It was great to see some live Olympics for the 1st time today. An announcement was made at work and people promptly gathered around the TV for the much anticipated 110m hurdles heat. The usually quiet reception area was humming and felt like I imagine the Queen's coronation might have been like for many people back in 1952- lots of people huddled round the nearest TV set. The Chinese athlete Liu Xiang was running and after the disappointment of Beijing 2008, the pressure was on. There was a palpable sense of excitement as people chattered about the events of 4 years ago during the pre-race build up. The gun went and the race began and was over with a few seconds, as Xiang literally fell at the first hurdle.
I was focussed on the British guy in lane 7, who shortly won, but the rest of the room was silent. I held up my arms to celebrate a win for the UK and was about to shout hurray, when I detected this would not be wise. No-one was crying but no-one spoke either. The CCTV channel played and replayed the fall from every possible angle, for another 10 minutes. Eventually they brought out a presenter who sighed deeply and struggled to find any words.
My heart was with poor Xiang who probably felt the billion strong weight of his nation willing him on. How wonderful to have so many people supporting you, but what crippling disapointment he will face now.
He heriocally hopped the rest of the course and at the finish was helped to his waiting wheelchair by the British winner. Congrats to Andy Turner, not only for his speed but also for being a nice guy too.
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