As time is sprinting on in the countdown to London 2012, this week, GM Chris Penn tests out a sport equally known for its speed…..
Athletics seems like such a broad category to be classed as one “sport” in the Olympics but athletics as a whole does make up just one of the 26 sports. With so many disciplines to choose from athletics has something for everyone and is a mix of throwing, jumping and running. The 100 metres is one of the most popular events at the Olympics and draws large crowds along the home straight of the track. 2012 promises to be just as exciting as usual with all the major players taking part. Britain has a few medal opportunities, but in particular, I am looking forward to watching Jessica Ennis in the heptathlon and Phillips Idowu in the triple jump.
I used to triple jump at school so have a personal connection with that sport and with heptathlon, Jessica is just fantastic and a great role model so that is the reason that I want to watch that. When I started my Olympic challenge, a couple of people asked when I was embracing the marathon but it is a lesser known fact that the marathon is part of the athletics programme (lucky for me) – so I chose the 100 metres and the hurdles instead!
