My last few weeks in Beijing
Posted to Beijing 2008 at 7:47 am on August 28th, 2008 by Charlotte Abbott
Saturday 16th August, must have been one of my best days since I have been here in Beijing. At the workers’ indoor stadium I was about to leave, but my friend Laura and I noticed a BBC crew had turned up and we heard that they were filming a feature about the rules of Boxing with Adrian Chiles! It was so good to see behind the scenes and meet the BBC crew.
To top it off, the group of us had the chance to go to the the National Stadium, it was immense. I witnessed the Men’s 100m final with Jamaican Usain Bolt to win a gold medal and setting a world record of 9.69 seconds. Absolutely amazing, especially with the stadium seating 91,000 people, the noise intensity from the crowd, it was so surreal.
Saturday 23rd August was the finals for Boxing and our main man James Degale wins Gold for Great Britain. It was such a great moment to hear our national anthem. Great Britain have done so well this year at the Games, apparently this is the best they have done in the medals table for a century.
Sunday 24th the last day of the Olympics, I can’t believe it’s all over! Many years of planning and it just comes down to these two weeks. I have to remind myself that I am part of the Olympics and, in a way, part of history. I saw countries winning medals for the first time and I saw how the Olympics is performed from behind the scenes.
There is so much hard work that Beijing has put in and to be fair they have done a brilliant job. I have had an amazing experience that I have even signed up to cover the Winter Olympics in Vancouver 2010.
I still had a few days left, so I went to the Temple of Heaven. It was so peaceful and tranquil. It made me reflect on what I had learnt over the last 8 weeks. Not just working for the Olympics, but what I have learnt about cultures and other people. It has really inspired me to go travelling and learn more about the world.
I have really enjoyed writing for Skills Active, as it has given me the chance to reflect on my journey and to share my experiences with you guys. I know that David will keep you entertained for the Paralympics for another 3 weeks, so until next time, bring on London 2012!
Zàijiàn
