Reporter

Bells and glory at the Handball final

24 August 2012

Anne Helene Harbitz reports on going to see Olympic Handball final with her parents and husband Andy Roland-Price, Head of Group Accounts in the Finance Division.

“When we first told my handball enthusiast parents that we were going to try and get Olympic handball tickets so we could all go to the Women’s semi-final, my parents immediately scoffed, and said, “No, no, we want to go to the final, the final!”

Handball is extremely popular in my native Norway, at all levels, and when it comes to the Summer Olympics it is the only sport we’re practically certain to get a medal in. Winter sports is more our thing and when the Olympics were held in Lillehammer in 1994 we were frequent spectators at events there. Having taken gold in Beijing and being reigning World Champions, our medal hopes were high for London 2012.

Thankfully Norway reached the final and the excitement was high as we descended on the Olympic Park with our Norwegian flags, and cowbells. The latter is a Norwegian custom from the Lillehammer Olympics and a staple of Norwegian supporters ever since. Andy represented the UK with a Union Jack.

Stewards with megaphones were situated along the path to the stadium and were smiling and cracking jokes. It was a buzzing atmosphere and a bit surreal to finally see the big athletics stadium and the Orbit up close. It brought home, that we were finally here, and part of the Games.

Interestingly, despite being virtually an unknown sport in Britain, the t-shirt that was sold out in both souvenir shops was the handball one. Luckily we managed to get one at a small stall outside the basketball arena, a large white futuristic looking cube, where the final was being held.

The place was swarming with our fellow countrymen with flags, cowbells, and patriotic shirts and trousers, even a Norwegian flag suit! It was almost like at Lillehammer. Inside, the arena was packed and wild cheers of “Norge Norge” (Norway) followed by cowbell noises rang through the air, with the occasional chant from the supporters of our opposing team, Montenegro. The Mexican wave flew by several times and at intervals people were dancing in the aisles.

The game was thrilling and rather tense at times. Especially towards the end when Montenegro kept catching up with us and we nearly lost our one point lead. With only two minutes remaining Montenegro leveled the score again, and the Norwegians tried to score rapidly three times in a row, with the Montenegrin keeper saving each one. Luckily we managed to get another one in at the end and with 30 seconds left, Norway were in attack and the stadium rose to its feet. The whistle blew and Norway had won!

By that time we had no voices left but the sound of bells ringing through the air was deafening. At the medal ceremony we managed to find a bit of voice left to belt out the national anthem.

Later on after exiting the arena we were caught up in a crowd of Norwegians celebrating outside and were filmed by NRK, the Norwegian Broadcasting Service. The crowd was jumping up and down, ringing bells, waving little flags and chanting. My parents probably being the most enthusiastic ones!”

Tags: London 2012
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Men’s 50km walk race at the Mall

22 August 2012

“Wearing red, white and blue, waving our national Chilean flag and blowing my tricolour trumpet, my boyfriend and I headed to the Mall.” Research Assistant in Nutritional Epidemiology, Deborah Navarro Rosenblatt (Public Health), reports on going to see the men’s 50km race walk race on Saturday 11 August.

“I bought tickets for the men’s 50km race walk race at the last minute, after hearing that Edward Araya, a fellow Chilean, was participating. Having already signed up for  women’s football and men’s hockey, this decision was made more out of patriotic duty than enthusiasm. Expectations were low: who wants to pay to see people walking for over three hours?

After a thorough but tactful security check by a soldier, we were met by a wave of flags from across the world. All this against the backdrop of Buckingham Palace – in my opinion the most astonishing London venue. To my surprise, Chilean Araya was accompanied by athletes from other Latin American countries like Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala and El Salvador so I had to spread my appreciation amongst all the  participants (while obviously giving most of it to Chile).

I was impressed by the technique, endurance and effort required of the athletes. To see the concentration, determination and passion in their faces was an incredibly memorable experience. This impressed me even more than the thought of walking a distance equivalent to that between the Mall and Gatwick in 3:36 hours, as the eventual winner, Russia’s Sergei Kirdyapkin, did, setting a new Olympic Record.

By way of context: race walkers must be in contact with the ground at all times, with the leading leg straight from the moment of first contact, on pain of disqualification.  These strict rules, coupled with the staggering heat, proved too much for Edward Araya, who agonisingly exited a few laps before the end. The image of Serbia’s Nenad Filipovic collapsing almost in front of my eyes is seared in my memory, as is the disbelief of the two disqualified Guatemalans.

Benjamin Sanchez was one of those to pull through. Tears of pain and determination streamed down his face as the injured Spanish walker, the crowd roaring him on, stumbled over the finishing line. He was one before last, but he made it.

I left part of my heart – and my voice- with these enormously determined athletes, whose dedication disproved my earlier dismissal of race walking.  For the Latin American walkers, as for me, merely experiencing London 2012, having come from so far, was unforgettable.”

Tags: London 2012
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The Closing Ceremony – surreal but spectactular

14 August 2012

Pamela Agar, Head of Digital and Creative Media (Communications and Development), shares her experiences of reluctantly going to the Olympic Closing Ceremony on 12 August at the Olympic Stadium:

“I’m a little ashamed to admit, particularly given I know how lucky I was to have a ticket at all, that I considered not going to the Closing Ceremony. After multiple trips to the Olympic Park over the past fortnight to see swimming, diving, water polo, cycling, hockey and athletics (as I said, I’m lucky), I wasn’t sure I could face dragging my heavily pregnant frame back over to Stratford to see a somewhat random musical line-up leaked in the press in the days before.

Not a fan of One Direction, George Michael or Madness, I considered selling my ticket – but I had a feeling I’d really regret not being part of the closing spectacular in my home city. So at 19.30 on Sunday night, I found myself in the penultimate row of the packed Olympic Stadium taking part in the pre-show warm up. For 90 minutes, we practiced countdowns, dance moves and singing responses for the actual ceremony, as well as enjoying fabulous music, multiple Mexican waves and a sneak peek of the crew setting up.

Showtime arrived quickly, and it was quite a thrill as the clock counted down knowing that where we were sitting was the focus of hundreds of millions of viewers around the world. It was an impressive scene – with the London skyline filling the arena. I’m glad we were so high up in the stadium as the aerial view was spectacular as the show got underway – I loved the opening scenes of commuter London and the colourful street party.

As the show progressed into the lengthy musical segment, each scene felt a bit disjointed and lacking a general theme that the Opening Ceremony had enjoyed. Nevertheless, there’s something incredibly special about being involved in an event with 80,000 participants – so I found myself singing along to pop music that wouldn’t normally be my cup of tea!

And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cry as the flame gradually went out – having looked forward to the Games since the bid was first announced, I still can’t quite believe it’s all over. It’s been an incredible fortnight, and even a horrendous journey home on Sunday night that saw me crawl into bed at 2am didn’t wipe the smile of my face!”

Tags: London 2012
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Pulling together for the Games

13 August 2012

Over the last two weeks  the Imperial community has cheered on two of its own student competitors, played host to 14 Olympic teams training at Ethos and been in the stands for everything from the Opening Ceremony to the  Women’s Freestyle Wrestling .

Reporter speaks to Neil Mosley, Head of Sport and Assistant Director of Commercial Services about his experiences of London 2012, and the event which the Division has been working towards for almost 10 years.

How have the Olympics been for you?

I’ve been here for 12 years and can honestly say it’s been the most enjoyable two weeks of my Imperial career.

How do you feel about what the Division has achieved?

From the announcement that London had won the Olympic bid I always knew we would be supporting the triathlon teams as we are located so close to Hyde Park. We specifically refurbished the Energia gym to support the Olympic teams. It’s been the culmination of many years of work and for it to have been completed so successfully is of massive credit to the team.

What has been your highlight?

Probably seeing Nicola Spirig – the Swiss triathlete – win gold. Her stay at Ethos has been planned for over two years and we were really involved in everything from arranging special opening times of the pool, to allowing her to bring along a chef to ensure her nutrition was optimal. I went down with a team from Ethos to watch her compete in Hyde Park – we managed to see the swim and the cycle and then watched the finish on the big screens. When there was a photo finish after two hours of ridiculous endeavour I was so, so pleased when they finally announced she had won.

Who was the most inspirational athlete you saw train at Ethos?

I have to say it was amazing watching the Brownlee brothers train in the pool – every lap was done competitively – there was no cruising. I watched their race in Hyde Park too and it was fantastic when Alistair won, and seeing Jonny get bronze particularly after his penalty was fantastic.

Have you been to any of the Games yourself?

Despite working long hours and some evenings, and opening the pool at 4.30 am on some days to allow athletes to train, I’ve managed to fit in going to see 13 events – two volleyball games, the road race, women’s marathon, mens’ and women’s triathlon, two basketball games , hockey open water swimming , taekwondo, fencing and swimming!

Read more about Imperial’s involvement in London 2012.

Tags: London 2012
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The blistering pace of the Brownlees

13 August 2012

Tim Porter, Senior Research Executive (Communisations and Development) went to see the Olympic Triathlon in Hyde Park on 7 August and shares his experiences:

“With free-to-view spots across Hyde Park and two British brothers tipped for a gold-silver finish, it was not surprising that Tuesday’s triathlon was very busy. I had attempted to buy enclosed area tickets in the original lottery, but had predictably been unsuccessful.

The Twittosphere was filled with pre-race buzz – spectators tweeted about six to ten deep crowds and thousands (estimated 200,000 in total) tried to reserve a piece of action over two hours before. Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, from Bramhope in Yorkshire, have been burning up the triathlon circuit over the last few years. Less known than Ennis, Hoy, etc, they have risen to the top of their discipline aged 24 and 22. Their recent success has coincided with triathlon being one of the fastest growing sports in the UK.

I completed a couple of tri’s a few years back. For me there were two elements that made it tough. Firstly the fact that you are constantly moving for nearly three hours, and the energy that saps as a result. Secondly, moving from one discipline to another is disorientating and confusing for the body. For me it is one of the toughest and most exciting sports, so catching a glimpse near to Imperial was a great Olympic moment.

We attempted to catch the 1500 metres swim, but as non-ticketed viewers and despite being tall, it was only a flailing arm or two. Trees, periscopes and stepladders were well used. The cycle leg travelled down to Buckingham Palace via Constitution Hill, and there were several kilometres of viewing out of the 43 total. The cycle was the most viewed section with seven loops of the park. Although they raced past at close on 30 mph, we got good views of the Brownlees fighting out the lead, chased by a larger peloton. The run seemed out of reach for us, but Hyde Park has two large screens for the games, so we joined thousands of others for the 10 kilometre jog.

Finishing the cycle in the lead group, Alistair took the start of the run by storm, setting a blistering pace, with only Jonny and former world champion Javier Gomez staying with him. This was brilliant running, taking the race to the others, in blunt Yorkshire terms. Jonny drifted back into Bronze, not helped by a 15 second penalty for a transition infringement. But Alistair stretched Gomez on the penultimate lap and cruised to the win – walking over the line draped in the Union Jack. Inspiring, thrilling and relentless. I will hopefully, one day, complete another tri – if my body can handle it.”

Tags: London 2012
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Nine seconds of brilliance – watching Bolt!

13 August 2012

I think if you were to ask the country “Which Olympic event would you most like to see at London 2012?” I think the resounding answer would be “Men’s 100m Final”. This is perhaps proven by the fact that over two million people applied for tickets for the Athletics evening session that included the event. Former sabbatical officer Jason Parmar (Chemistry), was lucky enough to be one of the 80,000 people in the stadium and reports on taking his mum to Super Saturday:

“The 100m Men’s Final is internationally recognised as the event that defines the “fastest man/person in the world” and let me tell you, the event does not disappoint! The session is actually over three hours of different athletic disciplines and medal ceremonies so there are plenty of incredible events to watch and enjoy before the epic finale to discover the fastest man in the world.

Being by far my most expensive and prized ticket, of which I had two at category B, costing £295 each, I had to choose who to take with me wisely. So I chose the most obvious option – take my mum and give her the ticket as her birthday present.

Having been to a lot of events before this I knew what to expect, but I really wanted to make the most of this day and do as much as we could. The session started at 18:45, but I met my mum at 14.00 sharp at King’s Cross St Pancras to catch the Javelin to the Olympic Park in Stratford.

The Javelin in itself is worth mentioning as it is not only free with every Olympic ticket but it is INCREDIBLY fast. It takes a mind-boggling six minutes! Only six minutes to go from St Pancras to the Olympic Park in Stratford – if only the rest of TfL came anywhere near to those speeds!

After our short journey, we grabbed lunch at an excited and happy Westfield (and although busy, we did not have to queue for GBK). On our walk to the Olympic Park, all we were struck by was how happy everyone was!

It was incredible, I’ve lived in London for three years and I’ve never seen anything like it. They’re not drunk, it’s not some sort of trick – everyone just seemed genuinely happy, and they were showing it.

As you walk around the area, everyone smiles and all the helpers get you excited by cheering, telling jokes, laughing, giving out high 5’s and talking through smiles as they direct you.

After all of this, me and my mum walked around the park, took in the fantastic scenery, atmosphere and the beauty of the park, with the small rivers, bridges, flowers and buildings. We headed inside early and got out our Union Jack flags ready for the event.

Once inside the stadium we talked to the people we were sitting next to and around, almost entirely Team GB fans and created a little community within our section of the audience. We watched the events we were privileged enough to see, including the medal ceremony for Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah! We also saw Christine Ohuruogu get Silver in the Women’s 400m final before the biggest event of the Olympics.

Before every single race the camera pans across all the athletes and you can hear the accompanying ROAR of applause for each athlete. Unsurprisingly, Usain Bolt was met with an explosion of noise, cheers and flashes of cameras from the entire stadium. There’s also the silence before the race, as everyone mimes a school lesson “shhhhh!” before the race. But for this one, it felt significantly longer, perhaps a combination of it genuinely being longer to get the crowd silent and the huge amount of tension in the stadium before the final trigger.

Even though the event was only nine seconds long, it felt a lot longer and nobody in the stadium could tell who was going to win until about seven seconds into the race! It was right at the end we could see Bolt pulling away and DONE!

The shortest event of the Olympics, the most intense and amazingly, probably the best to watch and be at!

After the event my mum and I hung around. We checked out the park at night including the water art-installation under the main bridge (which most people miss) and getting a night photo at the BP mirrored photobooth before a walk to West Ham and the District Line home.

To summarise this incredible spectacle is difficult, so I’m going to use a quote I read in the media on the day: ‘These are the hottest tickets in the world and everyone who has one knows it.’ I know I will remember the day for the rest of my life.”

Tags: London 2012
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Mexican waves and high spirits at Wembley Stadium

10 August 2012

Tim Porter, Senior Research Executive (Communications and Development), went to see Mexico play Japan in the football semi final at Wembley Stadium – he shares his Olympic experience:

I have been fairly disinterested in Olympic football so far. Firstly we are completely saturated with football for nine months of the year, not including World Cups and European Championships as well.

Secondly British footballers seem at the opposite end of the sporting spectrum to the athletes in Team GB. Overpaid, underachieving English footballers have been totally eclipsed by the modest, gold plated heroes of the track, velodrome and rowing lake. The legacy of the Games, hopefully, might be for young sportsmen and women to wish to emulate Hoy, Ennis and Wiggins, rather than the Rooney’s and Terry’s of Premier League excess. The sporting irony which saw Team GB win six golds on Super Saturday, while GB footballers lost on penalties (again!) was as thick as it gets.

That said, this is the Olympics and tickets have been precious, so events should be enjoyed. The football competition allows three players over the age of 23 and the rest under, so generally there are no stars on view. Although I struggled to think of any Mexican or Japanese footballers that I know of. Wembley is an extremely impressive stadium, if you haven’t visited, with good views no matter where you’re sitting. There were many honorary Mexicans in the crowd, most likely based on tequila experiences, and genuine tourists and expats. Likewise for Japan, although the Kendo Nagasaki mask I saw looked really uncomfortably sweaty.

Often Mexican waves begin during dull matches, but the ones at Wembley reflected a good spirit and were genuinely Mexican. The atmosphere was fairly benign, although slightly passive, as the vast majority were neutral, buying the tickets hoping for a Team GB semi-final.

Japan took the lead through Yuki Otsu then a Marco Fabian header levelled. It would be hard to describe the match as thrilling, but Mexico just about had the edge. And a defensive mix up led to a good goal by Oribe Peralta then Javier Cortes scored in the last minute.

For those who scored it probably doesn’t get much better – a moment at one of football’s most historic stadiums (albeit re-constructed) must be one to remember. For the fans, a good afternoon, and a bit of authentic and inauthentic Mexican culture. The mariachis kept the crowds on Wembley Way entertained for the near one hour wait to get to the tube station.”

Tags: London 2012
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New fans and vociferous supporters at the wrestling

10 August 2012

Emma Caseley, Head of Strategic Projects (College Headquarters), reports on going to see the Women’s Freestyle Wrestling on 8 August at the Excel Centre with her husband Mike and 16-month old son Matthew.

“Wrestling wasn’t my first choice of Olympic event but, having failed to get tickets for some of the more popular sports, we felt very lucky and excited just to be going to the Games. As we headed for the train I had no idea what to expect from the day. The DLR was busy with people headed to Docklands, but the usual commuters had been replaced by a multi-national crowd, all slightly giddy to be going to the Olympics.

The wrestling has been taking place at the ExCel Centre, a massive exhibition space which has been turned into five arenas, each hosting different sports. As we arrived with our son in the buggy, we were ushered through the accessible entrance and then straight into the venue by smiling and efficient volunteers and security staff. Everything seemed incredibly well organised.

ExCel was already busy with spectators attending the morning sessions, and we had plenty of time to wander around the enormous hallway which runs the length of the building. There was a great atmosphere, mainly due to the thousands of Irish fans who had come to see Katie Taylor’s semi-final in the boxing.

As we approached the wrestling arena, music was playing and the crowd was being warmed up. To add to our excitement, as we arrived we were told that our seats had been upgraded, and we were seated in the second row! We had a fantastic view of the three mats in the centre of the arena where the bouts were to take place. The session was women’s freestyle wrestling, the 48kg and 63kg categories. The sport is very quick and exciting. Each bout lasts a maximum of three periods of two minutes, with a 30-second break in between periods.

For much of the session all three mats were in use at once, so there was always something to see. The aim is to force the back of your opponent’s shoulders down onto the mat, and points are awarded by the referee. It wasn’t always easy for us to see why points had been awarded, but that didn’t spoil the excitement! Speed and agility seemed to be just as important as pure strength.

Things were very fast-moving, and we moved quickly from qualifiers to the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals all during the same session. The crowd was made up of curious neutrals and vociferous supporters, who made their presence felt with foot-stamping and flag-waving enthusiasm.

Along with Japanese, Poles, Canadians, Americans and Swedes, there were also Mongolians, Azerbaijanis and Kazakhstanis. Our toddler was fascinated by all the activity, lights and music, and was very interested in his fellow spectators. By the end he had made friends with the large group of Azerbaijan supporters behind us.

We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The atmosphere at the ExCel was brilliant, and that’s also been my experience at the cycling road race, the women’s marathon and on the streets in the past week and a half. It feels like the world has come to London, and we’ve been able to show the best of what London can be.”

Tags: London 2012
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Party in the park – Silfest 2012

9 August 2012

With face painting, jousting and dancing to DJ sets til 3am – this year’s uncommonly sunny Silfest, held on the 21 July and attracting over 300 revelers – had something for everyone. Reporter spoke to two of the organisers Hercules Araclides and Emilie Hall (both Life Sciences), to find out more.

Why did you get involved with organising Silfest?

Hercules: Everyone I spoke to told me pretty much the same thing about Silwood: either get involved or go insane! So I got involved with the hall reps, entertainments team, set up the music society, and so naturally I added Silfest to the list. Planning began a few months ahead of it, with the Silfest committee taking on different tasks.

What were the challenges of planning such a big event?

Emilie: I think any of the nine people central to organising this event would tell you it was more work than we were anticipating. We had to make a huge effort to try to involve as many people from outside the campus as possible, be that as guests, acts, suppliers or helping with publicity. With such lousy weather mid-summer, there were concerns when ticket sales had a slow start. Nevertheless, we broke even on the tickets and managed to raise £350 for our charity – the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust – a voluntary organisation in the region concerned with all aspects of nature conservation.

What was different about this year’s Silfest?

Emilie: This year we had external caterers, Hardcore Prawn, Shambhu’s and Custom Creams, come in as opposed to the usual refectory BBQ. We have a number of BBQs large and small throughout the year, so I thought it was a prime opportunity to do something a little different. Besides, who can resist a cheeky brand name and custom ice cream made with liquid nitrogen! As for Shambhu’s, this is an ecology and conservation campus so unsurprisingly, we have a large number of vegetarian residents and it was important for me to make sure they had just as much choice as everyone else so we hired a vegan caterer!

What bands played this year?

Hercules: I’m in the band of students from Silwood who opened the event when it started at midday. We are called ‘Amphibians In The Kitchen’ and are pretty much an ensemble, with various combinations of six singers, two guitarists, two bassists, two percussionists, two ukelelists, a pianist and keyboardist, a drummer, a cellist, flautist, and a kazoo and cowbellist!

There were 10 bands playing throughout the day until 23.30, then things moved over to the Manor House for three DJ sets, until about 3.00. The other bands had either previously played Silfest, or were friends of students, and a couple were semi-local bands who added a nice bit of variety. The bands ranged from acoustic folk, indie, punk, old-school rock, blues, gaelic folk rock, psychedelic covers, indie-disco, and all points in between!

What were the highlights of Silfest for you?

Hercules: Probably seeing a real, living, breathing music festival fall into place in less than 24 hours, starting 16.30pm the previous day, when before then, it had only existed as receipts, emails, phonecalls, and countless reams of A4 paper. Plus, I got a huge kick out of doing what I enjoy by playing some of my favourite songs in front of a big crowd – and the fact that people were getting up and dancing for it was electrifying!

What was the atmosphere like?

Emilie: The atmosphere was fantastic and I was so touched by how many people came along to help the days before and after!

Hercules: Festivals can end up being quite messy, but everybody was in very good spirits, well-behaved, enthusiastic, and people enjoyed every single band. All this was amplified by the incredible clear-blue-sky weather!

Get a taste of the party atmosphere in the slideshow below

— Emily Ross-Joannou, Communications and Development

Tags: Life Sciences, Silwood Park Campus
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Culture class

9 August 2012

Japanese and British young people joined forces at Imperial yesterday to sample sports from their respective countries.  Young athletes from the Tokyo Sports Association spent the day on Imperial’s South Kensington Campus, together with teenagers from Westminster Council’s summer activities programme, Edutain.

Both groups mixed, with the help of an interpreter, and tried their hand at cricket and judo.  Maha, aged 11, from Westminster and Hatsune, aged 15, from Tokyo were agreed on their preferred sport – it was cricket every time.

Maha said “I’ve had a great morning, and tried out judo and cricket but I definitely prefer the cricket – it’s much less scary!”

Hatsune added: “I’d never played cricket before, it’s so exciting. Perhaps I could play it in the Olympics in the future!”

That Olympic appetite was whetted by a meeting between the young visitors and Richard Weinberger, the Canadian Open Water swimmer who has been using Imperial facilities to prepare for his London 2012 event in Hyde Park event on Friday. Richard posed for photos and took questions from the group.

The visit was organised by Sport Imperial, who are providing facilities for Japanese athletes and members of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC). With 26 young students from Tokyo visiting London for the Games, having been specially selected on athletic ability, the JOC wanted to provide an opportunity for them to meet young people from London.

The morning of activities ended in a lunch, with the English students sharing English food with the Japanese guests, who reciprocated with some impromptu Japanese language lessons.

Samantha Bell from Sport Imperial said, “This is what the Olympics is all about. It’s not just about watching the elite athletes compete but also inspiring a young generation, creating the opportunities for them to participate in any form of physical activity or sport and educating the young people culturally. It was a great experience for all the young people involved.”

Earlier this year Commercial Services and Sport Imperial hosted three ‘Sanka Days’, Sanka being the Japanese word for participation, which saw London schoolchildren visit Imperial to learn more about Japanese culture, in celebration of Imperial hosting Japanese athletes during the Games.

— John-Paul Jones, Communications and Development

Tags: London 2012, olympics, Outreach, Sport Imperial
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En Garde – when the Japanese fencers came to Imperial

8 August 2012

Over the past few weeks Imperial has played host to the Japanese fencing team as they prepared for London 2012, using the Ethos sports centre to practice their parries . Reporter caught up with their team liaison, Eddy Vertheim, following a history-making weekend for Japanese sport.

Sitting with Eddy Vertheim in the Ethos reception it is clear he is still buzzing from the previous day’s celebrations. Japan won a silver medal in the men’s team foil event on Sunday 5 August, which was not only their first team fencing medal but only the second they have ever won in the sport.

“It was a nail biting fight just to get to the final,” Eddy says. “The semi-final against Germany ended in a draw, and it went to extra time and sudden death. That puts a minute back on the clock and the first hit wins. The Japanese fencer, Yuki Ota, displayed true Kamikaze spirit – it really was all or nothing – and he did it.”

For the uninitiated, Eddy says the skill of the fencer is as much mental and it is physical. “It is really a form of chess. You have to read your opponent and check their approaches before you can attack. Then imagine doing that wearing a ‘portable sauna’, which is effectively what the kit creates, with the face mask, jackets and breeches.”

It’s also traditionally an individual sport – if it goes well the glory is yours – if not, there is no one else to blame. “The team event really adds to the pressure to perform,” says Eddy. “You’re not just fighting for yourself but for your team mates as well.”

The atmosphere in the Excel Centre only added to the drama on the day. “I’ve never experienced that kind of reaction from a crowd – even the stewards said they’d never seen anything like it. To see such a close fight is not something you witness every day.”

Despite losing to Italy in the final, the Japanese team are delighted with the result, which marks the combination of four years hard work since Beijing in 2008. Eddy has witnessed firsthand the preparation and commitment required to perform at this level. “Dedication to the training is one thing, but it’s the human sacrifice which leaves the longest impression – missing birthdays, weddings and other key events in the lives of friends and family, just to get that extra day’s training in. That takes a lot of courage and guts and it’s all been part of the drive to get to London 2012.”

Eddy’s role as team liaison is to make sure the athletes have everything they need and to handle logistics. He says the Japanese team were very happy with the hospitality they received during their time at Imperial. “The athletes train for the Olympics but when the moment arrives and the physical work is done, it becomes about their psychological and emotional state. Acclimatising from one culture to another can be hard, but everyone at Imperial has been so welcoming. We were made to feel like guests not clients – the facilities are also fantastic – but it is the friendly welcome we received from everyone which has impressed the team the most.”

The team have now headed back to Japan to join the country’s celebrations and the many media interviews which are lined up in the wake of their success. Watch a video interview with the fencers and view the slideshow below to see them in full foiling action.

— Simon Watts, Communications and Development

Tags: London 2012
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