WHAT THE OLYMPICS MEANS TO VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES TEAM’S DRIVERS
Posted 8th August, 2008 in Mercedes-Benz | Leave a comment
As Formula 1 kicks off its annual three-week summer break and as the entire sporting world turns its attention to China and the start of the 29th Olympic Games, it seemed the perfect time to gather the thoughts of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team’s drivers on just what the Olympics mean to them…
Lewis Hamilton
“I will definitely be watching the Olympics. I’m a huge fan of athletes who have dedicated their lives to being the best – the dedication and commitment they put into their careers, putting everything else aside to go for that ambition, is something I really respect and can learn from.
“I love watching the 100 metres and the javelin. The 100 metres is always special: you get to see the fastest men on the planet race each other. They are incredibly quick! I’ve tried it myself and, even out of the blocks, those guys would have 10 metres before I’d even got up. I am so slow! But you can see the power they have in the whole of their body. Getting all that energy out in less than 10 seconds is just awesome.”
Heikki Kovalainen
“I’m supporting Finland, of course! I really like athletics – I’ve just watched the recent athletics grand prix in Monte Carlo. For me, the biggest highlight of that event was when Yelena Isinbayeve from Russia broke the women’s pole vault world record – she must be a favourite for the gold medal in China. For us Finns, there are a couple of strong medal hopefuls – Tero Järvenpää in the men’s javelin has a real chance of a gold in the Olympics. That would be great for our country.”
Pedro de la Rosa
“I’m a sportsman and I love any kind of sport so I will definitely be watching the Olympics. It’s been a great year for Spanish sport and sportsmen – we won Euro 2008, the Tour de France and the Wimbledon men’s final – so I hope we do well in the Olympics. Spain has a particularly strong chance in the basketball, I’ll be paying special attention to that and the tennis. Also, I love watching the marathon, just because I find it extraordinary what those guys go through. I’ll also be watching the cycling – I do a lot of cycling and I know we have a strong cycle team.”
Gary Paffett
“Of course, I will be cheering on Great Britain. When I think of the Olympics, I think of the track and field events but I enjoy a lot of other sports, especially football, tennis and cycling. On the track and field, I prefer the sprints to the long distance events, so I’ll be watching the 100m, 200m, 400m and the 4×100m relay. I’m also quite keen to see the long jump, triple jump, javelin and pole vault – I wouldn’t fancy doing those myself, but they’re all fascinating to watch. In general, I haven’t been following any specific athletes just as long as the Brits win, I don’t mind.”
[Source: McLaren]
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