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Update from Towcester Gamesmaker Tony McMurray
Tony McMurray from Towcester, London 2012 volunteer driver.
In his third report Towcester businessman turned 2012 Gamesmaker Tony McMurray had a close shave with the games creator Lord Coe, and reveals he was knocked off the top spot by long jump Gold Medal winner Greg Rutherford.
Earlier this year McMurray’s wife Sharon ran her first Silverstone half marathon, months after donating a kidney, and then Tony ran the London Marathon in April.
The third leg of the triple Olympic Fundraising challenge will be Tony’s 12 days of volunteering at the London Olympics. Tony has committed to donating any tips collected during the Olympics towards this year’s fundraising which is for The Alzheimer’s Society and the Towcester Gateway Club.
“The week picked up both on and off the track. More venues visited including Lords and Earls Court as a steady flow of customers made their way around London between Olympic venues.
“Three more shifts completed in the past week but still not as many customers as LOCOG and the IOC had originally intended, many hours hanging around venues, but an interesting bunch of customers all the same.
“These included members of the Mexican shooting association who once lived in the UK and wanted to go to Covent Garden, and an Australian photographer heading to the women’s marathon who bemoaned the lack of medals from her home country.
“One fellow driver did boast of picking up some big name athletes, most notably a driver who picked up Mo Farah after his gold winning run.
“Shift six I was presented with the prized possession of two volunteer badges, but the biggest surprise of the week was on a non-volunteering day where the biggest of all London Olympic names came to the table in more ways than one.
“My wife Sharon and I had tickets for the diving and decided to have lunch before the event. The first great surprise on entering the restaurant was to be faced with a cheering crowd of Brits, celebrating our first Gold of the Games.
“The even bigger surprise came when it became clear that Seb Coe, his family friends, and body guard had chosen to have lunch alongside us! Good to see the main man in person.
“In between shifts I have been picking up on all the Team GB sporting success; our first gold was followed by another, and then like London Buses they came along in droves, and then there was Super Saturday.
“This was a proud night for Britains across the globe as Team GB collected three golds within 45 minutes, and personally a great night for a former long jumping volunteer who originally hailed from Milton Keynes.
“Sandwiched in between the more famous Gold’s of Jess Ennis and Mo Farrah was another ginger headed long jumper from Milton Keynes, Greg Rutherford.
“Watching at home, as a former national age group champ in the long jump I took great pride in seeing a Brit get gold in my former event. Added pride being that the records show that Greg had previously beaten my under 17s record I set in 1985 by 1cm, year’s later me an Olympic volunteer, him an Olympic Gold Medalist, it was a truly inspiring night on many levels.
“The week ahead promises continued surprises. I have a shift on Wednesday, tickets for the Athletics stadium on Thursday evening and a possible Usain Bolt World Record in 200m and my final shifts over the weekend.
“Who knows I may finally get to meet my requested passengers...the Brazilian Beach Volleyball team.”
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Weather for Buckingham
Thursday 20 June 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 13 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 11 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: West
