Greetings from both the cosmopolitan capital of England that is London as well as the cosmopolitan melting pot that is the Olympic Village.
I must say the atmosphere in London is absolutely electric and totally fitting for an event as big as the 2012 Olympic Games. The Brits have really gone out of their way to make the world feel welcome and are very proud hosts.
I was also very proud to see our IOC Executive Board Member, Dr Sam Ramsamy carry the Olympic Torch through Barnet, north of London, two days before the opening ceremony. It was a great honour for both him and SASCOC.
After that spectacular opening ceremony the Games have moved swiftly and smoothly into gear.
And I’m happy to report that Team South Africa have also definitely moved up a gear with Cameron van der Burgh’s brilliant gold-medal swim in the 100-metre breaststroke.
What a proud moment for each and every South African and hopefully there’ll be still more proud moments before the Games close.
It’s most heartening to see that we’ve already eclipsed the bad Beijing memories where we won only one silver medal but obviously it would be nice were we to win some more.
We’ve been very busy since arriving in London but the SA operations room in the village is coping very well and from what I’ve seen all the athletes are more than happy with accommodation and meals etc.
Our Honorable Minister of Sport, Mr Fikile Mbalula also took time out of his busy schedule to visit the village for himself and see how Team SA are being looked after. It’s amazing to be surrounded by athletes from more than 200 countries and this is truly a global village.
We were also hosted by the SA High Commissioner in London, Dr Zola Skweyiya, and there was a nice South African touch with musical vocal group Romanz that was appreciated by everyone who was there.
Next time I update with more news hopefully there will be more good things to report.