Scattering ashes at the Olympics

There just had to be an ashes story to go along with the wonderful London 2012 Olympic games and we weren’t to be disappointment a lady from Australia admitted taking the ashes of her late father – an Olympic silver medallist in the triple jump – sneaking down to the trackside and scattering them over the run-up to the triple jump.

Robyn Glynn’s father George Avery, who passed away in 2006, had wanted to attend the London 2012 Olympics because it was where he won silver in the triple jump in 1948 (the event then was known as the hop, step and jump – I quite like that)

So the family en masse got tickets for the triple jump final (now that in itself must have been a feat) and trekked to Blighty with the ashes.

She said: “We decided in 2000 that we were going to bring my father back here but unfortunately he passed away a few years ago,”

“So my sister and myself, and our husbands, and my daughter and our grandchildren came over with his ashes. And we brought him here tonight and he’s here with us as we watch the triple jump anyway.”

Ms Glynn then confessed that the family had taken things a little further…

“Actually, we did more than sneak him in, we snuck ourselves down to the edge of the track and in the breeze we let his ashes go and they went right over the triple jump run-up,”

Well normally we say pick some private and ask permission, but that was never going to happen in this case was it! Hopefully not all of Mr Avery’s ashes were scattered in this manner otherwise there would have been a bit of fuss from the grounds staff I am sure and Mr Avery could have been rather unceremoniously swept up. Gosh I sound like such a killjoy, okay okay very brave, very joyous – well done the Avery family.

Tags: Australia