London Anniversary Games: a fitting tribute

I was lucky enough to get my hands on tickets for the third day of the London Anniversary Games on Sunday (the International Para Challenge).

The Anniversary Games

It was brilliant to be back inside the Olympic Stadium for the first time in nearly 10 months, and to see some great performances – particularly the legendary Richard Whitehead (with his trademark late surge – see below), the dominant Hannah Cockroft and the sprint king Alan Oliveira.

The fact the British public have again embraced the athletics, with about 60,000 (the capacity for the weekend) there on each of the three days speaks volumes about how much London 2012 – both the Olympics and Paralympics – did to inspire people. The weekend was a fitting tribute to what last summer meant.

In some ways it was sad to see the park as it is today: the Aquatics Centre clipped of its wings, the Water Polo Arena and Basketball Arena now just mud.

But even so, it gave you a thrill just to be back at the scene of the greatest instalment of the greatest sporting show.

And, after all, the 2017 World Athletics Championships are not too far away (providing West Ham haven’t ruined the stadium too much by then).

My view of David Weir’s win in the T54 1500m at London 2012

London 2012 Olympics: one year on

This time last year, during the glorious display of Great Britain that was the 2012 Olympics, I was privileged enough to be living in London and working for the Telegraph during their coverage of the Games.

It’s hard to believe it was 12 months ago, and we’re already a quarter of the way through the wait until athletes reconvene in Rio de Janeiro.

With the anniversary approaching, arguments and counter-arguments about whether there is enough of an Olympic legacy are surfacing, but I don’t want to go into that now.

It’s difficult to believe this was a year ago

Last summer, you wondered whether anything could top those two and a half weeks. The Games showed off Britain at its finest, whether in competition – an historically brilliant third place finish in the Olympic and Paralympic medals tables, and a whole host of new national heroes – or not: the Games Makers have virtually entered sainthood, the capital was friendly to visitors, and it was even sunny (mostly).

Of course, 2013 has already seen a first Lions series victory for 16 years, a second consecutive Brit winning the Tour de France and Andy Murray going one better than last year to triumph at Wimbledon. Then there’s the almost inevitability of England retaining the Ashes against a desperately weak Australia. Over the last 12 months my appetite for football dropped significantly – it looks like that will be the case during the coming season as well. The Prima Donna-ing, the lack of respect for officials, the yobbishness of fans – it all seemed to be a world away from London 2012.

This weekend sees three days of competition at the Olympic Stadium, inside what has been rebranded the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. To prove the British fans’ passion for the Olympics and Paralympics was no flash in the pan, tickets for the first two days of competition sold out within 75 minutes. I’m off there on Sunday to see the day of Paralympic competition. (As an aside, it was great to see the IPC World Championships in Lyon leading the sports bulletins on the BBC News this week.)

I can’t wait to go back to the Olympic Stadium for the last time before it is downsized, which will apparently include the removal of the superb triangular floodlights. It might almost be emotional, bringing back a whole lot of memories which are too numerous even to make a start at listing.

But it will also remind me just how wrong the various nay-sayers, who doubted whether London’s creaking infrastructure would cope, who feared the Games would be a washout, who were sceptical as to whether the British public would embrace the Olympics and Paralympics, were.

London gets one more dose of Games fever this weekend, which will prove once more the truth expressed by Lord Coe in his speech at the Olympic closing ceremony: “When our time came, Britain, we did it right.” Our time has gone, but the memories it provided will never leave.

IPC athletics coming to Wales

As if Welsh sport needed more good news after this, this, this and this, the International Paralympic Committee this week announced the 2014 Athletics European Championships would be coming to Wales.

Ahh… Been itching about this! Swansea win the bid for the IPC Europeans next year! A big comp on welsh soil! #buzzin

— Aled Davies MBE (@AledDavies2012) March 22, 2013

From the Olympic Stadium to Swansea University…

The championships will be held at Swansea University, which is quite a coup for them – especially if the national media embraces the six-day event with a London 2012-inspired zeal.

Among those who could be competing in Wales will be ParalympicsGB stars David Weir, Richard Whitehead and Welshman Aled Davies as well as the world’s fastest Paralympian, Jason Smyth from Ireland.

I believe Swansea, Wales is to host next years @paralympic European Champs. Bring it on! Should be a great championships.

— Jason Smyth (@smyth_jason) March 21, 2013

And because I’ll use any excuse to put a video of it here, let’s have another look at Richard Whitehead’s outrageous gold medal at London 2012:

Becky James makes her SPOTY bid

It would be nice to think this weekend has ensured a Welsh sports star will be on the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year shortlist in 10 months’ time.

Not anyone to do with Swansea City, who won their first major (English) trophy yesterday, nor a rugby player (though with a Lions tour coming up that’s not totally out of the question).

Becky James, from Abergavenny, picked up four medals – two gold and two bronze, exactly the same record as France – in last week’s 2013 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Belarus as Great Britain continued their dominance on two wheels (if not quite as comprehensively as during the Olympics).

James won two individual rainbow jerseys, in the sprint and keirin, an individual bronze in the 500m time trial and a further bronze alongside Victoria Williamson in the team sprint. GB finished with five golds, two silvers and two bronzes.

It’s great to see a young Welsh star (she is only 21) emerge as such a force on the world stage – and if you had any doubts as to the magnitude of her achievement, you only need to see the reaction of her track rivals, including Anna Meares, Victoria Pendleton’s long-time adversary (ignore the fact she’s forgotten some past champions):

JAMES! BECKY JAMES!!!!A handful in Delhi, now she isWORLD CHAMPION at 21. Congrats @becksjames Has Wales had a cycling World champ b4?

— Anna Meares (@AnnaMeares) February 24, 2013

DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION!!!! Words can’t even describe how happy I am! 🙂 Thank you for all the support everyone! #whataweek x

— Becky James (@BecksJames) February 24, 2013

 

Wow! @becksjames double world champ! Incredible performance in Keirin. Becky, Wales salutes you #worldchampion #girlpower

— Laura McAllister (@LauraMcAllister) February 24, 2013

So happy for @becksjames ! What a girl!!DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION!! #soproud #onfire #sorryaboutthat 😘😜 xx

— George North (@George_North) February 24, 2013

The end of a momentous year for London Welsh

The year has ended with a loss for this blog’s favourite team (aside from Team GB and ParalympicsGB), as London Welsh were beaten by Wasps 15-34 at the Kassam Stadium, Oxford.

The Exiles end the year on 20 points after 12 of their 22 games, thanks to four wins. Since the introduction of bonus points, no team has ever been relegated from the Premiership with more points than Harlequins accrued in 2004-05 (38), which came from their record of six wins, a draw and 15 losses.

Widely expected to make an instant return to the Championship, Welsh have battled superbly to earn 10th place, ahead of London Irish (12 points) and Sale (11). And it could have been even better, with the hosts leading Wasps 12-6 at the interval this afternoon in front of a record home crowd of more than 10,000.

Thanks to all who made this afternoon’s crowd a record London Welsh attendance of 10,045! You are part of history. #comeonthewelsh

— London Welsh RFC (@LondonWelshRFC) December 29, 2012

Lyn Jones’s side has not exactly set the league on fire with its attacking flair, averaging fewer than 17 points a game.

But their defence has been mean, and they have showed real strength of character to bounce back from heavy defeats at the beginning of the season.

And with Sale, despite their win yesterday, seemingly going into meltdown, there should still be plenty of optimism at Old Deer Park despite today’s defeat.

London 2012 Olympics: Top five moments – Christine Ohuruogu

Christine Ohuruogu won Great Britain’s only athletics gold at Beijing 2008 and was, at that stage, thought to be one of the hosts’ best chances of more glory in the stadium a short walk from where she grew up.

But the 400m runner suffered injury problems, and her chances of being the face of the Games swiftly evaporated following the continued success of Jess Ennis and Mo Farah.

In the 2011 World Athletics championships in Daegu, Ennis won silver in the heptathlon; Farah took home a gold (5,000m) and a silver (10,000m). But Ohuruogu was disqualified in her heat, an ignominious exit for the reigning Olympic champion.

In many ways, Ohuruogu became a forgotten face of London 2012.

But she produced a typical late burst to power to silver in a race won by the American Sanya Richards-Ross to get on the podium against the odds.

It was a brave, battling performance but one which – perhaps inevitably after her Beijing gold – she felt disappointed by. Her tears on the podium initially appeared to be those of joy at having won a medal at the home Games she once feared she would miss out on.

But she later revealed they were tears of disappointment, and that she was heartbroken not to have successfully defended her title.