A generation inspired

This is a guest post by Simon Hall

This label should  probably be stuck to the back of everybody in Britain's heads

By now, just about everyone in the UK should know that the underlining motive of London 2012 is ‘Inspire a generation’. Fortunately, over the last two weeks the British public has not needed to look too far for sources of inspiration. Bradley Wiggins, Jessica Ennis, Sir Chris Hoy, Mo Farah and a number of other members of our golden generation have firmly cemented themselves as household names thanks to truly outstanding displays of sporting domination. But ‘legacy’ is arguably about something deeper than individual performances and the Olympic Games offer a truly unique platform which some ‘lesser’ sports can use to inspire fans and viewers. Here TSFE pinpoints some of the sports that have grasped the opportunity to take centre stage with both hands.

Women’s Football

For years women’s football has faced a struggle to break through and make its mark on the British public’s psyche. While London 2012 may not have provided an all-encompassing solution to this age-old enigma, it has gone a long way to help disprove a number of common misconceptions. As TSFE noted earlier this week, the quality of women’s football during the Games has been outstanding, easily good enough to rival its male equivalent. The real tragedy was Team GB’s failure to make the semi-final stage of the competition. One can only hope their premature exit was not enough to break the momentum that the sport undoubtedly created during the first week of the Games. Sir Bobby Charlton perhaps best summed up the changing tide surrounding women’s football when he said: ‘I have had to remind myself that I am not watching the men. I was sceptical of women's football - that was a mistake. Women's football used to be ridiculed, but not anymore.’ This is a view that many (myself included) can relate to.

The USA were crowned champions on Thursday

Judo

Amazingly, if I look back and pick out my favourite London 2012 moment, it isn’t Bolt blowing away his competitors in the 100m final. It isn’t the historical moment when Hoy became Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s most decorated Olympian. In fact, it isn’t even a moment involving a final or gold medal. The moment that did it for me was Gemma Gibbons landing an Ippon in her judo semi-final. After one of the toughest weeks in British judo history, it was like the weight of the world being lifted from the shoulders of an entire sport.The emotional reaction was compounded by the fact that Gibbons’ boyfriend Euan Burton had suffered a painful exit from his individual competition just two days before. In the interview after his defeat, Burton broke down in tears, claiming to have let himself, his coaches and his family down. It was a heart-wrenching moment and the despair was laid bare for all to see. The couple embodied the rollercoaster ride British judo has been through; it hit rock bottom but rose like a phoenix from the ashes on the back of Gibbons’ semi-final triumph and eventual silver medal.

Gemma Gibbons eventually won a silver medal

Women’s Boxing

London 2012 was always going to represent an amazing opportunity for women’s boxing to make its big breakthrough with the sport appearing in an Olympic Games for the first time. However, few could have predicted the extent to which the female fighters could capture the public’s imagination. They are every bit as skilful, agile and precise with their punches as their male counterparts. Of course, some British success never goes amiss when trying to introduce our public to a new event and Nicola Adams proved to be the perfect boxing heroine, becoming the first ever women’s boxing Olympic gold medal winner. The only real question mark there may have been over the discipline was whether it could engage and entertain the masses. This was a query quickly put to bed. Anyone who witnessed Ireland’s star Katie Taylor taking on Great Britain’s Natasha Jonas has been quick to claim it as the most extraordinary atmosphere of the entire Games. This is a claim carrying considerable weight as the contest actually generated the highest decibel level of any London 2012 event. It’s plain for the whole world to see that women’s boxing packs a heavy punch.

Nicola Adams boxed her way into the public's affection

Beach Volleyball

Prior to the Games, beach volleyball was inevitably one of the hottest tickets in town. Since its first Olympics inclusion in Atlanta 1996, the sport has gained considerable momentum every four years. What made the event extra special this time around was its iconic location right in the heart of London on Horse Guards Parade. Spectators of the beach volleyball have been afforded the luxury of fantastic views stretching to some of the capital’s notable tourist attractions, including the London Eye and Big Ben. The beach volleyball is also the sport which appears to have nailed the ‘Inspire a generation’ objective. The focus of the visitor experience was almost exclusively on fun, entertainment and participation. At no other event did I experience such a desire to jump onto the playing surface and get involved in the action. In Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the sport returns to its spiritual home and, with the success it has experienced during these Olympics, don’t be surprised to see some of London’s spectators gracing the sandy courts themselves by then.

Beach volleyball has been a resounding success

These are the just events that have grabbed my attention during the last two weeks. The beauty of the Olympics is that it is a personal experience for each individual who watches it and takes it in. In all honesty this list could easily have been double in length, such is the inspiring nature of Olympic sport. Different events will have inspired different people; for some it might have been the rowing, others something more innovative such as the BMX competition. Ultimately, these personal sporting discoveries and journeys will prove to be the lasting legacy of London 2012 and hopefully the generation that has been inspired will go on to repeat some of the amazing feats of Team GB’s current golden crop. 

We hope you enjoyed this excellent guest post from Simon Hall. Follow him on Twitter @Simon_Hall22 and follow James @TSFE2012. James will return tomorrow with the penultimate blog as the OIympics nears an end...Enjoy it while it lasts!