health or environmental effects from fracking were made.
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WNCN has video:
WNCN: News, Weather for Raleigh. Durham, Fayetteville
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Accepting the prestigious German whistleblower prize, Edward Snowden declared in a statement, read by internet activist and journalist Jacob Appelbaum at an acceptance ceremony over the weekend, that it is not he—but the public—who deserves the “greater reward and recognition.”
“[This] belongs to the individuals and organizations in countless countries around the world who shattered boundaries of language and geography to stand together in defense of the public right to know and the value of our privacy,” the statement reads.
The award, granted every two years since 1999 by the Federation of German Scientists, the International Association Of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms, and Transparency International, honors individuals who “reveal major grievances and dangerous developments for individuals and society, for peace and the environment in the public interest.”
“[A]n open society needs civil courage and courageous people like Edward Snowden in order to uncover and stop abuses,” stated Hartmut Grassl of the Federation of German Scientists.
Supporters and colleagues flooded Snowden with praise as he received the award. “If I ran the committee, making the choice of who was to receive this award, it would take me probably one and a half seconds at most to have come to the conclusion that he is the only person deserving of the award this year,” declared journalist Glenn Greenwald in a video statement released Saturday.
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Slavoj Žižek, international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, praised what he terms a new generation of whistleblowing heroes. “Assange, Manning, Snowden, these are our new heroes, exemplary cases of the new ethics that befits our era of digitalised control,” he declared. “They are no longer just whistleblowers who denounce the illegal practices of private companies to the public authorities; they denounce these public authorities themselves when they engage in ‘private use of reason.'”
Yet, Snowden insisted that the real power to change society comes from masses of people, many of them unsung, taking action in their own lives. He states:
To view the full speech, as read at the acceptance ceremony, see the video below:
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Max Verstappen believes Red Bull needs to find a “different way of working” to topple the domination of the mighty Mercedes squad.
With four rounds to go, Verstappen is on course to finish third in the 2020 Drivers’ standings while Red Bull will conclude its campaign runner-up to rival Mercedes.
The Dutchman’s track record this year hasn’t allowed him to challenge consistently for race wins, let alone for the world title.
Verstappen’s single victory year-to-date came at the sport’s 70th Anniversary GP at Silverstone, courtesy of an outstanding drive coupled with a flawless execution of the perfect strategy against a rival – Mercedes – that struggled with tyre wear.
Overall however, Red Bull’s RB16 just hasn’t measured up against the championship winning team’s W11 contender.
So what will it take for Red Bull to be able to battle its arch-rival consistently from Australia to Abu Dhabi?
“There are quite a few things at the moment,” says Verstappen in an interview published in the official Formula 1 magazine.
“First of all we are always too slow at the beginning [of the season], so we need to make sure we have a car that hits the ground running and is a lot more competitive.
“How to do that? Clearly we haven’t found it, so we need to change our approach,” he added. “We need to find a different way of working.
“In terms of operations, we are good: we have really good pitstops, we’re good at strategy.
“I don’t think there are a lot of things that go wrong there. Besides that, clearly this year we were lacking in power. There are quite a few things we have to work on to be able to fight them [Mercedes].”
While Verstappen is obviously disappointed with how the current season has panned out, he admitted his spot in the pecking order is warranted.
“Yeah, I’m in the middle of nowhere in this championship,” he said. “From my side, I never thought I was in a championship battle. I will finish third [overall] if I don’t keep retiring.
“In general, that’s the place where we belong. If you are 60 points or 10 behind in third, it doesn’t really matter, you’re slower.
“We just need to learn why we have these issues because to have three retirements [at the time of our interview] is not good. We just have to try to do better.”
Read also: Button sees shades of his former rookie self in Albon
Red Bull’s engineers have improved their 2020 contender and ironed out part of the faults and weaknesses embedded in a design concept that has been deemed as too aggressive in hindsight.
However, RB16 remains a tricky proposition – as Alex Albon would attest – that catches its drivers off-guard with any attempt to carry it towards or beyond its limit.
But Verstappen denies he has become increasingly frustrated with Red Bull’s inability to consistently tackle Mercedes and Hamilton’s hegemonic domination.
“I have a lot of respect for what they’ve achieved,” he said. “I’m not frustrated about Lewis in a Mercedes car.
“To be honest, 90 percent of the field could win in that car. Nothing against Lewis, he’s a great driver, but the car is so dominant.
“OK, maybe others wouldn’t be as dominant as Lewis is, but you accept the situation you are in and you just try to make the best of it. I’m not frustrated, I’m more focused on what can we do to try and beat them.”
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
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As the Obama administration continues to threaten military intervention in Syria unless the government of Bashar al-Assad follows international ‘norms’ on chemical weapons, the U.S. government violates those very norms by storing tons of chemical weapons at facilities in Kentucky and Colorado, breaking its own promises to the international community.
The U.S. government keeps approximately 2,611 tons of mustard gas in a facility in Colorado, and 524 tons of a spectrum of chemical weapons—including deadly nerve agent Sarin—in a facility in Kentucky, despite commitments to have already destroyed its chemical arsenals by now.
As a ratifier of the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty, overseen by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons at the Hague, the U.S. agreed in 1997 to destroy its chemical weapons stocks within 10 years, with the possibility of a 5-year extension. Yet, with the latest possible deadline of 2012 now passed, U.S. officials say that they can’t destroy all of their arsenals until 2023.
Furthermore, chemical weapons inspectors have been stymied several times by U.S. politicians since the U.S. ratified the agreement, including President George W. Bush’s 2002 role in successfully pushing for the firing of José Maurício Bustani, the director general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons who pushed for thorough inspection of U.S. facilities.
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While the U.S. is not the only ratifier that has broken deadlines for destroying weapons stockpiles, it has notably been using this treaty to build arguments in favor of military force against the Syrian government, whose use of chemical weapons has still not been definitively proven.
As the Obama administration has railed against Syria for failing to ratify the convention, it has remained silent on Israel’s refusal to ratify, even though the country is documented to possess chemical weapons, and like the U.S., has used them against civilians.
Syria claimed earlier this week that it would place its chemical weapons into international control, and that it wishes to ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty. Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry enters into discussions Thursday with Russian officials in Geneva, as the Obama administration continues to threaten military force.
Critics charge that, given the track record of the U.S. government, it is on shaky grounds to single out Syria. “Focusing on Syria alone doesn’t seem to be reasonable or realistic, Stephen Zunes—leading Middle East Peace scholar, told Common Dreams. “What we need is universality. Weapons of Mass Destruction apartheid, where we’ll let one country have weapons but go to war with another, is not going to work.”
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