This week the ODA's Director of Design and Regeneration Alison Nimmo and I hosted a visit for a group of athletes from the Special Olympics World Winter Games who are preparing to head off to Idaho to compete in February. The 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise, Idaho will host almost 3,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from more than 100 countries from 7-13 February 2009. During the seven-day event, athletes will compete in seven winter sport events including: Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Figure Skating, Floor Hockey, Snowboarding, Snowshoeing, and Speed Skating.

This was such a memorable morning and the athletes were simply thrilled to be able to come and spend some time at London 2012 HQ. 

London 2012 Organising Committee Chair Seb Coe was able to spend some time chatting with the team and wishing them all the best in the coming Games. Meeting Seb was a real highlight for the team, and there were smiles all round! Of course, this meant we had a tough act to follow, but we took the group out to Stratford to see the progress on the Olympic Park and it went down a real treat.

I have to say that it has only been a few weeks since I was last on site myself, but the changes taking place on the Park are amazing – the Stadium steelwork is flying up and it is an absolute inspiration to see venues rising out of the ground. 

Today marked halfway to go between winning the bid to stage the 2012 Games and the London 2012 Opening Ceremony - who would have ever believed that?

Most people forget the overhead pylons were even on the Olympic Park site now that they are gone, but if you had ever seen them dotted around four years ago, you would have wondered how on earth this was ever going to be an Olympic and Paralympic site!

 

The Special Olympics team are seriously optimistic about their chances of gold and are looking forward to the chance to come back and show us their medals in the summer and with the Special Olympics Summer Games coming to Leicester from 25 July, Special Olympics GB might just be giving the Beijing medal haul a run for its money!

Keep an eye out for them in the news!