Olympics 2016, Day 11: Trott and Kenny cycle into the record books and into our hearts

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Olympics 2016, Day 11: Trott and Kenny cycle into the record books and into our hearts

August 19, 2016 - 00:05
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Just before the 2016 Olympics in Rio started I had almost zero appetite for watching them on the telly.

Laura Trott and Jason Kenny

By Andy Lloyd @SCARFMAN_

Just before the 2016 Olympics in Rio started I had almost zero appetite for watching them on the telly. Here in Britain the football season was just about to commence and the build up to these Rio Games had been littered for months with a whole series of negative publicity. For example, we kept on being told how some of the sporting venues were not going to be ready in time. Then there was the awful story being reported that some construction workers in Brazil had died whilst working on the Olympic venues. Add to this the threat of the Zika virus as well as the Russian doping scandal, and these games looked about as thrilling to watch as travelling to the moon and back in a low cost airline!

Therefore, given what I have just said I am now somewhat shocked to declare just how great these games have been to watch on the box. Last Tuesday night I had an whole evening of being totally engrossed by day eleven of the Games on BBC1 and BBC2. The BBC rightly or wrongly(for the most part in my view) takes a lot of criticism but yet again I think their Olympics coverage has been first class.

Team GB (Great Britain) have had an absolutely amazing Games. By the end of Tuesday night we had won forty-eight medals which is a record for an away Games. I had only just started watching the coverage when already two of our young gymnasts each claimed a bronze (16yr old Amy Tinkler on the floor and Nile Wilson on the high bar). I know Matt Baker from 'The One Show' is a former gymnast at some level because he never stopped telling us this or showing off this fact when he appeared on 'Strictly Come Dancing' a few years back. His commentary on the gymnastics was the only thing that irritated me.

The action then momentarily switched to the sailing as we were told Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark had just won GOLD for Team GB. I found myself unexpectedly being choked up with tears listening to their interview. It was the bit where Saskia thanked Hannah for being an amazing best friend and for standing by her whilst she had been out injured. It was a genuine heartfelt thing for Saskia to say and I identified with her words in some very small way. I need to point out that I'm no Gold winning Olympic sailor though, strictly a ferry man me!!

The rest of the action on the BBC focused on the final night at the velodrome (where they do track cycling). Sir Chris Hoy in his role as cycling analyst, has been the star of the entire BBC Olympic coverage for me. It is great when such a sporting icon such as him is interesting to listen too because it is not always the case, e.g German football great Lothar Matthaus was truly horrendous as a football pundit on ITV during Euro 2016 this summer. Hoy once again on Tuesday night had an authoritative ease in front of the camera that was appealing to watch, coupled with regularly offering interesting insightful comments. It is not often than anybody outshines the always great presenter Clare Balding but I thought Hoy did so again.

The cycling action itself was a drama filled pulsating watch which so nearly did not have the fairytale happy ending that we EVENTUALLY did get. Firstly, former athlete Katy Marchant got an unexpected bronze and Becky Smith a silver in the Women's Sprint. Laura Trott then became the most successful ever female British Olympian by winning her fourth Olympic gold via her winning the Women's omnium event. It is the cycling version of the decathlon in athletics except you need a brain like Carol Vorderman's to fully understand it. In fairness though, commentator and former Olympic gold medalist Chris Boardman did do his best to explain it to us. As well as Hoy, his role in the BBC Olympic cycling coverage needs fully applauding too.

With Trott winning as expected all of the attention of the next potential British gold was then focused on her soon to-be-husband, Jason Kenny. Kenny, a winner of two golds already at these Games was favourite to win the Men's Keirin final. Sir Chris Hoy really fancied Kenny to win. Clare Balding on the other hand was more circumspect after Hoy had told us that crashes can happen in this race. It felt like the whole of Great Britain LONGED for Kenny to win, we longed for cycling's golden couple to become even more golden and happy!

Not long after the race had started it looked like a disaster was on the cards with regards to Kenny winning another gold. In the Keirin, initially the riders follow a small motorbike around the track for a few laps and when it rides off the track the racing between the riders then ensues. At no stage are the riders permitted to overtake this small bike(called a derny) and they face immediate disqualification if ever doing so. A gun sounded and the race was dramatically stopped, it looked like Kenny and another rider were in danger of being ejected from the race for doing exactly just this. Devoted girlfriend Laura Trott looked on pleading for her man not to lose his chance at winning a sixth Olympic gold medal. There was a very big chance here that this potential fairytale like ending was going to end up as more of a nightmare!

Somehow Kenny got a reprieve due to a gray area within the rules and so our happy ending was back on track. After a further false start the race was finally underway at the third attempt. The tension was huge and I sat on my chair pleading for Kenny to win, who would have thought just watching somebody pedal a bike very quickly could be this enthralling hey? Just as it looked like gold was out of his grasp, Kenny put his foot down(I mean pedals) and went on past his other competitors to win the race. We had our happy ending after all. Phew!

Again, I thought Clare Balding, Sir Chris Hoy, Chris Boardman and Olympian Joanna Rowsell, were all great doing the commentating and analysis. Jill Douglas also needs praising because I thought she was very competent track side in her interviews with Trott and Kenny afterwards. I had just witnessed a wonderful sporting night on the television that will long live in the memory. Sport on TV at times can without a shadow of a doubt be as, if not MORE dramatic and emotional than any fictional drama or soap opera that we see on our screens today.

I went to bed last Tuesday night then having more or less come first circle regarding how I viewed these Olympics. With only a few days left before they end I now do not want them to end. I think the BBC over all has done a great job with their coverage. In the future I do not want to see the Olympics on a more commercial network with annoying regular ad breaks that interrupt the action. Therefore, I am so pleased that the BBC has the broadcasting rights up to and including the 2024 Games.

I thought the 2016 Rio Olympics would be a dull, drab televisual affair but I was wrong. The Olympics have yet again made me feel proud to be British.....and have also yet again made me feel proud of our much maligned BBC! 4/5.