Gold forged in Steel City

GARETH BALE crowned a memorable season with Tottenham by landing a hat-trick of personal awards. In the PFA honours, he won the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year (right).

Later, in the Football Writers’ awards, Bale was crowned Footballer of the Year. SATURDAY, August 4, 2012 was the greatest single day of sporting triumph in British Olympic history.

Team GB landed six gold medals and one silver at the London Olympics. The nation looked on in awe as their home heroes created history.

The morning was dominated by events at the rowing lake. In the afternnon the attention switched the velodrome and the ultimate, spectacular finale came with the athletics at the Olympic Stadium.

The unbelievable really did happen before our eyes when Jessica Ennis (right), Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah all struck gold in the space of 44 astonishing minutes.

Ennis (now Ennishill) was crowned the nation’s darling with her heptathlon triumph. Toni Minichello, her coach for 15 years, from their early days together in Sheffield, delivered an inspirational tribute to his protegee who became a golden great.

Minichello said: “I have seen other athletes of comparable physical ability to Jess... but I don’t think I have ever seen anyone quite so fiercely competitive and unrelenting in their determination.” THE inspiration was a Hillsborough tribute at Goodison Park – the 1969 hit song for The Hollies had been played before the Everton game against Newcastle on September 17. A few weeks later, a group led by Pete Hooton, of The Farm, and including Paul Mccartney, Robbie Williams, Mel C and Holly Johnson, recorded a charity single version to raise funds for Hillsborough appeals, in the campaign pursuing justice for the 96.