The Booed…

Anyone else a bit confused about the Olympic Games starting a few days before the opening ceremony? Not half as confused as the North Korean women’s football team whose faces were shown on a screen next to the South Korean flag, just before kick-off. As the two countries are technically still at war following the Korean conflict in the fifties, it’s safe to say this didn’t go down well and the team promptly marched off the pitch. Fortunately, they were eventually persuaded to rejoin the game after much apologising (and flag-changing).

 The Dad…

I dare you to watch this video, taken at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, without welling up. It is arguably the most emotionally charged Olympic moment in which British 400m sprinter, Derek Redmond, tore his hamstring during the semi-final. His father, watching from the crowds, vaulted out of the stands and onto the track to assist his son in making it over the finish line, long after all the other athletes had finished. Now there’s a lesson in winning.  Watch video here.
(Dereak Redmond’s father was one of the torch bearers for this year’s Olympics – read here.)

And the Ugly

I’m not sure the creators of Wenlock, the Olympic mascot policeman figurine intended him  to drum up this kind of ‘popularity’ but it’s inspiring a lovely raft of British humour and cynicism if the Amazon reviews are anything to go by:

Read more reviews here…

Let the Games begin!

Lara Crisp, Editorial Manager