As
leaves start to fall off the green trees, summer is drifting towards an
official conclusion and no, I’m not talking about the rubbish British weather.
In
the world of sport, it has been a special summer and one that will never be
forgotten. The Olympic parade through
London brought the curtain down on the greatest Olympic and Paralympic Games of
all-time.
It
has been a memorable time and I thought I would share my memories of a
fantastic summer.
It
all started with the conclusion of the football season and what a finale it
was!
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| Manchester City won the title in dramatic circumstances |
I
will never forget the reaction in one of the pubs in MK when Sergio Aguero
smashed home the stoppage time winner against QPR, to ensure that Manchester
City beat Manchester United to the Premier League title.
I
don’t think I will ever see a more dramatic finale to any season ever
again. The whole season had been
interesting, full of twists and turns and for once, United were silenced!
The greatest night in
Chelsea’s history
As
a Liverpool fan, it was exciting being a neutral to all the final day drama and
the season was completed by Chelsea’s enthralling victory on penalties in the
Champions League final in Munich.
It
was another story of beating the odds against all expectations and it was nice
to see an English club conquer European football.
As
for Euro 2012, England failed on penalties again…no surprise and not really
bothered about their demise this time around.
On
the international football scene, I am a native Spaniard. I love the way they play the Beautiful Game
and watching them crush Italy in the final was a joy to watch. They were deserving and breathtaking
champions of Europe again.
As
the Euros ended, another challenge began at SW19. There was huge shock when the mighty Rafael
Nadal was knocked out by an unknown Czech player in the second round.
Nadal’s
early departure opened the door for a Scot, who before this tournament had a
reputation for choking on the main stage and being quite moody and temperamental.
A new side to Andy
Murray
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| Andy Murray shows an emotional side to his character |
Wimbledon
2012 saw a new side to Andy Murray.
While Roger Federer cemented his place as the greatest tennis player of
his generation, Murray won many hearts with his tearful speech after his four
set defeat in the final.
It
was the making of Murray and more on him later.
In
other sport, the cricketers had a summer to forget. They lost convincingly to South Africa and
conceded their place as the no.1 test side in the rankings.
It
also spelt the end for Andrew Strauss, who made a dignified and respectful exit
from the game.
Cricket
made the headlines for the issues surrounding Kevin Pietersen and his inability
to handle today’s modern phone technology.
Pietersen
has been asking for trouble for a long time and finally, people ran out of
symphony for this mercurial talent.
It
was a shameful episode and I hope he never returns to the England side. Sometimes, you must find a way to draw the
line and end it all…
Danger in Formula One
In
Formula One, the FIA have had to do that after a number of careless accidents
this season, involving the winner of the Spanish Grand Prix Pastor Maldonado
and French ace Romain Grosjean.
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| Romain Grosjean's dangerous driving at Spa earnt him a ban |
Grosjean’s
driving off the start of the Belgian race at Spa recently was one of the most
stupid and dangerous pieces of driving I’ve seen in years. On a public road, he would have faced either
a jail term or a revoke of his license.
Fernando
Alonso was lucky to escape unharmed, as was Britain’s Lewis Hamilton and the
ban for Grosjean from the race in Italy this weekend was fully deserved.
As
for the championship, Alonso has been flawless all season and deserves to win
the title but Hamilton, despite inappropriate use of Twitter and stalled
contract negotiations has a great chance to continue the British wave of
success, with just seven races to go.
Don’t
count reigning champion Sebastian Vettel out but this season, he might have to
relinquish the crown he has held deservedly for the past two campaigns.
The greatest show on
earth begins…
This
leads us onto the greatest stage of them all and in our own backyard, the
Olympics in London.
There
were many sceptics about the Olympics leading into the build-up but I hope they
shut up now as it was a resounding success.
Team
GB’s greatest team provided many stunning memories which we will never
forget.
There
was gold at last for rower Katherine Grainger.
Laura Trott became the new queen of cycling, while Sir Chris Hoy bowed
out in the greatest fashion possible, by becoming the most successful British Olympian
of all-time.
Murray
looked a man possessed in the tennis tournament, dismantling Federer in a
repeat of the Wimbledon final and completing his phenomenal summer.
There
are also special mentions to Welsh kicking sensation Jade Jones, the Brownlee
brothers in triathlon, Team GB’s women’s football team, diver Tom Daley and
Bradley Wiggins, who followed up his stunning Tour de France success with
another Olympic gold medal.
Let’s
not forget the foreign stars too in this spectacular showpiece. Michael Phelps became the greatest Olympian
of all-time, Usain Bolt became a legend with another three gold medals and a
relay world record and David Rudisha’s brilliant world record in the men’s 800m.
Super Saturday
However,
if one moment sticks out this summer above all, it came on Super Saturday.
Saturday
4th August 2012 will go down as the greatest night in British
sporting history, with three gold medals for Team GB in the space of an hour.
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| Jessica Ennis is the best all-around athlete |
First,
Jessica Ennis proved she was the best all-round athlete to blitz the field and
take the precious gold from the women’s heptathlon.
Moments
later, a local MK lad from Bletchley, Greg Rutherford jumped to glory in
stunning fashion in the men’s long jump.
Woo! Golden post-boxes in my
hometown!
Then,
Mo Farah conquered the dangerous Kenyans and Ethiopians to record gold in the
10,000m. To prove it wasn’t a fluke, he
followed it up with victory in the 5,000m a week later.
I
bet it was a sensational experience for those lucky to be in the Olympic
Stadium that night and for me, a unique sporting feat to watch on TV.
The inspirational story
of Alex Zanardi
Although
I didn’t watch much of the Paralympics, there were still some super
stories. While Ellie Simmonds, David
Weir and Sarah Storey took the limelight for Team GB, it is the inspirational
story of an Italian that will stick with me.
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| Alex Zanardi is an inspirational figure I look upto |
11
years ago, Italian racing driver Alex Zanardi lost his legs in a horrific accident
at a Champ Car race in Germany. The
popular driver had spun on the pitlane exit and was collected broadside by
another driver.
His
life hung in the balance but he battled through against the odds and
remarkably, went back to racing in a hand-controlled BMW in World Touring Cars
for a few seasons.
A
few years ago, Zanardi decided to give up motorsport and concentrate on a hobby
of his, hand cycling.
His
mission was to qualify for the Italian team at the London Paralympics. He did this and then at Brands Hatch last
week, achieved double gold in the men’s H4 time trial and the men’s H4 road
race.
His
story is one of courage, bravery and inspiration. I look up to Alex Zanardi and am inspired by
his recovery and his refusal to never give up.
He
is a remarkable individual and deserves all the success he achieved at the
Paralympics.
Still more to come
So,
that is it. Well, almost. Murray has a US Open final against Novak
Djokovic in a few hours time, Europe’s Ryder Cup team travel to America with an
in-form Rory McIlroy in their squad and Lewis Hamilton could still achieve
Formula One title glory.
It
has been an unforgettable summer for British sport and it could well be the
greatest sporting year seen ever too.
The
motto for London 2012 was ‘Inspire a Generation.’ I hope it has and I know it has left a legacy
on me for sure.
Congratulations
to Team GB on their unparallel success – you are all amazing competitors who
have made us very proud to be British.
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