Athletics at The Paralympic Games, London 2012

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I think it is about time I caught up with some posts from the list that I have pinned on the cork board next to my desk! Back at the start of September, the 4th to be precise, hubs, the boy and I went back to the Olympic Park to watch an athletics session at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Having been lucky to have gone to the Olympics on two occasions, we were really excited to be going back for a third time – and this time, into the grand Olympic Stadium itself! We also got to see the Olympic Torch Relay, not just once, but twice as it passed by in two places very close to us :)

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On this outing, we didn’t wander through the whole park as we had done before – I guess, we’d ‘seen it all’, and as much as it would have been fabulous to see it all again, the boy was back at school the next day so we had to get ready for that, and just didn’t have the time.

In the two week break between the Olympics and Paralympics, a lot of changes had taken place – the signage being the big one, with all the banners and hoardings being replaced with the Paralympics Logo.

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Just getting up close to the stadium was awesome – it is a magnificent structure.

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We made a beeline straight for the stadium when we got to the park – the queue for the water fountains was ridiculous, so we just bought some drinks instead and hiked our way up to our seats. Once inside, it was hard to believe we were actually here, and we were all so pleased that we got these tickets for the athletics.

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We were a long way back from the flame, so super zoom mode was engaged to try and get some closer up photographs of it! Not the crispest of quality, but I don’t have a telescopic lens!!

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A few “we were really there” photos, and then the athletics began!

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The ongoing event, the whole session was the long jump for blind/visually impaired athletes.

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It was explained, that we should remain quiet when each athlete was taking their run up, so that they could hear their coaches instructions and claps as they ran towards the sand pit for their jump. It was amazing to watch.

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This Chinese athlete playfully told the crowd to be quiet!

 

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We watched, as athletes with varying disabilities, raced, threw and jumped their way through different events. It was humbling to watch.

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We saw records broken, and medals awarded and it really was a wonderful experience to see a world class sporting event.

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A few more photos from our day…

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…for others, you can view the full set on my Flickr.

I hope the motto of the games, “inspire a generation” does come to fruition and that these games leaves a legacy. For the weeks that the games came to town, there was a feeling of togetherness and most people I know really got into the spirit of the games. It was an amazing, once in a lifetime event that came to my hometown of London, and I will never forget the amazing time we had at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London 2012.

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