Recharge the batteries

I blinked and now it is over, what a whirlwind experience Rio2016 has been. Athletes talk about living in the bubble of the Olympic Games, I have realised that it is by no means limited to the elite, I just do not want this bubble to burst. The party atmosphere in Rio upped a number of notches on Saturday night when the Brazilian football team made history with their first ever Olympic Gold in the men’s game. It is hard to believe that a football fanatic country with such pedigree in the sport had yet to win the Olympic title. This coincided with the conclusion of the Modern Pentathlon event and Team GB’s historical hockey victory, it was a night to remember.

The celebrations for Brazil continued as they completed their most successful Games with another gold on the final day in the volleyball. This was incomparable though to the unprecedented medal haul that TeamGB will return home with. It has actually been impossible to keep count on the medal tally during the final week. As the sole Brit in the sports presentation team I had to contain my excitement.

The Modern Pentathlon venue was only a stones throw from the Hockey stadium, so close we could even hear their crowds. Luckily my boss was feeling sympathetic to my patriotism and let me slip out to support our women in their semi final match, the final frustratingly clashed with ours. I did however have the chance to stand and proudly sing along with ‘God Save Our Queen’ as it was belted out across the Deodoro Olympic Park following that historical British victory.

Now it is time to return home, back to reality. There should be just enough time to recharge the batteries before I repack and head back out to Brazil to join another bubble ahead of the Paralympics.