Rio 2016 : Slalom Canoeing A Gold Medal Day

I chose my events based on different venues, sports I was nterested and I would like to have said cost. That was true to begin with but I seem to have develooped the attitude of "It's only money" which isn't healthy. Don't do this at home & all that!

So, why the canoeing,? Well at University I was a keen member of the canoe club. We actually kayaked but hey we're British. I tried a bit of whitewater (very small weir) and sea-canoeing but I have to admit I was one of those canoeists who were in it for the long-haul (unless it was to see how many students you could get on a pyramid on 3 canoes,). The past is another story. This kind of fitted the bill. Should have been going to the canoe sprint but I did fit that one in in London so chose rowing instead.

Having been delighted to bump into a friend and former colleague, we discovered we had tickets for the same event. Me in the cheaper seats, Chris and Damien in the more expensive ones. Due to a problem in phone technology (my fault I fear) we had to resort to the old-fashioned method of agreeing when and where to meet. Also, bear in mind that none of us had been to the venue before. All agreed Until I found myself playing a game of eye=spy and spotted Chris coming up some stairs having taken a photo. The scene was set. Biscuits sampled, course inspected. We then realised we didn't know the rules. Turned out fairly simple, 10 fastest out of 15 semi-finalists qualify for the final and then it's the fastest. Hit a gate and it's a 2 second penalty. Green gates, go through from up stream, red ones go from downstream. After the first man had battled his way down we discovered that it didn't matter which way the canoeist faced as long as he went upright and the right entry to the gates. Confused? I'm sure you can look it up!

Rio is quite a relaxed place and so I joined Chris and Damien . At that stage, we weren't too sure which stand we were supposed to be in but we were on top of the fearsome looking Gate 17 and a tricky cross-over section. I did keep asking Chris if he could arrange for an umbrella at Gate 7 to be removed but somehow he never got round to it.

The power that the kayakers need to force their way through the water should not be underestimated combined with timing & concentration. It's power on speed and water. Scary stuff. You could also see that athletes could get badly hurt. As the runs went on we started being more assured of times & smoothness through the gates near us and started to look for unlucky 11th. Mr Burrows from Australia missed by 0.07 seconds. How cruel is that? That's sport.

Having learnt & filled up water bottles early. for once I didn't have to join the long line so decided on lunch. The guys had tried the pizza in another venue. There was the stand saying 'pizza'. One problem - no pizza! Managed to forget the biscuits in bag and sulked (for 5 minutes). However, I am now the proud owner of 3 beer cups. I' been eyeing them up as good presents for the kids (hope /freddie isn't reading this) but there was a snag. Only came with beer and I don't like beer so thanks guys. One more to snaffle and that's the presents sorted. Yes, I am being a cheapskate but they are nice r than most of the merch! Here's one with the knitting!

So we settled back to enjoy the final. Now, I mentioned earlier that there was a slight differential in price between tickets and the stand we had been sitting in was the more expensive. Being the bad ticketing managers that we are, Chris and Danien went in, Chris came out, Chris and I went in. Oh the joys of unreserved tickets.

We were onto the serious stuff. David Florence had the Brit crowd out, the Slovaks were out in force and the French were supporting the Olympic champion. There were also 5 Japanese fans. The tribes were ready, the canoeists were ready. We'd finally worked out that the finish was further away than we thought and was actually where it said finish! Funny that.

The 97 or so seconds that each canoeist took were exhilarating. Where were they on the splits? Follow on the screen until below you. Hit gate 17 or not? struggle to get through 19 across the water. Were they faster? How long to the finish line.

As is recorded elsewhere David Florence did not have his best run. It was obvious by the time it got to the supporters but he was cheered until the end. The Slovaks went mad. as early on their athlete took the lead. Could he be beaten? It look not. Then we had the mighty French man, the power, the force, the spee, the Brits were applauding right the way down, the Slovaks were standing. At the end of the run he was first - with one to go. The Slovaks warmly applauded. That's sport and sportsmanship.

So Gold to France, silver to Slovakia and bronze to Japan (?), we left before the medal ceremony but then we saw something better. A group of Braziliam kids climbing on the Rio 2016 sign.

That's the Olympics.