The stadium

When we were competing in the Rome Grand Slam just over a month ago I visited the Coliseum. It had been a dream of mine for a long time as I view it as the origination of the spectacle of sport. Although people died back then, it was about the show, pleasing thousands of people with bravery, action and athleticism inspired by the will of the gladiators to survive. Luckily for me my life is not on the line here in London, however, while at the Coliseum I merged the two stadiums in my mind. The roar of the crowd after a powerful attack, the gasps after a brilliant dig or the fear as a lion was added to the mix (follow my Latvian friend Alexander “Lion King” @samoilovs to understand). People came from far and wide to catch the blood & action in the Coliseum and now in the 21st century people are doing the same in London to experience the power, finesse, athleticism and entertainment only the top beach volleyball athletes in the world can offer. At the Coliseum I breathed in the summer air with my eyes shut, chest up and took in the generations of epic battles to bring with me to London.