Today I had a ticket for swimming but it was right up in the gods.
And I do mean the gods - one row from the back of the "fins" put on for extra seating - up here there are no concession stands, no facilities so I was here for the duration!
First up were the Men's 50m Freestyle hits - basically one length of frantic splashing...
We had one Brit, who sadly came 7th in his heat.
Next up it was the Women's 800m Freestyle, including one Rebecca Adlington, but first up for Britain was Ellie Faulkner.
If the cheering for any Brits was deafening enough in this particular arena, it reached an unimaginable crescendo when Becky came out to swim.
You need to understand that this place is kept really warm for the swimmers and the combination of that and the fever pitch of excitement made it feel like a cauldron.
Becky built up a lead in the first twi lengths and stayed - and at every time the roaring from the crowd just got louder. She built up an effective lead but the time was well outside the world record, but she had qualified for the final, which would be in the evening session.
Initially I thought this was a ticket for the whole day, so was a little disappointed that it was only the morning session - then again, I was going to get to see this guy...
Phelps and Chad Le Clos were the fastest qualifiers from their respective heats.
We finished up with the Women's 200m Backstroke, with Lizzie Simmonds going for GBR.
Thankfully Brits wearing red caps made life a bit easier from my place up in the rafters!
We were done for the day, so I headed out and quickly caught up with a friend who was coming to watch the volleyball, and then as I headed off for lunch,, I met some Americans who were watching a variety of sports and had a great chat.
That being said - it was a relief to get back home in broad daylight for once, as I would be back in Stratford for the morning again.
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