Changing China
Giant on the move
An Olympic waiting game
The last weeks before the Olympics may be the most difficult for the athletes. The work is done and there’s nothing else to do but wait, rest, watch grass grow and let the pressure build. It’s a time which tests athletes’ mental strength and discipline.
In the last week before my first Olympic race, I tried very hard to escape the Games.
Practices were short and light and didn’t do much to drain my energy. So I looked elsewhere. I went to the movies, mostly on my own, and hung out with friends who promised not to mention running. Time crawled and race day just wouldn’t get any closer. I suspected I was going crazy because I kept looking up in the sky, expecting a roof tile to fall on my head and end my Olympic hopes.
The anticipation drains the soul. It’s no accident Britain’s athletics team headed to Macau nearly two weeks before the athletics programme started in Beijing. They won’t be doing great deal of training there but being away from home and being together in a camp gives a sense that something has already begun.
