Wednesday 8 August 2012

Olympics: part 2


I am still buzzing from the experience of being in the athletics stadium at London 2012’s Olympic park, last Friday and Saturday.


I have already posted about the overall organisation, and the incredibly joyful atmosphere that has reigned over east London during the last 2 weeks, so I am now taking the opportunity to post a few more photos and thoughts in an attempt to share the experience.



We were lucky enough to have acquired 8 tickets from the first ballot last year, for athletics, over 2 days as well as 2 tickets for boxing. Mark and I went to the athletics on both days, and gave our other tickets (2 for each of the athletic days, and the boxing tickets) to our daughters. (Our son and his wife were not able to get babysitters, so couldn’t come too.....hence Mark and I went twice).

we took our seats early, and watched the stadium fill up


the velodrome




All this meant that we were in the stadium on the evening that Ennis won gold in the heptathlon, Rutherford won the long jump, and Mo Farah won the 10,000 metres. We had great seats, with an excellent view of the finishing line, and we could feel the heat from the flame.



We also sat just behind a woman who delighted us by telling us she had been at Wembley in 1948, as a 7 year old child...so this was her 2nd  London Olympics.





I have already posted about how tremendously uplifting the atmosphere was, and how goodwill to all was apparent everywhere.  For me, such a positive spirit of camaraderie, where each athlete’s efforts were supported and cheered, was by far the best bit. While I could wax on about atmosphere and happy fans for ages, I do want to share a little of the excitement we felt from what we actually witnessed in the stadium.

Jess Ennis was clearly the darling of the crowd. We watched her shot put and 200 metres on Friday, and then on Saturday night, with one event left, the 800 metres, she was poised to win the heptathlon. It seemed that as long as she turned up, and didn’t break a leg going round, the gold was hers. It was, and she was determined to give the crowd something to cheer about as she crossed the line first, despite only needing to finish in the pack. The roar was amazing. I can honestly say I have never heard anything like it.
Jess Ennis, about to cross the line in the final event....to win gold



Greg Rutherford then went on to win gold for Britain in the long jump, and when Mo Farah crossed the line in first place in the 10,000 metres, I thought the stadium would explode. He hugged the other Brit in the race, his daughter ran onto the track, he hugged her, then his very pregnant wife appeared on the track and everyone was cheering, crying, flag waving and generally involved with the extreme emotion of the whole occasion.



The climax of Saturday’s session was the 100 metres women’s final....no Brit running, but you would not have known that from the noise in the stadium. It had been the same the night before when a tiny Ethiopian woman stormed to victory in the women’s 10,000 metres.  The crowd roared in encouragement and delight at winners, and those that finished miles behind the winners. Lapped runners in the 10,000 were applauded with as much vigour as those that led the race.



The noise, the sheer power of all that effort,  the pure emotion and joy will live with Mark and I for a long time.
I dont know who she is...but I felt like she looks.....all day.


22 comments:

  1. Well done, Janice.

    You've managed to capture the thrill, excitement and pure 'feel good' factor perfectly. I am so pleased the games have been a success from both the competitive and staging angle. There have been detractors over the years since the bid was successful, but what a spectacle it has turned out to be.

    The spectators have also been fantastic in their support of the Olympic values and team GB in particular.

    Take a well deserved lap of honour...

    Gaynor x

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    1. Thanks Gaynor....what are we all going to do when it is over ? What with the Tour de France and then London 2012, I have become ridiculously sports focussed. It would be so good to think that the spirit of goodwill could continue.....what are the chances ? J.

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  2. I could feel the enthusiasm and the energy of the crowd even though we were not there. I mentioned to my husband how lucky anyone who was present on that golden night was, and how it would live with them forever. You will be able to relate the story to your grandchildren when they are older and may be even your great grandchildren. How lovely it is that all your passion and feelings are here now on your blog for all of your family to read in the future.
    Thanks for sharing your feelings on that special occasion so vividly.

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  3. Thanks for your comments Rosemary. For someone who does not regard themselves as sporty in any way, the last few weeks have been pretty strange for me....back to normality soon, but you are right, the memory of the London games will be with me for a long time. J.

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  4. . . . and this, your post, is what the spirit of the Olympics is all about! I can just feel your excitement pulsating through your words, Janice, and your pictures, Oh my. Each and every one captures the mood of the crowd, but, you last one - it took my breath away. I hope you frame it or use it as something akin to a holiday greeting and I'm so very excited to know you were there.

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    1. Thanks Penny, I am wondering how long "the spirit" will stay with everyone....including me. I can rememeber being alienated by the pep rallies held before school football games when I taught in Wisconsin, and have wondered if I had thrown myself into them more, would I have felt like this. I think not....enjoying winning is great but celebrating achievement all round is so much better. I love the idea of using the flame image in a card.....thanks for that, it will be worked on. J.

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  5. Lovely post, Janice, I'm sure we all wish we were there.
    I'm not sporty either, though I thought my sons & Mr N were - but it's me jumping up & down & punching the air, not them.
    I shocked myself today when the boxing girls were doing their thing,"Go girl - smack her in the chops!"
    My daughter-in-law's father is in charge of checking that the sewage system is working & that man-holes are bomb-free etc. so he can wander in & out of events freely - lucky man!

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    1. Yes....women's boxing has been a real new delight hasn't it ! My pleasure in that was hearing the Brit talk about her achievement, and feeling the uninhibited joy that she felt...clearly a kid who has not had life easy.
      I am very jealous of your daughter in law's father's position.....checking sewage systems can never have been so much fun. J.

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  6. The BBC need you as a commentator....and so do the national dailies.
    Nothing has conveyed to me the excitement of it all as your post has done.

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  7. Thank you so much Fly, sometimes knowing that you have a little blogging community to share things with makes you notice things a little more closely, and articulate things in your own head more than maybe you would have done otherwise....or that's how it seems to me.
    Thanks again, for your generous comments. J

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  8. A wonderful blog, Janice - and super pictures. We've been glued to the tv ever since it started (having been olympic-sceptics over the years), and I, too, have been to one punching the air and shouting!! Don't forget that there are the Paralympics to come in a couple of weeks - and they're probably going to be as exciting and moving as the able-bodied ones, if not more so, since the athletes have had so much more to overcome. As a (not-very-good) disabled sailor, I know a bit about it, and have enormous respect for them. I do hope that folk who have enjoyed this last two weeks will be equally supportive of them. I agree with Fly - you'd be a great commentator (better than some of the ones that are getting paid for doing it!)

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    1. Thanks very much for your lovely comments Helva. You are right about the paralympics. Apart from all the obvious positives about celebrating achievement they will enable more people to visit the Olympic park. I know many friends who would have like to have gone, without tickets to any events, just to experience the park,the crowds and the whole atmosphere. In fact at Stratford Station they had a section, where they were leading people who had arrived without tickets thinking they would be able to get into the park. They were left, unable to get in, redirected to big screens throughout London to watch from there. Thanks again. J.

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  9. Janice your photos are absolutely fantastic and together with your words you have really captured the spirit of the Olympics. I've thoroughly enjoyed these two posts..thankyou for sharing xxx

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    1. Thanks Ayak. I enjoyed being there and blogging about it has helped relive the whole thing. Back to France for me in the next few days, but it has been a brilliant trip back to England. J.

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  10. Great post Janice.....I felt like I was there.
    I love the pic of the Canadians dressed like beavers...I have yet to see one.
    Thanks for sharing your adventure.

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    1. Thanks Erica ( Irene), I thought you would appreciate the Canadians. Everyone who posed for photos for me was great. never mind about the events, just mingling with the crowd was a wonderful international experience. J.

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  11. I'm so pleased to read a blog post that celebrates the achievements of *all* the athletes and doesn't just bang on about TeamGB winning medals, while remaining silent about equally remarkable achievements by athletes from other nations (or, if they're Chinese, accusing them of doping). It sounds as if you had a terrific time!

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    1. Thanks Veronica. I cant pretend the cheering wasn't at its most frenetic when team GB were winning....but the support for everyone was really noticeable. I saw that the Saudi woman running in the 800 metres ( I watched it on TV rather than at the stadium) received an amazing ovation. The crowd basically loved everyone. It was, most definitely, a terrific time. J.

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  12. Just what Britain needs right now. i admit I was a cynic at the beginning but I've been completely won over, and I've only been able to watch the week end you were there on TV.

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  13. A couple of fantastic posts, Janice, which beautifully convey the sheer excitement and joy of the whole Olympic experience, particularly to someone like me who saw none of it on TV or in person, though I did manage to find an internet site which allowed me to watch the Saturday evening of the 3 gold medals.

    Coincidentally our son and his wife and Grandson#3 were in the stadium the same Saturday as you and had exactly the same reactions to it all - a totally unforgettable experience.

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    1. Well, if you were only able to catch one evening...that was the evening to see. Thanks for your kind words about the posts...it really was a remarkable experience. I am so glad I went, and it would have been so easy for my misgivings about the whole thing to have decided not to bother. I trust you are enjoying France. I look forward to catching up with what has been going onin Normandy soon. J.

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