SEPTEMBER 2008
Well, the Olympics are over now, so it’s back to normal life! :(

I think the last journal I wrote went up until podium, so I’ll continue from there! The day of podium we had to rehearse as if it was the actual competition, so we woke up and went outside onto the grass and did a stretch and a bit leg swings to wake up and get ourselves moving as there wasn’t time to have a morning training session. We then got ready and took the bus to the competition venue. We warmed up in the training gym, and then rested and stayed warm until it was our turn in the competition arena. Although it was only podium, the atmosphere was still good and we were all really excited to try out the equipment! On each piece we had a warm-up, a routine and then anything else we needed, and luckily the equipment was really nice so none of us had any major problems. After podium, we had the rest of the day to relax and have physio and later on we were allowed a couple of hours to explore the village.

The next three days our training sessions were quite light to just run through our routines and so we were ready for Sunday. On the morning of the competition we woke up buzzing! We started the day the same as podium, however we didn’t do the stretch as there wasn’t enough time. As we were getting ready we could see the Chinese competing in their subdivision on the TV and we were glad that we didn’t have to compete that early! When we arrived at the gym, it really kicked in that this was the day of our competition as we could hear the crowd from the arena, and all of the other teams were ready in their competition tracksuits! Warm-up went well for us all, and then we waited to be called in. When we were called, all teams had to go outside and line up behind their flag and none of the gymnasts were allowed to carry anything!! The coaches had to carry everything!!

We started on vault and I was first up, so I was quite nervous, but my vault was ok and the team was off to a good start. We had 4 clean vaults which was what we needed, but we knew bars was our weakest piece and that was next. I was really pleased with my bar routine and was really enjoying competing with such a big audience! Beth and Becky Downie made a mistake each in their bar routines but did so well to carry on without falling and we just had to hope and wait and see if they would make the finals.

I was first up again on beam which was a lot more nerve-wracking than vault! And to make it worse, the gymnast who was competing on floor at the same time had my music! It was so off-putting, but once I started my routine I didn’t really notice! I had a couple of wobbles, but nothing major and overall I was so pleased with my performance, and could officially call myself an Olympian!! I’d finished my whole competition yet the others all had 2 pieces left haha!

Everyone stuck their beam routines, but there was a lot of wobbles and we didn’t know if it would be enough to put us in the final. Our floor routines were all ok, there were a few mistakes, but we couldn’t have done them a lot better. After the comp we knew that Japan were ahead of us and knew that we probably didn’t have a chance of making the final. The feeling wasn’t quite the same as worlds when we came 6th!! We stayed and watched the rest of the competition and we were all quite upset that we didn’t make team final but were really happy for Beth and Becky who made bars and AA!

At least now we could relax and enjoy our free time! We went shopping to the market a few times which is so much fun, and I brought 3 pairs of UGG boots for about £15 each! I spent so much money and had to give a lot of my things to my parents to take home as I didn’t have room in my case!!

We also went to Tiananmen Square , the Great Wall and a traditional Chinese show. There was also the Team GB lodge which was really nice and we could meet up with friends and family there so we went there a couple of times!  Apart from that we just sunbathed (if it was hot!), went to the fitness gym, got our nails done, and our hair cut (which was free for athletes and coaches!), and of course watched all of the gymnastic competitions! Watching Louis get his medal was amazing and everyone was just so happy for him – a lot of people were crying! Dan, Becky and Beth also did great performances and although Beth just missed out on a medal we were all still really proud of her!

Apart from gymnastics, we went to see athletics when both USA teams dropped the baton in the relay! And also when Phillips Idowu got silver in triple jump!  We were also good friends with the divers, so went to watch Tom Daley in his individual competition and he did really well! Both the birds nest and the water cube were AWSOME and we took loads of photos!

The last day was fun as everyone was walking round the village and swapping kit with different countries, I got a USA , Canada and Mexico top and some Canada trousers! Then in the evening was the closing ceremony which was so fun as the whole of team GB were together! I had eyeliner with me and drew the Olympic rings on a lot of people’s cheeks! And Ben (the diver) drew the union jack on peoples other cheek! It looked really good! Marching into the stadium was incredible, there was just so many people in the audience, and watching Leona Lewis and David Beckham was cool! It made me really excited about London 2012!

When we got back to the village there was a massive party outside the GB apartments with free drinks, and everyone brought the sofa’s down onto the grass! Most people stayed up the whole night because when we went to breakfast the next morning with the divers, people were just coming in! Apparently they’d all been swimming at the pool and some people were riding bikes in the pool haha!! It was really sad to be leaving, but it had definitely been worth it, and was the best trip I’d EVER had!! It really inspired us all to stay until 2012!!

The flight home was good as well with everyone from team GB on the same plane, but most people slept the whole way (due to lack of sleep the previous night lol!) when we landed we were taxied to the Queens royal suite and then had a bus journey to the Runnymede hotel where all our friends and family were there to meet us! It was really nice as there was food and drink and everyone sat outside with their family :) it’s definitely very lonely being home now, and definitely very boring haha! But I’ll get used to it as I go back to gym and start college next week!

Thanks to everyone who’s signed my guest book, and to everyone who’s helped and supported me to get to the Olympics!
becky xoxo

BECKY'S BEIJING NEWS - AUGUST 2008
hey everyone!
Beijing is amazing, and we are all having such a good time!

We left for Macau on the 22nd July and had a long 12 hour flight with the women’s hockey team.

On the first day we were allowed a couple of hours in the sun by the pool to relax before our first training session in the coati dome. The venue was really good, and it included everything we needed for a successful acclimatisation camp. Although it was very humid, training was ok and preparation for Beijing was going well. The hotel was also very luxurious (5*) and provided lots of activities which were fun to do during our relaxation periods! Most evenings we played pool in the athlete’s lounge which was really fun. We weren’t very good, but it was a good laugh! There was also a cyber cafe with lots of computers so that we could check our e-mails and keep in touch with friends and family, but there was free internet access in our rooms as well. The rooms were absolutely huge, with two king sized beds, a large TV, a balcony with a view of the sea and a massive bathroom! We were in pairs and I was with Hannah W. Hannah C and Becky D were together, and Marissa and Kayleigh, and Imogen and Beth were sharing as well. I brought all 4 series of LOST with me so we all watched that which kept us entertained most of the time!

The food was also really good as there was a nutritionist who helped set up the buffet which included a range of healthy meals and snacks.

When we arrived we were given some crop tops to wear which was good as it was a lot cooler than a leotard! We trained twice a day everyday except one day when we got the afternoon off. On one afternoon we had a media day where journalists and press were allowed to come and watch us train and most of us were interviewed.

On Friday, we were able to go and watch Chelsea train as they had a match in Macau ! It was awesome, and we got to meet all of the players and have photos taken with them. The next day, we got to go and watch their match as well which was good fun and Chelsea won 7 – nil which was even better! We didn’t have a very good view though so during the first half we were just taking funny videos of each other!

On the last day we had a control competition which went well and gave us confidence for Beijing .
Then on the last night, we got to go and see 'Cirque Du Soleil'! It was AMAZING! Some of the best parts were contortionists and acrobats. Afterwards we got to go backstage and see them all train and have a picture with them! Being a VIP is good!

BEIJING

We left for Beijing on the 1st August. At the airport we didn’t have to queue and were taken through express lanes so it was a lot quicker than normal! It was also very helpful as our bags were collected for us and taken straight to the bus! When we arrived we got our accreditations sorted which are really nice! we were given some really nice GB pins in different shapes and we put them on our accreditation as well as the ones we were given with the kit and we can swap them! Some of the pins we have swapped so far are lovely and some have the Olympic mascots on and the Olympic rings.

The athlete’s village is AMAZING!! It is so big and most of the time the weather is absolutely gorgeous. Apparently they've managed to clear the clouds so at the moment it is blue skies and boiling hot (not even very humid) but it's a nice temperature in the gym as well.

The food hall is awesome as well! It is actually the size of 4 football pitches, and there is Asian food, international food, Mediterranean food, McDonald's, salad, fruit, bread, drinks - hot and cold, desserts and yoghurts, cereal etc etc!! It’s so cool!
 
I'm sharing a room with Hannah W and our room is so nice. We are in a block of apartments on floor 4 - opposite the coaches and physio. In our apartment is just us 6, and me and Han are together, Becky D and Marissa are together and then Beth and Imogen are on their own. We have 2 bathrooms and a lounge. In our rooms we were given a team GB blanket, mug, and pillow case which we can take home with us! We also got given a bracelet from Links of London which is sooo nice. It has red white and blue around it and on the clasp bit it, it has team GB and the lion, and on the other side is Beijing 2008 and the rings! We also got given another goodie bag with more toiletries and an umbrella, key ring and pins and stuff!

Most of the athletes are beginning to arrive now, so it is getting exciting and the atmosphere is buzzing. It's weird seeing all the different types of athletes here - you can guess some of their sports though, especially basketball because they are SO tall - most are around 6"10! Hannah Whelan (being one of the smallest) had a photo with one of the tallest rowers from GB and it's such a good photo! Sir Clive Woodward is here, and we have been talking to him, he even carried our bags!

There are 3 different training gyms, one next to the competition arena and 2 more about 20 minutes away and 2 of them are on podium which is good. The equipment is all nice. We were training with a Swiss girl, Hungarian girl and the Chinese but the Chinese only arrived on the Sunday as I guess it is easier for them to train in their own gym. We are now training in our subdivisions so we are with Japan , USA and Italy .

Podium Training is on wednesday and we are all excited for that! We will keep you updated from beijing !

Lots of Love,
Becky and the rest of the team! Xx

JANUARY 2008

Hey!
Happy new year everyone! Just thought I’d write a short report about my trip to China . It was such an amazing experience!

We arrived in Macau and went straight to out hotel. It was really nice as it was 5*! The gym was alright but was a competition gym so had no pits or soft landings but we all managed ok. We got a half day on Thursday and went shopping. It was ok in Macau but not as good as Beijing ! First we went to a market place but afterwards we went to this amazing hotel that had a shopping centre inside. It was set out like Venice and had canals all through the hotel and men riding on boats. It was fun to look around. We also made up a dance which was really fun and we had to show the coaches the next day!

On Sunday, we flew to Beijing where we were training in the Chinese National Centre. It was amazing to see the Chinese train in real life however we had to fit in our training around theirs so we ended up having training at lunch time and very late in the evening. During the week me, Becky D, Laura and Hannah C all saw this Chinese doctor for our injuries which was very painful but I think it helped! We had a couple of half days and days off which was good as we got to do a lot of fun things. Shopping was amazing as we went to these markets and you have to bargain for all your things. I got some Ugg boots, lots of DVDs and some Christmas presents as well. We ended going back two more times as it was so good! On our last day we went to see the Great Wall of China . It was a lot better than I expected and I took so many photos. We had to walk up 454 steps and it really ached our legs! The view was amazing though.

Watching Marissa was fun as well. The gym was absolutely huge but had a great atmosphere. We all had these inflatable sticks which we banged together and we cheered her on a lot! We were all so pleased for her. At the end of the trip we all had a lot of trouble fitting all of our new things into out cases but we just about managed – even if they were all over weight! I really hope I get to go back next year so I’ll keep working hard!

Thanks to everyone for supporting me and thank you to all the coaches who came! Also thanks to everyone who signed my guestbook, please keep signing! Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and new year and good luck for 2008!

BECKY X O X

September 24th, 2007

My whole experience at worlds was amazing! Even though we had to spend our whole 6 weeks summer holiday at Lilleshall, it was definitely worth it in the end!

At Lilleshall I shared a room with Marissa King, which was really fun as I get along with her really well. We trained everyday from 9:00 – 12:30, and then 3:30 – 6:30, and we got every Thursday afternoon off and Sunday was our day off. During our breaks we usually slept! Or did homework or watch a film. I had so much coursework to do as I missed the last few weeks of school but I managed to do most of it. I was sooo tired I went to bed around 9:30 everyday!

During the first week at Lilleshall, it was my birthday and although I wasn’t at home, it was really fun with all the girls. They all bought banners and balloons and decorated my room for me which was really cool! Also my parents and my sister came up to see me which was really nice as I was not expecting it at all. We went into Telford and had a meal and then went shopping. On some of our other day offs, we went bowling, Alton towers and played ready steady cook and had a barbeque at Adrian’s house.

Then after 3 weeks we went to Czech Republic for a competition. We were there for 5 days and the food was awful! The coaches said that if everyone in the team had a clean competition then we could have these pancakes, and we did! But in the end the pancakes weren’t even that nice haha! It was still a fun trip though. Then we went back to Lilleshall for a week or two and then we went to Ipswich for our last competition. On the second day, I landed really short on a double pike on floor and hurt my ankle. I went for an x-ray and it wasn’t broken but they decided that I should only do bars anyway. It got a bit better over the next few weeks though so I was able to train vault and beam.

We left for worlds the following Friday. We got to go home a day before and it was weird how much I missed all the girls because I was so used to being with them every day! It was good to see my family again though and my sister had just got her GCSE results and got 3 A*’s and 7 A’s!! So we celebrated that as well.

When we got to worlds we went to our hotel which was 5* because of security risks! And then we went to the gym to get our accreditations and have a light training. Most days we trained in the morning and then again in the evenings, and some days we got back at about 10:30. The day of the competition we were really nervous but sooo excited as well! We warmed up in the warm-up gym, but then had to walk outside to a separate building to get to the competition arena which was strange. Also, the gymnasts weren’t allowed to carry their own bags so all the coaches had to carry about 5 bags each haha! We started on beam, which is probably the scariest piece to start on! We started quite well though, and although I didn’t join all my connections, I was really pleased that I stayed on!

Then we went to floor, and although they’d entered my name to compete, I was only going to compete in an emergency. I was praying no-one fell as I was not ready to compete because of my ankle but luckily everyone stuck which was great! I still had to present to the judges though! It was quite embarrassing but funny as everyone was cheering for me as a joke!

Vault was quite good as well for me, I didn’t do the best vault ever but I was pleased with it as it was only the 3rd time I’d competed my  1 ½. After vault, we were actually in 11th place although we didn’t know it at the time; we just knew we’d have to hit bars if we wanted to qualify. I went up first and went clean so was very happy that I’d gone clean in my first world championships!

Hannah also went clean, and then Ash did one of her best routines and got 14.7! We were so excited and when Becky did an amazing routine we knew if Beth could do it, we were in for chance. When she’d finished her routine we all went crazy! But I still didn’t know we’d qualified for team final although I knew we would have come in the top 12. When we saw that we had come 6th we just kept screaming and hugging each other for ages! We were soooo happy we couldn’t stop smiling for hours haha!

We decided that we would celebrate properly after team finals though. In team finals everyone was so exhausted, we didn’t have our best day but it was still an amazing experience competing with all the other top teams! However we definitely were not expecting the Russians to mess up vault and although I felt sooo sorry for them, it was great that we didn’t come last haha!

The rest of the week was really fun. We couldn’t do much training so we just went shopping and watched the other competitions. The banquet was also amazing as we got a chance to meet and talk to everyone again. In the end we all didn’t want to go home as we’d had so much fun!

Thank you to everybody who supported me and the team, especially all the coaches :)! And thank you to everyone who has signed my guestbook :) x