Marathon course
Last year I managed to buy some Olympic tickets conveniently concentrated around the middle weekend. I missed out in the main ballot, but managed to get the tickets everyone wanted - fencing, synchronised swimming and athletic heats - in the second chance offer.
After the opening ceremony and the gripping cycling events of the first week I was highly excited by the time it came to see some live events. I pulled on my London 2012 top and set forth for an Olympic filled weekend.
Fencing arena
On the Saturday morning mum, dad, Ruth and I had tickets for the women's fencing épée heats at the Excel centre. The transport and security checks were incredibly efficient and we had our first experience of the friendly London 2012 volunteers as we entered the Excel centre.
The fencing arena looked very cool lit up between boats, but the fencing itself was a bit less exciting. We were tucked right into one corner (cheap tickets) and didn't have the greatest view. It was also a bit confusing to work out what was going on quite a lot of the time.
The competitors both seemed to hit each other simultaneously and you had to follow the scoreboard or their illuminating helmets to work out who had actually scored. The boats were three minutes long, but they frequently stopped early for reasons I couldn't fathom.
The biggest cheers of the day were reserved for the rowing being shown on a big screen, so I don't think we were the only ones not to understand the fencing!
Women's marathon
We didn't have any tickets for the Sunday, but decided to head into the centre of town to watch the women's marathon. We took up a spot near St Pauls in the driving rain and waited for the runners to come past. We were standing at the eight mile mark and the main group of leaders was still in a big bunch.
Following my run coaching sessions I was keen to check out the technique of some elite runners. I was surprised to see some heel strikers amongst them and a few athletes who were more my shape then elite looking runners!
The first two days of my Olympic weekend were a slow burner. I was looking forward to visiting the main Olympic park.
I think the fencers have to wear all the garb for exactly the reason you describe: otherwise nobody would know who had been hit first!
ReplyDelete