As London gears up for the summer Olympics this year, there have already been events to test the venues. Many of these test events serve as the final qualifications for the 2012 Olympics. We were able to get tickets to two gymnastics events last week.
The gymnastics venue is The O2 in North Greenwich.
One of the neat facts about this venue is that you can straddle the Prime Meridian here. The line is actually highlighted outside on the pavement so you can see; Greenwich is where Greenwich Mean Time is measured from.
We attended Tuesday without Chris and met up with Caleb’s teammates for the event.
We had a great time . . . and a late night! But, we were able to see all the men’s teams that were still trying to qualify for the Olympics, as well as some that were trying to qualify as individuals (including 2 Americans). Our ‘friend’ Jordan Jovtchev from Bulgaria had competed earlier in the morning and will be going to the Olympics for the 6th time at age 39! Amazing!
Great Britain was obviously a crowd pleaser!
Great Britain Team
What surprised me the most at this event was that the boys are already doing most of the things the gymnasts were doing, especially on floor. The only differences are more height, more twists and rotations, and polished. It really was amazing.
Parallel Bars
High Bar
Pommel Horse
Rings
Vault
Floor
Great Britain performed well on their home turf as they qualified in 1st place, with France, Spain, and Italy also qualifying.
Victory Ceremony
Just a few nights later, our family trekked back to The O2 for the first night of the apparatus finals. If individuals didn’t qualify for the Olympics at this point, if they qualified for the last qualifications, they have one last chance to earn a spot, even if their team makes it or not.
The O2 at Night
On Thursday we were able to see 3 of the men’s apparatus finals – rings, pommel horse, and floor; as well as 2 women’s apparatus finals – vault and uneven bars. Again, just an amazing night watching all of their skill and strength.
The night was made even better by our upgrade on seats. One of our friends works for a company that has a box in The O2. He offered us seats for the same night we were attending so it worked out perfectly – great seats, great food, and a lot of room to roam without anyone getting perturbed! We LOVED it!
Bring on the 2012 London Olympics!!
So fun! SO JEALOUS!! I love the Olympics and truly that’s an understatement. When I worked for the Salt Lake games there were free tickets available for our last run through of Opening Ceremonies, you should be on the look out for those, such a treat!
We miss you guys so much. We talk about you often!
Wish we could fit in another trip to London to visit you guys this summer and catch some of the Olympics! I’m a total Olympics junkie, but I missed them in SLC in 2002 because I was on my mission, so I have yet to attend an event live. It’s definitely on my bucket list!