Heather King is the owner of North Vancouvers Active Life Physiotherapy. She is working as a volunteer physio at the cycling events at the London 2012 Olympic Summer Games and is documenting her experiences for the North Shore News. This is her second report.
Day 5 to 8
The energy and excitement at the Olympics has been building steadily. I have spent the last few days helping athletes at the Redbridge Cycle Centre, which is a training venue for cyclists and triathletes. Riders from several countries were coming into the centre to take advantage of the closed road circuit and health services.
Day 9
This was a competition day at the Olympics at the velodrome. When riders from Great Britain took to the track the crowd in the velodrome was roaring. I had goose bumps from the energy and excitement as riders took victories on the track. Fortunately, the medical team was quiet as competition began.
In the evening the mens 100-m final in athletics was contested and I was fortunate to get a ticket to this hot event. There were 80,000 people in the stadium cheering on the athletes as Usain Bolt took the win.
Day 10
This was another great day on the track. Canadian riders raced well and it was great to see Tara Whitten race in the omnium. I was trackside for the event with the medical team. Again the crowds were phenomenal for the riders and we saw GB rider Jason Kenny take gold in the sprint.
Day 11
Today started early again as I took the 6 a.m. train to Olympic Park for an arrival at 7 a.m. The gates had just opened for the crowds and you could feel the excitement as more medals were at stake for the day. Once passing through security I made my way to the velodrome for the final day of track racing. I was trackside for the day with the medical field of play team who were put in position to respond to any incidents on the track. Tara Whitten from Canada was racing again on the track in the ominium. It was great to see her racing and to see some of the Canadian fans. In the evening medals were contested in the womens sprint, mens kerin and the womens omnium. It was incredible to see the riders performances and to feel the energy from the crowd when GB riders took the track to win two golds and a silver. The cheers from the crowd were the loudest in the Village and it was electric to feel the energy of the spectators.
As racing at the Velodrome has come to a close my commitment with the medical team is complete. Most of our volunteer international medical team will now make their return journeys home to enter back into the world outside of the Olympic bubble. Fortunately, we just had some minor ailments to manage during the 12-hour days of covering training and competition for the athletes. There are still more competition days at the Olympics! I will now take in as much of the action from the TV and cheer on the Canadian athletes still competing.
