I want to ride my............

Yesterday was the first occasion in this Olympics when it occurred to me that we are entering the closing stretch of the Games.  Every day so far, I have lived for the moment of the day, with the overriding view that the event will still exist into the longer term.  As my ticket yesterday was for the last session of the Track Cycling, it made me think that we will soon be experiencing the last day of several other significant sports.

In the months when I was a ticket-hunter, yesterday’s session was always in the top 2 or 3 of my wanted list, for the entire Games.  There was a genuine chance of 3 GB Gold Medals in the session, which I wasn’t expecting to witness any other time (as it happened, I have already achieved that milestone in the Athletics stadium last Saturday)...

Why are Track Cycling tickets so sought-after?  Well, the Athletics Stadium has 80,000 seats and 15 sessions, meaning an availability of 1.2million seats during the Games.  The Velodrome has just 6,000 seats and 9 sessions, so there were just 54,000 opportunities to attend the Cycling.  I was very very pleased to get 4 of those 54,000 tickets in my name.

Yesterday’s session, as well as being the last to take place at that venue, was also a chance to see a true British Sporting great in Sir Chris Hoy (or... simply... “Chris Hoy”... as the IOC calls him)...  I remember a British TV programme from a few years ago, where people voted for the 100 Greatest moments in Sporting History.  Number 1, ahead even of England’s World Cup win, was Sir Steve Redgrave’s 5th Olympic Gold Medal, from Sydney. Yesterday, I had the honour of seeing Sir Chris surpass Sir Steve in a joust of the knights, and take his 6th Gold Medal.

Again, I will call out the influence of the crowd in making this an unforgettable occasion.  There was a moment on the last lap of Hoy’s race when he appeared to be in line for defeat.  Then, he found a final burst of pace, willed on by a passionate crowd, and reached the line first.

It was also a great day for the next generation of British Cycling, as Laura Trott took a thrilling Gold Medal in the last seconds of the Omnium event – again, willed on by a passionate home support.... and, on the topic of the support, everywhere I have gone in London for these past two weeks, everyone has been talking about the Olympics.  Passengers on packed trains are busy looking for the latest results in the newspapers or on their Smartphones.  Union flags are either worn on clothing or carried around.  This fine city truly is gripped with Olympic fever.

I have also been to see another new venue – the Riverbank Arena – which is used for the Field Hockey competition.  One of my earliest Olympic memories is from Seoul in 1988, when the Great Britain Men’s Hockey team won the Gold Medal, beating Germany in the final.  I still remember Barry Davies’s iconic commentary... “where WERE the Germans?...... but, frankly... who cares?”, and it was a pleasure for me to be attending a Hockey match here in London for which Davies, now aged 74, was providing the TV commentary, no more than 50 yards away from me.

I know that there are some American visitors to this Blog, so this photo is just for you......

The final game of the day saw Team GB take on the Netherlands.  GB’s captain, Kate Walsh, suffered a broken jaw last week, and has had a titanium plate fitted to it, however she still took up her place in the centre of the GB defence, and played the full game.  In contrast, most £100k per week Premiership footballers would take a month off with a broken fingernail...

Lastly, some sad news, as Olympic fan Conrad Readman sadly died at the Velodrome during last Friday’s finals.  Conrad had bought tickets for all 17 days of the Games, and was half way through his Olympic odyssey, when he suffered a fatal heart attack.  Rest In Peace, Conrad.