I would be required to be sporty and excellent regardless of
my pubescent pudge and short legs. I did
fairly well at the event called “getting out of it,” I cited long-term asthma (actually it was eczema,
but I thought if they sounded alike then they must be the same) as a sick note
from long distance badges in swimming and I had dodgy knees for about 3 years
every time the 1500m race came around.
In fact the only event I did compete in on Sports day was Shot-Putt. Insert your own jokes here, I have heard them
all and am still embarrassed about it!!
No wonder I was a podgy little teen and how I transformed
into the running freak I am today completing a half marathon last year I will
never know!
Hardly Ennis-worthy but I felt proud! |
If I am honest, I felt a similar dread as the Olympics
loomed earlier this year. I joined in
the moaning Londoners ranting on about transport failure, road closures and “look
what happened to the Greek economy after Athens 2004, that’s all I’m saying.” My previous Olympic viewing was limited to
Sally Gunnell and Linford Christie’s famous one-piece so I didn’t even feel
compelled to enter the ticket bid.
But what an uneducated fool I was.
From the moment I caught the last hours of the opening
ceremony in the Dunstable Wetherspoons I was enchanted by the honour and
spectacle and succumbed to all of the hype. What a grand and self-aware piece
of brilliance to be proud of. I cannot
say anything more unique about the outstanding ceremony than has not already
been enthused about in the media but I feel
compelled to hold my hands up and say I was wrong.
What a fascinating and inspiring two weeks this will
be. Lord Coe & Co (haha!) chose the
word “inspire” as a slogan for London 2012 and it was the perfect description for
the events of last night in the Athletic stadium. Nobody, not even this reluctant convert
eating a take-away, could fail to be moved by the sheer brilliance and national
adoration for Jessica Ennis, followed by the bounding legs of Greg Rutherford
and then the drive and endurance of Mo Farah whose win was incredible. And what about the cycling girls? The eldest is still only 23 and those 3 women
keep breaking world records every time they mount their bikes and speed around
the Velodrome. The rowers, cyclists and
athletes are out-of-this-world brilliant.
I don’t want to find excuses anymore. I admit I haven’t tried to run 10,000m today
or cycle really fast but I certainly feel invigorated by the Olympics; the actions and discipline of the Team GB
athletes can be applied to us all. The
dedication and focus required to achieve greatness wouldn’t go amiss in my own
life. If I practised my craft to that
extent every day, was focused on my goals and believed wholeheartedly in
myself and my abilities I could be anything I want to be.
Would I be a more successful writer, actress
or person if I had a tenth of that drive?
Too right I would!
So I feel a bit mad at myself today for not attempting the
1500m when I was 13 and for not pushing myself more as an adult in my career. My awe and wonder at those athletes will
hopefully obliterate any laziness and “can’t do, so I won’t bother” attitude
and help me discover some much needed energy and drive.
Why can’t I be a great Briton in Great Britain? London 2012 could make us all believe in
ourselves and what an inspiration that could be.
Such a truthful artical, and I think you are totally right about how we can all learn and take something from these amazing athletes. Thanks for making that clearer to me :-) and congrats on the half marathon xx
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