Dare to dream

Persistence is key. That was the motto I trained by and continued to demonstrate throughout my sporting career; one that in a multidiscipline sport such as Modern Pentathlon proved vital. I have just witnessed two friends perfectly demonstrate the importance of this trait with incredible results on the world stage. I met both girls at Kelly College, where we were all part of the successful swim squad. It was there that the work ethic became engrained, we soon learned that results would not come easily, but that we encouraged to always aim high and never give up. Our success was not purely down to the physical benefits of a swimming background, more significantly it was the mental strength gained from this period of our athlete development.

Claire Cashmore had already competed in a Paralympic Games by the time I met her, winning medals in Athens, Beijing and London, an impressive collection of  silver and bronze. Rio2016 was her fourth Games and possibly the last chance to go for gold. It came down to her fourth and final event of the week, the Friday evening in the medley relay. Claire did it, she reached her goal and she stood on top of the podium at the Paralympic Games with a gold medal around her neck, singing God Save The Queen.

Another athlete that I shared many tough training sessions alongside in the pool went on to represent Bermuda in triathlon. Flora Duffy competed in her third Olympic Games this summer and went in ranked number one in the world. It was not quite to be as she missed out on the podium for a third time. The season was not over, the World Championships were to be held over a month later in Mexico. Flora did not dwell her Rio performance, she moved on and refocused. She is now the Triathlon World Champion.

Both of these friends have shown such resilience and persistence throughout their long successful careers. It is athletes such as Claire and Flora that can remind us to dream.

Paralympics

This is my first true Paralympic experience. I managed to
attend a couple of the swimming events in London four years ago to watch
friends race, other than that I vaguely followed the remainder from afar. This
year I am completely submerged, although admittedly I was left with little
choice being in the thick of it out in Rio De Janeiro. There is a slightly
different vibe to the Olympic Games, the levels of respect for athletes have
heightened with the crowd appreciating every performance and the friendship
between nations that much more noticeable. 



I was in at the deep end with my new commentary role for
swimming and wheelchair fencing. Having worked as ground announcer for Modern
Pentathlon during the Olympics this is a little shock to the system. I know my
own sport inside out, the athletes names and pronunciations, their back
stories, the intricacies of the sport. On top of that there are only seventy
two entries and just three days of competition, in the pool there can be that
many competitors over just two events in a session that is packed with back to
back races. The time spent on research almost equals the length of the sessions
and that is only scratching the surface. I have been fortunate to have a
commentating position over at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium, the atmosphere for
the finals is electric. If a Brazilian swimmer even steps onto the pool deck in
the heats the stands erupt with noise, no one can help but embrace the
excitement. 



The most challenging aspect of all has been comprehending the
enormity of what these athletes can achieve. I am fortunate to have a couple of
Paralympic friends from school whom I used to train alongside, so I know a few of
the background snippets but nothing could have prepared me for this emotional
rollercoaster. As a commentator my job is to share these incredible stories. It
has challenged me to just remain composed when discovering the incredible
journeys so many of these Paralympic champions have taken. 

Cutting it fine

I am back in Brazil. It was a whirlwind turnaround at home with just enough time to do my washing, check the post and see my family before repacking and heading back across the Atlantic. I had one week in the UK followed by a few days in Ireland which hardly warranted the extensive travel time. I did consider staying for a holiday between the Olympics and Paralympics but several factors swayed my decision including a close friends wedding.

During my time as an athlete sending an apology to a wedding invite was easily forgivable, once I retired I felt there was understandably less sympathy. Last year I hit the worst period missing four weddings in five weeks due to consecutive work commitments. As I am in the early years of my media career I can not afford to pick and choose as readily as I might like, opportunities such as the Olympics only arise every four years.

Regrettably informing a friend that you can not attend their wedding is one thing, but giving a definitive answer until long after the RSVP cut off date is even less understandable. This was my situation for last weekend’s wedding as I knew I was due to start work the following Monday in Rio De Janeiro and frustratingly the travel arrangements were out of my hands. Just three weeks prior I discovered my flights were booked from London at 6am and the wedding was in Ireland the evening before.

A lot of effort, cancellation fees, the personal purchase of connecting flights from Dublin to Amsterdam and just ninety minutes sleep that night meant I managed to actually attend my friends big day. I did not regret a single decision and that was even before I was asked to be a bridesmaid. Thankfully the dress fitted, I made my flights and I shared a very special day with my friend.

Out on the streets

Opportunities to travel and experience new cultures continue to unravel as my career in journalism and commentary develops. I always knew I was fortunate as an athlete to visit fascinating places and meet people from such varied backgrounds, I did not for one moment imagine this would continue into my professional life. There are several advantages of retirement from full time sport and one of the significant aspects is the freedom I now have to unreservedly sample food, culture and adventure at any time of the season. I have always been keen to experiment with tasting new flavours or heading off the beaten track, but as an athlete this had to be seriously refined.

My love of food is a common theme on my travels, the diet and produce of a country is such an interesting part of its culture. Of course I enjoy smart restaurants with stunning views over the sea or funky bars where the cool kids hang out, although to many peoples surprise I would chose street food over the latter any day. Some friends think this choice a little unusual, for me it is about the people you meet rather than the view you have.

I was delighted when a local Rio friend took a group of us to what turned out to be a “street bar” - I am not sure of the official name – where locals and a small handful of tourists were altogether chatting and drinking in a buzzing atmosphere. This place had no entrance or enclosure, it was a natural gathering with music, drink and food on offer. Queuing for street food I showed my ignorance of the Portuguese language in asking for help with my order, as a result a brilliant discussion was then struck which led to insightful local knowledge and insider tips. Fortunately I am heading back to Brazil with time to follow up these suggestions.

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.