Darryl Thickitt’s Olympic diary 1

Darryl is a member of the World Class Development Programme for riders with Olympic potential. He is one of a group of 2012 hopefuls who have travelled out to China as part of Britain’s Olympic Ambition 2012 programme.

After a long flight we arrived in Hong Kong yesterday (Tuesday 12 August), where it has been boiling hot with no wind. Luckily the Olympic uniforms are cool to wear and every building and vehicle has air-conditioning.

We watched the team eventing competition where Team GB secured a bronze medal. It was fantastic to watch. Then we saw the top 25 individual eventing riders compete, where Tina Cook won the bronze medal. That was so exciting, as any of the top 7 riders could have won. It finished quite late so we meandered back to the hotel.

Today we had time to spare, so we took advantage of the location and spent some time shopping. It is great over here. There is Gucci and Prada and there is also a great market nearby, but I haven’t managed to get there yet.

After shopping, we went back to the hotel where we sunbathed by the pool and then I had a long back massage. Tonight will be great, as we get to watch the dressage competition, so I am really looking forward to it.

We are staying in the same hotel as the riders, so we have spent some time talking to them when we were all relaxing by the pool yesterday. Then I was able to catch up with my trainer, Richard Davison who showed me the timetables and official paperwork for the Olympic competition. It was really worthwhile.

Security is really tight here. We haven’t been allowed to get to the stables so we are focused on watching the events. It’s a nice change. I can’t believe how clean everything is here. The organisers have put a lot of effort in to make this a fantastic event.

Darryl