School Magazine Summer 2012 - The Maelor School

Page 6
Maelor School
Sporting Achievement
‘My Journey to the Olympic Stadium’ by Matthew Williams
The Sainsbury UK School games is a 4 day event, held each year, for Year 10 & 11 pupils in every school in
the UK. It embraces 12 sports from fencing to wheelchair basketball and includes my sport Athletics. It has
been held each year since 2004, but this year was to be a special year, as it was to be used as a test event for
the Olympic Games, and for my event it meant competing in the Olympic stadium 12 weeks before the likes
of Usain Bolt and Jessica Ennis had their turn!
I finished the 2011 season ranked number 1 in the UK in my favourite discipline the Discus. Training through
the first part of the winter had gone great and even though I had moved up an age group (from under 15 to
under 17) and also moved up a weight (from 1.25kg to 1.5kg), I was throwing further than ever.
Then it happened. After a throw where I put everything into it, my back was in agony. This was early January
2012. I was training in Birmingham and my dad drove me home, had some physio on it and rested for a few
days and then went back to training. Within 3 throws I was back in the same position and I needed to get this
sorted.
I had an x-ray which was clear and then had an MRI scan, and with the results came the devastating news
that I had damaged one of my discs in my lower back.
In early February I saw a back specialist, who recommended a minimum of 3-6 months rest and to start work
with a Sports Physio. I was inconsolable as the School Games were less than 3 months away. Was this to
mean I would miss my chance of throwing in the Olympic Stadium?
The back specialist put me in touch with Jeff Ross a New Zealander who had previously been head physio for
the All Blacks and Manchester City. Jeff examined me and asked what I wanted to do - I said I wanted to
throw in the School Games. His reply was that he liked a challenge but thought that if I put the effort in he
could get me there. A program was set up which I had to follow morning and evening, 7 days a week, 3 hours
a day. No PE, no gym, no throwing the discus! The end result was that only 2 weeks before the games I was
allowed to start throwing the discus again, just short sessions but enough for me to realise that I was going to
make it to the Olympic stadium!!!
On Sunday 6th May I got on the bus with all my fellow Welsh team members and we were all very excited.
Over the next 3 days we met Lord Coe and loads of other sport personalities. We attended functions where
we were given advice on nutrition, sports psychology and drugs. We watched some of the other sports like
fencing and table tennis and we got to try our hand at wheelchair basketball, which was great.
On Wednesday 9th May we got to the stadium - the place is unreal!! Our minibus was checked out by sniffer
dog, we were frisked by security 4 times and then there it was in front of me, the whole reason for my last
3 months, the Olympic Stadium. We got there before the crowds and got
to look around, it was awesome. I’d never competed anywhere like this
before. We walked around pinching ourselves.
One hour before my event I warmed up and then we were called to the
arena. There are 8 competitors in my event, one from each region in England
and a further competitor from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The stadium was filled up with over 10,000 school kids but Mum and Dad
were there at the front with my coach Nigel Bevan.
We got 4 or 5 warm up throws and then the competition started. My first
throw was a foul but my second was safe, just to register a distance but it
was 43.85m and into the lead. The next 20 minutes were a blur. I did not
manage to throw any further but suddenly it was all over and I’d won!! I was
whisked off to the podium to get my gold medal presented by Jason Gardiner
(4x100 relay gold medallist in 2004 Olympics), interviewed by Sky
and Channel 4. “What’s it like to win the gold medal at the Olympic
Stadium” they asked. “Sweet” was my reply!!!!