Why is sport such a powerful tool in bringing people together?

We've waited a year longer than expected but the Olympics are finally here.  I'm still unsure how I feel about them going ahead in the circumstances, which is a shame as I'm usually bat sh*t crazy with excitement.  However, I'm determined to get behind Team GB from afar and let's hope they put a smile on our face.

I've always been fascinated by the Olympics from an early age, my first experience of watching them was 1976 in Montreal and although a little too young at six years old to completely understand what was going on, I knew it was something special.  When they next came around in 1980 with Coe vs Ovett in Moscow, I was completely hooked.  By the time London 2012 arrived, I thought I was going to implode with excitement!!  On my home turf, there was no way on this earth I was not going to be there in person and, to top it off, I was there on 'Super Saturday'.

Sport is a powerful tool in bringing people together, even more so at the Olympics which is a complete melting pot of cultures and nationalities, which is why it's so sad there's no spectators at Tokyo.  Me and Mr Bob have had so many engaging conversations at sports events with people from different countries and they're always good natured and fun.  The group of Aussies sat in front of us at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne thought it was highly amusing that we (me!) couldn't remember the words to Land of Hope & Glory which they played as the national anthem of England at that time.  In my defence, it did used to change quite a lot depending which sporting event you were at, I think they dabbled with Land of Hope & Glory, then Jerusalem, whereas these days it tends be God Save The Queen.

It's not only the spectators that come together as one and are able to forget their political and cultural differences for a brief time, it's the athletes too.  There's a camaraderie in the Olympics like no other event.  Yes, they're rivals but at the same time, there's an understanding that they're in it together, they've all gone through incredible experiences and sacrificed so much to be there.

But even sports at grass roots has the power to bring people together, you only have to look at the impact of Covid to see that.  Park run has finally started again this week and, if you dig deeper, you'll realise that it actually has nothing to do with running (you can do that on your own, any time, any where).  No, it's all about the social infrastructure, the human connections, the being in it together, the feeling of we can do this and knowing that you're all experiencing the same thing whether young or old, fast or slow.

Done in the right way, sport can also be used to overcome political and cultural obstacles.  Look at the fantastic work being done by Dina Asher-Smith in promoting sport to young girls and helping them overcome their body image issues and Marcus Rashford who forced a government u-turn on school meals.  Yes, sport is a powerful tool indeed.

It's the same with my boot camp sessions, yes there's the fitness element but it's also about coming together and having fun, putting everything else to one side for an hour or two and simply having a laugh.  Yesterday's session descended into absolute chaos as we literally cried from laughing and our abs ached.  Although we weren't too impressed with our new member!!

Bear bum ... as opposed to bare bum!!

I love sport so let's get behind Team GB or whatever country you support at the Olympics, put other things to one side for a few weeks and have some fun.  The world deserves it!!

#2021