Victoria Pendleton: The saddle switch

From three time Olympic medallist to novice jockey, the road from bike track to horse-back for Victoria Pendleton has not been as simple as a switch of saddle. On Friday, Pendleton rode in the amateur jockey race of the season - Cheltenham's Foxhunter Chase, less than a year after she first mounted a horse.  Her story has been full of debate and controversy and this week the media has fixated on the Cheltenham race festival. Questions over whether she should be competing due to 'health and safety' reasons, to questions about her celebrity status over-shadowing the meeting have captured the eyes of the horse-racing world and beyond. Yet on Friday at 4:10pm the question that everyone was waiting for an answer to was "can she do it?".

Pendleton is no novice to racing, it is just what she is racing on that differs. Cycling since a young age, Pendleton rose to sporting fame in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics where she won Olympic sprint gold. Come London 2012 Olympics, Pendleton was the one to beat on the track and was given the nickname 'Queen Victoria' due to her victorious efforts at the Lee Valley Velopark. She came away with Olympic silver and gold medals, always knowing this would be where she retired from her cycling career. Her enjoyment had plummeted and she spoke afterwards about cleansing herself of everything related to her cycling career. She was determined to look forwards, not back. So when Betfair approached her asking if she wanted to become a licensed amateur jockey, it was an offer she was never going to turn down.

Very few people have the drive and determination to become a successful Olympian. Early morning training, travel to and from competition and a lifestyle that centres around being physically and psychologically fit. Yet with this mindset and athleticism, Pendleton was an example of the perfect person to take on the gruelling training and courage needed to be a jockey. The ultimate goal 12 months ago was for Pendleton to race at Cheltenham. Some regarded this as highly ambitious and very unlikely from someone so new to the sport. Yet in the lead up to the Cheltenham festival, as Pendleton started to become more prominent in races it was clear this original aim would be achieved. 

As the Cheltenham festival approached, headlines were unsurprisingly focused on Pendleton. Much of the media, public, people both in and outside of the horse racing world believed that she wasn't ready to take on the challenge. Jump jockeys can take over 10 years to reach where Pendleton had in one, an unbelievable achievement that some thought was only possible due to her celebrity status. That said, Pendleton had proved herself a worthy rider, winning her first race a month before at Wincanton with the favourite that day; Pacha du Polder. A good race to finish on ahead of Cheltenham.

Cheltenham, for most people, was not a case of whether Pendleton on Pacha du Polder could win, more a case of seeing how well she rode and where she could finish in this large field of more experienced riders. As Pendleton took to the ring, the swarms of paparazzi gathered around her. I, as I'm sure many others did, found myself anxiously wondering if this was all going to go horribly wrong. According to Channel 4 there were 90 extra TV crews there that day. Yes, it was Gold Cup day, the race of the meeting, however the lenses were all pointing towards one woman. There was a buzz of excitement on the Friday leading up to her race. Bookies took this opportunity to tap into the Pendleton market. Not only could punters bet on Pacha du Polder at a starting price of 16/1, many offered odds for whether she would even complete the course and where exactly in the field she would position. AP McCoy had no doubt she would finish the race, winning on the other hand was a whole other story. 

The 23 riders set off on the 3 mile 2 furlong race. Pendleton rode tentatively at the back of the field for the majority of the race, out of trouble but certainly not out of mind of the punters and paparazzi. As horses started to fall and pull up around her, Pendleton soon found herself tracking the favourite, a tactical move that may well have been pre-decided. With one fence left to jump there was an overwhelming sense of relief that she was still in the race and what's more, in a position she may look back on as 'I could have won that'.

Pendleton finished a remarkable 5th out of a field of 23 horses with some of the best amateur jockeys in the world riding them. She looked like she couldn't believe she had done it and been that close to placing. That in itself was an almighty win for Pendleton. In her interviews after she explained it as one of the "greatest achievements of her life", saying  to everyone how much she enjoys racing and how there isn't a better feeling than riding a horse. Her cycling career seem a lifetime ago, a past she has openly boxed away, despite her outstanding successes. However, with the limited time she is likely to have left as a jump jockey and her drive to want to succeed, as long as she stays in once piece this could be tremendous tale of guts, luck and determination. She is certainly not one to write off for the future.

Pendleton has silenced some of the critics for sure, whether she is accepted into the racing world as any other amateur jockey around would be is yet to be seen. However, you can be sure that Pendleton more than anyone else would like the tabloids to be turned onto her racing achievements, rather than questions over why she is there and whether she should be racing.

Opinions differ, controversy will remain, however there is no debate that what Pendleton has achieved in this last year is a phenomenal display of sporting excellence, and this certainly should be celebrated.

Heading back to the Olympic Stadium: One Year On

By chance more than anything, I had recently started following The National Lottery on Twitter. I have been buying lottery tickets for years, not quite realising that, along with millions of others, we were helping the athletes we watch and cheer for on their path to greatness. Many of the athletes at the Olympics and Paralympics thanked the players of the Lottery for their contribution, however small and insignificant it may have been on their journey. As a 'thank you' some of these Lottery funded athletes agreed to take part in the National Lottery Anniversary Run, which was to be held in the newly named Queen Elizabeth Park. This was one event I was not going to miss out on!

The website to apply for tickets opened at 9 am. The website crashed not long after. However, there had been just enough time for my sisters and I to enter, and I was parading around the house as if I myself had just won Olympic gold. Soon after 10,000 people had their places in this momentous run, news of Chris Hoy starting the race was released, along with Paula Radcliffe and Victoria Pendleton who would be running it. I was now feeling like a double Olympic champion. The athletes I had watched, cheered for, cried at one year before, would not only have previously been where I was to soon be running, but they were actually going to be there with me.

The words Inspire and Legacy were at the forefront of the London 2012 Olympics. The aim, not only to show the world what matters to Britain but to increase participation and the country's interest in sport as a whole. This Anniversary Run was one of many events to be held in the wake of the games to bring the Olympic stadium and park to life again. The event itself was as amazing as I had hoped, crossing that finish line to then spot the first female Olympian Boxer Nicola Adams felt very surreal. Where hundreds of world class athletes had made themselves, there I was crossing the same line, with not quite as much style (or speed). Yet as it says on the back of my medal, 'I followed in the footsteps of legends' - something I will never forget. A part of London 2012 I can say I was involved in. 

The real question one year on is: Did the Olympics inspire a generation? For me, the fact that previously unknown London 2012 athletes were now household names showed how powerful they had actually been. The fact that paralympians were being recognised for their ability, rather than their disability was one of the best things to come from the games. London 2012 showed the power of sport in bringing people together, showing the world how the dedication and talent of athletes can lead to greatness. Proud to be British? Within minutes of the final firework at the Opening Ceremony, those 4 words were trending on Twitter and continued to be said for the following 2 weeks. In the words of Lord Coe, these Olympics were "Made in Britain", something we should be proud of. Whatever public opinion may be, one year on we all have the memories of London 2012 and the pictures of the stars that made that summer.