Olympics

The Olympic Games held in London last year have been critically acclaimed as one of the best Olympic games ever, possibly the best ever. The fortnight over which the games took place was strange in Britain; it is rare that the country comes together. Yet for the course of the Olympic Games the country was mesmerised by the success of our athletes. Andy Murray beat Roger Federer to win gold after his defeat in the Wimbledon final less than a month earlier. Chris Hoy finished his Olympic career in style and became Britain’s most decorated Olympian. Jessica Ennis won a gold and Mo Farah won two bringing joy to many Britons. Note the multi-ethnic nature of Britain’s success. Foreign success was also aplenty, Michael Phelps added six medals – including four golds – to his Olympic chest and Usain Bolt once again triumphed.

Cycling was Britain’s greatest success, Team GB won eight of 18 available golds, no other country managed more than one. Rowing was Team GB’s other major success, bringing in four more golds. In the end Team GB finished third in the overall medals table with 29 gold meals and 65 in total.

Mo Farah looking astonished as he won fold
source: mirror.co.uk

The Paralympic Games were indisputably the greatest ever; they too had success for Britain. Millions cheered on athletes with a range of disabilities. Most famous was Ellie Simmons who swam her way to two golds, a silver and a bronze.

Yet there were some things about the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics that were just as important but had nothing to do with sport. London 2012 was the first Olympic games in which every National Olympic Committee sent female competitors. Saudi Arabian athlete Sarah Attar became the first female Saudi to compete in a track and field event. Despite finishing a full lap behind her competitors in her 800m heat, she was given a standing ovation by the crowds in the Olympic Stadium to mark her historic run. Oscar Pistorious became the first disabled athlete to compete in the Olympics. The Paralympic Games in 2012 were also the first to sell out and a record 164 countries participated, 18 more than at Beijing. David Cameron said something quite moving later that year at the Conservative Party Conference, something that brought his wife Samantha to tears. The Cameron’s son, Ivan, died three years ago, he was severely disabled and in a wheelchair.

“When I used to push my son Ivan around in his wheelchair, I always thought that some people saw the wheelchair, not the boy.

Today more people would see the boy and not the wheelchair – and that’s because of what happened here this summer.”