Swimming Twin It to Win It

-I'm Imogen...

-And I'm Amelia.

BOTH: And we're identical twins.

And we're 11 years old.

This summer, we're competing at the National Dwarf Games,

the UK's biggest sporting event for little people.

Today, we're competing for the gold medal in swimming.

We're getting ready for our swimming races.

By...um...

playing badminton in the back garden, of course.

But even at this, we're competitive.

One point to me!

If I get another one,

you lose, and I win.

Yes! I'm the winner, and you're the loser.

Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh...

Right, girls, come here, please.

Now, that wasn't very good sportsmanship, was it?

-No.

-No.

We can't behave like that, it's not nice, it's not kind.

I don't want any of that at the Dwarf Games.

'Oh, dear.

'If we keep arguing like this,

'we might even get disqualified from the games.'

Clearly, we're not the best at being good sports.

But it's hard when you're a twin, like us.

Because you spend so much time together.

Maybe we should meet up

with some people who spend lots of time together.

Yeah, great idea.

What about the two Olympic rowers, Helen and Heather?

They could definitely help.

So, before we even attempt to get better at swimming,

we're going to have to learn to stop arguing.

Today, we're at the GB Team lake.

Cos we need to learn some tips about sportsmanship,

cos we're not that good at it.

-Yes, we are.

-No, we're not.

-Yes, we are.

-No, we're not.

-Anyway, let's go and meet Helen and Heather.

Heather Stanning and Helen Glover are the first-ever British women

to win an Olympic gold medal in rowing.

Now, they have to spend most of their time in a tiny boat together,

so maybe they can help us be nice to each other.

-We need some help, cos me and Amelia bicker a bit.

-Oh, really?

Well, we've been rowing together

for six years now,

and probably count on one hand how many times we've had an argument.

That many times.

'No arguments at all?'

-We always argue.

-Do you?

The reason we don't really have arguments

is cos we listen to each other.

And we might not always agree with that person, but we still listen.

I think that's probably the biggest thing that we've learnt, isn't it,

over the few years that we've rowed together?

'I wonder if their example would help us

'with our own competitiveness?'

Right, shall we have a race to see who's the fastest?

Ready... Steady... Go!

-Yeah, well done.

-You're doing well, there, as well.

You'll start to get out of breath,

so make sure you're thinking about your breathing,

and you're calm...

-Keep going.

-Really well done, it's going to be really close, Imogen.

Keep pushing your legs.

Put the rate up, more strokes, more strokes.

Get more strokes than your sister. Go on, that's it, that's it!

You got it, you got it!

Well done.

I wo-on. I won, I wo-on. I won.

-Imogen.

-I won, I wo-on.

-Remember what we've just been taught?

-Oh, yeah, sorry.

To be a good athlete, you have to be a good sport.

So no boasting if you win, and no crying if you lose.

I'm so ha...ha...

Do I have to say it? ..happy that you won.

I think it's going to take a bit more practice

to get the hang of this.

As we keep working on being nice to each other,

it's time to actually get to a swimming pool.

This is where all the Olympics and Paralympics swimmers train.

So we thought it would be the best place to come and get some tips...

..to help us swim as fast as possible.

BOTH: Let's go!

Lucky for us, we're meeting Steph Millward,

one of Britain's best Paralympic swimmers.

Wow, that must be Steph.

If we could dive like that,

we would definitely be taking home some medals.

Thank you for coming to watch me train.

Is there anything I can do to help you?

The one thing we're not good at is our dive starts.

Maybe I should just watch your diving, see how you dive.

The first dive wasn't very good,

because I felt like I was just doing a belly flop on the water.

The three tips I've got for you, one is your feet.

I want you to drive from your feet.

So all the power coming through body from your feet.

One, two, three,

dive!

'That felt a bit better. We pushed hard from our feet.'

The second one is, I want you to pretend you're a pencil.

'Pretend to be a pencil?'

You're going to be really, really streamlined,

really long, really thin. And point your toes.

I don't want to be see any drags,

be as thin as you can be when you're diving.

'We don't want to pretend to be a pencil on our own.

'So Steph's joining us for our final dive.'

After those tips, I felt like my diving got way better.

-That was fantastic swimming, guys. Who wants a race?

-Me!

'Racing a Paralympian?

'You must think we're mad.'

'But we have a plan.

'Sometimes, it helps to be a twin.

'And Steph will never know.'

Shh!

She's helped us with our swimming,

but can Steph actually help us be better sports?

You get on really, really well.

-Do you always get on well?

-No.

-No.

-It drives Mum mad.

-Oh, no.

We were wondering how you would feel, when you lose?

Whenever I lose, I always think, is my... Am I learning?

So I just need to learn from the mistake and try and find

all the strengths of the swim.

What did I do right, what did I do wrong, what can I work on?

Sometimes, when your team-mate doesn't swim very well

and you do swim well, you have to be positive for them.

It was amazing, being taught by a Paralympic swimmer.

And now, when we go to the dwarf games, we can be fast.

And we might not even fight.

It's finally time for the National Dwarf Games.

Hundreds of people from all over the UK compete.

And all of us dream of taking home a gold medal.

This is the event we've all been waiting for.

BOTH: Swimming!

I heard Ellie Simmonds is here. I hope we can meet her.

BOTH: Let's go!

-No, Imogen. This way.

-Oh.

Time for a warm up,

and for a quick chat with Ellie.

So, Amelia is winning more medals than me.

How do you cope when you're losing?

Um. Well, I'm a bit of a sore loser as well.

I hate losing.

But, for me, when I don't win, I use that as a motivation, so I...

I get back in the pool and train even harder,

so I work so hard that my other competitors don't beat me.

So, you've just got to support each other, so when Amelia's swimming,

you've got to cheer her on,

when Imogen's swimming you've got to cheer her on, so...

Or, what other sports you're doing, just support each other.

-Thanks so much, Ellie.

-Good luck in Rio, I hope you get the medals.

Can we put into practice everything we've learned?

Giving our all for the race,

but being happy for each other, whatever the result?

Good luck. One length.

Give it your best.

The nerves are really kicking in now.

Before diving off for the race, I was actually quite worried

either I was going to get disqualified, or anything like that.

WHISTLE BLOWS

We've got to focus on getting this dive right.

BEEP

Go, Amelia!

Go, Imogen!

Getting off to a good start made a real difference.

I was thinking about what they've taught me.

I was literally like, neck and neck with Imogen.

So, I had to, like, swim really hard, and make sure, like...

I was hoping that I got a medal.

Phew! That was hard work.

When I touched the side,

I was actually really relieved that it was over.

I just crossed my fingers that I was going to get a medal.

Well done, darling, you did a brilliant swim then.

'But are either of us going to take home a medal?'

Yes! Well done, Amelia.

You got the bronze!

It was a big surprise that I got the medal, so I was really happy.

Can Imogen be a good sport about not getting a medal?

Amelia got a medal, and I'm happy for her.

You do just need to just...

Just be happy for them.

I won the swimming races, but Imogen did really well.

I'm proud of Amelia, she did awesome.

-See, Mum?

-See, Mum?

-We can be nice.

Well done, girls. I'm really proud of you.

Not really. We're still really competitive.

I'm going to win.

-No, I'm going to win.

-No, I'm going to win.

-I'm going to win.