Sunday, 12 August 2012

Countless unforgettable moments from the London Games


In the build up to the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Guardian put together a superb series of articles entitled '50 Stunning Olympic Moments' which took in well known and lesser known achievements from the Summer Games over the last 29 Olympiads.
The past 16 days have seen plenty of new stunning moments that can be added to that particular list as London welcomed the biggest party in the world to their doorstep.
Every single medal awarded at these Games (every single competitor in the Games come to that) has had a story behind it that was told brilliantly by the UK media and their colleagues from across the globe.
In no particular order, here are some of my personal stand out moments from the Games.

The way in which Jessica Ennis won her heptathlon gold medal. The personal bests she set and the way in which she pushed past the rest of the field at the end of the 800 metres as if to say “Here I am, out of my way, I am Jessica Ennis, this is my gold medal, this is my time, this is my moment. Get out of my way.” To see a Britain that was favourite for a gold medal in track and field so ruthlessly and confidently see off her challengers was an inspiring change.
Sir Chris Hoy sealing his place in Olympic history by notching his fifth and sixth gold medals in the Velodrome. There is no such thing as a banker in sport, but Hoy is as close as you can get. Widely reported as one of the most honest and humblest sportsmen you can get, all but the most granite-hearted of souls could not be moved by his tears at both of his award presentation ceremonies.
Sticking with cycling, the achievements of Laura Trott; born prematurely with a collapsed lung and spending the first weeks of her life in intensive care. Fast forward 20 years or so and the petite Essex girl left all in her wake in the omnium and was a key component of the all-conquering, record breaking women's team pursuit team. If Hoy has set the bar for cycling at the Olympics, Trott could be the to set it higher in years to come.
More cycling, Bradley Wiggins redefining what a sportsman can be to a nation bored to death with grey, neutral presences. Wiggins is cool, unique, witty, eloquent, humble, modest and a man with the common touch. Added to that, he is the best road cyclist this country has produced and, despite the incredible competition, must be favourite to win Sports Personality of the Year come December, largely because of the second word in the title of that gong.
To the judo arena and possibly the moment that brought more tears and lumps in the throat to a nation in the whole Games. Gemma Gibbons lost her mother, the woman who introduced her to the sport, to cancer eight years ago. After making her way past all comers to the semi final, she won that round too and mouthed the simple words “I love you Mum” to the heavens. Touchingly beautiful.
More heartstrings touched over at the aquatics centre where Tom Daley secured a bronze medal in the 10m platform diving. Daley's trials are well documented and need no repeating but for a young man with the weight of the world on his shoulders to emerge with a medal is a tribute to his country, himself and his father who will be looking down proudly upon him.
More gold medals but this time over at Eton Dorney where so much heartache was erased when Katherine Grainger crossed the line with Anna Watkins to secure her first gold medal at the Olympics in her fourth attempt at trying and instantly putting aside the heartache of so silver medals at the last three Games.
And how have I gotten this far without mentioning the undoubted British star of these Games, Mohamed Farah. His broad, large toothed-smile, his slight Cockney accent, his self-deprecation, his silent determination and wit; a; true British traits. But this from a man born in Somalia who came to Britain aged eight years. His is a story of a modern British hero; multi-cultural, world-aware but still tied to home. The sight of his daughter skipping along the track to give her Dad a kiss as her heavily pregnant Mum aimed to keep up at the end of the 10,000metres was touching, only to be equalled by his madcap 'head-slapping' celebration to win the 5,000metres. A true hero.
Back to the Velodrome and a contest a decade in the making between arch-rivals Victoria Pendleton and Anna Meares ended in controversy, tears but sportsmanship as Pendleton congratulated her rival on the lap after the end of the race. A fine career ended in style if not the result dearly wanted but the message given to her fiancee at the end of the keirin provided an image of the Games.
Down to Weymouth and the king of the seas, Ben Ainslie. Beaten, bruised and battered after six rounds of the contest, he looked down and out but he was made angry and the rest is history. Four gold medals and a silver in five Olympics in the sailing for Ainslie; one of the best British Olympians ever secures his place in the pantheon.
What about in the boxing ring where Britain had it's best performance in more than 50 years and the record books were written with Nicola Adams taking home a gold medal. The part-time extra in various TV soap operas who couldn't find sponsorship to fund her dream for love nor money will probably have no hassle in finding some willing backers now.
So far, this is something of a Britsh-tinted affair (understandably so, I hope you feel too dear readers) but have some foreign flavour. 15 year-olds dominating in the pool, Usain Bolt securing his place in the annals of history in his own unmistakable way, Michael Phelps joining him, Meares fulfilling her destiny, Kirani James, Feliz Sanchez, Sandra Richards-Ross, Ryan Lochtee, Charles De Cos (and his Dad), Brazil walking away with silver in the football, David Rudisha blowing away the field in the 800 metres, the outrageous nature of the USA's victory in the 4x400m women's relay and so many more.
Well over a thousand words and no mention of the likes of Ed Clancy, Jason Kenny and all of the all-conquering cycling team, Robbie Grabarz, Nick Dempsey, the dressage team, so many rowers, Alastair and Johnathan Brownlee, Alan Campbell, Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter, the kings of the canoes both sprinting and slalom, the hockey teams, more sailors, Peter Wilson, Jade Jones and so so many more.
All of these moments and more made this a Games to remember that, I am probably not alone in saying, wish could go on forever and ever.
Alas, they cannot, but memories last forever and one imagines that the BBC Sport archive of the London 2012 Games will get an awful lot of mileage in them over the next weeks, months and years to recreate the fortnight-long period when Team GB delivered but not only that, Britain did too.

What is your stand-out Olympic moment? Drop your thoughts below the line.

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