Boris was right! My very special night at the Aquatic Centre, Paralympics 2012

I was sat at my desk, about to lift a forkful of healthy and equally boring turkey salad to my mouth, when the call went out to the office “Anybody fancy going to the Paralympics tonight?”

 

I am currently on an internship at a trade magazine in London and while central London is an expensive pain to get to every day, it does have some perks, such as being so close to some of the most interesting events in the UK. It was 1pm and the event started at 5pm. I would need to get from my office in Waterloo to a café in the back streets of Hackney Wick by 4pm to meet a PR guy who had a spare ticket. 

Wallking into the Aquatic Centre

Now I’m not saying that I was top of their list but I felt incredibly lucky for the list of people to have worked its way down to a lowly trade magazine intern (the term ‘scrapping the barrel’ did cross my mind briefly). Apparently somebody had cancelled, somebody else couldn’t make it, someone had plans and somebody just didn’t fancy it. Their loss! 

I hotfooted it over to Hackney Wick and was met by a strange ensemble of competition winners, journalists and PR people, all cobbled together by Coca-Cola Enterprises to fill their corporate seats. We were handed Coca-Cola goody bags and made our way to the Aquatic Centre. 

When the Olympics tickets originally went on sale I, like millions of others, put in for a few events. When I didn’t get any joy on the first ballot, I lost heart and resigned myself to not going. When my best friend was in London and begging to go over to the village on the off chance, I convinced her that it would be ‘too busy’ and ‘not worth it’. After all it’s better to watch it on the telly…. Right? 

How wrong could I be? On entering the Olympic village, the buzz starts to become infectious. By the time we reached the Aquatic Centre, Olympic Fever was starting to take hold. When you walk in to the Aquatic Centre nothing can quite prepare you for how bright and vivid the experience is. The colours of the pool and the thousands of faces in the stands are like a visual feast. The warmth of the pool and the acoustics of the venue are quite outstanding. This is something that even the best 3D TV could not replicate. When the athletes come out and you see just how much it means to them and how they are so much better at swimming than I could ever dream of being, it really is quite breathtaking. 

The first race saw China’s Tao Zheng break the world record for the men’s 100m backstroke. The image of Tao romping to victory despite not having any arms is one that will stay with me and positively inspire me for the rest of my life. That first race was so emotionally charged even people in the audience were in tears of joy. 

Jonathan Fox on the podium

Later on in the evening, Jonathan Fox took to the pool. A friend of mine who works for The Newquay Voice had tipped me off to the Newquay-lad’s record-breaking time trials on Facebook earlier that day. When he came out, the place erupted. When he swam, the atmosphere was palpable. The Cornish-boy did Team GB proud and powered to victory, smashing his own personal best. What a performance and what a night. 

There were so many highlights that it is impossible to write about all of them. Here’s just a brief few - an Australian volunteer in the crowd behind us singing out her national anthem when Brittany Elmslie took gold in the 100m butterfly. Seeing the military so smartly bringing out the countries flags. Dong Lu of China being given the posy of flowers in the nape of her neck and the look of sheer joy on her face as she stood on the podium after winning gold in the Women's 100m Backstroke. The volunteers high-fiving people as we left the venue and the little boy on the tube home teaching me the difference between Mandeville and Wenlock. The night was special. 

Me outside the Aquatic Centre, what a backdrop!

I like to think that you make your own luck. I once watched a programme starring Derren Brown to the same effect. He said that if you have an open mind, accept invitations and just generally go with the flow, you are more likely to have a better life and create more lucky opportunities. At the start of the Olympics and Paralympics I was sceptical. When Boris declared these Paralympics as the ones to change opinions, the cynic in my scoffed.  When the Paralympic flame went passed my office, I stayed inside out of the rain and watched from my window. 

Now after accepting a rather late sideball of an invitation, I am completely convinced. Boris is right, these games are the ones to change opinions. The competitors are amazing. The whole event is amazing. I now stand in awe.