Kace wrote:Read closely Shane - reason I posted this was that the site said you were a junior hur
dler - as in the running and jumping type
Ahh, doh
kace wrote:Anyway - tell us about your Olympic experience. What were the most memorable things / moments for you on this once in a lifetime journey ?
It was totally insane - so many highlights it's almost difficult to remember them all.
The opening ceremony was amazing - walking out into the arena and hearing a full stadium cheer for Ireland was cool. Dunno how many people but I'd guess at 60k+ and Ireland definitely got one of the loudest cheers.
Living in the athletes village was cool, free food 24/7, games rooms, top class gym, mini hospital, etc and everywhere you'd go the staff treated you like you were someone special - there was astonishing respect for the athletes no matter what country you came from.
The public attention was flattering and I can see how the guys who live and breath this can develop massive egos - we were constantly stopped for photos and autographs just because we were athletes (even though most people wouldn't know us from adam). People used to come to the training slopes just to take photos of us training - i'm back in Ireland a week and it still feels pretty strange to be totally normal again - it's easy to get used to and take for granted the special treatment
The race was pretty incredible - I've never been more nervous than before both my runs. It was borderline anxiety. But at the same time it was really, really exciting. And crossing the line after each run brought massive relief and a huge degree of satisfaction not to mention the obvious bursts of euphoria.
I carried the flag at the closing ceremony which was a really proud day for me and the ensuing concert after all the speeches was cool -
Some of the best memories are probably the race itself along with the pride that was obvious in my family. Also we met a massive number of Irish people over there and it was fantastic to see flags flying at the opening and closing ceremonies and also the race.
I have to get all my photos and video online and when I do I'll post a link.