Darryl Thickitt’s Olympic diary 3

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.

Our exciting Beijing Olympics experience is nearly at an end and we are just trying to soak up as much of the information and atmosphere as we can before we head home.

Last night we watched one of the men’s singles tennis games — James Blake versus Fernando Gonzalez. I’ve never been to a professional tennis match before, so to watch a match when it’s country against country was a brilliant experience. It has also been great to see how the athletes perform and act at such a high level.

This morning we have been watching the women’s and some of the men’s trampolining. It was really quite interesting to watch. It’s amazing how high they go and then do somersaults in the air. I remember bouncing on a trampoline one drunken evening and I thought I was going quite high, but there was no comparison. They were brilliant!

We managed to get some more shopping in today. I’ve spoilt myself with some C&K and D&G briefs. They were just so cheap that I had to buy them. We have walked so much and it has been really hot, that my feet are so sore, so I’ve booked myself in for a foot massage this afternoon to ease the pain.

It’s almost time to go home now. Tomorrow we are making our way back to the UK. We have all had the most amazing time here and really learnt so much about what to expect for London 2012. I can’t wait for the opportunity to compete at this level. This experience has really opened my eyes and I’m looking forward to my turn.

Bye for now,

Darryl