Inspirational Speaker Sarah Storey’s Blog - Beijing Smart Talks
July 15 2009Returning to Beijing so soon after the Games last year was an emotional experience and as I walked through the terminal to meet my hosts from the British Council, the memories came flooding back. It was surreal to think I was back in the city that has changed my life even more than the previous Games I attended as a swimmer.
For this trip I was visiting to recount the experience from last year and also share my story of getting to the top of the podium in two sports. My overnight flight had been relatively short for the distance travelled, just 7 hours and I arrived and was ready for a trip to the Summer Palace before the work of the trip started the following day. One thing I had not appreciated on previous trips was the lack of local food we had experienced and with some local expertise on this trip we ate in some fabulous places, sampling the finest cuisine of the city.
On the second day I started with a training session in the well equipped hotel gym and then headed to a disabled sport venue in Beijing. The main sport was table tennis and the centre also prided itself on accommodating all levels of sporting ability for fun as well as having some national team players. It was a fun trip and I was also challenged to a best of 3 game by a chinese master of table tennis. He didn’t have any hands, but he still gave me a thrashing 11-3,11-3, 11-3!! I played 5 people in total and only won against the lady! They were an incredible group and as with everywhere I went, thrilled to see a gold medal up close.
My first smart talk was in the Landmark Hotel, opposite the Sheraton where I was staying. Swine flu has been taken a lot more seriously in China and there were detection points throughout the airport and on entry to some of the most important buildings. The detection was simply to see whether any visitor was running an abnormal temperature, but fortunately I didn’t witness anyone failing the test!
The audience for both talks was around the 200 mark and the questions after were all very interested in the running of British Sport and the ideas we have for success. I was working with an interpreter at each of the talks and it was a quite different experience having to pause every couple of sentences to enable the translation to be completed. I was very impressed with the number of people who spoke English very beautifully and they were especially keen to ask questions.
My 3rd day started with a quick tour of the British Council offices and them some interviews with the media. It was a great pleasure to be able to answer questions about how great the Games had been last year and how well looked after the athletes were. The sense of pride from the people was tangible as they realised what an impact their city had had on the world.
Following the media we were whisked to the airport for a short flight down to the southern city of Guangzhou, where the local cuisine was Cantonese and quite different to that up in beijing, but equally as tasty. The city is playing host to the 2010 Asian Games and I was priviledged to be hosted by the organisers of those Games. On our 2nd day in the city we visited a training facility that is purely for disabled athletes. The site was incredible! An outdoor 400m running track with field event facilities and soccer pitch marks in the centre. Three outdoor tennis courts and then a 5 storey building housing indoor sports halls, gym, weightlifting room and a floor laid over to an 8 lane 50m swimming pool which I was lucky enough to have a dip in! At present there are no swimmers based in Guangzhou, so the pool is rarely used, but it is kept in pristine condition for the day swimmers arrive! Truly amazing. It was also amazing to learn there are 1500 disabled sportspeople in the city and surrounding suburbs. These include the deaf athletes and learning disabled, but still a great deal more than in disabled centres in the UK!
After the tour we held the Smart Talk in the city facility for the Asian Games and again the response was very positive, with some great questions and also a very unexpected presentation to me from the organisers of the Games who gave me the book of commemorative stamps. Following this we had an evening meal with the organising committee and the our trip had drawn to a close.
The final day was the longest as I was to train in the morning and then travel via train to Hong Kong. This was an amazing trip and took me right into the centre of Hong Kong where I was able to check in my bag and then explore the city. Unfortunately a typhoon was approaching, so venturing outside was not a great idea, but I was able to sample the local cuisine before heading off to the airport. It was amazing i didn’t have to worry about my bag again!!
I would love to return and felt so lucky to have seen the country from a perspective other than that of an athlete. The friendly, warm welcome and the delicious food, not to mention the incredible sporting facilities really do make it a fantastic country.
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