As soon as it was confirmed that the Olympics would come to London, we decided that we wanted to go and be a part of it. After all, opportunities like this don't come round very often. We weren't successful in our bid, so we thought we'd go for Paralympic tickets. So, on Sunday morning at the first parp of the farting sparrow, we headed off to catch the train to Stratford. As an exercise in organisation, it was excellent. There were people on the station to make sure you found the right train. Arriving at Stratford, there were numerous signs and helpers to guide us from the station to the Olympic Park. Getting in was painless. security was thorough and efficient. To the soldier who had to frisk me because my belt set the alarm off, I would like to say, "Thanks mate, and I like your sense of humour".
We had really good seats in the stadium (which is amazing and not as big as it looks on the telly), about a dozen rows from the track side. We saw a variety of track and field events in our morning session. I won't list them - you can Google the session should you wish to. I have to say that the level of competition was far higher than I had expected. In particular the T11/12 sprinters, who are so visually impaired that they had guide runners, were so fast. Here are a selection from the 400 pictures that I took:
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| We were seated quite early. |
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| The events for the morning session |
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| No empty seats |
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| Stef Reid winning silver in the long jump |
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| Tracey Hinton and her guide runner starting the 200m semi final |
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| Men's 100m round 1 |
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| Men's 1500m |
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| Men's 400m |
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| Women's 100m start |
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| Men's 100m start |
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| Women's 5000m |
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| Edith Wolf - Gold Medal Women's 5000m |
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| Aled Davies - Gold Medal Men's Discus |
Looking back, I'm a bit ashamed to say that these wouldn't have been my first choice. How wrong was I?
There's been such a change to the impact of the Paralympics this time, it's amazing. And a change in attitude too, the people are seen as real athletes.
ReplyDeleteWow - looks like a great atmosphere. And nice shot of the Pixel Diva at the top!
ReplyDeleteWe went too, but to Greenwich Park to see the dressage... I loved it. The whole atmosphere from the moment we stepped out of the station at Greenwich was just wonderful... don't you think that the whole country seems nicer?! Perhaps because we have had good news every day... good for the soul.
ReplyDeleteLovely post... and your photos are superb. x
I wonder if being a scrofulous knave qualifies one for competitive entry to the paralympics? Or at least a discount at the gate?
ReplyDeleteDid you think to pop into Buck-House whilst in London to seek the royal cure for 'The King's Evil'? I'm sure H M EIIR could spare a moment and a quick pat on the head to de-scrofulise such a stalwart Knight of the realm Sir B.
It was splendid. And the photos are terrific.
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