2 years to go until 2012

London marks 2 years to go until 2012 and while the excitement has been building up for some time now, London seems set to take on the Games in 2012. We are on track with our preparations and I have no doubt that the London Olympics will live up to all expectations. The eyes of the world will be on us - it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate our country and showcase our sporting talent.

With 2 years to go, the press have been focusing on the athletes and asking them what their thoughts are on the fast-approaching Games – check out the BBC’s Olympic video wall:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympic_games/london_2012/8846563.stm

You will find Chrystall Nicoll representing us fencers on the wall too. Also, Anna Bentley and Marcus Mepstead appeared on the ITV news as they spent the day having a look around the Olympic site – check it out! http://www.itv.com/london/olympic-hopefuls85140/

I also did some filming for The Telegraph TV which you can watch below:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/fencing/7904007/London-2012-Fencing-Claire-Bennett.html

It was a fun day and it certainly reminded me how amazing it would be to have the chance to compete in front of a home crowd at the London Olympic Games. Today’s press has been inspiring and motivating. I am going to carry on training hard to give myself the best possible chances of qualifying for the Olympic Games. The greatest prize of all.

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L&P Summer Party

To celebrate L&P’s summer party and our relatively new partnership with Lloyd & Partners, British Fencing put on a fencing display at their annual summer party on Cannon Bridge roof top gardens. It was a spectacular venue and we were blessed with perfect weather to top off a very special evening.

I was lucky enough to be allowed out of my fencing kit and into my party frock! It was a great evening to meet new faces in L&P and indeed catch up with those I already knew.

There were journalists from both the BBC and the Telegraph present for some welcome publicity and delicious food, pimms and champagne were flowing nicely throughout the evening. It was a happy occasion and a celebration of both our new relationship with L&P and all the hard work that they have put in throughout the year.

I had a very enjoyable evening and everybody seemed to have a great time catching up and mingling between different departments. I think this says a lot about the company and I am proud to be ambassador and a part of such a hard-working and successful company.

I can only see our relationship growing stronger in the build up to the 2012 London Olympics and it is an honour to have L&P on board with us. I am so grateful to L&P for their continued support and the difference that they are making to British Fencing.

I was also so pleased to hear that many in L&P had been following and enjoying my blogs. I know that everyone is so busy and so it means a lot to me when people show an interest. I will definitely keep up with my blogging!

Milan Training Camp

I flew in from Milan on Wednesday evening after joining the GB senior women foilists at our pre-European training camp. It was a successful camp and was great for team bonding. We shared a flat and enjoyed cooking and living together in between training sessions. We had two fencing sessions a day plus a fitness session in between and were suitably shattered by the end of the day. It is really hot in Milan at the moment and so it took a while to adjust to training in such warm weather conditions – it is not always easy when you have to put on full-on fencing kit and a mask in the summer! Still, it was great for fitness and ultimately, it will benefit us in competition.

Next time, it would be great if we could invite another country to train with us either in Milan or in London. We are hosting the next Senior European Championships in Sheffield in 2011 and it would be an opportune time to train with other nations who may decide to come to London a bit earlier prior to the championships.

The rest of the GB team going out to the European Championships next week are still out in Milan. Keep going girls! FORZA!

They're home, early...

So England are out of the World Cup after losing to Germany, again. I’ve got to say, despite a slow start to our world cup, I was optimistic and excited about England’s prospects in this match. I thought we had found our stride again and were well suited to Germany’s efficiency and technical ability. Oh how I was wrong!

What annoyed me the most was both the players’ and the manager’s excuse for their sorry 4-1 defeat. During post-match interviews: Capello, Terry and James simultaneously declared their disallowed goal as valid justification for their failure to advance in to the next round. Now I’m not going to pretend I know a lot about football, because I don’t, but to blame their disallowed goal as the ‘turning point’ in what should have been ‘their match’ is a disgrace. In my opinion, it shows a lack of professionalism and maturity. It’s humiliating.

Why have they not been trained to deal with these kind of situations in training? Surely they should have used it to spur them on further towards victory? Yes, I know that these situations are extremely rare in football, and even more so in arguably the biggest sporting event in the World (after the Olympics, of course!). But it happened, and players get unfairly booked all the time. They should have been ready for any given situation.

That said, the fact that the disallowed goal even happened is equally disgraceful. I cannot fathom FIFA’s stubborn refusal to introduce goal line technology. It makes football appear like an amateur sport. I mean even fencing has video replay!
I could go on, but I won’t. You’ve heard it all before, and I’m sure you’re all tired of it! At least we’ve got Wimbledon to focus on - and a Scot who’s got a bit of fire in his belly.

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Mental Game

Before I go any further I would like to apologise for my recent lack of blogging. I am however back, and will try my best to be more faithful to my writing! Since my last update, I had actually been training really hard in the lead up to a World Cup that I fenced in just over a week ago in New York. Unfortunately it did not go well; I didn’t make it out of the pools.

I still feel like I was the most prepared and physically fit I have ever been and I was looking forward to putting in a good performance. However, my head and my nerves let me down as they have often done in individual competition throughout the season. It is something that I must crack and overcome with urgency. I know that once I do, something will shift, and I will get my fighting confidence back. Indeed, I feel I have committed too much time and effort to fencing over the past 15 years to allow myself to fall short so near to 2012.

Sport can be cruel and frustrating at times, particularly when you put in so much and don’t see the progress you expect from yourself. But that is the nature of sport – there are plunging lows and soaring highs. At this level, I don’t think you can survive mental weakness. You can have all the physical attributes but if you don’t have the confidence and your own self-belief, then it is difficult to realise your potential.

On a positive note, I will be off to Australia to compete in the Commonwealth Games from 29th September-5th October. I will be representing England and also captaining my team for the duration of the tournament. I have always been proud to fence for England and it is an honour to captain the team.