British Athletics gets a lightening Bolt!

Crystal Palace recently hosted the London Grand Prix, arguably the UK’s most important athletics meet. The place was packed out and there was an electric atmosphere. True, we had lots of British athletes hoping to book a seat on the plane to Berlin for the up-coming World Championships, but this wasn’t why the stands were rocking. Huge numbers of people had turned out to see one performer – the Fastest Man on the Planet, otherwise known as Usain Bolt. He didn’t disappoint. The rest of the high quality 100m competition were totally blown away by the Olympic Champion, who clocked a time of 9.91 seconds. He described himself as “85% fit” and “beatable”. Well, nobody got near him at the Palace and I can’t see that changing if he’s only going to get fitter!

Other commitments kept me away from the Palace, but seeing a full stadium on TV was a genuine pleasure. It’s fantastic to have the likes of Bolt over here doing his thing; he’s a real crowd pleaser. But you know what? So are a lot of our home grown athletes. Christine Ohuruogu’s performances over the last 18 months have been nothing short of sensational. She’s the World and Olympic Champion, which is no mean feat! There are other talented guys out there who, with the help of McCain, are getting closer and closer to the podiums of the world. We have a lot to look forward to and I hope people will get behind our young stars in the same way that they do with Bolt and co. 2012 isn’t far away and there’s never been a better time to get in to our sport.

The McCain Track & Field Roadshows have shown me first-hand just how much folk in the UK enjoy their athletics. So many people have come along to try their hand at everything from sprinting to discus throwing. Who knows, maybe I came across a champion of the future among the crowds of young participants that I worked with at the London and Brighton events? Lots of people talked about Usain Bolt as an inspiring figure, which is great; anything that gets kids in to athletics has got to be good. The more youngsters that come in to the sport, the more pressure there’ll be at the elite end and the more likely we’ll be to uncover and develop our own British Bolt of Lightening!