GAME OVER The overwhelming feeling among the athletes and experts was that the Games have been the happiest and kindest in recent history

GAME OVER

The overwhelming feeling among the athletes and experts was that the Games have been the happiest and kindest in recent history

Let’s not look at the medal table for once. Let’s feel the mood. And it has been fantastic. As the London Olympics drew to a close here on Sunday, the overwhelming feeling among the athletes and experts was these Games have been the happiest and kindest in recent history. They always talk about sportsmanship being the top Olympic virtue. Over the last fortnight, that spirit has come to the fore on numerous occasions. Examples are many. Think of 400m champion Kirani James swapping jerseys with Oscar Pistorius, who is the double amputee to take part at the Olympics, the quartet from Trinidad and Tobago who tried consoling the distraught Canadian 4x100m sprinters after they were disqualified; Michael Phelps leading Chad le Clos to the podium after losing out to him in the 200m butterfly or how Jessica Ennis led her fellow heptathletes in a lap of honour to the crowd after her win. It’s been fabulous here, all very gentle. The volunteers, who have done a terrific job themselves, have sounded apologetic even when you’re at fault. They had been told to smile all the time for the entire duration of the Olympics and Paralympics. But not just have they been performing their duties with joy, but they’ve done it with a lot of respect as well. When organising committee chairman Sebastian Coe thanked the volunteers during his speech on Sunday, the applause lasted for more than five minutes. The British humour, that subtle British humour, has been an integral part of the Games. It has been open and welcoming, the structures attractive and sensible, with none of the pomposity of Beijing. The sport itself raised the bar. The sportsmen, outstanding. When the British athletes were off to a poor start, London mayor Boris Johnson joked that this was due to their courteous nature: that as a host nation, they should let the visitors have a first go. It looked like he was only half joking. Britain’s reputation as a sporting nation was enhanced further after they finished third with a total haul of 65 medals, including 29 gold. Almost every event has been contested honourably. There were suspicions raised over Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen’s extraordinary performance in the pool, but she passed every drugs test. The shabby behaviour of the Chinese, South Korean and Indonesian badminton teams, who deliberately tried to lose unimportant matches, was perhaps the only significant low points of the Games. Then there have been the crowds. The booing that accompanied the apathetic badminton was understandable. There has been little trouble in the Olympic park and across London, and little more than friendly rivalry among groups of supporters. There was always a healthy banter going on between the British and Australian, or British and American fans. The Indians in the crowd did all they could to egg on their athlete, to help them cross the finish line. The general feeling here in London is, despite the rows about overspends, and the authoritarian demands of sponsors, the Games have really helped develop East London, a rather neglected area of this historic city. Everyone here in London has been a bubble over the last two weeks. There will be some serious withdrawal symptoms for each individual involved. Fair play, London!