大象传媒

Hello. My name is Rob Hodgetts and I'm an Olympic addict. I've known it for some time now and I try not to let it take over my life but sometimes it's just so hard.

My habit became full-blown when I worked at the . The highs were incredible and there appeared to be no downside, other than flying home.

I worked in a corporate hospitality capacity, in between journo jobs, and was tasked with looking after a small group of uber-rich American octogenarians.

My job was to escort them around the Games and make sure everything ran smoothly. This meant accompanying them to every venue and I got to see some great events and moments of sporting history.

One thing I did miss, though, was the .

We were on our way to the boxing and I stood transfixed at the front of the coach, ear glued to the radio. I began whispering, "Come on, come on" but as the race reached a climax, I reached a crescendo, forgetting I still had the live mic in my hand from delivering a quick speech about the day's itinerary.

"Yessssssss" I wailed when they crossed the line.

"What is that guy on?" asked one of the totally oblivious Americans, as I stood at the front with both arms aloft in salute.

"Five gold medals. For Steve Redgrave. That's amazing. He's a hero. Wow!"

"Well, that sure sounds great Ron [sic]. Now can you get me a paper - I gotta check our stock price."

Euphoria quickly spread through the British contingent in Sydney that day, like a particularly virulent airborne virus. And the beep of a text message from a friend at a different venue to alert us of another British medal became a fix that we just couldn't live without.

For Athens and now Beijing, my Olympic base is sunny , which though dissimilar to Sydney in so many ways, does at least begin with the same letter.

I'll be glued to all of it of course, because I just can't give it up, but I'll have a special interest in the sailing.

The GB team won five medals in Sydney and five in Athens and sailing is .

Ben Ainslie goes for a third straight gold, and that would put him ahead of Cracknell and one behind Pinsent. And he's a national treasure.