May the Norse be with you

The closing Saturday evening of the Games was always destined to be a highlight for me.  I had bought tickets to the final night in the Athletics stadium, and would have had the opportunity to see Mo Farah and Usain Bolt exchange poses with one another.

However, despite my ticket-holding, my evening plans were always aimed towards the North end of the Olympic Park.  One of my very close friends is a Norwegian, and a long time ago, I promised her that I would attend the final of the Women’s Handball tournament with her – a game which would very likely include Norway, where Women’s Handball is perceived as the pre-eminent Olympic sport.  So, I stayed loyal to my friend, and gave someone else the chance to see Farah run 5,000m (note that I have already seen him win the 10,000m), and Bolt run 100m (I have already seen him win the 200m).

Where better to play the Handball Final that the...... ummm...... Basketball Arena.  I can only assume that Norway was empty last night, as the entire population seemed to be present at the venue.  After 14 days of attending partisan GB venues, here was a staunchly partisan Norwegian venue.

I’m no expert in Handball, so can’t comment on whether the performance I witnessed was good, bad or indifferent, but it was certainly entertaining.  Handball is a sport which has virtually no history in this country, but I think there is a great opportunity for the popularity of the sport in this country to grow exponentially over the coming years.  It has been one of the success stories of London2012.

To the game itself – it was a close finish, and I’m pleased to report that Norway were successful in the end, to win just their second Gold Medal of these Games.  My friend went home very satisfied!!

And, as I’ve done before, I’ll close a post with a National Anthem: