Sunday 5 August 2012

You can stick your 100m up your chuff


Tonight, around half a dozen "ordinary" members of the public will join 80,000 members of the Royal family, BBC employees, media types, celebrities, politicians, socialites and general hangers-on for the Olympic men's 100 metres final.

But I would not swap a seat in the stadium tonight for my grandstand ticket which allowed me into Eton Dorney on Thursday past.  It was, without hesitation, the best live sporting experience I have had and I expect never to top it.

If you haven't heard (and you must've heard), Alan Campbell won bronze for Team GB(&NI) in the men's single sculls, taking Coleraine to 33rd in the overall medals table after the Chambers brothers' success the previous day.

And he was magnificent.


It was clear from shortly after halfway that gold and silver were beyond him.  And, as he passed us with around 250 metres to go, Alan (closest to the camera below) was involved in a colossal battle with the Swede for bronze. 

   
But, as the line got closer (below, far left), he dug incredibly deep to secure his hard-earned place in Olympic history.  


And if you want to know just what it took out of him and what it meant, click here to see some remarkably raw footage of him being helped by Mr Olympics himself, Sir Steve Redgrave.

Afterwards, medal around his neck, Alan rowed back to the stands to thank the crowd for driving him over the line.

  
Even Jamie was impressed.


I'm heading back to Coleraine tomorrow for just over a week and I expect the success of our three medal-winning rowers to still be the talk of the town.  The good patrons of the Railway Arms, where I expect to spend a significant amount of my time, will never believe me when I tell them where I was on Thursday.  

Best take my camera with me.