A stagger to the finish line

My colleague, Jeremy Griffin, rang me to tell me that he had my ticket for the opening ceremony. "I don't want to disappoint you," I said. "But I think you'll find that's a ticket for the closing ceremony. If you're expecting another 16 days of sport, you're going to be disappointed."

So we giggled a bit, slightly hysterically, it must be said. We have all been working insanely hard over the past, well, I've been here a shade over three weeks. I'm not asking for pity, obviously, it's been bloody wonderful, but all the same, well, another 16 days at this pace might be tricky.

I feel a bit like Dorando Pietri, the Italian with the fabulous moustache who collapsed at the end of the marathon at the Olympic Games in London in 1908; in fact, I have a hazy memory of covering those Games, but I might have got that wrong. Anyway, he was helped over the line and as a result, disqualified.

In three weeks I have written a shade over 40,000 words, or about half a novel. I have written three novels in my life, and each had taken me about a year and half. So I have been rather cramming it in. My total Olympic oeuvre is the length of a very respectable novella.

There has been some kind of continuity of theme. The search for greatness is the one that always enthralls me; in fact, it is the thing that keeps me coming back to sport. The other has been China itself, and my strong feeling that there are two Chinas existing here side by side: the old, authoritarian, collective China, and a new, young, more individualistic China. The Games were supposed to celebrate the old. For me, and I think for many of us who have been here in Beijing, they have been a celebration of the new. A huge nation is changing before our eyes.

Now all that remains is the aforementioned ceremony - I do hope I'm right about closing - and a piece about Jimmy bloody Page. I hated Led Zeppelin even when I was of an age to enjoy children's music, but heigh-ho. Then tomorrow, perhaps a last wrap-up piece if I can't find a way of swerving it, and then packing and getting to the airport. I reckon if I have a decent feed before I get in the taxi, I can turn down the aeroplane food and sleep all the way to Dubai.

And then it's back to Suffolk and family and horses, bringing back a few dirty shirts, a few small gifts, and a trunk-full of memories. Michael Phelps, Yelena Isinbayeva and, the supreme, the extraordinary and unforgettable Usain Bolt. Farewell, then, those that have stayed with me over the past three weeks, and thanks for your company along the way. Send me good vibes as I stagger over the line: I no longer care if I get disqualified.

Comments

[Allan]

Thanks, Barnsey. Well covered. Well written.

[Tony]

I'd have preferred "London Calling" by the Clash, but Led Zep will do fine.

I enjoyed the blog though...from a retired Brit. in Kuala Lumpur.

[john wade]

You have written superbly , as always . But I think a fourth reason why we watch is for the simple pleasure of seeing ( hearing in the case of music) something done very well . e.g . Usain Bolt , Michael Holding , Nigel Kennedy.

[Rob]

No fan of Led Zeppelin myself, but Page's appearance served quite an important purpose. It says to the world that, whatever else may go wrong, the British are still pretty good at playing guitars.

Presumably, though, it was dreamt up before we all discovered that, actually, the British are also rather good at riding bikes and messing around in boats.

[Vishy]

Thanks for the lovely articles and the interesting blog postings. They were wonderful.

[Dorothy]

Thanks Simon - you get the gold medal for writing that's for sure. I am not interested in sport, or wasn't till I read your pieces by mistake, thinking they would be about wildlife conservation - and now here I am hopelessly hooked on the human triumphs and tragedies of it all - the Steiner and Yelena moments, the hope for beautiful, sad, Africa. But could you or Shakespeare have thought of closing such a dazzling 16 days with the image of a fading sport star meekly lobbing a ball from a bus in some pale parody of former feats of glory? To what base uses we may return Horatio! Even the greatest champion. Still, I do hope you keep on writing for a long time to come!

[Glosecho]

Enjoyed the blog and newspaper coverage.

Led Zep? It all looked a bit 'Top of the pops' without Pan's People to me, with a few british eccentrics.

Roll on 2012. I agree we don't need 4 hour ceremonies, just some good sport.