I came back to the track to see our women’s team pursuit squad get gold too, and the wave of noise going round with them was amazing. It was the same with the cycling road races at the start of the Games and, from watching on TV, inside the Olympic Stadium for the athletics too.
Just like the women’s squad, we have an extra man in our team – Andy Tennant , external– who did not ride in the qualifiers or the first round, so did not get a medal.
So I can see why Wendy Houvenaghel, who missed out for the women, was so upset when she found out she was not in the team for the final. It is a lot of training that she and Andy put in.
She has reacted angrily but I definitely don’t think for a moment that anyone has gone out of their way to spite Wendy by leaving her out. Maybe she got a bit emotional and was just lost in the moment and has said some things she will end up regretting.
But, like I say, I do sympathise. I have spoken to Andy quite a bit since the final because we were all in it together, not just for the week competing at the Games but for the whole year beforehand too.
You are all aiming for this one goal and it is not just the riders, it is the physios, masseurs and the mechanics – everyone. The whole team has to perform in that time so it is sad when somebody misses out and doesn’t necessarily get the credit they deserve, but that is what happens in top-level sport, I’m afraid.
