Faces in the crowd

A few shots from the Olympic Park on the final day of the 2012 Paralympic Games. We were there for the Seven-a-side Football final, good fun, but which after the boiling cauldron of the Olympic Stadium for the athletics a week ago, proved something of an anti-climax. The bronze medal went to Iran who drubbed Brazil 5-0, and the gold to Russia in a turgid affair versus the Ukraine that ended 1-0. We were unfortunately placed at the north of the arena, straight into the midday sun, effectively ending my hopes of capturing any sporting action. Instead I picked out faces in the crowd with my new favourite lens, a 300 f2.8 gem that I bought about three years ago and which I've barely used as it has been away paying for itself. While I've been sat in Wanstead, and latterly Canary Wharf, the lens has travelled the globe. Safaris, sporting events, airshows, birding trips, you name it it has probably been there and done it - I'm very jealous of where it has been, but it's back now, and will learn to love Wanstead Flats. It's a joy to use, and you can't really argue with 'free' either!

 

 

 

 

Paralympic Athletics

Superb, what else can I say. The stadium rocks, the 80,000 spectators rock, and the athletes are simply unbelievable. The guys doing the high jump with one leg, blind runners keeping perfect stride with their guide runners, wheelchairs rocketing down the straight. The whole thing was amazing. Several contenders for champagne moment - the roar after Mickey Bushell won his 100m final, the cheers for Tanni Grey-Thompson doing nothing more than handing over flowers, George Osborne getting booed, and then the Argentine 5000m T12 runner Jose Luis Santero getting lapped by almost everyone - twice - and then having the whole crowd behind him on his final - and solo - 800m. A wonderful evening of sport, just to be in the stadium was a privilege. The family were in there all day, and I joined them for a second session in the evening, an excellent way to destress following more fun and frolics at work. Regular readers may have noticed that I have been [even] more grouchy than normal of late. Perhaps it's the lack of Tree Pipits, perhaps it's that I've been back at work for almost a year? Who knows, and who cares? Last night was brilliant!

We did!

Birgit Kober threw 7m further than anyone else, and set a new Paralympic record pretty much every time she wasn't red-flagged!

Mickey Bushell, the T53 100m Champion

Jose Luis Santero at the back, and the amazing Moroccan, El Amin Chentouf at the front. His glasses were 8x32s I think.