London 2012, the biggest sporting global brand arrived in a
city divided. Did we really want the games; could the country really afford it?
There were more than a few doubters and many were sceptical. So London did you
deliver? Yes you certainly did. Fears were banished of a continuing recession, ticketing
fiasco, security problems and travel chaos. The miserable British weather gave
way to glorious sunshine, for the most part. The generous spirit, enthusiastic
volunteers, incredible venues and unwavering support from packed venues created
the platform for dreams to become reality. The nationalistic spirit following
on from the Jubilee celebrations showed the world that London was the correct
choice, as a truly memorable Olympics began.
‘Inspire a generation’ began with a stunning opening
ceremony. Sir Steve Redgrave handed the Olympic torch to seven up and coming
athletes to light the ‘cauldron’. A petal for each and every one of the 204 competing
countries.
The tone will always be set by the home nation’s success and
had I been asked to sum up the more recent games, it would not have taken so long,
Beijing aside. Britain won more gold medals in London 2012 than in 1992 (5
medals) 1996 (1), 2000 (11) and 2004 (9) combined. Now there are so many
successes, so many great stories it really is impossible to sum it all up
without leaving out a large chunk of these wonderful athletes. 29 Gold, 17 Silver
and 19 Bronze, 65 medals in total, third overall only behind the might of the
USA and China, and with so many near misses gave the home nation its most
successful games in over 100 years.
It took until the 5th day of competition before GB won its
first gold. Helen Glover and Heather Stanning in the rowing set the mood and
from then on in the medals just kept coming. Britain’s favourite pair of sideburns,
fresh from winning the Tour de France became Britain’s most decorated Olympian
(albeit briefly) as Bradley Wiggins won the men’s cycling time trial for his
fourth gold and seventh medal in total.
One of the idiosyncrasies of the Olympics is I, like many
others, become transfixed to sports that I would not have otherwise even
considered watching normally, so when Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott took gold
in a Brit 1-2 in the canoeing and Peter Wilson in the double trap shooting, the
momentum was certainly building as was my own excitement. Even the show jumping
was dramatic, with a jump off giving GB their first gold in over 50 years.
Poster girl Jessica Ennis came into the games under immense pressure
after the disappointment of 2008, the pin up of 2012, and failure here could have
spelt disaster for the morale of the home athletes. Two stunning days, personal
bests left right and centre gave her a comfortable win, roared home down the final
straight of the 800m the gold was won. Riding the crest of this wave, injury
plagued Long jumper Greg Rutherford and soon to be national hero Mo Farrah in
the 10,000m followed on in a truly stunning 45 minute gold medal blast.
Catherine Granger, after three successive silvers in the Olympics finally won
the gold in the women’s double sculls rowing, and even Sir Steve Redgrave shed
tears. Heroism aplenty such as Kate Walsh, hockey captain, leading Team GB to their
first medal in over 20 years, bronze, despite fracturing her jaw in the pool
stages. True Olympic spirit.
Velodrome domination, World Records tumbled with regularity.
Even the coming to the end of the old guard failed to slow momentum, Sir Chris Hoy
now with six gold medals, (overtaking Redgrave and Wiggins at the top of the
medal tree). The final emotional charged ride of Victoria Pendleton’s career,
the queen of the track, her legacy established through up and coming Laura
Trott (who won two gold). 7/10 gold medals for the track cycling team matched
the Beijing total despite a new rule of only one rider per nation per event. Director
of the cycling team Dave Brailsford who has masterminded the two wheeled
British juggernaut has stated that whilst the team do everything to make
‘marginal gains’ in order to give their riders an edge, without the graft,
without the blood sweat and tears of four years of training day in day out, in all
weathers to reach a standard not just to make the team, but to challenge the
very best in the world takes a special person. Talent is not enough anymore but
the rewards for those who had all this were showcased for us all to applaud.
British excellence was around every corner. Remarkable Ben
Ainslie, who with four gold and one silver became the most successful sailor in
the history of the Games, and in tennis Andy Murray who banished his Wimbledon
final defeat by Roger Federer by beating the same player on the same court with
consummate ease to take the gold. Brothers Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, gold
and bronze in the men’s Triathlon, took on the world and gave them a lesson in
how to race. The big names stepped up and delivered and we all cheered
ourselves hoarse. One moment that will stay with me for some time is the
picture of disbelief, of sheer elation as Mo Farah won his second gold, in the
5000m and his celebrations with sprint king Usain Bolt atop the medal rostrum
on the second ‘Super Saturday’.
The overseas Sports Personality of the year will also be a
tough one to call. Incredible Usain Bolt, the double treble 100m/200m sprints
and 4x100 relay, becoming the first man in history to defend the individual
titles. The end of Michael Phelps’ swimming career ending with 22 medals, 18
gold – the most successful athlete of all time, by some distance too. He leaves
some pretty big shoes to fill having won more medals than any other for the
past three games’. Only 38 countries have more gold medals in the history of
the modern summer games than Phelps has by himself.
Kenyan David Rudisha (previously dubbed ‘the best athlete
you never knew about’) 1500m World Record, the only individual track and field
record to go. Coincidently, the previous Olympic record was held by Lord Coe
himself, and had mentored Rhudisha in the run up to the games. The race of the games for me, Team GB’s Andrew Osagie
came home 8th and last, but in a time that would have won gold in
the previous three Olympics.
Who will forget the tears of Sir Chris Hoy, the knowing
smile from Jess Ennis after her final long jump in the heptathlon, the enthusiasm
of the father of South African swimmer Chad Le Clos who became an internet
sensation after his interviews on the BBC? History made, Nicola Adams winning
the first ever women’s boxing gold to help the team to its best ever medal haul.
Jade Jones winning Team GB’s first gold in taekwondo.
The underpinning success of the games lies not only with the
athletes themselves, but with the ‘games makers’ the thousands of volunteers
who went about their business with a smile, a sense of pride, caught up in the
national fervour brought about by huge patriotic crowds marshalled superbly
well by the armed forces, who stepping in at the last moment not only gave a
sense of security but one of relaxed enjoyment.
The legacy of 2012 is to inspire a generation. Anyone who
has paid attention to any part of these games, and there can’t be many who
haven’t, can’t help but marvel at the level of sporting excellence attained. London
will be remembered as a Games for the people, a bringing together of a nation
already rallied by HRH’s Jubilee celebrations. The spirit and energy of a nation
racked by banking scandals and phone hacking. and is this really the same city
that was buried under the weight of riots only a year ago? Did this city really
just stage the most stunning event? Yes, and it will live with those who
watched for the rest of their lives.
I really can’t say which my favourite moment was as there
were so many – Bolt retaining his 100m title in the fastest final in history, (bar
injury to one runner), Phelps winning his all-time record breaking medal; Ennis
in the heptathlon; Farrah in the five and ten thousand and Wiggins in the time
trial. Hoy winning his 6th gold and his rostrum tears also stands
out. Maybe even the comic sketch of Bolt mimicking Farah’s ‘Mo-Bot’ celebration
as Farah did a take of Usain’s ‘Lightning Bolt’ atop the medal rostrum as the
Olympic stadium bode farewell to the athletics. Winning, is it everything?
Competing in the games, being part of the biggest global spectacle once every
four years, for some is everything. Just ask the women from the Gulf States – the
London Olympics had the first Saudi Arabian and Qatari women to compete. South
African Oscar Pistorius, the blade runner, becoming the first Para-Olympian to
compete, or perhaps it is American Mateo Mitchell who broke his leg halfway
through his section of the 4x400 relay but carried on to finish. Sometimes it
really is just about taking part.
David Cameron summed up the mood: ‘We can all feel that we
don’t just have a great past behind us, but we have a great future ahead of
us.’ IOC President Jacques Rogge declared at the opening ceremony: ‘The Olympic
games are coming home tonight. This great sports-loving country is widely
recognised as the birthplace of modern sport.’ What we do with this is now in
the hands of each and every one of us.
Having spent the last few weeks glued to the TV, Olympic
App’s, Twitter, Facebook and anything
else that has mentioned Olympics, even briefly, I’m not sure how I will fill my
time, but hey, Rio is now less than four years away!
I hope, that like me you have been hugely inspired by the
feats of the athletes in 2012, not just our own. The facilities we have in
the UKare excellent, and the clubs, teams across Britain have already had a
huge surge in inquiries about joining. We have the ability to become or inspire
the next generation of Olympians. London 2012’s tag line of ‘Inspire a
Generation’ are just words, but we can get up, get out and become that
generation.
