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Well it’s been nonstop since I last wrote. Last time I was just about to board a plane to Beijing and now here I am with the Olympic Games in full flow. When I first arrived I went to Xian to meet the team for a training camp. Most of the divers had been there in February for a test event so were familiar with the pool and facilities. Before arriving at the camp the team went to the Olympic Village to get a feel for the place. Before going I had set them a series of things to find out such as how long it takes to get from one place to another, what buses they needed to get. I’d also told them to visit the Team GB headquarters where all the physios and doctors are so if they need them they know where to go.
The training camp was really good fun and thankfully injury free! It wasn’t all about diving, we did a sports quiz and the divers had fun on the driving range. I did some video footage of them all and have some great filming of Tom Daley, attempting to play golf!!!
The training camp was also a great opportunity for me to get back into training. Obviously I am not competing any more but remaining fit is very important to me.
And then on the 5th August it was to Beijing for the Olympic Games. Did you see the amazing opening ceremony? I was lucky enough to watch it from the BBC studio, which overlooks the Birds Nest (the Olympic stadium) so I had a fantastic view of the fireworks. I am staying in a fantastic hotel in the middle of Olympic Park along with the other members of the BBC team.
Two days into the games it was straight into commentating for me, for the Women’s 3 metre synchro final. The next day was the big one! Tom Daley and Blake Aldridge in the Men’s 10 metre platform synchro final. They finished in 8th place and since then there has been a huge amount of media attention on the pair, which I have been heavily involved with. In fact, my phone just hasn’t stop ringing!
Today I have been commentating on the Women’s 10m platform synchronised event. Our girls dived really well but finished in 8th place. I was very disappointed with the scores as believe they deserved to finish in 4th place. It’s tough on the overall team as we haven’t been getting the results we hoped for. In my role as mentor I have to be there to support the team and give those still to compete a boost!!
On a positive note I am really enjoying commentating and have had some great feedback! I am so passionate and enthusiastic about diving and the feedback I have had is that my enthusiasm is coming across in my commentary. It’s great to be part of such an amazing Olympic Games. The Chinese have organised a fantastic event. Everything is running so smoothly, the security is top notch and the games just have a great feel to them!
There’s already been a few Olympic medals for Team GB in the cycling and swimming. This morning the first British male won a silver medal in the canoe slalom. It’s great news as I was getting stick from the female presenters that it was ‘The Chicks Olympics’, so it’s fantastic to hear that the men now have a medal under their belt.
As for Tom Daley, he is now firmly focused on his individual competition. He’ll have a few days to recover from the synchronised event and then back into training. As his mentor I had a chat with him earlier and told him he’s got the experience, now he needs to go and show everyone what he can do. You’ll have to watch next week but I am sure we will see Tom at his best!
And finally the team at www.yougo4it.co.uk have challenged me to say “Tom Daley yougo4it” when I am commentating his event so I will do my best!
Come back next week to find out what I am up to in the second week of the Olympic Games.
Leon x
Date: 20/8/2008
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