Off to Beijing

06 August, 2008 | 22:08

Andy and the guys headed out to Beijing today, finally bound for the Olympics after the exertions of Cincinnati.

Fortunately for them, they look like avoiding Tropical Storm Kammuri which has seen Jamie marooned at Hong Kong airport for eleven hours.

Instead, Andy spent his morning in the gym, doing thirty minutes on the treadmill under the watchful eye of trainer Matty Little.

The light session was just to get rid of a few physical cobwebs before the flight to China, and after the long inbound journey from the United States.

Despite all the travelling, there was a feeling of genuine excitement amongst them today as the realisation of Beijing began to sink in.

It helps when you bump into a former British gold medallist at the British Airways check-in...

Darren Campbell came straight over to congratulate Andy on his win in Cincinnati before sharing his thoughts on competing at the Games.

The hardest thing - he reckoned - was coming to terms with the magnitude of it all; making sure you don't slip into 'spectator' mode.

Sadly, Treacle and Andy switched off a bit when Miles started talking...

 

With physio Andy Ireland already checked-in, the guys decided to grab a quick drink before passport control.

Think Andy must have been asked for his signature about five times in as many minutes.

Freddy (pictured below) plucked up the courage, but only after one of his family came across to check that Andy was actually, well, Andy...

Andy's hoping to do some updates from Beijing, so keep checking twitter for his 'tweets' on the homepage.