Its been a while since i last wrote in my blog (65 days infact).
The London 2012 Olympic games ended last night and boy what an event it was. To me, the games didnt take place in the last two weeks, but back on the 6th June 2005, when we we won the bidding process. I remember watching this on a tiny TV at work. Never expecting to beat the French. But when IOC chairman Jacques Rogge said “awarded to the city of London” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjqb9dX-TVc) it was a sensational experience. Of course, 24 hours later London was in turmoil, the Olympic bid victory faded away when 7/7 happened. It paused a country’s celebration…..
Each year went by, the Olympics getting closer. On going Development work to transform this:
Into this:
Before we knew it, tickets were put on sale (i still think the process was a shambles, leaving many empty handed) and the Olympic Torch relay started (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Summer_Olympics_torch_relay). Between 19 May and 27 July 2012 8000 people ran with the torch over 8000 miles. It was a carnival atmosephere. The entire Oxford route (http://www.oxford.gov.uk/2012olympics) was lined up with people, young and old. I was lucky enough to see the torch go past me at Morrell Avenue, Oxford on the 9th July. The MET police who followed the torch all over the country were giving high fives to the people who waited. After the torch passed i had tickets to the Celebration evening in South Park, just about seeing the cauldron being lit. 18 days later, the Olympic games were officially open.
The opening ceremony was breathtaking, i MUST get this on DVD to watch in years to come. Danny Boyle set a new bar for hosts to come. British music blared out throughout the evening. One memorable song that will remind me of these games is David Bowie’s “Heros” which was played during the ceremony. I thought to myself, we could be flops, so much pressure would be put on these athletes and no way would we better Bejing 2008. How wrong was i.
I have never watched so much sport in the space of two weeks. BBC’s online (multi streams) and TV channels (24 HD channels) covered EVERY event that was happening. It is easily the best coverage ever produced in the country. I even watched games on my phone whilst travelling home from work. I don’t think our TV had anything but the BBC on during the games and that isnt an understatement. I cannot name all the winnners in this blog. The medal table below speaks for itself…
| Rank | NOC | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States (USA) |
46 | 29 | 29 | 104 |
| 2 |  China (CHN) |
38 | 27 | 23 | 88 |
| 3 |  Great Britain (GBR)* |
29 | 17 | 19 | 65 |
| 4 |  Russia (RUS) |
24 | 26 | 32 | 82 |
| 5 |  South Korea (KOR) |
13 | 8 | 7 | 28 |
| 6 |  Germany (GER) |
11 | 19 | 14 | 44 |
| 7 |  France (FRA) |
11 | 11 | 12 | 34 |
| 8 |  Italy (ITA) |
8 | 9 | 11 | 28 |
| 9 |  Hungary (HUN) |
8 | 4 | 5 | 17 |
| 10 |  Australia (AUS) |
7 | 16 | 12 | 35 |
| Total (85 NOCs) | 302 | 304 | 356 | 962 | |
And the winners:
| Athlete |  |
 |
 |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 HOY Sir ChrisGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 KENNY JasonGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 FARAH MoGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 DUJARDIN CharlotteGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 TROTT LauraGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 MURRAY AndyGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
 PENDLETON VictoriaGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
 BECHTOLSHEIMER LauraGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 CLANCY EdGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 WIGGINS BradleyGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 ENNIS JessicaGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 BRASH ScottGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 CHARLES PeterGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 BAILLIE TimGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 STOTT EtienneGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 MCKEEVER EdGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 COPELAND KatherineGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 HOSKING SophieGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 JAMES TomGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 REED PeterGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 AINSLIE BenGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 STANNING HeatherGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 WATKINS AnnaGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 BURKE StevenGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 BROWNLEE AlistairGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 ADAMS NicolaGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 CAMPBELL LukeGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 JOSHUA AnthonyGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 JONES JadeGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 WILSON PeterGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 HESTER CarlGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 MAHER BenGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 SKELTON NickGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 GRAINGER KatherineGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 GREGORY AlexGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 KENNAUGH PeterGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 RUTHERFORD GregGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 TRIGGS HODGE AndrewGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 HINDES PhilipGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 GLOVER HelenGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 KING DaniGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 ROWSELL JoannaGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 THOMAS GeraintGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 SMITH LouisGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 COOK KristinaGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 JAMIESON MichaelGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 MURRAY SamanthaGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 OHURUOGU ChristineGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 GIBBONS GemmaGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 ROBSON LauraGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 PURCHASE ZacGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 ARMITSTEAD LizzieGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 WILSON NicolaGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 PHILLIPS ZaraGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 KING MaryGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 FOX – PITT WilliamGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 EVANS FredGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 WILLIAMS RobGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 BITHELL StuartGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 CLARK SaskiaGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 DEMPSEY NickGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 MILLS HannahGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 PATIENCE LukeGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 PERCY IainGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 SIMPSON AndrewGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 HUNTER MarkGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 BARTLEY ChrisGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 CHAMBERS PeterGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 CHAMBERS RichardGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 FLORENCE DavidGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 HOUNSLOW RichardGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 ADLINGTON RebeccaGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
 WHITLOCK MaxGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
 SCHOFIELD JonGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 HEATH LiamGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 EGINGTON RichardGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 FOAD JamesGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 HILL PhelanGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 SATCH WillGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 SBIHI MohamedGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 SEARLE GregGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 LANGRIDGE MatthewGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 LOULOUDIS ConstantineGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 NASH GeorgeGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 PARTRIDGE AlexGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 BROWNLEE JonnyGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 OGOGO AnthonyGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 MUHAMMAD LutaloGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 CAMPBELL AlanGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 RANSLEY TomGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 FROOME ChristopherGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 TWIGG GeorgieGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 UNSWORTH LauraGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 MACLEOD HannahGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 PANTER AnneGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 BALL AshleighGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 BARTLETT LauraGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 CULLEN CristaGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 DANSON AlexGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 MAGUIRE EmilyGreat Britain & N. Ireland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Final verdict:
To me and everyone in Britain, this was THE best Olympic games ever. I dont think i can say i have ever felt sad and lost when a sporting event finishes. But the fact we had 7 years of this to look forward too and now its all over causes this. GB had the best Olympics for 104 years in our own back yard and i am so proud to say i embraced it and enjoyed every last second of it.
Mark Lambourne's Blog 
Hi Mark,
I agree – the best ever. Loved the opening and closing ceremonies. Will never forget the sight of the Olympic rings forged in molten steel being brought together above the Stadium and Andy Murray winning the Gold against Federer.