Top 5 Sporting Heroes of London 2012

Here is the final Olympic top 5 of the week, and by far the most difficult to pick. Whittling down the hundreds of gold medal winning athletes to pick five who stood out is a thankless task, and I have tried to select people who had a significant impact on the Games, and whose achievements were the most impressive. Feel free to comment on who would make up your top five.

5 Jessica Ennis

                Ennis came into London 2012 as the much touted “face of the Games.” You could barely turn a corner without seeing her plastered up on a billboard, not only in London but across the country. There was incredible pressure on Jess to produce. Any doubts about her ability to live up to the hype were quickly expelled as she ran 12.54secs in the opening event, the 100m hurdles. That time would have been enough for gold in the hurdles in Beijing, and was a personal best and all-time heptathlon record. Ennis, like Michael Johnson at Atlanta 96 or Ian Thorpe at Sydney 2000, had come to the party. A series of stunning performances, including personal best efforts in the 200m and javelin, made Ennis a shoe-in for gold going into the final event, the 800m. Effectively Ennis only had to make sure she got round to take the victory, with the 800m being one of her stronger events and her lead in points translating to a 13 second advantage on the track. But, in front of an electric crowd in the Olympic Stadium on the middle Saturday of the Games (dubbed Super Saturday), Ennis won the race in style. Her performance was one of the highlights of the Games. She lived up to the much heightened expectations and exceeded them. In none of the seven events did she even slightly disappoint. A truly outstanding performance.

4 The cyclists

                It proved impossible to pick out the achievements of any one cyclist above the others at these Games. Across the board they were, for the second games running, dominant. One of the moments of the Games, without doubt, was the victory of Bradley Wiggins. Wiggins’ achievements over the past few months have been unprecedented. We also saw the changing of the guard of British track cycling. Both Sir Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny won two gold medals at London 2012. Hoy has now won six Olympic golds, more than any other Briton ever. This will be Hoy’s last Olympics, and he went out in style. Now Kenny, already with three golds in the bag, takes up the mantle. For the women, it is a similar story as Victoria Pendleton bows out, and Laura Trott who is also now a double gold medallist becomes British cycling’s new poster girl. It was a tremendous Games again for the cyclists, but special mention must also go to one who came away with nothing. Mark Cavendish, for the second Games running, was without a medal. But he didn’t shy away from the media glare, and even worked for the BBC as a pundit in the velodrome. Amongst all the track cyclists’ success, he added an expert eye and acted with dignity amongst the inevitable questions surrounding his disappointment.

3 Usain Bolt

                There are not enough superlatives in the world to describe this man. Both incredibly talented on the track, and oozing charisma off it, Bolt has now won six Olympic gold medals (giving him a hit rate of 100% in events he has entered). The Olympics has ignited debates over who is the best ever Olympian. From a British perspective, Sir Steve Redgrave is now challenged by Sir Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins. On a worldwide scale, the common answer is Michael Phelps. Phelps has indeed won 22 Olympic medals, including 18 gold. He also had a 100% success rate in 2008. But, particularly at these Games, he hasn’t been the dominant figure he once was. Bolt has now, across two Olympic Games, been unbeatable in everything he entered. Questions were asked before the Games started about whether compatriot Yohan Blake, or the Americans Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin, could beat him. They did not come close. And after his double triumph in the 100m and 200m, he was then the final leg of the world record breaking 4x100m relay team. Given the baton neck-and-neck with the Americans, Bolt strided away to win gold. He confirmed his place as one of the most dominant athletes of all time, and with it perhaps the greatest ever Olympian.

2 Brownlee brothers

                One of the most gruelling events of the Olympic Games is the triathlon. An unforgiving procession of swimming, cycling and running that takes not only an incredible level of fitness, but also the ability to master three different skills to a world-class standard. To complete a triathlon is commendable; to win a medal is very impressive. Remarkable, one family from North Yorkshire managed to contribute two medal winners in this event. Alistair Brownlee and his brother Jonathan finished first and third, respectively, to claim gold and bronze.Their collective performance in the race was remarkable, leading the whole way. Only Javier Gomez of Spain, and a 15-second penalty, prevented the brothers making it a Team GB 1-2. Such was the immense physical exertion of the race that the medal ceremony was delayed after Jonny collapsed shortly before it was meant to take place, and received medical treatment. The brothers’ performance was one of the more uplifting stories of the Games. They have always trained together, in the scenic Yorkshire Dales, and worked to eachother’s advantage during the race. The fairytale of them crossing the line together was always going to be unlikely to occur, but their amazing efforts were one of the most human storylines of the Games. Additionally, the Brownlee family on its own finished ahead of India, Belgium, Portugal and Greece in the medal table.

1 Mo Farah

                Mo became the undisputed star of London 2012. Just like Kelly Holmes in 2004, and Rebecca Adlington in 2008, he became the nation’s most admired athlete by winning two gold medals in one Olympics. He rounded off Super Saturday in style, winning Great Britain’s sixth gold medal of the day, and third at the track, with a commanding performance in the 10,000m. After almost thirty minutes of running, Farah was still able to kick better than any of his rivals and stayed at the front throughout the final lap. The 5,000m was a closer affair. But every time one of his competitors tried to make a move in the last kilometre, Mo was up for the challenge. Nobody was getting past, nobody would deny Mo a second gold. And so it was as he crossed the line, the look of delight unmistakable on his face. Britain has won more than its fair share of gold medals at London 2012, but none was as inspiring as Mo’s double. Born in Somalia and raised in Djibouti, he was brought to this country aged eight knowing barely a word of English; to hear him speak now, you would not know it. There is no question over Mo’s nationality. He is British through and through, and the nation has taken him to its heart. His celebration, the “Mobot,” which was created by Clare Balding and named by james Corden on Sky1’s “A League of their Own,” has become an instant cult classic. With London 2012’s motto being “Inspire a Generation,” there can be no more inspiring and far-reaching figure than Mo Farah.