Tag Archives: 2012

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London 2012 one year on: 2nd Aug – women’s individual final

2 August, 2013

A year ago today I went to Lords Cricket ground for the last of three sessions at the Olympic archery venue. 

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3rd and final session for me at Lords, the women’s individual final. The place is almost beginning to feel like home. I chat with some of the gamesmakers I’ve seen in the past couple of days. In a couple of days it will be Super Saturday, the finest day in British Olympic history and the trigger for an avalanche of gold medals for Team GB. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be for the archery first team, which I wrote about here. The quarters and semis are good; I particularly enjoyed Khatuna Lorig’s gutsy performance, unfortunately Mariana Avitia was as inspired as Aida Roman and denied her the bronze. The amusing sight of the divided loyalties of the Mexican coach in the semis. The feverish Korean support in the stands.

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But it came down to the wire. A shoot-off. Brutal. A lottery. A friend of mine described is as ‘like a darts match where you decide the winner as shooting to see who is closest to the bull’, and he had a point. It is too hard, almost ridiculous. There must be a better way that satisfies the needs of the schedule and the timings. Three-arrow shoot off? Total X’s? Another end then sudden death? All would be fairer. It reduces the sport.

There was an sound that is still with me of the flag eyelets, the symbols of the games, rattling on the top of the stands. A kind of gentle tinkling. Slightly exotic. I recorded some audio on my phone that day too, takes me right back, anyway. Here you go:

But the last shot seemed to sum up the whole day; close and narrow. No one dominating. When Ki Bo Bae shot first, she seemed to have finally succumbed to the weight of expectation, her coach massaging her shoulders. Actually, you could see her tension building through the day. The wind really picked up and swirled menacingly just before she went to the line, and she held for just a couple of seconds too long before sending down that eight. Everyone gasps. She shakes her head. The wind? Nerves? Who knows. It’s with the djinns.

So it was Aida Roman’s to lose. A she drew, and held, and held… and held… and held. The pressure had won. Normally fairly metronomic, she could not release. You could feel the shot slipping away from her. She held for nearly nine seconds, the clock gave her only three more and that eight wasn’t, of course, close enough.

Watch it again, if you can. You can see it going, in those few seconds. The tiny, tiny things that decide everything. Both of the Mexican women had shot brilliantly (and since then, their performance has been further recognised) but the tournament had gone back to the script. The place erupts. It was meant to be; capping an already dominant Korean performance and setting the stage for Oh’s gritty performance the next day. A great sporting moment. So, close. So, so close.

Today was a big club outing, we are all in a grand mood and we hit the pub and then a restaurant with the booze flowing. But I’m stuck with the image of Ki Bo Bae stood on the podium for the Korean national anthem, as the (correct) flag was raised, fighting back the tears. She seemed so tiny, and you could still see the mark of the string pressed into her face.

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London 2012 one year on: 1st Aug – men & women last 16

1 August, 2013

A year ago today I went to Lords Cricket ground for the second of three sessions at the Olympic archery venue. Here’s to the memories. 

Back to Lords again. Same stand. Almost the same seats. It really is a great venue, compact, easy to get in and out of, pretty, great noise, nice pubs nearby… Apparently, last year, Im Dong-Hyun was asked what he knew of London ahead of the 2012 Games. He replied “Two things. It’s always raining and it’s a country of gentlemen.” The words ‘gentleman’ and ‘Lords’ remain almost as bound as Compton & Edrich. Perhaps they could have picked an even more dramatic location for the archery – Battersea Power Station, maybe, or Hampton Court Palace (which would have been entirely appropriate) – but Lords turned out to be a first-class arena to see it in, really, even if the archers complained about the wind patterns.

It was an exciting day, despite the lack of a final. I got to see Brady Ellison shoot amazingly against Mark Javier, and then collapse against Taylor Worth. (Although Taylor also knocked out Alan Wills; naturally, an Australian knocking out an Englishman at Lords cannot possibly be acceptable 😉 ). I saw Simon Terry demolish a well-ranked Japanese archer, and then fall to a 16 year-old from Moldova. And I got to see Ki Bo Bae, as the top ranked shooter, shoot against the bottom ranked shooter Rand Al-Mashhadani, from Iraq, in a hijab, who had got in as a wildcard by making the minimum qualifying standard – a sporting mismatch of almost Biblical proportions. She looked nervous as hell, and kept drawing and then coming down again. The British public responded as they always do to an underdog, with massive cheering support. She lost 6-0. Makes you proud.

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This is probably the best picture I took, just as the light and the shadows started to look awesome on the field. No rain today.

So afterwards I’m ambling, slightly drunkenly (it was sunny, and there was beer) along the street behind Lords as the stadium is emptying, and there’s a little yelp from a couple of Korean teenagers in front of me. And… oh my living God… Ki Bo Bae and Kim Bub Min are walking down the road. In front of us.

So Kim Bub Min ends up taking a picture of me and Ki Bo Bae, right there. Jesus. That’s like Boris Becker taking a picture of you and Steffi Graf. He even takes a couple because I’m looking down in the first one. What a nice guy. She looks a bit scared, I look a bit creepy. We make a wonderful pair.

So they spoke to me in Korean, and I gave them a good luck, and they wandered off to more signing and photos. Why are these people wandering around in the street? I mean, these people are… Usain Bolt doesn’t just go and get the tube back to his hotel after his heats, does he?

Video today: Worth v Ellison last 16. Read about it here. 

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London 2012 one year on: 29th July – women’s team final

29 July, 2013

A year ago today I went to Lords Cricket ground for the first of three sessions at the Olympic archery venue. Here’s to the memories. 

At 8.30 this morning I wake up in Berlin, of all places. Long story. Then it’s walk to the station, train, plane, bus, train, tube, bus (to office to dump stuff), bus, tube, and another bus to find myself outside Lords shortly before the 3pm afternoon session with my eight year old nephew. Thanking the transport gods, we go in. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him, and it’s probably the first time I’ve properly hung out with him, ever. If I’m going to finally do ‘uncle stuff’, it’s best I kick it off in style: the women’s team Olympic archery final. I sit him down outside and explain how important the day is to the both of us. He’s, like, yeah, whatever Uncle John.  I know now he’s more interested in Star Wars, but one day, he’ll thank me.

We are up in stand 2 on the right of the shooting lanes, so we can see the right-handers front on. Good. Unfortunately the Team GB women got knocked out this morning by a rampant Russia. E wants to support someone, but he seems a bit lost as to who until the noise level around us cranks up, and the excitement builds. Korea are shooting. The immense shower that follows rattles no one (it’s the rainiest day of the shoot and leads to some of the more spectacular photographs). No one even flinches. Me and E hide under an umbrella in the bedraggled stand. You wonder if, given the training standards in Korea, seven years ago the developing squad heard something like “Oh, the Olympics is in London? Rainy old London? Right, turn the hoses on…”. As Ki Bo Bae, Lee Sung-Jin and Choi Hyeongju demolish a miserable looking Denmark, E has picked his team. Luckily the two Korean lads in front of us, who have taken a shine to him, have some spare flags and noisemakers.

The rhythms of the team event become gradually familiar as the afternoon winds on. The ‘third’ up first, usually looking the most nervous of the trio, the quick to the mark second, and the grimly determined first, usually the most senior member. The widest shoulders. The anchor. The skip. The one with the most difficult job. As the gold medal match between China and Korea comes up, no one seems to have taken to this role with more fervour than Yuting Fang…

 

…a 22 year old of terrifying focus and will. Although she is run a close second by the Japanese skip Ren Hayakawa, the string sometimes distorting her face into a terrifying, malevolent rictus grin.

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Both pics source: Paul Gilham/Getty Images Europe

The script is for Korea to win, as it has been for decades. But China come incredibly close. It is down to Ki Bo Bae, needing that 9. I remember watching her, and not the arrow, and then listening to the roar. Just another day at the office. Perfect.

VIDEO to follow: Korea v Denmark in the rain, 29/07/12 at Lords Cricket Ground.

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16 August, 2012

Another one I found in the archives: Simon Terry shooting at Lords a couple of weeks ago. The light got delightful as the afternoon drew on and the shadows got longer. The noise of the flag eyelets rattling gently in the wind still stays with me. Gently exotic.

I was pleased with my seats for the sessions, generally speaking – although the difference between the £90 tickets and the £30 tickets were relatively minimal. Really easy to see the archers, although you had to crane your neck a bit to the left to see the giant screen. I can still remember it. Actually, I’m still glowing with pride that I was there. What a year.

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OLYMPIC ARCHERY: LONDON 2012 – 31st July

31 July, 2012

At 8.30 this morning I wake up in bloody Berlin. Long story. Then it’s walk to the station, train, plane, bus, train, tube, bus (to office to dump stuff), bus, tube, and another bus to find myself outside Lords shortly before the 3pm afternoon session with my eight year old nephew. Thanking the transport gods, we go in. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him, and it’s probably the first time I’ve hung out with him, ever. If I’m going to finally do ‘uncle stuff’, it’s best I kick it off in style: the women’s team Olympic archery final. I know now he’s more interested in Star Wars, but one day, he’ll thank me.

We are up in stand 2 on the right of the shooting lanes, so we can see the right-handers front on. Good. Unfortunately the Team GB women got knocked out this morning by a rampant Russia. E wants to support someone, but he doesn’t know who, until the noise level around us cranks up, and the excitement builds. Korea are shooting. The immense shower that follows rattles no one (it’s the rainiest day of the shoot and leads to some of the more spectacular photographs). No one even flinches. You wonder if, given the standards in Korea, seven years ago the developing squad heard something like “Oh, the Olympics is in London? Rainy old London? Right, turn the hoses on…”. As Ki Bo Bae, Lee Sung-Jin and Choi Hyeongju demolish a miserable looking Denmark, E has picked his team. Luckily the two lads in front of us, who have taken a shine to him, have some spare flags and noisemakers.

The rhythms of the team event become gradually familiar as the afternoon winds on. The ‘third’ up first, usually looking the most nervous of the trio, the quick to the mark second, and the grimly determined first, usually the most senior member. The widest shoulders. The anchor. The skip. The one with the most difficult job. As the gold medal match between China and Korea comes up, no one seems to have taken to this role with more fervour than Yuting Fang:

Source: Paul Gilham/Getty Images Europe

a 22 year old of terrifying focus and will. The script is for Korea to win, as it has been for decades. But China come incredibly close. It is down to Ki Bo Bae, needing that 9. I remember watching her, and not the arrow, and then listening to the roar. Just another day at the office. Perfect.

You can still watch the whole thing here for a while.