By Simon Wright
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| The Olympics were everything and more in London |
This year has been the greatest sporting year in history and it has been
a real privilege to watch it all unfold over the past 12 months.
We were introduced to plenty of new heroes, some of the most sensational
finishes you could ask for, the giant-killing surprises and pure emotion.
The main event has been the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, and
here is my review of the spectacular events.
The Olympics totally
delivers
Could debt-ridden Britain afford the Olympic Games? Probably not but it was certainly worth
it. Team GB’s success on the track, in
the velodrome and rowing amongst others went down in folklore.
In total, we won 29 gold medals and finished a magnificent third in the
medal table, only behind the world superpowers of the United States and China.
After the Beijing brilliance of 2008, there was scepticism before the
games began, most notably when it emerged less than two weeks before the
show, there had been a real muddle over security measures. The brilliant military had to step in and did the job impeccably.
The Olympic Torch Relay dismissed many of these fears though, and Danny
Boyle’s opening ceremony was a joy to watch.
London showed itself to the world, full of colour, tradition and
modernity.
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| Having Mr Bean in the opening ceremony was a brilliant idea |
From the Queen and James Bond to Mr. Bean, some people might have
wondered if Britain was totally bonkers.
However, we did it and in our own unique way possible.
When the action began, it started slowly for Team GB. There were no gold medals in the first four
days of competition.
Lizzie Armitstead got silver in the women’s cycling road race and there
was a historic bronze in the men’s team gymnastics final, but there was concern,
particularly with the form of our swimmers.
It was at Eton Dorney when the gold rush finally kicked off on day
five. Heather Stanning and Helen Glover
delivered gold in the coxless pairs and from there on, we didn’t look back.
Bradley Wiggins followed a few hours later, with a dominant victory in
the men’s cycling time trial. The next
day, the British achieved gold and silver in a dramatic men’s canoe slalom
final and minutes later, there was an emotional and unexpected gold medal for
Peter Wilson in the Men’s Double Trap Shooting.
Wilson had his funding cut after Beijing, and it was the backing of a
rich Arab Sheikh that saw him realise his dream. Realising dreams also was Gemma Gibbons, who
collected a popular silver medal in the judo, then left us with one of the most
iconic pictures of the games. She pointed to the sky, saying ‘I love you Mum,’ in
memory of her mother, who passed away eight years ago.
Team GB’s women’s footballers improved the profile of their game. 70,000 saw Hope Powell’s side beat Brazil at
Wembley Stadium, with Steph Houghton becoming an overnight sensation, scoring
in all three group games. Quarter-final
heartbreak would follow against Canada but they credited themselves
magnificently.
The gold rush
continues
The gold medals continued.
Katherine Grainger finally reached the pinnacle when she doubled up with
Anna Watkins to win the Women’s Double Sculls at Eton Dorney – after three
successive and agonising silver medals.
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| Andy Murray was too good for Roger Federer in the men's singles |
Andy Murray dismantled Roger Federer in the Men’s Singles Final at
Wimbledon, losing just seven games at SW19, writing the wrongs of his painful
Wimbledon loss less than a month earlier.
Ben Ainslie became the most successful sailor in Olympic history, as he
won his fourth gold medal at Weymouth, and Welsh teenage kicking sensation Jade
Jones became Olympic champion in Taekwondo.
Of course, there were disappointments along the way. Smart tactics from the rest of the field
meant Mark Cavendish’s dreams of winning a medal disappeared in the men’s cycling road race.
The swimming team were a major letdown.
Michael Jamieson did get silver and there was double bronze for Beijing
golden girl Rebecca Adlington, but targets were not met at the Aquatics Centre.
Phillips Idowu wandered into the Olympic village with an injury he wanted
to keep secret. The Hackney local made a
tame exit from the qualifying rounds of the men’s triple jump – his
creditability shattered.
Team GB’s male footballers spectacularly failed on the big stage. Despite winning their group, they lacked
conviction and predictably exited via a quarter-final penalty shootout to South
Korea in Cardiff. Daniel Sturridge can
add his name to those queuing up for fame for a pizza chain commercial!
However, there were more success stories than failures, and they came in
45 glorious minutes on Saturday, 4 August.
Super Saturday
Team GB had already racked up another two gold medals and one silver in
the final day of rowing competition, and another gold medal in the velodrome.
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| Jessica Ennis showed she was the best all-round athlete |
Then, it went crazy in the Olympic Stadium. First, the poster girl of the Olympic Games,
Jessica Ennis stormed to victory in the 800m, the final event of the women’s heptathlon.
Ennis had started a day earlier, with the fastest time ever by a heptathlon
athlete in the 100m hurdles, one of her favourite events. She achieved lifetime bests in the javelin
and long jump, and Sheffield’s star finished it off in fitting fashion on the
Saturday evening.
She had realised her dream after the injury heartache of four years
ago. Meanwhile, another athlete who had
his injury issues over many years was finally delivering on his promise in the
jumping pit.
Step forward Greg Rutherford from Bletchley in Milton Keynes. He produced a jump of 8m 31 to win gold in
the men’s long jump. There was immense
pride as a local lad to MK, and sheer delight for a crowd that were witnessing a
very special evening.
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| The 'Mobot' became a big hit with many. |
Then, it was back to the track for the final of the men’s 10,000m. Mo Farah, withstanding the pressure from the
Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes, took the gold medal. The place erupted on an extraordinary
evening.
If that wasn’t enough for Farah – he returned a week later to achieve the
long-distance double, winning the 5000m title too.
What a night – the greatest in the history of British sport.
World feats
Of course, the Olympic Games were not just about the British.
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt was doubted by many before arriving in
London, with the man himself claiming only to be ’95 per cent fit.’
He retained all of his Olympic titles – becoming the first sprinter to
ever achieve this.
On ‘Super Sunday,’ he won the men’s 100m in 9.63secs in a new Olympic
record, holding off compatriot and world champion Yohan Blake, and the American
trio of Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay and Ryan Bailey.
Four days later, Bolt was back to defend his 200m title, again seeing off
Blake in a Jamaican 1-2-3. Lastly, to
conclude the events in the Olympic Stadium – he anchored the Jamaican team to
the 4x100m title, smashing their own world record in the process.
The American team did this in the women’s equivalent, breaking the last
ever record held by East Germany.
Allyson Felix won three gold medals and Carmelita Jeter got two gold’s
and one silver for her efforts.
Kenyan David Rudisha destroyed the competition in the men’s 800m, taking
the first world record of the games in the Olympic Stadium. Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic found
some unexpected form to triumph in the men’s 400m hurdles – then he broke down
in floods of tears on the rostrum.
Kirani James produced Grenada’s first ever Olympic gold in the men’s
400m, a feat also achieved by Lithuania as they won their first Olympic gold in
the swimming pool, courtesy of Ruta Meilutyte.
The US retained the women’s football title and Mexico stunned Brazil to
take the gold medal in the men’s football.
Brazil coach Mano Menezes would end the year unemployed.
Serena Williams dismantled Maria Sharapova to win women’s tennis gold and
ultimately, America would end up top of the medal table with various successes
across the UK.
Most of it arrived in the swimming pool.
The world saw the likes of Missy Franklin, Rebecca Soni and Katie
Ledecky set new world records and even higher standards. Ryan Lochte had his moments too, but there
was only one Olympian who stole the show in the Aquatics Centre.
London 2012 started in shaky fashion for Michael Phelps. He finished fourth in the men’s 400m
individual medley, and was part of the 4x100m relay team that were beaten by an
inspired French squad.
Then, he was edged into silver by South African Chad le Clos in the 200m
butterfly, making Chad’s Dad an overnight internet phenomenon from his BBC
interview with presenter Claire Balding.
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| We won't see the likes of Michael Phelps again in sport |
Phelps’s silver did though equal the tally of 18 medals overall at the
Olympics, previously held by Larisa Latynina.
An hour later, Phelps made it 19 when he won his first gold in the games
– winning the 4x200m relay.
Three more gold medals followed, meaning he bowed out of the Olympics and
swimming with 22 Olympic medals – 18 of them being gold.
It is safe to say that we will never see the likes of Michael Phelps
again in sport.
The medal factory at
the velodrome
While British success in the pool was limited, the cycling velodrome has
become the medal factory in recent Olympics.
After effectively whitewashing the field in Beijing four years ago, the
track cycling governing body UCI, decided to crack down on such dominance, and
insist that each country had just one entry per event in the track cycling.
If they thought that they had done the right thing to stop supremacy,
then they were to be seriously mistaken.
Laura Trott and Jason Kenny took double gold, as Team GB stormed the main
prizes once again.
However, it would be the feat of two of Britain’s cycling legends that
took the accolades.
Victoria Pendleton made a messy start, after an illegal changeover which
was her fault, saw her and Jess Varnish disqualified from the women’s team
sprint.
She recovered 24 hours later to win the first ever women’s keirin, but
had to settle for silver in her final event, beaten by great rival, Australia’s
Anna Meares in the individual sprint.
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| Sir Chris Hoy became the most successful British Olympian and in style |
While Pendleton didn’t quite finish in style, Sir Chris Hoy certainly
did. Together with Kenny and Philip
Hindes – he won his fifth Olympic gold in the men’s team sprint.
He then returned to win the men’s keirin and overtake Sir Steve Redgrave,
to become the most successful British Olympian of all-time, with six gold
medals. While Pendleton has retired
totally – Hoy still might go on to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, but
won’t be back for Rio in 2016.
Overall, Team GB won eight gold’s, two silvers and two bronzes. Wiggins won BBC Sports Personality of the
Year and Dave Brailsford was Coach of the Year.
As cycling eras ended, the Olympics closed with some history in the
boxing ring.
There were gold medals for Luke Campbell and Anthony Ogogo, while Katie
Taylor became Ireland’s first gold medallist at the Olympics since 1996.
And Nicola Adams made her own history too – becoming the first ever
champion in women’s boxing at the Olympics, which was introduced this year.
Let’s not forget either a bronze for Tom Daley in diving or Charlotte
Dujardin taking double gold in a very successful equestrian team.
The Olympics definitely inspired a generation, and there was more to come
from the Paralympics a few weeks later.
Paralympic joy
It was time for the superheroes to perform on the main global stage and
they didn’t disappoint.
Team GB came third in this medal table too, achieving 34 gold’s, 43
silvers and 43 bronze medals. It was one
place below from four years ago, but crucially it was their biggest ever medal
tally at a Paralympics.
The best feats belonged to David Weir, Ellie Simmonds and Sarah Storey.
Storey won Britain’s first paralympic gold of London 2012, taking the
honours in the women’s individual C5 pursuit race.
Three more gold medals followed at Brands Hatch in Kent, including the
500m time trial C4-5 and the individual road race C4-5. She equalled the tally of the most Paralympic
gold’s of all-time by a British athlete in the process.
Weir matched Storey’s total of four gold medals in London, and he did his
work on the athletics track.
Competing in a wheelchair, he retained his 1500m title in the T54
category, and also triumphed in the 800m, 5000m and the marathon.
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| Ellie Simmonds was one of the stars in the Paralympics |
In the S6 swimming disability category, 18-year-old Simmonds won two gold
medals, in the 400m freestyle and the 200m individual medley – taking two world
records in the process. She won four
medals overall at the Aquatics Centre.
On a worldwide scale, South African Oscar Pistorius became the first
‘abled’ athlete to compete in both the Olympics and the Paralympics. He left London with two gold medals, a silver
medal and many more friends.
Italian Alessandro Zanardi produced one of the miracle stories of the
year. 11 years after losing both his
legs in a racing crash driving in Germany, the former Formula One driver won
two gold medals in the Hand bike category.
He took the honours in the individual time trial and road race,
and one relay silver medal. He is a true
inspiration to any athlete taking part in the Olympics or the Paralympics.
What an unbelievable summer it was and it will never be forgotten. The greatest show on earth absolutely
delivered.
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