Saturday 4 August 2012

I love the Olympics even more where we're winning!

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I'd still love them if we weren't - as I wrote before we started:

We'll see tears, smiles, rage, excitement and sheer exhaustion. And - for all our cynicism - we'll love the spectacle and marvel at the talent displayed. This is what the Olympics are about.

Today we saw all that and more - the expression of surprised delight on Kat Copeland's face, Mo Farah's daughter and pregnant wife rushing onto the track to celebrate his win and tens of thousands singing the National Anthem in celebration of Jess Ennis winning heptathlon gold.

There are still grumpy old curmudgeons who are trying not to be blown away by Michael Phelps' staggering achievements, who stick out their bottom lip unimpressed by the incredible near dead heat at the end of the women's triathlon and who chunter on about how much the event has cost rather than consider the real value of the Olympics.

It is a brilliant occasion - packed stadia, an Olympic park filled with delighted and delightful crowds and athletic performances to make us swell with pride. And not just patriotic fervour - although there's plenty of that - but an enthusiasm for the games themselves. Witness the massive roar that greeted Usain Bolt or the noise that accompanied the finish of the women's gymnastics.

I really do love the Olympics. And even more when we're winning!

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