On Saturday, August 4th, I had my last event ticket to rowing. This was the a finals for the lw 2x, lm 4-, and some b and c finals for other events. The weather looked promising as I was starting out my day, but I shoved my rain jacket in my back pack just in case. I took the subway from kings cross to paddington station, then the train from paddington to slough, and the bus from slough to the course. It seems complicated but the whole journey is well marked with pink olympic signs and pink vested transit volunteers eager to help. I ended up in a conversation with one of the head transit officers at the course and he said they were actually way overstaffed and over prepared. There were probably 200 buses sitting and waiting for people at the course. I was so impressed with all of the transportation though, it was so easy and I hardly had to wait to get anywhere.
I had just gotten to my seat as the races started. I was sitting right on the 250 meter line directly across from the large video screen. The clouds ahead looked ominous and sure enough it started to drizzle. The drizzle turned into showers and the showers turned in to buckets. My rain jacket was saturated and my shoes were soaking wet. I was wearing shorts, which turned out to be a good decision because skin dries much faster than jean material. Then I looked down and realized that my seat was not keeping the back pack underneath very dry. I had my iPad, camera, iPod and other important documents with me and I started to get nervous they would be damaged. I left my seat and sought cover in the near by bathroom with many other people. The rain slowed a few races later and I rushed to my seat to see Patricia race in the b final. They were with the pack for most of the race but coming into the last 500 they took a huge shift. At that point I knew Patricia was going to do everything to win that race, and sure enough they did and beat the USA boat. Although Patricia was unhappy with not making the a final, I knew she was happy with the win. After her race I started to get cold so I decided to walk down to the start line. It was really cool to see the starting area, but I got really anxious just standing on the shoreline!
I had just gotten to my seat as the races started. I was sitting right on the 250 meter line directly across from the large video screen. The clouds ahead looked ominous and sure enough it started to drizzle. The drizzle turned into showers and the showers turned in to buckets. My rain jacket was saturated and my shoes were soaking wet. I was wearing shorts, which turned out to be a good decision because skin dries much faster than jean material. Then I looked down and realized that my seat was not keeping the back pack underneath very dry. I had my iPad, camera, iPod and other important documents with me and I started to get nervous they would be damaged. I left my seat and sought cover in the near by bathroom with many other people. The rain slowed a few races later and I rushed to my seat to see Patricia race in the b final. They were with the pack for most of the race but coming into the last 500 they took a huge shift. At that point I knew Patricia was going to do everything to win that race, and sure enough they did and beat the USA boat. Although Patricia was unhappy with not making the a final, I knew she was happy with the win. After her race I started to get cold so I decided to walk down to the start line. It was really cool to see the starting area, but I got really anxious just standing on the shoreline!
It was also pretty cool to watch all the coaches race up and down on their bikes shouting in different languages. I walked back to my seat for the a finals, and the sun came out and lifted the spirits of the crowd just in time. The GB light men's four crossed the line in first after a tough race and the crowd went crazy. The light womens double came down next and again GB won. This helped move GB up to third place in the medal count behind USA and China. There was a really great atmosphere of national pride in the stands, and the athletes were ecstatic to win in front of their home crowd. When receiving their medals the GB lw 2x couldn't hold back their tears. The Olympics inspired a huge revolution in rowing in the UK, and I hope they continue to spend money on developing the national program.
RSS Feed