Bravery on display has been inspirational, but behind the glamour and the glory it’s the humanity that captivates us
M
ilano Cortina has been the first Games where I’ve been around town, not just being whisked from the sliding centre to the athletes’ village. It has given me the chance to really be present and feel the excitement and anticipation that sport brings, not to mention the importance it has in giving us something else to focus on in difficult times.
As a TV pundit, it was hard to keep my emotions in check watching Great Britain’s skeleton success because I knew what it meant to Matt Weston and Tabby Stoecker to become Olympic champions – Matt twice, of course. Their achievements are not only historic but the day-to-day impact will be so meaningful to both of them. I remember seeing kids’ drawings of me and people dressing up as “Lizzy” and now I’m seeing it from a different perspective. I’m incredibly proud of them.
Winning gold with your teammate, as Matt and Tabby were able to experience in the new mixed event, is something special. In the individual events, you wait in the changing room and storm out when it is your turn. But this time the athletes lined up like aeroplanes on a runway, supporting their teammates before following them down the ice. I would have liked to have had Matt Weston as my teammate.
