'We'll be at the Olympics' (From Oxford Mail)

'We'll be at the Olympics'

MILLIONS of people from around the world will descend on London in 2012 for the Olympic and Paralympic games. Events are taking place in the far corners of the UK, and the Olympic torch itself will weave its way through Oxfordshire in July. Rhianne Pope talks to people who will be taking their place in history and joining in with the festivities.

Councillor Dave Earle

The athletes.

Great Britain rowing cox Caroline O’Connor has a very busy 2012 ahead.

The science teacher juggles her time at the Oxford Academy with coxing the Great Britain women’s eight, who she hopes to steer to medal success at the Olympics.

She said: “It’s really exciting. It’s a lot of pressure, but if you handle it in the right way, it’ll be fine.

Caroline O'Connor

“Competing in London makes it all the more special. If you go out and get a good result and there are your friends, family, colleagues and everyone you know in the crowd, that’s just amazing.”

The 28-year-old Oxford Brookes graduate also hoped to see lots of her pupils at the games.

She said: “With Beijing, you didn’t get any Olympic fever until they had started. But everyone has been talking about London for years. I am pretty confident that we can do well, we have had a strong year and I see no reason why we can’t go from strength to strength.

“So it’s just about keeping healthy and strong.”

Miss O’Connor said the squad were taking a few days off training as a team to visit family.

Max Mason

She added: “I’ll be at my sister’s in Brighton because she has got four kids and it will be lovely. But there’s no rest.A lot of the girls take rowing machines home because we can’t stop training. We’re going for a medal.”

The masseur.

Oxford City FC masseur Chris Chesterman will spend the Olympics based at the Athletes’ Village as part of the in-house medical team.

It means that come August, he could be providing treatment to anyone from Usain Bolt to Rebecca Adlington.

As part of the London bid, a single medical team will be providing treatments to all the athletes from around the world.

Maxine Grout

That means Mr Chesterman, a top-qualified sports masseur from Forest Road, Risinghurst, must deal with any athlete who walks through the door.

He said: “Four weeks ago, I was at the weightlfting test event at the ExCel Arena, and offered the role at the Olympics.

“The Athletes’ Village is going to be the hub where all the athletes from all around the word live during the Games.

“Anyone could come in from any of the sports, so I could be working with top 100m runners, hurdlers or footballers.”

Mr Chesterman, 42, has been a full-time masseur for six years, and already volunteers at Oxford City FC, where he also trains the under-eights.

The volunteer.

Abingdon-based Maxine Grout said she was “chuffed to bits” to find out she had won a coveted place as one of 70,000 Olympics volunteers.

More than 250,000 people applied to become a ‘Games Maker’ and the 34-year-old is taking a key leadership role.

The HR adviser at the John Radcliffe Hospital said: “I was so chuffed, I signed up for updates the second I found out London had got the Olympics.

“I just knew this was one of those once-in-a-lifetime things you will never get the chance to be part of again.

“And just to say that I was there, I was a part of that – it is something I’ll have forever.”

The volunteers will be responsible for everything from distributing uniforms to helping in the car parks and providing assistance to athletes.

Ms Grout added: “I’ve got no idea what days I’ll be working or what I’ll be doing.

“I think it will require a lot of thinking on my feet, but I know I’ll enjoy it.

“This time next year I’ll probably be tired because this means I won’t get a holiday. But it’ll all be worth it. 2012 is going to be a great year.”

The diplomatic assistant.

Big Bang restaurateur Max Mason will be a diplomatic assistant to the international relations team.

The position will see him attending swanky VIP events, accompanying state visitors to the village and watching the games.

He said: “It’ll be great. Looking at the world’s media and how they are covering it, it looks like everyone thinks we will do a great job.

“It should be a lot of fun, it was a real compliment to be asked.”

Initially Mr Mason thought that by volunteering, he would be handing out brochures or parking cars. But he received a phone call from the London 2012 Organising Committee, asking him to take more of a high-profile role.

He puts the offer down to his ability to speak French, his experience of dealing with the Sarkozys while working in Paris for an Aids charity and his eight years as a Royal Navy officer, which saw him given security clearance.

He said: “We start our training in March and then go straight through until July.

“I’ve got no idea what we’ll be doing, so I’m looking forward to getting to know a bit more.

“It’ll be really cool to be a part of history.”

The spectators.

Naomi Green, 27, from Headington, won coveted tickets to the 100m final on August 5, 2012.

She and her mum Pat had only a 1-in-50,000 chance of being successful bidders and said they couldn’t wait.

She said: “We are the most excited people you can find, and we just want to go and see Usain Bolt win.

“It’s going to be incredible.”

The torchbearers.

A BANBURY boxing councillor is set to help carry the Olympic torch from Oxford to Reading when the iconic flame tours Britain next year.

Town Council member Dave Earle will be among the 8,000 runners set to carry the torch from Land’s End to Olympic Stadium, London.

Mr Earle runs Banbury’s Spit ‘n’ Sawdust gym in North Bar Street and was nominated by a cousin for his sport work with youngsters, including visits to schools and colleges.

He said: “I’m delighted. I run my own gym, I’ve been a boxer since I was young and I’ve been watching the Olympics forever.

“I always wanted to be in the Olympics and never thought I would be doing it this way.”

The exact part of the route Mr Earle will run has yet to be confirmed when the relay visits the county on Tuesday, July 10, and Wednesday, July 11.

A Neithrop North councillor for four years, he said: “I don’t normally suffer nerves – I am excited more than nervous. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Yet he said the demands of the gym mean he will have to snatch glimpses of all the action at the games, which runs from July 27 to August 12.

Mr Earle, who was twice British full-contact kickboxing champion, said: “The 100m sprint is the favourite event of many, it is short and explosive.

“I will watch anything, from the cross country running to skiing in the Winter Olympics.”

Mr Earle said he believed in the motivating power of sport to transform lives.

The 47-year-old Ruscote Avenue resident said: “I thrive on changing lives, not just kids’ but adults’ as well.”

Town council leader Kieron Mallon said: “It would be a great accolade for the town for Dave to carry the torch. He has been an ambassador for sport and deserves this honour.”

The route will take in Blackbird Leys, the Mini plant and Cowley Road that day and the torch will be waved off from Iffley Road running track by four-minute-mile legend Sir Roger Bannister the next morning.

Also carrying the torch will be Keith Jansz, from Finmere near Banbury.

The 50-year-old was left paralysed from the shoulders down in a car accident in 1995.

But despite his disabilities, Mr Jansz has gone on to become a world-renowned artist using the only thing he can, his mouth.

He said: “It’s a real honour to be chosen.

“As a former athlete, and having represented my county in pole vaulting, I have a feel for the dedication and commitment it takes, and have nothing but respect for these top athletes.

“How it feels to be able to play a small part in history will probably only be apparent in hindsight. It’s so much to take in.

“I am feeling very proud and immensely humbled.”