What a summer. The summer every member of the British Public had been waiting for every since the IOC confirmed that London would be holding the Summer Olympic Games way back in 2006. I remember watching the decision on the big screen at Trafalgar Square. From that moment on i had one goal.
Everything about the Olympics was more that I could ever have imagined. From arriving at the village for the first time to running onto court before our first game it was amazing.
MY 2012 OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE
The Village
The village seemed to be separated from the rest of the world. It was 24h of constant activity from athletes going to events or those that had finished, partying into the early hours of the morning.
The main point for meeting other athletes was the dinning hall. A temporary facility were over 5000 athletes could sit and mingle will feasting on food from all over the world. It became a normality to be sitting with world famous athletes or athletes with gold medals round their neck. The thing that surprised me the most was the way superstars were not bothered by people asking for photographs or signatures unless you were Usain Bolt who seemed to have a human magnet.
The hip thing in the village was the interchanging of national pins it was also a really good excuse to meet other athletes. We were all given around 20 Team GB pins at the kitting out stage of our preparation. They seemed to last around 2/3 days, after that you were found looking for the most exclusive pins normally trading with pins from other countries.
As the Olympics progressed more and more athletes were finishing their competitions. Whether you had won or lost, everybody had a party. Most athletes had been in training camps or following a strict routine in order to be in optimum conditions for their discipline. The celebrations of joy if you had won or celebration of freedom in some athlete’s cases were not small. The athlete pass that got us into the village seemed to be a free pass anywhere in London, Clubs, Restaurants, and other events. London 2012 Olympians were treated like royalty.
In preparation for the Games we spent most of time overseas away from the worlds focus point that was London and the United Kingdom. Having spent 4 weeks in Houston at training camp and another 3 weeks traveling Europe playing exhibition games.
By the time we got to the village we were buzzing. The excitement was like I had never seen it before. Our first game against Russia was a bit of a disappointment and left us a bit deflated. The next 2 games were very difficult against Brazil and Spain. We lost both games by very narrow margins, 5 and 1 points. The next game was the biggest of the Olympics v Australia. We knew it was the game we had to win if we were to progress to the next round. Unfortunately this did not happen. This was one of the most disappointing moments of my sporting career. This ended the Olympic dream even though were able to gain a consolidation victory against China we didn’t reach our goal on the biggest sporting stage.
Game Time
My Olympic experience almost never happened. Two weeks before the Olympics I suffered a severely sprained ankle that made me a huge doubt for the games. I wasn’t about to give up. With the team Physio Fraser I went through numerous daily rehab exercises and treatment. That along with the fact the fact that I was never again going to play a home Olympic games, allowed me to be ready for the first game. I cannot thank him enough for working his magic and getting me ready for the first game. “pain is all in the mind” after the games I subsequently had 3 months of tough rehab. It is safe to safe that had it not been the Olympics my summer would have been over.
The injury
