And what a time it was, and what a time. What a deeply – looking back now, almost exactly 10 years on – unutterably strange time. If the London 2012 Olympics had a moment of optimum energy, a thermal peak, it would be 9.46pm on Saturday 4 August in the swooping eves of the Olympic Stadium.
At 9.02pm Jessica Ennis had crossed the line to take gold in the heptathlon, sending a first surge of heat and noise barrelling around the stands. At 9.24pm Greg Rutherford was confirmed as gold medallist in the men’s long jump, adding another geyser burst to what was by now a state of unceasing uproar.
