When you are suddenly standing in front of a bunch of journalists being asked what it's like being a British Olympic legend, it's a bit much to take in.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Things have changed so much, with Facebook and Twitter. Everyone is so much more accessible these days: no British athlete has ever experienced what we are experiencing now. It's such a unique situation with the home Olympics.
Getting to know athletes from all over the planet is a big part of the Olympic experience.
What the event will be like, being part of the Olympics and being in London, is too much to think about. You've no control over those things, so in a way, it's wasted energy to think of them.
At the Olympics, you there to do a job. I feel you should take it seriously. You should be respectful. You are putting on the red-white-and-blue and going out there to perform for your country.
Just being there at the Olympics, you kind of just take in every single moment.
I am unable to watch the Olympics due to the blustering jingoism that drenches the event. Has England ever been quite so foul with patriotism? The 'dazzling royals' have, quite naturally, hi-jacked the Olympics for their own empirical needs, and no oppositional voice is allowed in the free press.
No one pretends anymore that the Olympics are just about sports. It's routine to talk about what effect holding the Games in this or that capital will have on the host country's international reputation, how a nation's prestige can be raised by its medal count.
The 2012 Olympics is a fantastic incentive for everyone to help leave a sporting legacy and show that Britain is truly a great sporting nation.
I am the Olympic, World, Commonwealth, and European champion now, and I hope that's enough for people to accept that I am a half-decent British athlete.
The Olympics is this big global event, but when neighbours come up and wish you well, it feels more personal.
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