Summer of Sport! Blue Peter

There are loads of ways to earn your BP sport badge.

Alex and Harry tried their hand at a "flipping" brilliant sport

called swimming.

Then of course there is Holly and Rocco, they played tennis.

But Leroy and Jordan are doing my favourite thing,

-which is the Frisbee. That was a bit hard. Thank you.

-Barney?

-Yeah.

Do you remember when I had a go at water-skiing?

Yeah, it was amazing.

SPLASH!

All right, Radz?

BOTH: Hello. You're watching Blue Peter.

Today's show is all about this bad boy. It is the BP sport badge.

What better place to talk about this sporting legend than where

-sporting legends get made?

-Let's check out this venue, shall we?

The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. In there right now,

the IAAF World Championships are taking place.

All sorts of celebrities in there. Usain Bolt is going to be there.

Mo Farah is going to be there and let us not forget Elinor,

the BP mascot winner who designed Hero the Hedgehog.

She won tickets to this event as part of her prize.

And later on we will see her see Hero take to the stage.

We are also taking a look back at some of the previous

competitions and their incredible prizes.

We're also going to spot Shelley.

But before all that, wait a moment, because the countdown has begun.

You have only got one week left to get your hands on your limited

edition BP sport badge.

It is really easy, head to the BP website, download the form and then

attach a photograph to it and send it to us by midday next Thursday.

Let's be absolutely clear, that's 12pm next Thursday, one week.

-Don't forget it.

-If you want some inspiration, watch this film.

-It's really good.

-I spoke too soon.

-That was better than mine.

Give me a break.

You know what? Sometimes it is just nice to get out and about, isn't it?

Breathe in the fresh air, soak up the scenery.

It's really worth doing something like that every once in a while.

Then again, it's also worth doing something extreme.

LOUD MUSIC

And downhill mountain biking is pretty extreme.

Flying down off-road trails on specialist

bikes as fast as humanly possible.

I'm in the Scottish Borders to give it a go

and my expert guides are these guys.

Emily and Corran are two of the best young riders around.

Both compete in major competitions

and their dad Crawford used to be a professional rider.

OK, first things first.

How would we explain the sport of mountain biking?

It's rough terrain, it's gravelly.

You're not on the road like road biking.

It's all over the place, jumps, drops.

When did you first start - how old were you?

I learned to ride a bike without stabilisers when I was two years

-and four months.

-OK.

-Then after that, it just...

It was all downhill from there! It was all down... No? OK, fine.

-Your dad happens to be awesome at this, doesn't he?

-Yes, very awesome.

Crawford is deaf and uses sign language

so Corran will be translating his answers for us.

When did you get into it, Dad? When did you first start?

He started when he was 18, just for fun.

-Here we are all these years later.

-Yes.

So how does the bike need to be different to do this kind of sport?

Let's start with the tyres, Emily.

Well, when you do mountain biking it is good for them to be thick.

The thicker they are, the more grip you've got.

And they are lumpy so it is even more grip.

OK. What about the handlebars, Dad,

what is important about the handlebars?

They are not like road bikes at all.

Your handlebars need to be wide so you have more control.

If they are narrow you would be a bit more all over the place.

I honestly don't think it would matter if my handlebars

were this wide. I think I'm still going to do a bit of wobbling today.

-I'm going to need a bike, aren't I?

-Yeah.

-Are you going to show me the ropes?

-Yeah.

-Are we going to do it?

-Yeah.

OK. You can lead the way.

Before we hit the trail, the guys want to make sure I'm using

the brakes properly so I don't go flying over the handlebars.

Once they are happy, Crawford has some advice about pedals.

Going along flat, your pedals should be level.

Then when you go round the corner, to the left,

you put your right foot down.

If you are going to the right, you put your left foot down,

-just like you are skiing.

-So whatever corner you are going into

-you put that side of the pedal up.

-Yeah.

Pushing into the corner with your pedal will give you

more grip and push you through the corner.

Great tip and I feel like I have got the basics, but the real challenge

of downhill mountain biking are

the many different obstacles along any trail.

Get it wrong and it could be nasty. Ouch!

So I need to tackle my first rocky patch. This looks like fun.

How am I going to ride down that?

-You're going to have to be confident.

-Yeah.

-And you're going to have to lean back.

-Yeah.

You are going to have to brake before you do it,

-don't brake whilst you're going down it.

-Yes, that's a good tip.

Make sure you commit before you go down it and you should be good.

-Really?

-Yeah.

OK, this is probably the scariest thing

I've done for a while. Let's see what happens.

It's not going to happen.

It feels really unnatural to ride OVER the rocks rather than

round them. I might need another go at that.

I'm going to do it this time, here we go. Here we go.

OK, no, no!

Not happening.

It's so hard to just go for it.

I'll come back round and try again.

Come on, Barn, third time lucky.

Here we go. Oh, my goodness!

That was amazing!

Yes! Nailed it.

See, there is actually some truth in the saying "if, at first,

"you don't succeed, try again."

I just proved that, didn't I?

-That was OK, yeah?

-That was good.

-Great, OK. What's next?

-The hard one.

That wasn't the hard one?

No.

As if riding over rocks wasn't difficult enough,

the actual hard one is this - a drop,

which is exactly what it sounds like.

You drop off that.

CHILDREN SNIGGER

-Do you? BOTH:

-Yeah.

A classic downhill challenge,

and the only way to safely overcome a drop

is to fully commit to jumping off it. Easy!

-Lean back and push your bike forward.

-Yeah?

That'll lift your front wheel up, so you won't go forward,

and then you land both wheels at the same time, hopefully.

Now, this isn't as big as something the pros would jump off,

but to me, from the top, it feels big!

Oh, it's terrifying.

He makes it!

Look at that.

I've learned so much in such a short space of time,

which is lucky, really,

because my challenge hasn't even started.

Tomorrow, the Mountain Bike World Cup is taking place

three hours down the road...

Are you kidding?!

..and I am going to be riding on one of its trails.

Will I be able to keep my nerve...

I'm convinced I'm going to slip.

..through every twist, every turn, every jump?

Stay tuned for part two, when I take part in the World Cup.

-Barney?

-What?

-I'm very excited.

-Yes, you are.

-Because I love athletics.

-He does.

And in that stadium there

is the IAAF World Athletics Championships.

However, today isn't all about athletics.

I know what you're going to do.

You're going to list a load of sports that people can take part in

to earn their BP sport badges.

-I was going to give two examples.

-You don't need to.

I've written a list. Here we go.

Aerobics. Motorsport. American football.

Netball. Archery. Roller-skating.

-Badminton. Rounders...

-Barney.

I ain't finished yet. Rowing. Softball. Rugby. Basketball.

Athletics. Roller-skating. Badminton.

This might take a while,

so while Barney carries on,

let's take a look at this week's sport badge special.

Darts is in there. Table tennis.

Disability sport. Tennis. Diving.

Over the summer, you lot have been busy getting sporty

and inspiring your friends and family,

to earn your brand-new 2017 sport badge. Check this lot out.

Ryan inspired Ria to have a go at playing badminton,

but they had a problem -

the great British weather. It was windy outside,

so the shuttlecock kept flying away. Oh, dear.

Next up, Sophia got in touch to tell us

she inspired Maddie to have a go at kayaking.

Looks a bit chilly there.

Maddie says she found it fun

and was happy she got the chance to try a brand-new sport.

Ragav wrote in to tell us about what sounds like a very competitive game.

He inspired Ishan to get involved with cricket.

Ishan kept bowling so close to the wicket

but couldn't quite bowl Ragav out.

This is Arianna and Alesha, who went horse-riding. You're braver than me.

Arianna encouraged Alesha to go over the big jumps,

and she did it with an even bigger smile on her face.

Next up, Ben told us about when he inspired Alex to go swimming.

Ben says that swimming is a skill to learn for life,

and I absolutely agree with you, my friend.

Thank you to everyone who's got in touch and sent something in.

Keep it coming!

Yoga. Hockey. Curling. Ice hockey.

-Are you still going?

-There's a lot of them.

-Kayaking.

-Did you even see the posts these good people sent in?

Yes.

Lacrosse. Martial arts. Do you know what I've been thinking?

You know the World Champs are happening in there?

-Yes.

-All those incredible athletes are in that building,

-doing incredible stuff, and we're outside?

-Yeah.

How amazing would it be to be inside there

watching the athletes doing what they're doing?

-Um...

-How amazing would it be to be in there with them,

soaking up the atmosphere of that incredible event in there?

That would be awesome, if we could do that.

-Um...Barney...

-What?

Watch this.

Why?

The IAAF World Athletics Championships 2017,

and the eyes of the world are on the London Stadium.

But there's one performer who's really caught the eye,

and that someone is a hedgehog.

Hero the hedgehog has wowed crowds

and attracted attention like no mascot before,

and Hero wouldn't be here

without one very special Blue Peter viewer.

The story begins in January, when we launched a competition

to design two very special mascots.

Our winner, Elinor, designed Hero the hedgehog

for the IAAF World Championships,

and Whizbee for the World Para Athletic Championships,

and our judges loved them.

Next, I had the exciting job

of telling Ellie the amazing news.

Hello, Elinor.

You're our winner.

After Ellie's designs were turned into reality in the factory,

it was time to reveal them to the world.

Hero and Whizbee, welcome to Blue Peter. You look amazing.

And in no time at all,

Ellie and her mascots were superstars.

But that was only the beginning of her prize.

Next stop, the World Para Athletics Championships 2017.

-Elinor! Straight-up talk! That's your ticket.

-Thank you.

This is my ticket. We've got them in our hands, finally.

-How are you feeling?

-Really excited.

That way there is the London Stadium. Shall we head there?

I can't wait. Let's go.

Because this is the World Para Athletics Championships,

it's Whizbee that's the star of the show and can be seen everywhere.

Here we are. These are the best seats in the house.

Whizbee's got a Blue Peter badge.

This is so unbelievably exciting.

We're seeing Whizbee in front of the crowd, right there.

In fact, let's go and meet Whizbee.

Look at that!

Ellie, this is what you created. What are you thinking?

Really good.

Now, if meeting the mascot you designed wasn't enough,

how about getting to walk on the actual London Stadium track?

Look at this place!

Wow-ow-ow!

Or being interviewed for Brazilian TV?

Ellie even gets to drive the truck that collects the discus,

and Whizbee's on it. That's one fast-moving bee!

But someone who'll give Whizbee a run for the honey

is two-time World Para Athletic and Paralympic T44 100 metre champion,

Jonnie Peacock!

So, Jonnie, what do you think of Elinor's mascot, Whizbee?

When I saw him come out,

it was just such a cool design,

and to see him with his blade out,

I think that was such a great twist,

which was really smart.

That's high praise for Ellie's design, but we're not done yet.

She's about to get a masterclass on how to start the 100 metres

from this para sport legend.

What we do to get into the blocks, put your feet in each pedal,

however you want to do it,

hands behind the line,

and when he says "set",

you just push up...

I mean, getting a lesson from one of Great Britain's greatest-ever

sprinters?

It doesn't get any better than that.

Or does it?

Because a few weeks later,

we are back at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park,

just look at it, for the IAAF World Athletics Championships

London 2017. We're talking about Usain Bolt

and Sir Mo Farah. However,

I'm about to meet three top entries in their age category

for our World Championship competition.

Ellie has tickets for what could be an incredible night of athletics,

only this time, she's joined by competition runners-up

nine-year-old Rufus

and 13-year-old Bradley.

-Elinor, how are you feeling to be back?

-Really excited.

You're really excited.

Bradley, you are actually an athlete yourself.

What sport do you do?

I do dressage, which is like horse riding.

You have to make the horse dance.

Rufus, is there any one person you're most looking forward

to seeing inside that stadium compete?

Mo Farah, because it's his last race

and he's going to do the 5,000 metres

and I'm hoping he's going to win it.

-You really are hoping, aren't you?

-Yeah.

Well, without further ado,

-Rufus, Elinor...

-Thank you.

-..we are now officially ready. Shall we go in?

-Yeah.

-Let's go in.

But as we head to the stadium,

we get a phone call.

There's someone who'd like to say hello.

So, Hero, you've been getting up to a little

bit of mischief on the track.

So there's been a forward roll down the steps,

then there was the time when you slipped on the steeplechase

and I thought did yourself a slight injury there.

There's a man called Usain Bolt, who'll be racing in the relay.

Oh, we've got to hit that for a photo, don't we?

Shall we hit the Usain Bolt pose? Three, two, one...

Oh, it's just like that!

I am so excited!

Let's get our seats.

We have officially arrived.

Have you seen how close we are to the finish line?

-It's massive.

-It really is massive.

As the action begins,

there's one person we all want to see.

I can't wait to see what tricks Hero does.

Right, yeah.

And Hero doesn't disappoint.

APPLAUSE

The crowd love that hedgehog.

Imagine what it must be like for Ellie to see 60,000 people

watching her mascot design.

From the star of the show to a sporting superstar,

Sir Mo Farah!

When the commentator announces Mo Farah's name, London goes crazy!

-COMMENTATOR:

-Oh, to be here on this day.

Mo's under a little bit of pressure.

He's got to do what he's done before.

The crowd respond.

SHE SCREAMS

Mo Farah fights for the silver!

So, so close.

Second for Sir Mo, but what an unbelievable athlete.

Now, though, it's time for history.

Rufus, what time is it?

Bolt o'clock!

We are about to witness the last race of the greatest

sprinter in the history of the world,

Mr Usain Bolt.

Come on, Bolt!

-COMMENTATOR:

-..Being chased by the great man.

Mitchell-Blake is going to get it.

Away he goes. The USA have got Coleman chasing.

Mitchell-Blake is going to have it.

It's going to be tough.

Ohh!

Yeah!

Yes! Great Britain are first!

-COMMENTATOR:

-A new British record.

Wow, wow, wow.

So, no fairy-tale end for Bolt,

but gold for Great Britain.

For these guys, by entering a Blue Peter competition,

they were part of a moment that will live for ever

in sporting history.

How was it?

And it's safe to say

that Hero the hedgehog will never be forgotten.

Best day ever!

Yeah, it looked like the best day ever, actually.

Where was my invite?

-Um... Shall we move on?

-OK.

-Do you know what?

-What?

To be honest, it didn't get much better than that.

-How can it get better than that?

-I don't know.

We've had some pretty cool competitions over the past year.

-Design A Dragon.

-Yeah, Dream Big.

The Team GB sport badge.

-What about Big Day Out?

-They are incredible opportunities,

and you don't just get to win a competition.

-You win an amazing day.

-You get a sense of pride,

-a sense of achievement, that's what you get.

-No.

-You also get an orange badge.

-Oh, yeah.

Every week, Blue Peter brings you exclusive content

that you won't see anywhere else.

But what makes the show special

are our once-in-a-lifetime competitions.

And when I say once-in-a-lifetime, I mean it.

Last year, we pulled out all the stops

for our Dream Big competition.

It was judged by Roald Dahl's daughter Lucy.

Our winner Betty got to see her dream story brought to life.

And after going to the film's premiere,

she had the chance to show it to the big man himself,

Oscar-winning director Mr Steven Spielberg.

The toucans opened their own internet cafe...

in Shoreditch,

providing a careers-advice service

for other animals stuck in dead-end jobs,

unsuited to their skills.

I can see why you're sitting here.

That's really marvellous.

Betty, you've got a little something to ask Steven, haven't you?

Yes. Would you mind taking a selfie with us?

I would love that.

Absolutely amazing.

But Betty wasn't the only one to dream big last year.

When we needed a new Blue Peter sport badge

ahead of the Rio Olympics,

we turned to you guys.

Sam created a badge that was given to every member of Team GB

during the biggest sporting event on the planet!

And they loved it.

After you.

And speaking of loving it...

Max loved his Big Day Out riding a train around London's

underground network,

trying to spot his amazing poster design.

Cool, right?

Last autumn, it was seen by thousands,

as they travelled all over London,

and your creativity doesn't end there.

When we asked you to design a dragon for the Great Pagoda in Kew Gardens,

you answered in your thousands.

9,000, actually.

It feels amazing. It's so cool to think that it's going to be

on top of the pagoda.

Florence can't wait to see her design come to life.

In fact, it's being created right now.

And just remember, you could be our next orange badge winner.

Coming up this autumn on Blue Peter - we reveal the lucky winner

of our Code-breaker competition.

Even I haven't got one of these.

And we launch an incredible brand-new competition

with one of the world's most famous animation companies.

It's the tiniest BP badge I've ever held.

Look at that. Look.

Right, I'm entering that.

You can, if you're 16 or under. Are you?

-No.

-Then you cannot enter it.

-OK.

You've got a week left to get your own limited edition

-BP sport badge. I want one.

-Barney.

-What?

-Amazing news - you've got one.

-I do have one. It's right here

on my lapel. Would you like to get one?

Head to the Blue Peter website and do the usual stuff,

and then just wait for a bit.

Don't just take our word for it. Check this out.

Hi. I'm Jo Rowsell Shand,

two-times Olympic champion cyclist.

My name's Heather Knight, the England women's cricket captain.

Hi, I'm Max Chilton, British IndyCar racing driver.

This summer, why not inspire a friend to try a new sport

and you could earn a Blue Peter sport badge?

Get involved and inspire one of your friends to take up a new sport.

You could be the lucky owner of this Blue Peter sport badge

if you inspire a friend to take up a new sport this summer,

so get involved.

You've only got until 7th September to earn your sports badge.

Go on, what are you waiting for?

Those are sporting giants, all telling you to apply for

your Blue Peter sport badge,

so what are you waiting for?

It's not just a nice new, shiny BP sport badge that you get.

You also get the chance to apply to be on the judging panel

for the Young Sports Personality of the Year Award 2017.

I'd forgotten that. I'm going to apply.

Are you 16 or under?

Then no!

Speaking of sporty and speaking of young,

Emily and Corran are two legends I met recently,

and they took me to the World Cup to try and teach me the ropes.

Did I end up being an expert?

No...

Earlier, I got a lesson in downhill mountain biking

from two of the best young riders in the UK.

Now, though, it's time for my challenge to step up a notch,

as I attempt to take on one of the courses

at the Mountain Bike World Cup,

this year being held in Fort William.

My instructors, Corran and Emily, will also be competing,

taking on the same trail as myself.

So, to prepare for our ride,

we meet up to get a look at the obstacles we're facing.

What are you doing to get prepared for the race?

We'll walk the course and choose our lines,

fastest lines, so we can do better, faster.

-I could do with knowing the fastest line.

-Yeah.

Though my brakes are going to be on the majority of the time.

-Shall we get walking and see what we can see?

-Yeah.

If I was to work out which bit to ride round,

I'd probably go for that bit round there, cos it's drier.

I'd say that'd be quicker, but it's not going to be, is it?

No, because then you'll have to go all the way round,

so I would recommend going through here,

but you don't want to go through very thick mud.

You've got to make a split-second decision to get round the fastest?

-Yes.

-That's why you walk the course.

You can choose your line before you go.

-Memorise the course. Know where you'll go.

-Memorise the course,

-know where you're going to go.

-Know what's going to happen next.

I'm picking up some brilliant tips.

Corran and Emily head out onto the mountain

for their runs. Both are tipped to do very well,

but if they do, they won't be the first brother

and sister downhill champions.

Rachel and Gee Atherton

are mountain biking superstars,

and I caught up with them.

I'm at the start of my downhill career.

You've got a huge career to look back on.

Have you got any highlights that really stand out?

I've been five-time world champion,

and winning here in Fort William, the home World Cup,

we actually won that together. It's so cool.

And these kids that race now could experience that with their siblings.

I'm after some top tips on what I need to do and think about.

The first bit of advice is to go steady.

It's a great sport but it can be dangerous.

You're racing down a mountain, there's rocks, there's trees.

There's a lot to go wrong, so I think the best way

is to ease into it.

It's great to get tips like that,

but as I make my way to the start line,

the nerves are beginning to kick in.

The course I'm taking on is 500 metres of fast-paced twists,

turns, slopes and drops,

which will be tough enough...

and then the rain begins.

So what once was a glorious sunny day

has turned into a lovely wintry one. I like this weather.

I'm just not too sure how I feel about riding in it.

I've got the right gear on, the right bike,

but things are going to be a little slippier than I'm used to.

Rider 90 is on track.

Wish me luck.

OK, here we go.

He's off.

The course is now really slippy

so I have to take it slowly to begin with

to get used to the trail and the conditions.

I start to build confidence until...

HE GASPS

..I lose momentum and put my foot down.

I'm annoyed with myself.

I don't want to do that again.

Because it's so wet and so rainy,

I'm convinced I'm going to slip.

So I'm using my brakes and trying to slow down as much as I can.

I'm beginning to pick up the pace

and start to spot obstacles earlier.

Corran and Emily's training is paying off.

All we've got to do is make it round to the end.

That's all I've got to do.

Just make it down to the end.

Pedal down, do what you were told...

This bit's going to be slippy.

Oh, but you made it. Mate, we're doing it.

But then I come across the biggest drop on the course.

It's terrifying. Are you kidding?!

I've just got to go for it.

Yes, you did it!

That's the bit I was scared of.

I'm so chuffed I made it.

The end is in sight.

I genuinely thought I was going to fall off

on a couple of occasions,

but the challenge was to make it to the end.

I fell off once at the beginning

and it was the slowest part of the track.

There you are. Not quite Emily and Corran's standard,

but I enjoyed it. Give it a go. You'll love it.

And Corran and Emily's standard is the very best.

They both end the weekend as champions.

-Corran, how are you feeling?

-I'm excited.

I didn't expect to come first.

You must feel so good. Emily, how about you?

Well, it was really hard,

there was a lot of pedalling,

and I had no idea that I was going to come first.

I'm so proud to have gone from beginner

to a run at the World Cup in such a short space of time,

and a lot of that is down to my coaches,

two young people who I think have got big futures

in downhill mountain biking.

Quite possibly the slowest I've ever been on a bike

but really good fun.

-Final question.

-What?

-Where was Shelley?

Right here. See? Everyone knew it

but only one person got there the fastest.

If you want to find out if it was you, head to the Blue Peter website.

-While you're there, why not have a look at what's there all week?

-Yes!

Be inspired to get your sport badge.

You could earn one of these, a Blue Peter sport badge.

Go on, inspire a friend.

Inspire a friend and get your hands on a 2017 Blue Peter sport badge.

Check out our new sport quiz

or join in Fan Club live

before, during and after the show,

where you can chat to us and other Blue Peter fans.

Try our games and challenges

and of course see our exclusive

online clips.

Only on the Blue Peter website.

So go and check it out after the show.

Not yet, cos we're still here.

Next week, we are back live in the studio

with Lindsey, and anything can happen.

I can tell you exactly what's going to happen, Radz.

It's a world record special.

We're going to try and break a world record live in the studio.

-You know how I don't like mornings?

-Yes.

I woke up at 3am to find out all about the world of peas.

-I've got a pea joke.

-Go on.

-What's a pea's favourite movie?

-Go on.

-A romantic one. Do you know why?

-No.

-Because they're a bit mushy.

-Ha! That makes me happy.

That's good. That was quite a POD joke. Odd joke.

-OK. We should probably go.

-Yeah.

-See you next week.

-We're like to peas in a... No.

HE MOUTHS