The week following my return from France was an opportunity to rest. Playing on an injured elbow had taken a lot out of me and I needed some recovery time. The frustrating part was that my elbow didn’t hurt; I felt nothing more than a dull ache. However, my energy levels still weren’t right. Every minute on court was a struggle and I had to rely on experience alone to get me through. Unfortunately the first course of antibiotics proved ineffective, so I had a doctor’s meeting scheduled for the following Monday at University College Hospital in central London.

But UCLH wasn’t my first appointment on Monday… After a very early start I found myself at the National Portrait Gallery on London’s Trafalgar Square. Myself and team mate, Mandip Sehmi were there to promote our picture in the BT Road to 2012 “Changing Pace” exhibition. The 37 portraits by Emma Hardy and Finlay MacKay captured Olympic and Paralympic athletes past and present such as Seb Coe and Ellie Simmonds in dramatic training moments.

Upon arrival I was surprised and happy to see that the picture of Manny and I hitting each other had been used as the main promo shot for the show and was proudly displayed on the railings outside the gallery’s Ondaatje wing. A host of well-known people were inside for the launch including wheelchair racer, David Weir and film director, Danny Boyle. Boyle was there to talk about his role as organizer of the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony and although he couldn’t give much away, his involvement alone assures me that the greatest show on earth will have an opening befitting to it!

After the speeches and press interviews we had a chance to look around the exhibition itself. While Alison accompanied me, Manny had brought his family to the show as his mother; Jagtar had also been photographed after Manny had named her as one of the main influences in his success. It was a very proud moment to have our loved ones there as we saw our portraits for the first time. Our photographer (Finlay) did a great job and the picture of us has subsequently been used to promote the Cultural Olympiad in Underground stations across London.

To see our portrait as well as an accompanying interview film and all the other photos in the Changing Pace exhibition visit the National Portrait Gallery (free admission), where the show runs until 25th September 2011.

If you can’t get to London you can see the pictures here:.

http://roadto2012.npg.org.uk/#/timeline/portraits/2011/mandip-sehmi-and-andy-barrow-with-jagtar-sehmi.interview-film .

The NPG appearance kicked off the start of a very important week in London’s Olympic preparations. Two days later on Wednesday 27th July, I was again up and out way earlier than I’d like. This time I was off to Olympic Park in Stratford to attend the opening of the brand new Aquatic Centre to commemorate one year until the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. I met my contact from BBC Radio London just before 7am and then braved the strict but entirely necessary security to enter the Park before taking a short bus ride to the Aquatic Centre.

The Aquatic Centre looked amazing as it came into view and was simply breathtaking once we got inside. The 17,500 capacity arena is based on the shape of a giant “wave” and boasts two 50m pools as well as a state-of-the-art diving area. If the venue was world class then the array of stars being interviewed by literally scores of media crews in and around it was equally impressive. Former greats like Matthew Pinsent and Sally Gunnell rubbed shoulders with potential stars of 2012 like Victoria Pendleton and Tom Daley.

I was only due to do the Radio London interview but my schedule quickly became far busier than I had intended. First up came a pre-recorded chat with BBC World Service Radio before my planned slot on BBC Radio London’s breakfast show with Paul Ross and Gabby Roslin. Next came a piece for Sky Sports News outside and I rounded my visit off with a live interview with the BBC World channel. By 9.30am I was in a black cab home with my head spinning and a full day’s training still ahead of me!

The following day I did two more interviews. The first was for Motability’s “Lifestyle” magazine, while the second was for “Post”, a trade publication for the insurance industry. The article highlighted the value of commercial sponsorships to athletes and focused on my relationship with Chaucer PLC. Chaucer has been a massive help to me in the build up to London 2012 and I see it as my duty to give something back.

I believe that athletes have a crucial role in these partnerships; and that is to help people “identify” with the Olympic and Paralympic Games. So many people see London 2012 as such a huge and costly venture that there’s a danger that they can feel excluded from it. As somebody who’s been lucky enough to attend two Paralympic Games already, I see it as hugely important to pass on my story and help convince people that the 2012 Games is for everyone and not just the rich or well connected.

With my PR commitments well and truly fulfilled for the week, I jumped in the car and headed for Sheffield for GBWR’s showpiece club competition, the “Coloplast National Championships”. After Crusader’s comprehensive defeat by fellow Londoners, Storm in the 2011 Super Series, it was time to settle a few scores! Find out what happened in my next post soon…

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Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here