Hamish Bond and Eric Murray during the Men's Pair heats at the Rowing venue of Eton Dorney (Photosport)
Cameraman Wuzza Armstrong waiting outside the rowing venue for Mahe’s supporters to arrive. We do a lot of waiting!
Me finally finding Krispy Kreme doughnuts – now which one to have?
People filing into Olympic Park on day one of competition
Mike McRoberts takes his photo taking very seriously!
By Michelle Pickles, in London
Wow! Eric Murray and Hamish Bond were smoke on the water today! Six seconds under the world best time in their heat – incredible performance. But really, should we be surprised? Absolutely not.
These guys have been the benchmark for four years now – they have never been beaten since getting in the boat together in 2009. It really is a remarkable run – and it would be easy for these guys to become complacent. But that will never happen. They are so driven, determined and absolutely focussed on that gold medal – that they have not and will not leave anything to chance. And that’s why they’re the best.
You may have seen my story where Hamish talked about not being happy with their performance at the Munich World Cup (which the won easily). He said they weren’t quite on their game and had some improving to do. They knew they could make that boat go faster. Well – they certainly proved that today. They are two races away from what Eric Murray described as their destiny – Olympic gold. Seriously – who would ever dare to bet against them.
I have to say – I reckon you wouldn’t bet against Mahe Drysdale either. The guy has overcome so much – illness in Beijing, a debilitating back injury, being knocked off his bike six weeks ago and injuring his shoulder. But he just gets right back up and carries on. He is so tough – not just physically but mentally – and it’s that mental toughness and absolute desire to win Olympic gold that I believe will see him realise his dream here in London.
I caught up with his family and friends after his race (outside the rowing venue because we aren’t allowed gear inside being non-rights holders) – they were all wearing their Mahe t-shirts – and all so loud and proud in their support of Mahe. What a great bunch of people – who could go wrong with supporters like that.
Now to completely change the subject – and this may seem rather random – but I found Krispy Kreme doughnuts today.
For those who don’t know what Krispy Kreme doughnuts are – they are only THE best doughnuts in the whole wide world. So far I’ve only been able to get them in the USA and Australia. But they are here too! I was very excited – much to the amusement of my co-workers. But now that they’ve tried them – they’re hooked too! Krispy Kreme in Westfield Stratford might be seeing a lot of us over the next few weeks!