4me blog 2021 Olympics

Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together

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It might be a year later than billed but the Olympics certainly delivered when we needed it to.

With around 11,000 athletes across 206 countries, competing in 339 different events from 41 sports (including 5 new additions), the Olympics really has something for everyone and Great Britain has become accustomed to Olympic success.

Beijing 2008, 51 medals – 19 gold. London 2012, 65 medals – 29 gold. Rio 2016, 67 medals – 27 gold.

This time around UK Sport set a target of 45 – 70 medals and Team GB did not disappoint.

While they’ve consistently delivered at the Olympics, there’s so much more to many stories than just the medal at the end – we’ve highlighted a handful which captured our attention this Olympic summer.

#teamgreatknitting
Tom Daley – Thrust into the spotlight in 2008 in Beijing when he was 14, he’d yet to win gold. Now 27, Tokyo would be his fourth attempt. His dive won gold, his knitting won the internet. Tom learned to knit before the Olympics to help him stay calm – it seemed to work as, with the gold and bronze medals he picked up in Tokyo, he became the first Team GB diver to win four Olympic medals. He’s certainly the first to knit a cardigan while waiting for his next event.

BMX girls have a lot of fun
Beth Shriever – 2017, drops out of the British Cycling programme due to no funding for women’s BMX. 2021, Olympic BMX champion. With no funding from UK Sport, Beth worked as a teaching assistant and used crowdfunding to help get her to the Olympics. She returned to the cycling programme in 2019. She returned home from Tokyo in 2021 with Team GB’s first Olympic gold medal for BMX.

Worth her weight in silver
Emily Campbell – There was a little wobble of the knees, a steadying smile and then a beep. Britain had its first ever female Olympic weightlifting medallist as Emily won the silver medal. Only five years ago Emily hadn’t done any weightlifting and was working full-time with children with special educational needs. With no funding, she worked and received help from her community. Fast forward to 2021 and we have our first female Olympic weightlifting medal.

The Sky’s the limit
Sky Brown – At 13, the youngest professional skateboarder in the world. Sky had to overcome two huge obstacles to even make it to the Olympics, a life-threatening crash and her reluctant parents. In spring 2020, Sky suffered fractures to her skull and broke both her left wrist and hand after falling from a skate ramp. Just one year later and, after failing her first two runs, Sky landed the kickflip indy on her final attempt. As with the first two runs she slid down the bowl on her hands and knees, but this time she slid with joy. Had the Olympics taken place as planned in 2020, Sky likely wouldn’t have made it. 2021 she’s Team GB’s youngest ever Olympic medal winner.

Overall Team GB brought home an impressive haul of 65 medals from Tokyo, with 22 golds, 21 silvers and 22 bronze medals.

Of course we cheer all our athletes on for the win, but for some even the taking part is an achievement which shouldn’t go unnoticed.

As the closing ceremony ends and Tokyo passes the Olympic baton to Paris – we wait to see what 2024 has in store for Team GB, not just in terms of medals but also the story behind it.

Over to you Paralympics – in the words of Jonny Brownlee – “Olympics? Completed it.”

Swimming into the open

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If there’s anything the pandemic has taught us, it’s to look for alternative ways to keep fit and look after our mental health. Open water swimming has done just that for me! It’s been a favourite pastime of triathletes and others in the know for many years now and there are loads of lakes geared up to cater for the increased interest in getting out into the water.

I’m a big fan of it, but why should you consider open water swimming?

Physical Benefits

  1. Natural high – our brains release endorphins to reduce any discomfort from the cold water, which in turn generates a natural high!
  2. Improved immune system – open water swimming can induce the body to produce more white blood cells and anti-oxidants leading to a more robust immune system
  3. Increases Metabolism and improves circulation – our bodies burn more calories in an effort to keep warm in cold water thereby improving our metabolism. And the cold also forces the heart to pump harder to circulate blood around the body to raise our body temperature.
  4. Improves sleep – swimming’s an excellent form of exercise. It uses most of your muscles, giving you a full body workout, which means your body should be tired by bedtime and lead to a deeper sleep.
  5. Improves your posture – swimming strengthens your back and shoulders thereby improving your posture.
  6. Increases your fitness level – repetitive strokes and the water resistance naturally improves your fitness and muscle strength over time. Water also allows you to get a full workout with low impact on your joints.
  7. Reduces risk of chronic illness – swimming will reduce your chances of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, or a stroke. Regular swims at least once a week are known to bring down blood pressure, cholesterol levels, reduce fat disposition and inhibit blood clotting!

Mental Health Benefits

  1. Sense of achievement – certainly the first time you set foot in the water you’ll feel slightly crazy for agreeing to try it. But by the time you re-emerge after your swim, you can look back at the lake and see how far you have swum and gain a great sense of achievement.
  2. Stress-busting – escaping the daily grind to a peaceful lake, away from computers, screens, people and traffic, allows you to take a complete break from a hectic schedule. Swimming is a peaceful and relaxing form of exercise.
  3. Boosts happiness – the natural high, improved health and physical fitness and exposure to nature can help your happiness levels.
  4. Meet new people – the high people get from swimming in lakes and rivers has a noticeable knock on effect in making people more open and friendly. You’ll notice people you encounter at open water swimming locations are quicker to chat to strangers and share their experiences.

If you’re bitten by the bug, you can join one of the many groups who swim together.

What Do You Need?
To start open water swimming, you need to be able to swim a minimum distance unaided, usually around 400 metres. Remember, there are no sides of a swimming pool to hold on to, so you need to be a relatively confident swimmer. If you’ve not swum in a while, go to your local pool to increase your fitness before trying your first open water swim.

Most open water venues will need you to undertake an induction session to prove you can swim before you’re set free in the lake. The lakes are normally set up with a clearly defined loop marked by buoys. At the larger venues, there may be more than one loop giving you the option to complete different distances depending on your competence and ability.

An organised open water swimming venue will stipulate that swimmers need to wear a wet suit to get in the water, a brightly coloured swimming hat and/or a tow float so that the safety kayakers or life guards do not lose sight of you. During the summer, the temperature of the water will increase and swimmers can switch to wearing just a swimming costume or trunks.

Different venues have different minimum ages, with some places allowing children as young as 7 who have the ability and are accompanied by an adult to swim.

Where To Do It?
A google search will pull up the options local to you, but here are some links to help you get started:

Please note that there may be venues in your local area which are not listed, so try a targeted search to get a full list of locations close to you.

…and if swimming in your local lake with safety kayakers becomes far too tame for you, there is the option to crank it up a notch and embrace wild swimming.

One step at a time…

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The wind in your hair, the sun on your face and fresh air in your lungs! Ok, so going out for a walk isn’t always like that, especially living in the UK with our temperamental weather. But getting out and about in the countryside, or even just for a walk around your local area can be brilliant.

Living in central Scotland I’m lucky enough to be reasonably close, well a couple of hours’ drive or so, to Loch Lomond and Cairngorms National Parks – home to some of the most amazing scenery in the country. And being a keen hillwalker, these areas really are a ramblers’ paradise.

I’m a big advocate of getting outdoors and into nature, and having not had the complete freedom to do that during lockdown, has only reinforced my appreciation of the great outdoors. Walking itself can have loads of health benefits and nature has been shown to have a positive effect on mental health. For me, getting out into the countryside and hillwalking really helps clear my head, and I do find myself feeling grateful as I walk amongst the stunning Scottish scenery – it really is a sight to behold. Although I usually go hillwalking with other people and we talk about anything and everything, it’s often those fleeting moments of silence that I find I really enjoy too. Being able to appreciate the moment and take in the beautiful surroundings. Until writing this I never thought of it as practising gratitude, and it’s only now that I’ve reflected on it properly that I’ve realised that’s exactly what I’m doing – and I feel better for it.

Planning a big day of hillwalking can be great, and it’s brilliant to have something to look forward to. But even just getting out of the house for a trek round the block can help boost your mood and improve your mental health. We’ve all been limited in what we can do recently, but even a short walk can work wonders. And if, like me, you’re still working from home, it gets you away from your desk for a wee while if nothing else.

So with May being National Walking Month why not try to get out and about. You could get your friends and family involved and take part in a walking challenge, or just set yourself a goal to get out for a walk once a day. You don’t have to be venturing into the Scottish mountains to take part and you might just find you feel better, physically and mentally, thanks to a bit of regular walking. Let us know if you’re doing anything for National Walking Month and we’ll share your stories, hints, tips and fundraising pages on our social channels.