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.

Wildest expectations

Where do I start, these Olympic Games are superseding our wildest expectations as the medals continue to pour in. If you blink it you can easily miss another handful of new British Olympic Champions, that was certainly how it felt on the sensational super Sunday.

I know I am incredibly fortunate to be out in Rio De Janeiro for such a sporting spectacle. This is my forth trip to the iconic Brazilian beach city although completely incomparable to any of my former experiences. I planned ahead and booked my flights a few days earlier than I was due to start work, the difficulty then came in planning my schedule. This is a huge city with Olympic venues spread across all four corners, the logistics of getting to and from events is an endurance challenge in itself.

I realised I had to manage expectations the day I arrived. A journey from the airport followed by a trip to collect my accreditation soon accumulated to five hours spent sitting in a taxi. I quickly revaluated my ambitious plans of watching events back to back, sometimes less is more and being part of the Olympic experience is travelling with fellow fans, speaking with strangers and just generally soaking up this incredible atmosphere.

Ironically I am often having to rely on friends at home to update me with results along with the help of social media when I can find the internet. I would not for one minute swap this experience although I will say I miss our BBC coverage and the opportunity to sit in one place and watch TeamGB excel themselves on this world stage.

It is now time for me to up my game as I proudly step into my Rio 2016 uniform. After long days of rehearsals I am ready to welcome the crowd to the Modern Pentathlon event in my debut role as Olympic English ground announcer.

Rio bound!

My productivity has just fallen through the floor, the Olympics have begun. Time management is essential right now, scheduling in several hours of TV viewing whilst acting on my heightened motivation to do more sport is a healthy challenge. Do not get me wrong, this is not a problem I am complaining about for one moment.

Great Britain’s medals have started to roll in and that carnival feeling really is lapping at our shores. It has taken me some time to join the building Olympic wave of excitement, partly due to spending a relaxing week switching off in Cornwall. However I am now literally on my way to Rio De Janeiro to join the World’s greatest sporting event.

Ironically I have struggled to pack by bags and prepare for this trip to Brazil due to the brilliant distraction of these Games. This will be the forth consecutive Olympics that I have attended, each in a different capacity and all special in their unique way. Athens I attended as a young upcoming Modern Pentathlete on holiday as a GB supporter, Beijing I competed, London I was part of the BBC commentary team and now I am going as the English Ground Announcer. There maybe no physical requirements for me but the experience is still closely comparable to that as an athlete. The last few years I have been working towards selection and grabbed every opportunity to demonstrate my knowledge of the sport and my commentary skills. This was followed by the suspense as I waited for my contract to be confirmed and flights to be booked. The training for the big day and the buzz in the build up again has that familiar feeling.

I can not wait to perform my roll and be part of another Olympic Games. Rio here I come.