Aiming High

The hopes of one young athlete in the run-up to London 2012

After over 2 weeks of excitement, pain, sweat, and glory, the Olympics are finally over. All the athletes are returning home, reflecting on the good times, and the bad; and the world is preparing itself for the Paralympics! Spectators are happily returning home with their Olympic Mascots, ‘I climbed the Great Wall t-shirts’, and treasured memories.

One of the happy tourists must have been Jazmin Sawyers, a 14 year old from Stoke, UK. I was sitting next to Jazmin whilst at the Bird’s Nest, watching Usain Bolt race in the semi-finals of the 200m sprint. “This guy is fast!” she said, with her fingernails painted with the colours of the Jamaican flag. We then watched him completely tear-up his opposition before strutting across the finishing line.

Half Jamaican and half British, with only her massive hairdo offering a distraction from the happy glint in her eyes, Jazmin went onto explain why she was at the Bird’s Nest watching the Olympics. An athlete herself, she is currently ranked 1^st in the UK in the high jump and long jump, and hopes that by the end of the season she will break the outdoor national record in both events (for her age group). Not bad, considering she is only 5 feet and 2 inches tall.

“I guess I’ve just got springs in my ankles,” she joked.

She competes at national level around the UK in the athletic pentathlon, meaning she has to train 3 times per week, and attend an athletics event on most weekends. She is supported by her friends and family, who come and watch some of her events, and who were with her in Beijing.

And their support pays off! Jazmin went on to explain that she may have the chance to compete with TeamGB as early as next year, depending on how she develops as an athlete.

After our little chat, we witnessed Christine Ohuruogu win a sensational gold medal in the women’s 400m sprint, and Germaine Mason equal his personal best to grab a silver medal in the men’s highy jump. It must have been very exciting stuff for a budding young athlete like Jazmin to watch. As we stood to sing God Save the Queen, I couldn’t help think what was going through Jazmin’s mind.

She must have felt inspired by the spectacle of the Beijing Olympics, and this year’s Team GB success story. Maybe in four or eight years time, she will be out there with them competing against the world’s elite. Whilst the Beijing Olympics may have passed, the atmosphere that I felt at the Bird’s Nest that night will stay with me, and I’m sure it will stay with her too. London 2012, here we come!

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