At Spyns we have small intimate tours that will cover the whole swimming schedule, for the opening ceremony on the 27th July until the last day of swimming on the 4th August. And if you want to stick around to the closing ceremony on the 12th August, we are more than happy to have you. Hotels, tickets, and London attractions will all be included in our tickets. Get in contact with me at henry@london-olympiad.com for information on our Gold, Silver, and Bronze tour options, or have a look at our website http://www.london-olympiad.com/
Mulling over Olympic tickets and the 2012 schedule already, in particular the swimming events? Wondering if morning heats and sessions are worth the money in the likelihood that the finals are going to be over subscribed?
You may look at the schedule and see five session events in the space of an hour and think is it worth it. The swimmers will race and be gone in a flash. Not so. Go. You won’t regret it.
You’ll be watching athletes who’ve toiled for the last four years just to get to the Aquatics Centre. Of course, some like Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte will breeze into the semi-final and finals of their events.
But for the rest, racing to get one of the eight lanes on offer will be their own Olympic final. You’ll witness their own personal dreams.
As Steve Parry, Britain’s former Olympian turned BBC pundit, says: “People are at their best on that one day every four years so it is a great chance to see them in action before the finals.
“There is an awful lot that goes on in the morning heats and it is just exciting to see a host of different nations.”
These sessions are still likely to be filled to the rafters with patriotic Britons and the swimming fraternity. There may even be a huge upset or two. The fact of the matter is that complacency comes at a price at the Olympics.
Parry, then aged 27 and the world No 5, thought he would do enough to qualify in the morning heats at the 2004 Games in Athens.
“I made the semi by 4/100ths of a second,” he recalls. “I thought I would easily make it through to the final but finished sixth in my heat and qualified last overall. I just had the afternoon to sort my head out.”
The Briton came back that night and qualified for the final from lane eight, edging out Phelps to qualify fastest. The final saw him return return home with bronze, the first British swimming medal since Graeme Smith, Parrry’s team-mate at Stockport Metro, took bronze in the 1500m freestyle at Atlanta in 1996.
Parry backs up the notion that there are relatively few duff swimming sessions at an Olympiad.
“There was only one event that was considered a non-event at the last Olympics and that was Rebecca Adlington in the 800m freestyle where she smashed the world record.”
And what of Parry’s event? There’s no question that Phelps will be overwhelming favourite for a third gold on day three of the meet (ticket code SW008).
“It is his best event and he won it at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. He beat me in the event aged 15 which was outrageous so I fully expect him to win at 2012.”
British Swimming also realise there a number of high-profile athletes with decisions to make with the schedule now set in stone. Those include Hannah Miley, Fran Halsall and Rebecca Adlington, who is considering a four-pronged medal attack.
David Sparkes, British Swimming’s chief executive, says: “Just to make the final of the Olympic Games you have to be close to your very best. To make the final of the world championship is similar but not quite the same.
“There have been athletes over the years who have medal favourites who have subsequently slipped up in the morning. Cruising is not an option at the Games.”
Still need to mull over morning session tickets?
Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720. http://www.spyns.com/
