I don’t know about you but previously wall-to-wall sporting events on the TV guide have filled me with dread but I could not get enough of Rio 2016. I watched in the morning as I got ready for work, caught up on the app on the train and had it on in the background from when I got home until I went to bed.
I have been bowled over by the achievements of Team GB and immensely proud of the amount of talent these small islands have brought to the Olympic stage. Talk about punching above your weight!
So many new names have come to the fore as well with lots of young, talented sportsmen and women to watch in the future. Of the many stand-out people, and there are many, I, and the rest of the world as well it seems, have been charmed by ”The Golden Couple”, Laura Trott and Jason Kenny. The mix of a love story and shared success is a powerful cocktail and both Laura and Jason are in the top three most searched for names on google according to Clare Balding. And why not? These are two very attractive, self-effacing and charming people are likely to go onto greater success. I expect they will each be courted by agencies wanting to thrust them into the public eye with the possibility of sponsorship deals as well as a whole host of other opportunities in the media and TV. Jason is less likely to want this attention that the spotlight of celebrity will bring as he has quietly worked hard in the background to amass more Olympic Gold medals than Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Bradley Wiggins.
As many will know Laura and Jason are engaged to be married. Apparently, Jason popped the question while the pair were watching Eastenders! The date of the wedding is understandably a secret but likely to be soon.
We all wish Laura and Jason a very long and happy marriage. We all feel optimism for such a down to earth and hardworking couple. The statisticians gloomily say that 42% of marriages in the UK end in divorce. It is hard to imagine Laura and Jason in that group. However many of us will have been surprised by family, friends and perhaps our own marriage difficulties. What can Laura and Jason do to prepare for a successful marriage? They have used the advice of experts to get them to gold. There are Family Consultants and relationship experts that can help them prepare for marriage and overcome problems if they arise during the marriage. Increasingly the success of an athlete is dependent upon the experts around them. Laura and Jason have common goals in Sport. In their married life they will have to establish common goals and find pathways to achieve those goals. Couple support is more mainstream and accessible to establish and maintain the good communication that is necessary to achieve success.
Laura and Jason may enter into a pre-nuptial agreement, although this is less common amongst those that marry for the first time and with couples where each spouse has similar wealth. If there is no pre-nuptial agreement, then most couples decide these things together when they separate. They may need some expert help but that expert help will be directed at minimising the emotional and financial cost. This may avoid Laura and Jason hitting the newspaper headlines at a time when their privacy matters most to them and their family.
Laura and Jason already talk about the possibility of the pitter patter of tiny cycling shoes. If the wheels do fall off and their relationship encounters difficulties how will Laura and Jason divide responsibility for getting their talented children to their own practice every day and retain the mental attitude they need to excel as their parents’ have done? How do parents ensure that their children continue to have the life chances that they wanted for their children when they were together? Again Jason and Laura’s willingness to rely on expert advice will benefit them and their children. There is accessible expert information available to parents providing practical child focussed advice.
Despite the impression gained from the newspaper headlines most people do not go to court and have a Judge tell them how to divide their assets or how to care for their children. They prefer to agree this between themselves with the help of experts such as family consultants, lawyers and mediators. In this way they retain control and can find a fair way to share their wealth and provide for their family. Just for starters, I am sure Laura would agree that Jason keeps that extra Gold medal and he would want Laura to retain all 14 additional gold medals she has amassed in other competitions.
Of course we all hope to see this lovely couple celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary together with their children and grandchildren around them as a British sporting dynasty – going for gold together.