Five days and counting to the start of the Olympics – Team GB are making final preparations for the biggest few weeks of their lives.

For me the Olympics isn’t just about the big showcase events like the 100m Final – don’t get me wrong I will be on the edge of my seat, biting my nails, as much as the next person – but for me it is the sports that only appear on our radar every four years; judo, fencing, badminton and the mind boggling cycling ’team pursuit’ (where cyclists propel each other around the track). Let’s be honest how many of us had watched a full game of badminton doubles before Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson rocketed onto our screens to win Silver in Athens?

After being lucky enough to have worked with a number of Olympic athletes from all sporting disciplines, during the Easynet Team GB campaign, I have been truly inspired by the stories of challenge, dedication, commitment, preparation and shear courage. One Olympian explained to me that you have to imagine standing on the start line of the biggest thing you have ever wanted to do. Imagine not being able to step over that line because you were too scared of what the consequences might be? And what you realise when you find yourself in that position is that by crossing the line the battle is already half won.  Many people show up but are unable to find the courage to take the biggest risk – that of failure.

I have become rather used to receiving regular updates into my inbox from the British Olympic Association (BOA) as to the selection of teams and individuals, but the ones that really grab my attention are those that inform that an injury resulting in an athlete withdrawing. Reading this it sounds a rather mundane piece of news and it really doesn’t express the devastation of an athlete that has probably trained and dedicated their life for one moment at the Olympic Games only to have to wait another four years for the opportunity.

Team GB deserves our full support to cross over the start line and let’s not forget the athletes that have missed out and hope that they are back in the game for London 2012.

By Lisa Parfitt on August 4th, 2008

Tags: Cycling, London 2012, Olympics

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