Olympic Mania

I´m never quite sure if I love or hate watching the Olympics. I think the love bit comes from my teenage years watching Sebastian Coe (before he reinvented himself as Seb) and Steve Ovett who used to smash world records and collected a host of golds in the 800 and 1500m (Showing my age now). I also remember, strangely that whenever Steve Ovett used to win a race he would trace out the letters I.L.Y with his finger and point at his girlfriend, Rachel. (Despite this dodgy behaviour, I still regarded as something of a hero). But where have our middle-distance runners gone since the golden era of Ovett and Coe? Perhaps everyone else just got too fast for us? Having said that, I have become slightly addicted to the goings on in Beijing, especially since Becky Adlington won two golds in the swimming pool. I am from Mansfield and it is the first time we have ever produced a famous person (many infamous ones maybe). Oh and Alvin Stardust was from our neck of the woods but we don´t brag about it. So way to go Becky girl - and I hope she gets many many more. Apparently she has been given the ´freedom of Mansfield´ by the town´s mayor, Tony Eggington. My dad did remark wryly ´didn´t you have that when you were a teenager?´ Not sure where he was coming from there so I chose to ignore him. As I type I am watching the girls receive a silver medal in the skulls (and crying because it wasn´t a gold) and Team GB has just celebrated a fantastic gold in the double skulls (well it was two men in a light boat so I am assuming it was called double skulls). The pursuit cycling has been fantastic - not sure about that sprints thing where they all seem to start and stop about 20 times during the race -but I still enjoy it. I even found myself getting addicted to the table tennis yesterday to the horror of the family. Now normally I am a big footie fan, and Liverpool are my team - but after watching their diabolical performance midweek against Standard Liege, I decided to switch on to the Olympics - and what a brilliant decision it was. So, as I tackle a pile of ironing, watching yet another pursuit ride all I can say is COME ON GREAT BRITAIN - at this rate we´ll even win the ping pong.