You knew it was going to be a superb Olympics from the moment Celine Dion belted out an Edith Piaf classic from the Eiffel Tower. And nothing since has disappointed – not least commentator Mark Chapman having to say things like ‘She was late with her eskimo roll’ during the incomprehensible kayak cross. But amid such a banquet of sporting greatness, what to single out? This has been a fantastic Games for women. And remember that the founder of the Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin, was opposed to the participation of female athletes, largely to preserve their dignity. Different times admittedly, but even so the 1500m became an event for women only in 1972, and the marathon only in 1984. Look what they’re achieving now.
Amid such a banquet of sporting greatness, what to
single out?
There’s Keely Hodgkinson of course, electrifying in the 800m. Hodgkinson is now one of the world’s best-known athletes, and guaranteed the considerable rewards she so deserves. Like Kelly Holmes, Sebastian Coe, Steve Cram and Steve Ovett, she should be one of the legendary British middle-distance runners whose name is always on our lips.
The mixed 4x400m relay didn’t make its Olympic debut until Tokyo three years ago. All credit to the Games for reflecting the era’s spirit of inclusivity, which may or may not have gone too far with that boxer who has an overload of testosterone. But the relay produced one of this year’s great moments. Femke Bol is a tall, willowy multiple world champion, specialising in the 400m hurdles. It was her job to anchor the Dutch team in the tipping rain on Saturday. When she took the baton, the Dutch were fourth. Bol had an inconceivable amount of work to do but surged forward on the final bend, gradually overhauling her rivals before moving past the USA’s Kaylyn Brown in the last strides. Superhuman barely does it justice.
You wouldn’t want to be watching an Olympics without needing the tissues every now and then for a heartbreaking human interest story. And so it was on the rowing lake as the British women’s quadruple sculls took gold with the final stroke of the race. Lola Anderson was in the third seat on the boat. Wonderfully articulate, charming and funny, Anderson later revealed what had been her inspiration. As a 14-year-old in 2012, she’d written in her diary of her dream of rowing at the Olympics and winning gold for Britain. Afterwards, embarrassed, she ripped out the page and threw it away. Her father Don, also a rower, found it in the bin and kept it. Seven years later he handed it back to her. He had terminal cancer and wanted her to know that even if she didn’t back herself, her family and loved ones did. Two months later he died. Now the note is Anderson’s most treasured possession. ‘I know that he’d be so, so proud,’ she said after the race. ‘I’m thinking a lot about him right now.’
Any parent who has forked out for a trampoline in the garden and likes to watch fondly as their offspring jump can now cherish some full-strength Olympic hopes, thanks to a 33-year-old from Crewe. Bryony Page picked up her remarkable trampoline gold with a jaw-dropping show, flying, spinning, tucking and bouncing, all at the height of a three-storey house. Pure acrobatics and incomprehensibly courageous. She went into the contest as world champion and now has the complete Olympic set, having won silver in Rio and bronze in Tokyo. Next she wants to fulfil her childhood dream and join the Cirque du Soleil, the stunning Canadian show. From what I have seen of them at the Albert Hall she will fit in perfectly. Book your tickets now.
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