I’ve just returned from two weeks in the UK, when our whole nation was on the edge of our seats watching the captivating spectacle of the London 2012 Olympic Games – whether at the venues themselves, in the big parks where the events were screened live or at home in front of the TV.
Let me first of all congratulate all Romania’s medal winners: the superb women’s and men’s gymnastics teams, and especially Catalina Ponor and Sandra Izabasa for their silver and gold medals; weightlifters Razvan Martin and Roxana Cocos; the two judo black belts with silver medals Alina Dumitru and Corina Caprioriu; the men’s fencing team; and my personal hero – Alin Moldoveanu, who took on the world with his air rifle and showed that on the day it is good psychology that wins pure gold.
But my congratulations to the whole team, who put so much effort into preparing for these games and – with their colleagues from all round the world – put on a fantastic show and made them such a success. The 2012 London Olympic Games were truly inspiring. I loved the opening ceremony – that sacramental moment when the 200 or so petals of fire representing every competing country came together in a single Olympic flame. And of course we saw extraordinary feats of athletic prowess. How is it humanly possible for a man to run faster than a horse? Or to somersault four and half times from a 10m diving board before entering the water without a splash? And we discovered (for those who didn’t already know) that women are brilliant at football, and even better at boxing. My reaction was sometimes to feel old and slow, but at better moments to look forward to getting my own running shoes on and getting out to the park to train for October’s Bucharest marathon. If you were similarly inspired, why not come down to the Old Town this weekend for some free sport in the street?
The really inspiring show is still to come. The Paralympics start in just two weeks time. Prepare to be amazed!