So
after 7 years of planning it is finally here, the Olympics have
started in London. My own preparation started at the end of last
month when my wife and I moved our training camp to Fuentaventura for
a fortnight where we worked on our starting position and posture
through extensive inactivity in the prone position on the beach. Over
the weeks we were able to increase our stamina and saw significant
gains in our endurance and concentration levels.
I
had chosen the weeks specifically so we could benefit from a close
approximation of the environment we would be confronted with once the
games got under way. To this end our trip coincided with both the
European football tournament and Wimbledon. My reasoning was that the
England team would be back in the UK long before we were scheduled to
return and that there would be no English player left in either of
the singles tournaments. My suppositions were largely correct – the
England team once again failed to make any impact in a major
tournament though Andy Murray did manage to carry the lone beacon of
hope all the way to the final.
With
emotions being stretched to the limit almost nightly during our stay
on the island our daily workout on the beach was not only important
to our Olympic preparation but also allowed us time to reflect on the
previous night's frustrations and recover in time for the next
disappointment. Breakfast was an important part of out training
regime since we were able to watch re-runs of the previous days
football while tucking into our wheatibangs, yoghurt and strong
coffee. We did not have the luxury of Sky TV in our room though it
made little difference whether we watched the commentary in Spanish
or German, the majority of the games were tediously boring. It was
difficult to be sure what the commentators were getting so excited
about, though judging by the TV camera work I am guessing it was
because the cameraman had picked out a pretty face in the crowd.
Is
it me or are TV producers increasingly looking to make an event more
'inclusive' by showing 'characters' from the crowd. To me it is
dumbing down. If I wish to watch a sporting event it is because I am
interested in that sport. I don't need to see loads of images of
leering spectators with painted faces or banners being waved
proclaiming undying love to their nearest and dearest being beamed
into my living room. You don't see extras pulling faces in the
background during TV dramas why should it be an acceptable part of
sports coverage?
For
the first time in a very long while the expectations of the England
football team were relatively low, and even then most of the players
struggled to reach even that standard. My greatest concern about the
Olympics is that certain individual competitors have been lauded to
the point that you would believe they simply have to turn up in order
to collect their medal. As any enthusiast will tell you sport is not
like that, the element of surprise is forever present, nothing can
ever be taken for granted, unless you happen to be a member of the
Pakistan cricket team. There will be moments of brilliance,
reputations will be made or dashed, that is what makes the Olympics
so exciting and why my wife and I have put our bodies through such a
rigorous training as elite couch athletes in order to watch as many
of the events as we can from the comfort of the armchair.
If anything engenders the spirit of the games then it is the British 8 in the men's rowing. It was clear that they had targeted the gold medal and were not prepared to settle for the silver medal that undoubtedly could have been theirs. It was a brave decision, they did win the bronze but it made for a far better race that saw the Germans put under incredible pressure. How refreshing that this brave approach should come the day after the debacle on the badminton which saw 8 players disqualified for playing deliberately poorly in order to achieve a more favourable draw in the women's pairs competition.
ReplyDeleteAs a total piece of nonsense I liked the item on the BBC website that allowed you to match your height and weight to an Olympian. I won't give away my details but when I entered my statistics into the boxes it suggested that the closest comparable match was a Jamaican female weightlifter. No offence to the dear lady, I know I haven't the physique of a basketball player, nor a gymnast but I would not consider my puny frame suited for weight-lifting either. Still, it could have been worse, they could have matched me with one of the horses.
Loving the Olympics but at the risk of offending a great many participants and supporters I am really struggling with a few of the 26 sports. I have never really understood the attraction of fencing (apart from its historic origins), and the same could be said of wrestling, neither of which I would consider to be spectator sports. Synchronised swimming may be demanding and pretty to watch but is is really a sport? As for handball, I see that as little more than waterpolo in a greasy puddle. To remove windsurfing from the next games while leaving rhythmic gymnastics in seems to be a peculiar decision. Clearly the games need to reflect the diversity of sports around the globe but the issue of which is a sport and which is a pasttime never seems to go away. Snooker and darts are considered to be sports, should they be in the games? Rugby and cricket are undoubtedly sports yet neither is in the olympics, not even the shorter version of the game. How about bowling, squash or golf? Table tennis at the highest level is hardly a scintillating watch, you rarely get to see the desperate defensive play away from the table that would expect to see in exhibition matches. Unfortunately the olympics needs the TV coverage just as much as TV needs the olympics so it looks as if the issue of which 'sports' are in and out will never go away.
ReplyDeleteSo eventually the games have drawn to a close and its back to reality for most of us. A great festival of sport and entertainment that did wonders for the feel good factor. The closing ceremony was great in a weird sort of way. Not sure what the tribesmen of the Serengeti will make of Russell Brand but otherwise the eclectic mix of song and dance seemed to work. My eyebrows did waiver when I considered the drug free ethos of the Olympics and saw George Michael and Russell Brand strutting their stuff, both having their own well publicised demons in this area.
ReplyDeleteSports Personality of the Year should be interesting. Bradley Wiggins, Sir Chris Hoy, Andy Murray and Mo Farah would all have a very strong case. Andy Murray could still strengthen his claim if he wins the US Open (not entirely beyond the bounds of expectation on current form). Given the furore last year when not a single female sportswoman was shortlisted for the top award I would expect the BBC to devise some cunning plan to address the situation this year (perhaps they will make female votes count twice or something). Jessica Ennis would be the standout candidate and in most years she would be a 'shoe-in' but with so many great performances on the world stage this year and so many that have been taken to the heart by the British public it will be very hard to pick a favourite this year.
I love the way all and sundry are trying to cash in on the feel good factor following the Olympics. Advertising executives are working round the clock looking for ways to envigorate products by sprinkling them with a little Olympic gold dust. Even the Lacie shoe lace company are looking to jump on the bandwagon by announcing how proud they were to have supplied the special gold laces worn by the 7 nominated youngsters chosen to light the torch during the opening ceremony.
ReplyDeleteCompanies are 'stepping up to the plate', 'making giant strides (or leaps)', achieving 'Gold standards', 'on the right track', 'in the zone', the list goes on and on.
One fact that would otherwise have escaped my attention is that the sales of anti-perspirant/deodorant in the UK have increased by 25% since the olympics. Surely this is a case of some advertising executive going into overdrive - I can't believe that people would be rushing to the shops for a can of smellies just because they watched a particular athlete win a medal or seen a familiar face endorsing a product on TV. If someone had told me that sales of deodorant had increased by 25% during the olympics because of being stuck on crowded tube trains for 45 minutes then that I could understand.
If there was any product that you would have expected to have seen a large increase in sales over recent weeks it would be athlete's foot powder - and that could be attributed more to the very wet weather in the UK this 'Summer' than the Olympic effect.