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BRITISH HEART & LUNG TRANSPLANT ASSOCIATION
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The European Heart & Lung Transplant Games are held every two years and this year the 12th Games will be held in the beautiful city of Vichy, France.
A full list of all
results can be found here:- Review of the Games The European Heart & Lung transplant Games, in my opinion, are easily the best in the transplant sporting calendar. The competition may not be as fierce as say the World or British Games, but many of the medal winners compete at the 'highest' level too. Nevertheless, each and every competitor has the right to take part and in doing so help raise the awareness of the importance of the donor card programme and show what a difference can be made. Competitors, all of whom have received a life saving heart and or lung transplant and their families, friends and supporters, assembled in Vichy, France from Saturday 21st - Thursday 26th June 2008 for the 12th meeting of the Games. Following a parade through the beautiful spa town of Vichy we all gathered for the Opening Ceremony on Saturday 21st June 2008 followed by a gala dinner in the fabulous setting of the 'palace in the park', The Opera House. There were approximately 50 competitors and 40 supporters in the GB Squad and as always our supporters were magnificent and they make the Games so much more pleasurable by their attendance. A special thanks to Terry Woods' brother Keith and his lovely wife Louise who sponsored our new look GB polo shirts. Very smart we looked too. The opening ceremony was just a tad too long because of the translations and repetitive nature of the opening remarks (especially in the +30°C) by the local dignitaries, but who am I to deny the great and the good their undoubtedly warm words of welcome. The highlight, for me, was the beautiful balletic dance by the young ladies to Ravel's Bolero which was quite hypnotic and lasted some 20 minutes. The opening ceremony was followed by a gala dinner of haute cuisine at it's finest. Each evening we were wined and dined by our hosts in fine style, including a barbecue on the banks of the lake. We were also given free tickets to the Opera for an Edith Piaf tribute evening in the magnificent Opera House which was worth the visit alone even if the performance itself was not exactly my tasse de thé. The Games - in general were very well organised but the athletics on the final day ran way over time because of the medal presentations. It is surely not beyond the wit of man to organise these presentations so that events can run simultaneously. It would also be a good idea to have two podiums so that medals are presented on one and photographs taken at another in an attempt to speed matters up. The gala dinner on the final evening was a farce because it started two and a quarter hours late due to medal presentations being made to every swimmer in the Games it seemed. The swimmers are entitled to be presented with their medals but not at the expense of diners who having rushed to the venue are then made to sit around for an inordinate length of time unfed. I don't want to complain too much because these Games were in the main excellent and better than anything and everything that took place two years ago in the shambolic city of Naples. That the Italians have been expelled should come as no surprise to anyone who attended in 2006. Vichy restored my faith in the concept that is the European Games and anyone attending for the first time could not fail to be impressed. They will surely return, health permitting, in Sweden in 2010. Summary - The Games were a wonderful occasion and remain the highlight of my sporting calendar. Vichy did not disappoint. Meeting up with friends and rivals from all parts of Europe was just as big a thrill and pleasure as always. We all made made many new friends and renewed old acquaintances and are already looking looking forward to Sweden in 2010. My compliments to the GB Team Manager, David Walker and his lovely wife Ann for their patience and good humour on what is a hectic week for both. I think I speak on behalf of the whole team when saying, they went that extra mile for all of us again and it is very much appreciated. Thank you both. There were Two outstanding performances from members of the GB team. Namely John Barnes and Adrian Woodcock. John Barnes (Papworth) won the EHLTF Cup for "Best male athlete of the Games." John won gold in Golf, ball throw, tennis, high jump and long jump which is an outstanding achievement over a range of sports. Simply brilliant. Adrian Woodcock (Freeman) won the Geoff Finnegan trophy, awarded in memory of the first chairman of the EHLTF and of course the first GB Team Manager. This trophy is given to the best competitor in racquet sports (male or female) in the Old and Super Old Boys & Girls category. Technically Adrian retained this trophy from the Naples Games but for reasons best known to the Italian (dis)organisers the trophy was wrongly presented to someone else and has never been seen again.
The 13th European Games If you would like to join us please get in touch.
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