THERE’S no doubt about it, our overly biased Aussie view that the Sydney 2000 Olympics were the best Games ever can simply no longer stand.
Take a bow Great Britain, you have done a jolly good job.
The opening ceremony was good (there was no Nikki Webster for a start), but what followed for the next fortnight was simply incredible.
From record crowds – some 250,000 people lined the streets during the cycling road race, while 2.183 million spectators attended the football program – to the spectacular views of London and the simply breathtaking efforts of the world’s best athletes, it will take a grand effort from Brazil in 2016 to beat these Games.
The undisputed star of the third London Olympics was Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who claimed gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay to repeat his efforts from Beijing.
Such is his popularity that social networking site Twitter was raging at 80,000 tweets per minute after the 200m final – a record rate.
Michael Phelps, who became the most decorated Olympian of all-time in London, was forced to take somewhat of a back seat as Bolt fever swept across Great Britain.
Special mentions must also go to Team GB’s Mo Farah and Jess Ennis, who lit up the Olympic Stadium during their respective events and have now become national heroes in their homeland.
While our sailing team largely dominated the seas, hurdling queen Sally Pearson surely takes the crown as Australia’s golden girl.
There was so much pressure on her to perform and she stepped up in emphatic fashion on the world’s biggest stage. It also helps that she is such a likeable character.
Despite all that, I thought the closing ceremony went in one direction, and that was down hill fast, after the appearance of a certain boy band.
That said, congratulations London and bring on Rio in 2016!
SOMEBODY PLEASE STOP THE DOGS!
Seriously, how much longer can this Canterbury Bulldogs winning streak go on?
It has gone on for 11 games too long as far as I’m concerned, but they just keep on keeping on.
The Brisbane Broncos came close to halting it on Sunday after the Bulldogs made a torrid start to the match, but Ben Barba somehow keeps coming up with the match-winning goods.
One must think long and hard to name a more naturally gifted footballer than Barba. As someone who is a massive fan of anybody playing the Bulldogs, it pains me to say that he is a genuine superstar.
The Bulldogs surely must now be eyeing off their own NRL record of 17 wins in a row, which they set back in 2002.
MAC ATTACK AT PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
That was some effort from Irishman Rory McIlroy at the Ocean Course over the weekend, where he claimed the PGA Championship title by a record margin of eight shots.
Furious winds swept across the course throughout the four days, but McIlroy remained consistent enough to shoot a 13-under par total of 275.
The conditions were so tough that even Tiger Woods missed several close-range putts!