After nine hours on a plane, I arrived at Heathrow, London’s main airport, ready to crash from exhaustion at my lodging for the week: Pepperdine’s London campus. The staff had cleared the summer students from 56 Prince’s Gate and instead opened the house to Pepperdine alumni and avid Olympic fans. As one of those fans, I was ready to begin my London 2012 experience, an experience I had no expectations for, an experience that no one could have prepared me for.
The most exciting part of coming to London was knowing that I was going to see the games. I was fortunate enough to go to three gold medal events: women’s volleyball, women’s synchronized swimming duets, and women’s field hockey. Hundreds of thousands of people filed in and out of the arenas with speed, security was efficient and getting to one’s seat was simple. The British impressed me with their organization during an event that could erupt into chaos in a blink of an eye.
Out of the three events I attended, the event that impressed me most was synchronized swimming. Living and growing up in Southern California has always pushed me toward water sports, such as water polo and swimming, but I had never been exposed to this unique sport. These women were dancers and swimmers in one. They perform without breathing and still need to stay in perfect unison with their partners both under water and above. I had splurged on this event, since it seemed so obscure at the time and had great seats in the section where parents of some of the swimmers were sitting. There were a total of ten teams preforming for the gold, and after a few of the teams were finished, I started talking with the mother of the Great Britain Olympian sitting in front of me. She had been a synchronized swimmer and her daughter had followed in her footsteps. This was a sport that I had never acknowledged, but to this family it was a sport that had played an influential role in their lives. This mother was so proud of her daughter, and as she began telling me about the rules and regulations of the sport, I began to appreciate how difficult it actually is. During the event, the monitor showed the underwater view of the performers. They had to tread water upside down constantly to keep their lower bodies above water, all while not breathing. These women are super athletes above and below the water. Synchronized swimming is a sport that does not receive much press, but it is a sport worth watching.
Watching Team USA perform their duet and play for the gold in volleyball was exciting; during these games, wearing USA gear and waving the United State’s flag was an honor. Actually being in London, watching events up close and personal was enthralling. Growing up, watching the Olympics on television was always exciting, but being able to wear red, white and blue, cheer on my country’s athletes and feel the energy of the players during the game was like nothing a spectator feels while watching the games on TV. Attending the Olympic games was a dream come true. On top of that, I was staying at the Pepperdine campus in London, a place that is close to my heart and made me feel at home.
Overall, the Olympics were above and beyond anything I could have imagined. The British people were accommodating and kind, and the city of London itself did not feel overcrowded; instead, it felt suited for the role it took on as host. Once I started going to the events, my opinions of London only became more positive; the venues were organized, the security fast and the games themselves enthralling. To me, the 2012 London Olympics were a success.
