London 2012: Power to the People

Lee Power, Olympic Reporter, at Eton Dorney, the Velodrome, the Olympic Stadium
Sunday, August 5, 2012
12:05 PM

Archant reporter sees GB win seven medals in a day, live

The GB women's team pursuit squad added to the golden haul at the Velodrome

It was the greatest day at an Olympics for Great Britain for more than a century.

A golden hat-trick in the Olympic Stadium last night, following two earlier wins on the rowing lake at Eton Dorney and another world record triumph at the Velodrome, had the host nation rocking.

And Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase were only six-tenths of a second away from recording a seventh gold on ‘Super Saturday’.

I had the absolute privilege of witnessing every medal-winning moment in the flesh, after another hectic day of Olympic journalism.

Heptathlete Jessica Ennis won the first of three GB golds on the athletics track

5:10am – Alarm call. It’s my earliest start of the London 2012 Games as I need to catch a bus to Eton Dorney. It’s raining heavily in east London but the downpour has abated by the time I get off the train at Stratford and walk across the Olympic Park to board the 6:20 service.

7:45am – Arrive at Eton after a scenic journey through central London, past a string of iconic landmarks. Catch an internal shuttle bus to travel the 2.5km to the venue media centre for breakfast.

9:30am – Racing begins on the lake, but it’s only the ranking finals. The main events come in a couple of hours time. Heavy rainfall leaves the media tribunes swimming in water.

11:30am – The sun is out now and the GB men’s four of Pete Reed, Tom James, Andrew Triggs Hodge and Alex Gregory beat Australia with a convincing display, later described by one of the crew as ‘our masterpiece’. ONE GOLD.

11:50am – Sophie Hosking, of Wimbledon, and Katherine Copeland win the women’s lightweight double sculls by a length in a somewhat unexpected success, to the delight of a 30,000 crowd in the grandstands. TWO GOLD.

12:10pm – Heartbreak for Romford’s Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase in the men’s lightweight double sculls as they are pipped on the line by fast-finishing Danish boat. “We came for gold,” said Hunter. They were so close. TWO GOLD, ONE SILVER.

3:35pm – After attending post-regatta press conference, board the media bus back to Stratford.

5:15pm – Arrive back at the Media Press Centre and head straight for the Velodrome for the evening’s track cycling events.

6pm – Look on from the media mixed zone in the middle of the track as Sutton’s Joanna Rowsell combines with Dani King and Laura Trott to win the women’s team pursuit in stunning fashion, dominating the USA trio and shattering their own world record once again. THREE GOLD, ONE SILVER.

7:30pm – Arrive at Olympic Stadium for the evening’s athletics session.

9pm – Watch Jessica Ennis win her 800m heat to clinch the Olympic heptathlon title amid deafening noise. FOUR GOLD, ONE SILVER.

9:15pm – See Greg Rutherford complete victory in the long jump after a best effort of 8.31m, while fellow Brit Chris Tomlinson finishes in sixth place, just 10 centimetres off a silver medal. FIVE GOLD, ONE SILVER.

9:50pm – Up on my feet with 80,000 others inside the Olympic Stadium to cheer Mo Farah home to a fantastic 10,000m triumph. SIX GOLD, ONE SILVER.

12:10am – Bed.

It was a long day, but one I will certainly never forget.

Team GB will do well to top such a daily haul during these Games – I’m not even sure it is possible given the scheduling – and maybe even future Olympics, but the fact they managed to produce six golds and a silver yesterday will ensure August 4, 2012 will go down in the history books as one of the very best for sports fans in this country.