As a nation, we seem to be suffering a serious case of post-Olympic blues. Thankfully as spectators we still have the Paralympics to look forward to, but for the Olympic athletes, the period after the Games is sure to hit hard.
Gemma Spofforth is one such athlete. The world record holder and former world champion at the 100m backstroke has worked tirelessly for years, perfecting her craft in her hunt for glory in the pool. Although she didn’t come out of London with a medal around her neck, she admits these past couple of weeks have given her time to reflect on the experience, and has made her realise what an incredible achievement it is to have got to where she is today.
“You come out of this bubble, this world that you have been in for two or three weeks, and I think it is quite depressing really, just coming back into reality and assessing how this whole experience has changed your life,” she says.
“But it really has changed our lives, because having 17,000 people screaming my name before a race is never going to happen again and it’s just really made me appreciate how amazing it is to be British and experience something so huge as this is.”
It’s not been an easy few years for the 24-year-old. In 2007 her mother, Lesley, died of cancer and Gemma battled through that to make her Olympic debut in Beijing, where she missed out on a medal by just four-hundredths of a second.
Then in 2011 she lost both her father’s girlfriend, June, and June’s daughter, Vicky, both to the same disease that claimed her mother’s life. Gemma has openly talked about the fact that she has been close to quitting her sport more than once, and she’d be forgiven had she done so, but thankfully she persevered to London, giving the nation another chance to show her the support she deserves.
“The whole atmosphere both inside and outside the park just blew me away,” she admits. “London surpassed everything I imagined it could do.
“Looking back now I am very proud of what I have done. I went in wanting the gold medal, I am not going to lie about that. But I have said all along it is the journey, not just the destination.
“So I didn’t get a medal this time, but in the long run I am happy with what my career is and what it can still be.”
And there it is - that indication that London 2012 is not the end of Gemma’s swimming career. Previously she had hinted that the 100m backstroke final at London 2012 could have been her last individual race, but it now seems that her time away from the pool will only be a temporary one. Was that anything to do with London?
“The hype of London has definitely left the door open for me,” she says, “but I am not going to go back to training for at least three months. That gap is imperative for me to really enjoy swimming and actually figure out whether my body is still interested.”
She also believes that the future is not only looking bright for her as an individual, but for the whole team too.
“We have been told that the Team GB swimmers haven’t lived up to the mark but actually all of us have made finals, more finals then we have ever made before, and we are one step closer to transferring that into medals. For swimming, things are happening and I definitely think we are on the way up.”
On the way up in terms of success, and literally too in Gemma’s case, as we touch on her plans for the next few years. She confirms the Glasgow Commonwealth Games are in her sights, but after that?
“Climbing Mount Everest is definitely something I am going to look into now,” she says. “I think just living life and experiencing things other than swimming next year will take me in the right direction. You might as well do things and learn you don’t like them, because you don’t know until you try.”
And whilst we’re all still in this post-Olympic period full of inspiration, Britain would do well to recognise Gemma’s way of thinking. You don’t know until you try - future Olympians may be born from that motto.
Jessica Whittington, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
Gemma Spofforth is fuelled by www.myprotein.com, the UK’s number one online sports nutrition brand and supplier to many of Britain’s Olympians such as Taekwondo Olympic Gold Medallist Jade Jones, World 400m hurdles champion Dai Greene and 11-time Paralympic gold medallist David Roberts.
