Back in London again for the Paralympics, Australian Sports Minister Senator Kate Lundy this week fulfilled her side of the gold medals wager with her UK counterpart Hugh Robertson.
When Hugh was here in March, Kate had promised to row the Olympic Rowing course at Eton Dorney if Britain got more gold medals than Australia. A keen rower, more used to Canberra’s beautiful Lake Burley Griffin, she seemed to enjoy the experience. And Hugh was on hand to offer a glass of champagne at the end. We’ve been texting each other and Kate has agreed to come round for lunch to tell us all about it when she gets back.
The good natured banter between the two sports ministers reflected the very warm relationship which underlies the fierce sporting rivalry. Hugh described Kate as a “terrific sport”. Australians have been beating themselves up a bit on their medals performance, which wasn’t quite up to the exceptional standards they usually set for themselves. But there were some fantastic performances from Team Australia and I think they have a lot to be proud of. Every Australian I have spoken to in the last few weeks has been extremely positive and genuinely sporting about the British successes.
Meanwhile, back in London, the GB/Australia sporting rivalry continues at the Paralympics.