Paralympics: Adjectives fail me

Had another two amazing days at the Paralympics, and frankly I'm running out of adjectives: amazing, astounding, inspiring, moving. It's impossible to forget, when you're watching these events, that every single competitor is already a winner with a powerful back-story. On Saturday I spent several hours cheering on the athletics action in the Olympic Stadium from the press stand, right on the finish line. This included Ireland's Jason Smyth (above), who smashed a world record to win a gold medal in the 100m. In the mix-zone after he commented that his wife would have never let him in the bedroom that night without a gold medal around his neck!

Later I saw South African legend Oscar Pistorius break a world record in his 200m heat, then was amazed to see what a nice man he is in the mix zone, as he patiently chatted to journalists for nearly 90 minutes while his minders tried to get him to move along. He even stopped to shake hands with me and pose for photos for the photographer I was standing with (like an idiot, I didn't snap my own pic). He talked generously about his sponsors, supporters, family, spectators, and was genuinely moved by the attention heaped on him, as well as the unexpected record. So reports about his little rant on Sunday (after losing the final) should be taken with a grain of salt: they were spoken in personal frustration in the heat of the moment, and he has apologised in a way that is genuinely classy.

On Sunday I attended the Britain-Morocco sitting volleyball match (my Instagram pic is at right) - another overwhelming display of tenacity and talent. These guys are as tough as the Olympics volleyball and beach volleyball players I watched just a few weeks ago. This is a seriously gripping spectator sport too. Afterwards I watched two rounds of powerlifting - more emotion! The biggest cheer was reserved for Chinese lifter Liu Lei, who won gold with a Paralympic record, then came back for a fourth lift just to set a new world record as well. Amazing, astounding, inspiring, moving.

Olympics Day 13: Running and jumping

Summer weather finally returned to London today with bright sunshine and some actual warmth. And lucky me, I spent the whole day outdoors in the Olympic Stadium watching the athletics. These were tickets I bought in the lottery more than 18 months ago, and they turned out to be great seats at the end of the field, just opposite the cauldron (a slash of light in the photo below right). I bid for them because it was a rare session with no finals in it, so I thought I'd have a better chance! The photo above is the view of the Olympic Park through the ribbons around the edge of the stadium - the velodrome is on the left and the blocks of flats on the right are the Olympic Village.

The main event in the stadium was the decathlon, and we watched the leaders Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee, and everyone else, in their 11-meter hurdles, discus throw and pole vaulting, as well as the women's high jump and the heats for the men's 4 by 100-metre relay, which had a strange wrinkle when two runners clashed, leaving Oscar Pistorius standing there unable to run his leg as part of the South African team, so they couldn't finish. In the end, the judges ruled they had been physically pushed, so they made it through to the final.

It was a long day in the sunshine (actually the seats were shaded all day), and even though the action sometimes faded a bit, it was great fun soaking up the atmosphere. The crowd was astounding - the cheers for the British competitors were a deafening roar.

I came home this evening for another news shift, and I have yet another early start tomorrow. Thankfully, the weekend will be a bit lighter work-wise. And then it's all over on Sunday. Until the Paralympics, that is.

Olympics Day 8: Super Saturday!

The middle Saturday is always the busiest days at an Olympics, and there were 25 medal events across London. Trying to watch this on TV with the BBC's 25 live channels was a bit of a challenge. Especially since the British competitors refused to stop winning everything from rowing to athletics to cycling in spectacular style. But one of the most impressive moments came early on when South Africa's Oscar Pistorius became the first athlete to compete at both the Olympics and Paralympics.

Winners from every nation are honoured in different ways. In Britain, gold medallists are pictured in their moment of glory on a first class stamp, issued the next day in their home town, where one of the local red postboxes is painted permanently gold. The Royal Mail has been very, very busy these past few days! In athletics alone today, Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah were an inspiration.

By contrast, in the USA, winners are pictured on a box of breakfast cereal, and they have their winning bonuses and even the value of their medal taxed by the government. Meanwhile, Michael Phelps won yet another gold medal in what he says will be his last competitive race ever. What a great way to go out.

Anyway, it was fun to see so much sheer joy today, and we can only hope it continues. I also rode the Tube across London and back this evening for a dinner party, and enjoyed watching the passengers in their colourful outfits, often wrapped in a flag or waving one, everyone in an upbeat mood. I kind of don't want the Olympics to ever end.