'Waiting is often the hardest bit'published at 16:14 British Summer Time 29 July 2022
Chris Boardman
Olympic cycling champion on BBC TV
Chris Boardman, who is part of our commentary team in Birmingham has been chatting about the anniversary of winning an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
But just how did he prepare for his winning ride...
It’s hard to describe, in sport the waiting is often the hardest bit and it’s often the bit where the waiting is longest.
A lot of riders will sit on rollers or just keep warming up and really they’re just filling time and using energy up and doing more than they need to just to be busy, just to try and cope with the waiting.
I used to read. I didn’t really read, I had a book open, then I used to drift off and have to come back and read the same page several times. That was something I only really started when I reached a really high level of sport, as a way to escape. And those kind of tricks again stay with me for the rest of my life.
Between the semi and the final it’s just hard to describe how horrendous waiting can be for a moment when you can actually affect the outcome.