...wave upon wave of euphoria as we celebrated a champion.

I have a few updates to do so I am going to work backwards for a few posts, starting with yesterday. Apologies in advance for the uncharacteristic gushiness of this post.
My daughter had her bi-yearly St Thomas's Hospital appointment. As we were both spending the best part of the day in London, I had to take the day off work and she had to miss a day at school, I thought we'd make a day of it. I had a plan:

Can you guess what it is yet?

Yep, it was a sizzling Thursday, fantastic weather and an even better line up of events at the Olympic Park. It was finals all the way and we had three favourite competitors that were looking good for medals, Hannah Cockroft in the 200m to add to her 100m Gold, David Weir in the 800 to add to his 1500m and 5000, Golds and Jonnie Peacock in the 100m.
There are a couple of things that occurred to me over a small space of time. The first is that at some point in the last two weeks I've stopped noticing disabilities and I've started watching athletes. Most of that is down to David Weir. He is a wheelchair racer and has become my hero in a very short space of time. Gutsy and determined this is the man that trains with the cyclists and finishes the London marathon ahead of the runners. 26 miles powered by his arms!
It was the 5000m that did it for me, man and machine made one. A huge barrel chest, massive shoulders and arms and an absolute passion and determination to win, here was a man that was not prepared to lose. He then did it again in the 1500m. It was at this point that I realised I was hooked on the T54 races, I was failing to see a disabled race and watching a race with some incredible athletes, it was a complete shift in perspective and appreciation for what I was seeing.

I realised that with my new found appreciation disabled suddenly seemed like the wrong term as it implies that a level of sympathy is required. Oscar Pistorius had well and truly proved that he needs no sympathy from you or me and had also proved that Blade Runners look very cool, no longer was I looking at an amputee, I was looking at an engineered athlete, the peak of physical and engineering perfection, a man that can perform to the World class levels of able bodied and disabled athletes.

Anyway, enough of my fawning ways, let's talk sport. The Olympic Stadium is fantastic, the helpers are the most friendly of people and I was sitting in the gods without a zoom lens due to my reading of the regulations, sorry, flawed reading of the regulations.
Hannah Cockroft came out to rapturous applause. I really cannot describe to you the level of cheering and tangible raw emotion that accompanied every British athlete. The noise was deafening so I can't imagine how it must have been for the athletes. Hannah was dominating, thrashing the field in the 200m final.

I have never experienced anything like it in my life. The screaming, shouting, cheering, flag waving and the wave upon wave of euphoria as we celebrated a champion.
There were other races and other events, Cerebral Palsy races, Partially sited and Blind races with guides, javelin, discus, it was all going on and to top it off was the medal ceremony for Hannah. The first medal ceremony I have ever been to and it was emotional. The presentation of medals, the national anthem, what more could you want, a British Champion and a sing song.
Late in the evening came the Men's T54 800m. David Weir's third Gold. He was a man that refused to lose, stronger, more powerful and more determined than anyone else. I did take photos of the first lap but then it was too much and I became part of the single minded beast that was willing him to victory.

And to end an almost perfect evening, young Jonnie Peacock, poster boy for these games, showing Britain who he is and running his way into our lives. The crowd were chanting his name, something they haven't done for any other athlete and the look on his face was priceless, the amazement and, well embarrassment. The finish of the race, he had won but didn't know it, we did and it took a minute or so before the result came up.

 

So the night was ended with a double ceremony for David Weir and Jonnie Peacock, 80,000 people raising the rafters in celebration to two great victories and to an event that we may never witness again. I couldn't have been anymore proud of our athletes, the helpers, security and the Olympic Committee that organised one of the greatest evenings of my life.

PS. To the Nations that aren't behind the Paralympics, bear in mind that many of the competitors are wounded soldiers. Show them that you still support them, they are tough and still have a contribution to make to their Country.