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GALLERY/AUDIO: Waltham Cross Spectators See Team GB Take Gold And Silver At Lee Valley
(ABOVE: The course at Lee Valley White Water Centre [Courtesy: London 2012])On the last day of Olympic white water events in Waltham Cross Britain won gold and silver medals...
Paddlers and coaches all jumped in the water in celebration at the victory for Britain's Men's Canoe Doubles pairings Etienne Stott and Tim Baillie, and David Florence and Richard Hounslow.
Earlier British kayaker Lizzie Neave was pushed out of the running for a medal.
The ex-World and European champion failed to qualify for this afternoon's Women's Kayak Singles Final at the Hertfordshire Olympics venue.
Olympic organisers LOCOG are now effectively 'undressing' the centre - dismantling the stands and taking them away.
Lee Valley then reopens to the public on September the 8th.
From December, JACK fm understand four million pounds worth of major work begins to futher improve the venue.
There was fierce competition on the rapids at the Hertfordshire Olympic venue since Sunday.
Wednesday's Team GB fans suffered another disappointment when Richard Hounslow made a mistake at Gate sixteen causing him not to qualify for the Men's Kayak Singles final.
The day before that Britain's 2008 Beijing silver medalist David Florence failed to qualify or the Men's Canoe Singles final.
Many spectators have been telling JACK fm how the events are leaving them feeling inspired.
Joseph Clarke from South Woodford said he's been inspired by the Games: "I watch the athletes all the time and I wonder if I could be like that one day.
The athletics and football is really good. I reckon I can be as fast a Usain Bolt one day!"
Athletes at Olympic standard practice alot and it is inspirational that many of them are just average people who have tremendous drive and determination."
(BELOW: Robert from Kent)
On Monday Hertfordshire's Olympic venue saw Team GB pairings Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott, and David Florence and Richard Hounslow going through to Thursday's semi-final of the C2 double slalom.
JACKfm spoke with Baillie's housemate who has spent the last two days watching his friend perform in front of 12,000 spectators. Ed Kay said: "It's absolutely incredible to be sitting on the stands with 12,000 people watching your friend, with lots of other people looking at him and thinking of him as just another athlete, while I'm thinking about how I've been out with him to have a beer with him. It's pretty amazing, it's remarkable.
"I watched the racing yesterday and I have tickets for the next 2 days as well. I went paddling on the course earlier in the year when they had a test event, and it was absolutely incredible."
AUDIO: Hear more from Ed Kay speaking to JACKfm's Bryan Rutherford on the audio player below...
Kim, who's an ex slalom British paddler who retired in 2006 added: "I've known Tim Baillie for a long time, we've known each other since we were both 14 years old, we used to train together. It's nerve racking for him but he knows what he needs to do and fingers crossed he can do it.
"There's loads of pressure on these athletes and I can't imagine quite how the excitement of the crowd feels when you're at the start line and they're cheering for you, but these athletes are trained to block that out and just focus on what they need to do."
AUDIO: Hear more from Kim on the audio player below...
(ABOVE: Spectators have come from all over the world to witness their country's best in action)
Meanwhile at Monday's events in Waltham Cross, Britain's slalom canoeist Lizzie Neave reached the kayak semi-finals. She qualified with the second fastest time among twenty one athletes in the K1 heats.
(ABOVE: Olympic Athlete David Florence)
Stevenage, Welwyn Garden City and Watford have been hosting sportsmen and women from Afghanistan, St Kitts and Nevis, and the British Virgin Islands over the passed few weeks.
JACK fm met the Aghanistan team at Stevenage's Ridlins Playing Field where their team leader Mujeebullah Rahmani told us they want to see another medal like they did at Beijing: "Our athletes have been training in Hertfordshire for the last six months.
We only won one medal in Beijing - but, this time we have come with Gold in our sights and with the hope of winning medals in each sport."
AUDIO: Hear more from Mujeebullah speaking to JACKfm's Bryan Rutherford on the audio player below...
(ABOVE: Afghanistan's Olympic Team)
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