We finally have an Olympics. It’s been a long road to get here, but it’s almost time for the sport.
It feels unusual not to be there, having competed in four between Atlanta 1996 and Beijing 2008 and commentated at Rio 2016. It has been a large part of my life.
For this one, I’ll be writing for the Daily Mail from home and broadcasting for the BBC from Salford. It will be a little different to normal, but isn’t that the theme of these entire Games?
Sprinter Dina Asher-Smith (left) and 1500m star Laura Muir are medal hopes in Tokyo
If one thing stays the same, it is the need for athletes to perform at this very moment. There are certain sports where you wouldn’t say the Olympics were the pinnacle, but for the vast majority it is. It has been years and more of building towards this for most.
For me, the Olympics have always been bittersweet. My dream was to get that medal. I didn’t do that but, in trying to achieve it, I achieved things I never dreamed of.
When I think of the Olympics, I always go back to 1996 in Atlanta. It was my first Olympics, I was 22 and I remember striding out on the back straight before my race while Carl Lewis and Mike Powell battled in the long jump right alongside. In the athletes’ village I walked past the likes of Pete Sampras. It brings home that in the Olympics, the very best come together. You have to learn to handle that.
There are so many variables at each Olympics that can determine whether you can give your very best. In 1996 we went to a holding camp in Tallahassee and it was so hot and humid. Far worse than Atlanta. Had I saved my body more in those conditions, I could have finished higher than fifth in the 5,000m. Then again, I had just finished my university finals before heading out. Little things add up.
Keely Hodgkinson (above), Jemma Reekie and Oliver Dustin are emerging talents
I’ll never forget Sydney 2000 and watching Cathy Freeman deliver under
