Help our athletes

Ever since we were handed the Olympics in 2005, we’ve been sold the idea that we’re a nation of sports lovers. I won’t mention the obesity crisis. But at least Strictly Come Dancing beat X Factor in the Saturday night ratings this year. I don’t know many people who play sport once they build their careers or have children. But there are those who make it work, come rain or shine. And even when they’re juggling two jobs so they can actually compete in their sport. So it’s highly disappointing to see this weekend’s headlines that many athletes’ funding will be cut.

I don’t know who is responsible for this decision within the WCPP (World Class Performance Programme) but in this crucial year, it’s hard not to feel angered on behalf of the dedicated athletes who are losing out. I might not be able to compete in anything other than toddler wrestling, but for those who can and want to be there for their country, it’s a shame all those sports lovers in power aren’t helping them more. After all, can you imagine Beijing’s athletes having to stack shelves in the supermarket?

Sportswoman of the year

Having blogged about Mark Cavendish’s achievements back in September, I feel its only fair to big up the achievements of Taekwondo champion Sarah Stevenson. She has just been named Sportswoman of the year 2011.

Now I know what you’re thinking. You’ve never seen Taekwondo either. So I’ve done a bit of digging and have found out that she won a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics. She then took time out to care for her terminally ill parents. Both her mother and father were diagnosed at the beginning of this year with cancer and a brain tumour respectively. So it’s amazing that she then went on to win the World Championships in Korea in May. In addition, she beat Open Water World Champion Keri-Anne Payne, swimmer Rebecca Adlington and jockey Hayley Turner to the award. Not bad.

But what’s especially great about this is the fact that a sport that many of us don’t know has been recognised. And what’s more, we should celebrate all of the finalists’ achievements, particularly in the shocking absence of any women on this year’s BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year list. Shame on you BBC!

The competition's hotting up

News about next year’s Olympics is coming in thick and fast these days. The TV was jam packed with Olympics ads, and this has been tempered only by the arrival of Christmas. I expect January to burst off the blocks with more of these fancy ads. It seems every athlete has been signed up by big sponsors to push their brand. Is there anyone not sponsoring Jess Ennis?! I just hope the ads become a little more diverse. At the moment, they just make me feel guilty for not exercising more. I want those sculpted arms, but even more so, I want a ticket to see an actual event.

We’ve had a run on ticket competitions of late – particularly galling was the competition on The Sun’s website. You had to pay £3.50 to enter to win. I wonder if this money is going back into the Games? With News International behind them, I doubt it. But they’re not the only ones. LloydsTSB, First Direct, Visa and Proctor & Gamble (Fairy, Flash & Lenor etc) have already been giving away top tickets. This feels like short change for Londoners whose tax is subsidising the Games. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned by now, it’s that money and sport go hand in hand. And that’s probably why I don’t have tickets…

2017 World Athletics Championships

Well, we must be doing something right when it comes to next year’s Olympics. If you hadn’t already heard, London has just been awarded the 2017 World Athletics Championships. Which means the Olympic Stadium will be polished and shined for a few more years once the London 2012 games are over. I love the fact that David Cameron’s statement included these words: “We look forward to welcoming athletes and fans from the world over to our vibrant, multicultural, sports-mad capital."

Now these are words I’d never thought I’d hear used to describe our capital back in 2000. Sports-mad?! The only thing that ever got London’s pulse racing in terms of sport before seemed to be the crowd control at London Bridge station when Milwall and West Ham fans were passing through to go to away matches.

Are we really sports mad? For two weeks of summer, we grab our tennis racquets as the lure of Wimbledon entices us to knock a few balls around the nearest council court. And then we go back indoors to switch our TV sets on and see who is grunting the loudest. We then proceed to slag off our British hopeful as he fails to make it to another semi-final or, these days, dare I even say, final.

Cynicism aside, this is an amazing achievement. It’s also great news for the future of the stadium and all those people who’ve been involved in bringing London 2012 to fruition. And I’m kind of proud to be a part of a ‘sports-mad’ community, no matter how big or small. Right, time for a walk perhaps?

The toughest crowd

A familiar face loomed out of the pages of yesterday’s London Evening Standard. At first, I couldn’t place her, but then I read the caption: Suzie O’Neill, hides her pain after getting silver in Sydney. Of course! Suzie O’Neill the swimmer was Australia’s equivalent of London’s Jessica Ennis or Chris Hoy. She had the hopes of the nation piled high on her shoulders and in her star event, the 200 metres butterfly, she was cruelly pipped at the post by American Misty Hyman.

She’s now in town talking to London’s athletes about the pressure of performing at a Home Games. For me, the hardest part of her story was the fact it has taken 10 years for her to properly process her loss. She was devastated and couldn’t even look at any footage surrounding the Games for many years.

It’s an interesting read, particularly when you realise how much extra energy she spent doing things like signing autographs and talking to people wherever she went. This sounds simple, but actually, for a focused athlete, it must be trying at times. All in all, Suzie’s interview outlines just how precious the chance to compete at an Olympics is for athletes. And while the rest of us can only begin to imagine what they go through to get there, it’s often what happens afterwards that gives us their full story.

Diary entry from Sydney 2000 Opening Ceremony

Well, the crowd was huge: 100,000 people and 3.7 billion watching on TV. The biggest peacetime event. But in our little corner, you only saw the media boxes and VIP bit in front of us and it was easy to relax and it wasn’t until you looked over your shoulder that you realised what was behind; a sea of people, torches glowing. And when they cheered, you couldn’t help but be affected. The defining moment for me was when Australia came on: the roar from the crowd pricked your senses, you watched and admired the huge team as they took in the view walking past you. I could smell the athletes they were so close; body cologne and aftershaves from all around the world. Wow. Not to mention the third time I’ve seen Pat Rafter this week – I swear he’s stalking me! (Sorry, got distracted, a couple of Coogee lifeguards just walked past…!)

Anyway, when Team GB walked past, I don’t think I recognised one of them! The track and field team weren’t there and it was kind of disappointing. They were all dressed in tracksuit tops; men in blue, women in white, and all mashed in together. Not particularly eye catching at all. Not smart and chic like some of the other teams. Notably, Italy in navy blue blazers and each athlete had a different colour of trousers on – red, yellow, green and blue – it was great. The Dutch looked good too in their orange blazers and so did the African countries. Swaziland was cool as they did an African dance on their way round. Mongolia had what looked like a sumo wrestler carrying their flag and he was dressed like one too! Japan was wearing coloured kite/cape type things on their backs. Canada looked good in their beach hats. Yep, it was lovely. So then India and Italy were behind us and the atmosphere was wicked. Golly, my hand is hurting from writing; I’ve got to stop for a bit!!! All too exciting for words.

Ambassador Becks

Just seen this headline on The Telegraph website: David Beckham says winning Olympic gold would be 'ultimate achivement'. Apart from the glaring spelling mistake, I thought it would be the perfect antidote for my previous doom and gloom post. You can always rely on the man who has everything to put a positive spin on just about anything. But it’s good to hear he’s praising the Olympics this week when much of the coverage by journalists is so flat right now. Could they be in the midst of choosing who’s going to light the Olympic cauldron I wonder?