0:00:10 > 0:00:14'And let us not forget also, Chris Hoy, five gold and one silver,
0:00:14 > 0:00:16'is poised here to become
0:00:16 > 0:00:18'the greatest British Olympian of all time.'
0:00:26 > 0:00:31Last day of competition, London 2012, one last race to go.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35This was my chance. A dream ending.
0:00:35 > 0:00:36Oh! The pressure is...
0:00:36 > 0:00:39I mean, pressure only exists in your mind,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41it's not something you can measure, you can't quantify it.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45You know, it's how you perceive it. So not going into it seeing myself
0:00:45 > 0:00:47as someone with the weight of the world on his shoulder,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50I was trying to go in thinking, "This is an amazing opportunity."
0:00:50 > 0:00:53It's kind of silly when you think about it,
0:00:53 > 0:00:54all those sleepless nights,
0:00:54 > 0:00:57all about riding a bike in a circle, you know.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10By the time I got here to the verge of a sixth Olympic gold medal,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14I'd been riding my bike round in circles for most of my life.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20The success I had never stopped surprising me,
0:01:20 > 0:01:23because I don't think I was simply born a champion.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25I don't think anyone is.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30I want to show you how champions are made...
0:01:32 > 0:01:36..through endless hard work and determination,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39by victory AND defeat,
0:01:39 > 0:01:41by brain as well as brawn...
0:01:43 > 0:01:46..by great teams and amazing support.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50And if I can do it...anyone can.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56Because we all start off with a chance of winning gold.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12I might have retired from cycling last year,
0:02:12 > 0:02:15but I wasn't ready for the pipe and slippers just yet.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19ENGINE ROARS TYRES SCREECH
0:02:25 > 0:02:27This is my new passion.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31And my dream is to compete in the Les Mans 24-Hour Race
0:02:31 > 0:02:33in a GT car like this.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Six Olympic gold medals or not, I'm the novice here.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47And my mentor is a gifted young driver,
0:02:47 > 0:02:5022-year-old Jann Mardenborough.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54We can go in definitely harder.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57- By mid-corner we're sort of like... - Yeah.
0:02:57 > 0:02:58We need to go, we need to go
0:02:58 > 0:03:01and then that pushes the front on even more.
0:03:01 > 0:03:02And by the time you're full throttle,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04you've got still quite a lot of lock on.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06ENGINE REVS
0:03:06 > 0:03:07TYRES SCREECH
0:03:10 > 0:03:13I really don't know what sparked my competitive drive,
0:03:13 > 0:03:16I just know that whatever I do, I want to do it well.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22'Here comes Hoy. Hoy hits the line with one lap to go.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24'And the challenge is coming here from....'
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Personally, I blame the parents.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38INDISTINCT COMMENTARY
0:03:40 > 0:03:44His first bike was from a jumble sale,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47painted it up and put stickers on it,
0:03:47 > 0:03:49made it look pretty cool.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51And it broke after a couple of weeks,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54cos it wasn't designed for the punishment he was giving it.
0:03:56 > 0:04:01He then got a neighbour's bike, which to his shame was a girls' frame,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04but he was too young to know the difference.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08HE LAUGHS That didn't last long either.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11So, eventually, we were forced into buying him a proper race bike.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14That was it, he was on his way to world domination.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16HE LAUGHS
0:04:17 > 0:04:20'And he's into third spot and he will qualify.'
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Chris always liked to be doing something.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Even as a wee boy, if it was raining outside he'd say,
0:04:29 > 0:04:31"Oh, Mum, wish I could go out to the garden."
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Or, "Can we go round the block? I just want to run, run and run."
0:04:35 > 0:04:38And it could have been... Well, I kind of hoped it would be tennis
0:04:38 > 0:04:41and then he'd make some real money, but he didn't do that.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Whatever he did, he wanted to do it properly
0:04:47 > 0:04:51and he would ask someone who knew, "Is that right?"
0:04:51 > 0:04:54And they would say, "Yeah, it's good, but if you do this way..."
0:04:54 > 0:04:58And he would do it and then be pleased.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00And not in a showy-offy way,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03he just wanted to do the best that he could.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08I don't think I was a pushy parent.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12And I was conscious of some parents who were, I think,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15living their dreams through their...their kids.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18There was one international race we went to
0:05:18 > 0:05:19and the Italian kid's father
0:05:19 > 0:05:24was actually boxing him around the ears as he came through the finish.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26So he was obviously really disappointed
0:05:26 > 0:05:30in his son's performance, but I tried not to do that.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36I don't know if I recognised any potential,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38I just always thought it would be nice
0:05:38 > 0:05:41if he could achieve as much as he could.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45When I was younger going to a BMX race, when I was, you know,
0:05:45 > 0:05:49nine or ten years of age, if it was a race down in the south of England
0:05:49 > 0:05:52my dad would come in from work on a Friday night,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55we'd have our dinner, Mum would make the sandwiches
0:05:55 > 0:05:57and pack, you know, the picnic for the weekend.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59My dad would get the car packed,
0:05:59 > 0:06:03we'd put the back seats down in the old Citroen diesel car
0:06:03 > 0:06:07that had about 120,000-150,000 miles on the clock.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09And, you know, we'd have our meal, get the bags packed
0:06:09 > 0:06:11and about 11 o'clock at night,
0:06:11 > 0:06:13we'd jump in the car and I would just basically go to sleep.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16I would lie down on this mattress in the back seat of the car,
0:06:16 > 0:06:20duvet, pillow, my dad would drive and we'd go through the night,
0:06:20 > 0:06:22arrive down wherever it was,
0:06:22 > 0:06:24south coast of England early in the morning,
0:06:24 > 0:06:26I would wake up nice and fresh.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28Get to the track, nobody else would be on the track
0:06:28 > 0:06:31at that time in the morning - I would do my practice then.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33My dad would then catch up with his sleep
0:06:33 > 0:06:36and I'd race Saturday, race Sunday, jump back in the car
0:06:36 > 0:06:38and drive all the way back up again.
0:06:40 > 0:06:41I had no idea at that time
0:06:41 > 0:06:44just how much of a sacrifice it was for my parents to do that.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46And it wasn't because they thought
0:06:46 > 0:06:48that I was going to become a champion cyclist
0:06:48 > 0:06:49and they would get their reward,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52you know, "This will be fantastic, he'll be Olympic Champion."
0:06:52 > 0:06:55It was just, I think, to give me an opportunity
0:06:55 > 0:06:57to try and pursue something that I absolutely loved.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03Loving a sport is what it's all about.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07But to become a champion, the sport's got to love you back.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10It's got to be right for your body shape and size.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15If you're cut out to be a marathon runner,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18then you're not going to be a great shot-putter.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20If you're built like a jockey,
0:07:20 > 0:07:24you're probably not going to be a champion basketball player.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29But you've also got to be lucky enough to find the right sport.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31You can't become a champion at anything
0:07:31 > 0:07:33unless you give it a go in the first place.
0:07:35 > 0:07:36SIREN
0:07:36 > 0:07:39- Ahoy there!- How you doing?
0:07:39 > 0:07:41How's it going?
0:07:41 > 0:07:45Sir Steve Redgrave is quite simply a legend.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47You coming in?
0:07:47 > 0:07:51He's one of the world's most successful ever rowers.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54He's also passionate about getting people into boats.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Even land animals like me.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59We don't want you falling in the canal.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01I'm trying not to fall in the canal.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05I did row a bit at school... but that wasn't yesterday.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09When were you last out in a pair?
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Pair...a long time ago.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Last time I was out in a pair was 20 years ago
0:08:14 > 0:08:17- and it was probably on this very stretch of water.- OK.
0:08:17 > 0:08:18So have you still got the skill?
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Or did you go to cycling because you didn't have the skill?
0:08:21 > 0:08:23- You never lose class, do you, Steve? - STEVE LAUGHS
0:08:23 > 0:08:25The form goes, but the class never goes.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Yeah, I'm not brilliant, to be fair,
0:08:27 > 0:08:29- but let's give it a go, shall we? - Yeah.
0:08:29 > 0:08:30OK.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36The boat Steve's picked for us is a high-performance racing pair.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41It might be fast, but what you gain in speed you sacrifice in stability.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46If we're going to go in, this will be the point.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48I'll do the shoes loosely, then.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53What weight is this boat designed for, do you think?
0:08:53 > 0:08:57- They say it's 100 kilos.- Is it? - How much are you?
0:08:57 > 0:09:01- About 92.- OK, so you're well under.
0:09:01 > 0:09:02- I'm well over.- Well...
0:09:02 > 0:09:06- Right, now the difficult bit. - OK. We ready?
0:09:11 > 0:09:14- You got it?- Yeah, all mine.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23The sun's in my eyes as well, that's another excuse.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26OK, paddle. Ready, go.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40100m down the canal and we're still dry.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44It's not quite an Olympic gold, but I'll take it as a victory.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51It's slowly coming back. I think, if you had consistent up and down,
0:09:51 > 0:09:52not sort of stopping all the time,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55I think you'd probably... It would come back relatively quickly.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57- H's doing really well. - Take a little stroke.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59CHRIS LAUGHS
0:09:59 > 0:10:02Rowing didn't turn out to be quite right for me,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05but for Steve it was a perfect fit.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09So when did you actually start rowing?
0:10:09 > 0:10:12- How old were you when you got into it?- I was 13, nearly 14.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15- Through school, was it?- And it was the Head of the English Department
0:10:15 > 0:10:17at a small comprehensive school that I went to.
0:10:17 > 0:10:22And he asked me if I would like to try the sport of rowing.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24And I thought going out on the river during school time,
0:10:24 > 0:10:28that has got to be a no-brainer. And so that's how I started.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Then after a couple of months he says, "Do you want to do a race?"
0:10:31 > 0:10:34- And we thought, "Oh, that sounds fun. Going away at a weekend."- Yep.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39- And so we went and did Avon County School Regatta and we won it.- Right.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Was it because you were particularly tall compared to your classmates
0:10:42 > 0:10:45- that he singled you out or was it something about you?- Yeah.
0:10:45 > 0:10:46He always said that he used to
0:10:46 > 0:10:48look at the size of people's hands and feet
0:10:48 > 0:10:52as they came into the school and if they had big hands and feet,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55he would ask them to row. And that was his theory.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58There was 12 of us that rowed from our school
0:10:58 > 0:11:02and out of those 12, three of us got through to the '88 Olympics,
0:11:02 > 0:11:03and we all came fourth or better.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06- Wow!- So that's not a bad selection policy.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09- Good talent ID from your school. - Very much so.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18It's amazing to think that without the eagle eyes of Steve's teacher,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22his Olympic journey, one of the most amazing of all time,
0:11:22 > 0:11:24may never have started.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Steve was lucky.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32And once he found out that he was the right shape and size for rowing
0:11:32 > 0:11:33there was no stopping him.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37He went on to win gold medals at five Olympics,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40an achievement that might never be bettered.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46But, surely, that can't all be down to big hands and big feet...can it?
0:11:50 > 0:11:53If you have to pin it down to what you need most of,
0:11:53 > 0:11:57desire outweighs any skill level.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00If you don't have the love of doing it in the first place,
0:12:00 > 0:12:02you're never going to put the effort in
0:12:02 > 0:12:04to be able to compete at the highest level.
0:12:04 > 0:12:05TRAIN WHISTLE
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Desire to me means having the right mindset
0:12:11 > 0:12:14and the hunger to push yourself further and further.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20It'll see you through the long days of training and the sheer hard work.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27And when I was growing up, no-one had more desire than Graham Obree.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31He became a huge inspiration to me and countless others.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39Graeme was an unemployed amateur cyclist from Ayrshire
0:12:39 > 0:12:43who built his own bike, famously using bits of a washing machine,
0:12:43 > 0:12:46and rode it in his own unique way
0:12:46 > 0:12:50to win gold medals... and smash world records.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52I would like to say thanks very much
0:12:52 > 0:12:54to everybody who made all that noise on the way round.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58I actually thought it had started to thunder at one point.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00LAUGHTER
0:13:01 > 0:13:05It might be the bike that most people remember, and no wonder.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09This is the first time I've ever ridden one of Graeme's creations.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14Let's just say it'd take some getting used to.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17But it wasn't really the bike that inspired me,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20it was what Graeme did on it that stuck in my mind.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Aye, you could be good if you stick in, son.
0:13:23 > 0:13:24BOTH LAUGH
0:13:24 > 0:13:27- How's life?- Life's an amazing thing. - CHRIS LAUGHS
0:13:29 > 0:13:32I watched that documentary that was made about you and Chris Boardman.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35And it starts at the very beginning with you in your back yard,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38you're on this rusty old knackered static bike.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41Sweat's running off your nose and you're right on the limit.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43You can just see you're pushing yourself...
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Actually, just beyond the limit.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48It's about reaching the envelope of your potential and stretching it.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51If you stretch it enough, a tiny, tiny bit enough times,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54then you become a better...athlete.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57In my career, I always wanted to be the best-prepared.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59I wanted to turn up on race day
0:13:59 > 0:14:01feeling as if there was nothing else I could have done,
0:14:01 > 0:14:03that I'd given 100%. And a lot of that
0:14:03 > 0:14:05came from watching you in the early days,
0:14:05 > 0:14:07because I saw this commitment to the training.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Here was somebody willing to push themselves to the limit
0:14:10 > 0:14:12every single day. What was your story?
0:14:12 > 0:14:15- Champions are made on Tuesday afternoon.- Exactly.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19- That's it.- Actually, I feel now from a distance
0:14:19 > 0:14:21that actually...
0:14:21 > 0:14:25being driven by the fear of regret...
0:14:25 > 0:14:30Like, if you got beaten and you hadn't trained to your very best,
0:14:30 > 0:14:33in your heart you know that, then the rest of your life...
0:14:33 > 0:14:35You might have one chance at glory,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38and if you're not best prepared and you miss that by a fraction
0:14:38 > 0:14:40and you hadn't... you know in your heart
0:14:40 > 0:14:42you hadn't done your very, very, very, very best,
0:14:42 > 0:14:44then you've got to live with that for your life.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49'So the scene is set ready for the final.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52'And it should be a very tight tussle indeed.'
0:14:53 > 0:14:56So I remember watching the final of the pursuit in 1995,
0:14:56 > 0:15:01the World Championships, you're up against Collinelli.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Collinelli desperately wanted to win the World Championships.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06I needed to for my own self-worth.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Everything about me, without going into an entire documentary
0:15:09 > 0:15:11about my psychological situation at that time,
0:15:11 > 0:15:14but I actually needed to win that.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16'Who wants this crown the most?
0:15:16 > 0:15:20'Oh, it's only 0.021 of a second now! It is desperately close!'
0:15:20 > 0:15:23This was one of the most exciting races I've ever seen in my life,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27because it was just a battle of wills between two people.
0:15:27 > 0:15:28As you described it in your book,
0:15:28 > 0:15:30about holding your hand in the flame.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32It was like the two of you were holding your hands in the flame
0:15:32 > 0:15:35and whoever pulled away first lost the title.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37He was never going to win that.
0:15:37 > 0:15:38He was the chicken to the fox,
0:15:38 > 0:15:40because I actually needed to win that.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42And that last lap it was...
0:15:42 > 0:15:44"I'd rather die...
0:15:44 > 0:15:49"I'm willing to die than get beaten by Collinelli."
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Which sounds an eccentric thing to say,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53it sounds an extreme mental illness thing to say.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56But if you were an astronaut and you're willing to
0:15:56 > 0:15:59get into a rocket ship that could blow up in space,
0:15:59 > 0:16:00it's perfectly respectable to say,
0:16:00 > 0:16:03"I'm willing to accept I might die to go to the moon."
0:16:03 > 0:16:05Why is it not acceptable to go,
0:16:05 > 0:16:09"I'm actually willing to accept heart failure to beat that Italian"?
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Why is one acceptable and one not?
0:16:16 > 0:16:20Graeme inspired me to push myself beyond my limits.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23It's not as scary as it might sound.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26You measure yourself to discover what they are
0:16:26 > 0:16:29and then...you aim higher.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31How fast can you go?
0:16:31 > 0:16:33How far can you go?
0:16:33 > 0:16:35How much power can you produce?
0:16:35 > 0:16:38Ultimately, what can your time be?
0:16:38 > 0:16:41You enter a world of numbers...
0:16:41 > 0:16:44as you become a competitor.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48And here are some of mine.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50I gave up BMX when I was 14.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Was Scottish Junior Track Champion at 17.
0:16:54 > 0:16:59Went to my first Olympics and won a silver medal when I was 24.
0:17:01 > 0:17:07And in 2002, I won my first World Championship gold medal, age 26.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09CHEERING
0:17:09 > 0:17:11I won it by one-thousandth of a second,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14the smallest possible margin in a bike race...
0:17:17 > 0:17:19..or 15mm on a race track.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32Today, my numbers are about
0:17:32 > 0:17:35how many of these little lights I can turn out.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39It helps develop the peripheral vision vital for motor racing.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43My mentor is on hand to give me some feedback.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48So what's your best score on this, then?
0:17:48 > 0:17:52- Best score's 114.- 114. So I got 90.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57- So it'll take me a few weeks to get to 100, I think.- I don't know.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59Your second best score was 81 and that was two minutes ago,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02- so maybe pretty soon you'll be up there!- Oh, well, we'll see.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13On a bike, I'm used to being one of the guys to beat, but not here.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18In this simulator, I'm still trying to perfect cornering at 100mph.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20It's quite a learning curve.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22TYRES SCREECH
0:18:22 > 0:18:23So it's a little bit tail-happy, then?
0:18:23 > 0:18:25BOTH LAUGH
0:18:25 > 0:18:29With this car, the biggest limiting factor is the rear grip,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32especially the entry to the corners and the exits.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38Of course there's nothing wrong with being bad at something.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Even this bad.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42- Whoa! - CHRIS LAUGHS
0:18:42 > 0:18:45What you do is work on your weaknesses.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47Too late.
0:18:47 > 0:18:48CHRIS SIGHS
0:18:48 > 0:18:51- How's the lap times looking? - Best not to look at them yet.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53- Yeah. Good advice. - CHRIS LAUGHS
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Failure in sport isn't something to fear -
0:18:59 > 0:19:01it can even be the making of you.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09I learnt the biggest lessons of my career from losing races.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20In 2003 in Stuttgart, just a year after becoming World Champion,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23I lost my title and came fourth.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28I'd allowed myself to get distracted right before the race.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34I was worrying about everything.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37I was thinking, "He went really fast there. That was a fast time.
0:19:37 > 0:19:38"I wonder what gear he was riding?
0:19:38 > 0:19:40"Maybe I should go up or down a gear.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43"Maybe I should attack faster in the first lap and then try and get up."
0:19:43 > 0:19:46You know, all these different ideas and things, crazy things
0:19:46 > 0:19:49are going through your mind seconds before you're racing
0:19:49 > 0:19:53and I allowed myself to be distracted from my game plan.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56I'd gone in as a world champion in two events
0:19:56 > 0:19:58and I came out with just one bronze medal.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02It was the worst World Championships I had through my whole career.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06- MAN:- Come on!
0:20:08 > 0:20:13So I got back to training... set myself new higher targets.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17'Let us not forget also Chris Hoy...'
0:20:22 > 0:20:24But I knew that it wasn't so much my opponent
0:20:24 > 0:20:26that got the better of me...
0:20:26 > 0:20:28it was my own lack of confidence.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32- Brilliant! - CHRIS PANTS
0:20:35 > 0:20:39I decided to talk to one of the team's experts about it.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43Someone I'd never thought about visiting before...
0:20:45 > 0:20:47..our very own psychiatrist.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52I think it's important to know
0:20:52 > 0:20:54that when I met Chris he was never what people might think -
0:20:54 > 0:20:56"He must be falling apart at the seams
0:20:56 > 0:20:59"and they've got this psychiatrist to come in and put his head back,"
0:20:59 > 0:21:01that wasn't the case at all.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04You met a very balanced man who had a lot of insight,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07but he was looking to see, "Is there any way I can use my mind
0:21:07 > 0:21:09"to gain that little edge on performance?"
0:21:10 > 0:21:12I tried to make it simple and accessible and said,
0:21:12 > 0:21:16"Look, quite simply there are three systems in your head, like teams.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19"There's a human team which you're in control of,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21"there's a chimp team, which is our innate genetics
0:21:21 > 0:21:24"that gives us our drives and instincts and thinks for us,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27"and then there's a computer system, which is a memory back-up
0:21:27 > 0:21:28"which usually runs our life
0:21:28 > 0:21:30"unless it gets interference from the chimp or human."
0:21:30 > 0:21:34So I give that just as an entertaining model
0:21:34 > 0:21:36to give people a feel for what they can do with their mind,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39and we've got common terms to work with.
0:21:42 > 0:21:43In Steve Peters' model,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46the chimp represents the emotional part of the brain.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52It appears when we're under pressure.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54It can be helpful,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57but it can also be unpredictable and even self-destructive.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00If it takes over,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03it can make us doubt ourselves and sometimes even panic.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07What we need to do is find out why
0:22:07 > 0:22:11and discover what we, the human, can do to stay in charge.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Steve calls this process of controlling your thoughts
0:22:19 > 0:22:24and staying calm under pressure "caging your chimp".
0:22:27 > 0:22:31Essentially, we trained to prepare for that moment
0:22:31 > 0:22:34when these negative thoughts or anxieties or distractions
0:22:34 > 0:22:36pop into your brain.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43'A full house.'
0:22:43 > 0:22:44COMMENTARY CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY
0:22:47 > 0:22:48STARTER GUN FIRES
0:22:48 > 0:22:50CHEERING
0:22:53 > 0:22:54The pressure in Athens was like
0:22:54 > 0:22:56nothing else I experienced in my whole career.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59Even in London it was a different kind of pressure.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01In Athens...it's a feeling that...
0:23:01 > 0:23:04It's almost like Deal Or No Deal - you've got these two boxes,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07one's a gold medal, in the other there's nothing.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10You know, when I get the train down to London,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13it's the one I sit down and watch on a regular basis.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15And I always put the volume up a little bit,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17so the people on the train can hear it as well,
0:23:17 > 0:23:20because I think it's one of the great sporting moments, you know.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26It was an incredibly hot, balmy night, very still.
0:23:26 > 0:23:27And Chris was last off
0:23:27 > 0:23:32and he had everybody in world-ranking order going off before him.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36STARTER GUN FIRES 'So Kelly...out of the gate'
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Shane Kelly, one of the great kilo riders,
0:23:38 > 0:23:40all of a sudden he comes out and he goes a 1:1
0:23:40 > 0:23:42and they're high-fiving in the pits
0:23:42 > 0:23:44and the crowd's going nuts, you know.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49'Let me tell you that is the fastest time ever at sea level!'
0:23:49 > 0:23:51Nimke steps up
0:23:51 > 0:23:53and breaks the Olympic Record.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56And, you know, the Germans are going absolutely crazy.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58Thinking, "Jesus! this is... This is incredible!"
0:23:58 > 0:24:01'He goes faster than Shane Kelly!
0:24:01 > 0:24:05'They're getting quicker and quicker and quicker!'
0:24:07 > 0:24:11And then the greatest of them all, Tournant, comes up.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13Bang! Does an 0.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15'Oh, I don't believe it!
0:24:15 > 0:24:19'1:00.896!
0:24:19 > 0:24:21'What an unbelievable time!
0:24:21 > 0:24:24'The fastest ever time!'
0:24:26 > 0:24:29And so Chris was there having to go up to the line in the Olympic Final
0:24:29 > 0:24:32and break what had just been set as a new World Record,
0:24:32 > 0:24:34which is a tall order.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39If shits were trumps, he's got a handful.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42He's going to try and do something that's never been done before.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47All the riders had finished, all the times were on the board,
0:24:47 > 0:24:49I was last to go.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51The history is already written,
0:24:51 > 0:24:52it's just whether or not
0:24:52 > 0:24:54you're going to be on that scoreboard or not.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57It was really about not thinking about
0:24:57 > 0:25:00the consequences of winning or losing,
0:25:00 > 0:25:02all I was thinking about was this performance,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05this perfect race that I'd visualised time and time again.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09And using the visualisation, it was blocking out these negative thoughts
0:25:09 > 0:25:12or these anxious thoughts and...
0:25:12 > 0:25:14all I wanted to do was to get on to the bike, on to the start line
0:25:14 > 0:25:16and execute this race.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19STARTER GUN FIRES 'So the World Champion, Chris Hoy,
0:25:19 > 0:25:23'comes out of the gate, and now ahead of him are four laps to prove
0:25:23 > 0:25:27'that he can win the gold medal here in the Olympic Games.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29'Chris Hoy!'
0:25:32 > 0:25:37Psychologically...the pressure that put him under was massive.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39It was immense.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:25:49 > 0:25:520.141! They're going absolutely wild!
0:25:54 > 0:25:56As I crossed the line at the end of the first lap
0:25:56 > 0:25:59this massive roar went up and you don't hear individual voices
0:25:59 > 0:26:02but you hear...you can sense a raise...a rise in the volume.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05And I remember thinking, "That's a good sign, I must be up."
0:26:05 > 0:26:08But then I also had this fleeting thought,
0:26:08 > 0:26:10"That roar might be for something else, just focus. Just go, go, go."
0:26:10 > 0:26:14And that was the last thing I really thought about in that whole race,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17it was just the feel, the flow, just the perfect ride.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23Chris Hoy's coming up to the line! What's he going to stop the clock at?
0:26:23 > 0:26:27Oh! Chris Hoy is the Olympic Champion,
0:26:27 > 0:26:29the Commonwealth Champion,
0:26:29 > 0:26:31the World Champion!
0:26:31 > 0:26:33He's completed the Grand Slam.
0:26:33 > 0:26:34Let me just repeat the time.
0:26:34 > 0:26:381:00.711!
0:26:42 > 0:26:44It almost felt like it was... another visualisation,
0:26:44 > 0:26:47it was so close to that perfect race I'd visualised.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50But I hadn't visualised what I would do after the finishing line
0:26:50 > 0:26:52and I just rode round in total disbelief.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55And I remember looking at the scoreboard
0:26:55 > 0:26:59and seeing my name and the number 1 and OR for Olympic Record
0:26:59 > 0:27:04and it just didn't sink in that this was me, I was Olympic Champion.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12It had taken me 12 years of graft
0:27:12 > 0:27:15to reach my goal and become an Olympic Champion.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19But my next challenge was to try to stay on top.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23In life, the competition doesn't stand still,
0:27:23 > 0:27:25you've got to keep trying to improve.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29And it helps to keep an open mind,
0:27:29 > 0:27:35to embrace new ideas, even if you're already a world-beater.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39'Two gold medals in one Olympic Games!
0:27:39 > 0:27:43'Rebecca Adlington, you are absolutely brilliant!'
0:27:46 > 0:27:49Wow! This place is pretty old.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55I think this is the first time I've ever walked in a swimming pool.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58- Really?- I've never seen a pool without water in it.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01- Have you not?- No!- Feels more like a velodrome in here.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04- SHE LAUGHS - Yeah.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08'This looks like it could be... And it is going to be the gold medallist!
0:28:08 > 0:28:11'Oh, my goodness, it is!'
0:28:11 > 0:28:14Becky Adlington swam to glory at the Beijing Olympics
0:28:14 > 0:28:18where she won two gold medals, one by a furlong...
0:28:18 > 0:28:20and the other by a fingertip.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24I was very lucky that I had a really good finish
0:28:24 > 0:28:27and the American girl didn't, so I was like "Thank God,"
0:28:27 > 0:28:30even though I don't think she saw it that way.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32But she just kind of came into the wall
0:28:32 > 0:28:35and it was kind of like how I finished.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38I kind of brought my arm over and just touched the wall there,
0:28:38 > 0:28:41so my fingertips kind of touched the wall
0:28:41 > 0:28:44whereas Katy, the American girl, came in and she just bent her wrist,
0:28:44 > 0:28:47she just kind of went like that before she put her hand on.
0:28:47 > 0:28:48And it was just kind of like
0:28:48 > 0:28:50the smallest difference of me going like that,
0:28:50 > 0:28:52but she just kind of bent her hand
0:28:52 > 0:28:55- and lost her the race.- That was enough.- Yeah, it was just like...
0:28:55 > 0:28:58I've heard swimmers can break their fingers. If you're going for that,
0:28:58 > 0:29:01people have broken their fingers, haven't they?
0:29:01 > 0:29:04- I don't care, I'd rather break my hand.- Exactly. Get a gold medal!
0:29:04 > 0:29:08- Exactly.- It's worth it. - It's just the smallest difference.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10It's unbelievable. Every time I watch it back,
0:29:10 > 0:29:12I think, "How did that happen?"
0:29:12 > 0:29:15- It was just good fingernails. - BOTH LAUGH
0:29:20 > 0:29:24Margins of victory can be so small that every detail counts,
0:29:24 > 0:29:26no matter how tiny.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30So what tiny details did Becky focus on for the next Olympics?
0:29:33 > 0:29:36We focused each season on the one thing that was my weakness.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38So my turns were awful, like,
0:29:38 > 0:29:41you could even do better turns than me, I promise you.
0:29:41 > 0:29:42My turns are awful so it was
0:29:42 > 0:29:45constantly working on them sorts of things,
0:29:45 > 0:29:48things that I kind of needed to improve on.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50Different stuff in the gym. Like one season,
0:29:50 > 0:29:53I'd really work on kind of my power off the wall,
0:29:53 > 0:29:56the next season would be kind of... just kind of rehab,
0:29:56 > 0:29:58working on my shoulders or your core.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00And try and do a bit more sprint emphasis,
0:30:00 > 0:30:03try and do a bit more distance, you adapt things like that.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06I started working with a sports psychologist,
0:30:06 > 0:30:09which for me I couldn't have survived the four years without.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12I didn't kind of realise how important it was.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15Things like nutrition as well, I educated myself on,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18because I only really moved out of home when I was 19 as well,
0:30:18 > 0:30:22so it wasn't till after Beijing that I didn't have my mum and dad
0:30:22 > 0:30:24like looking after me and my mum cooking for me all the time.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27So you just try and do all these tiny little things.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31It's like, yeah, it might be this much there,
0:30:31 > 0:30:37but actually put it all together makes a second or two difference.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40And I did absolutely everything I could.
0:30:40 > 0:30:41I gave it 100%.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44My preparation, everything, even from the smallest things,
0:30:44 > 0:30:47like I didn't have a drop of alcohol for a year,
0:30:47 > 0:30:48not even a little glass of wine.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52Something stupid, but I literally gave it 100%.
0:30:58 > 0:31:03Becky did swim even faster at her second Olympics than at her first,
0:31:03 > 0:31:06but she didn't get gold. She won two bronzes,
0:31:06 > 0:31:10and today is still Britain's most successful ever swimmer.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19In the British Cycling Team,
0:31:19 > 0:31:22we called our tiny improvements "marginal gains".
0:31:22 > 0:31:24And they weren't just about the obvious things.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30Recovery is a massive part of competition and of performance,
0:31:30 > 0:31:33so we used to travel with our own pillows and mattresses.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35We had travel mattresses that were orthopaedic
0:31:35 > 0:31:39that we would put on top of the base of the bed in the hotel,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42so you knew that every night you'd be sleeping in your own bed -
0:31:42 > 0:31:45consistent rest, consistent recovery.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47You know, you can't quantify the difference that made,
0:31:47 > 0:31:49but it was one little detail among many.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53New ideas - we had these heated trousers
0:31:53 > 0:31:55we wore over our cycling gear
0:31:55 > 0:31:58at the end of our warm-up for the half an hour
0:31:58 > 0:32:00between finishing a warm-up and starting the race
0:32:00 > 0:32:03to keep the muscles themselves at the optimum temperature.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05Other teams were looking at us thinking,
0:32:05 > 0:32:07"My God! What have these guys got?!"
0:32:07 > 0:32:09You know, "We haven't got that!"
0:32:09 > 0:32:12And even if you can just distract your opponents
0:32:12 > 0:32:15right before you compete, even if it doesn't actually help you at all,
0:32:15 > 0:32:17it might be making them question themselves.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21- MAN:- Go with it! Go with it! Go with it! Go with it!
0:32:23 > 0:32:26Out-psyching your opponent is just part of competition.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28It's tactical.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30Almost like a whip! Whip!
0:32:32 > 0:32:34Every sport has its own tactics.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37Even those that look like they might be about pure brawn.
0:32:37 > 0:32:42And often it's the best tactician who becomes the champion.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46You've got two guys almost on the same level and they're boxing,
0:32:46 > 0:32:48oh, man, it's beautiful.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50Like a chess game.
0:32:50 > 0:32:51'Lennox Lewis in black.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55'He has the reach and that presumably will be the tactic.'
0:32:56 > 0:32:59Lennox Lewis is one of the greatest boxers in history.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02He won everything including Olympic gold,
0:33:02 > 0:33:05suffered only two defeats,
0:33:05 > 0:33:09and retired as the last undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12And he's not bad at chess either.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16When I play chess it's like I zone in to the board
0:33:16 > 0:33:20and it's like, "This is my world, this is the world that I live in."
0:33:20 > 0:33:25And these are my men on this side and this is obviously my opponent.
0:33:25 > 0:33:30And when I make a move it's always like...the first move.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34- BOTH LAUGH - Just drop that in there. - That's the first move.- OK.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37Now, I have to warn you, I was quite a mean chess player
0:33:37 > 0:33:40when I was a kid. I used to play a little bit. The only trouble is,
0:33:40 > 0:33:42I haven't played since I was about maybe ten years of age.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45Oh, man, I'm going to feel bad if you beat me.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47- Right.- Ah-ha.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49Now, I'm going to struggle to really think
0:33:49 > 0:33:51and ask you questions and play chess well,
0:33:51 > 0:33:54so if I lose it's only because of that, it's not because...
0:33:54 > 0:33:55Well, if we're playing by time,
0:33:55 > 0:33:57then you've got to touch your clock after you move.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00- Sorry, what do I do, hit this?- Yeah. - Yeah.- All right.
0:34:00 > 0:34:05- In chess, I attack.- OK. - I don't attack if you're good.- OK.
0:34:05 > 0:34:06BOTH LAUGH
0:34:06 > 0:34:11Thanks. OK. That's how we're playing it. Right, OK. Erm...
0:34:11 > 0:34:14- I'll just do that. - Wow! You're cautious.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16I like cautious people, you know what I mean?
0:34:16 > 0:34:18Well, I'm sitting in front of an undisputed
0:34:18 > 0:34:22heavyweight champion of the world who knows a bit about chess,
0:34:22 > 0:34:24I'm not going to go on the front foot, am I?
0:34:24 > 0:34:26Well, you know,
0:34:26 > 0:34:29- I have to bring out my horses on you.- OK.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32- Sorry, did I...?- No, you didn't.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34You didn't get into chess until you were already...
0:34:34 > 0:34:36You'd established yourself as a boxer?
0:34:36 > 0:34:39Yeah, when I started going to training camp
0:34:39 > 0:34:42and it's long hours and you have nothing to do.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45You can't party and it's really just a group of fellas around,
0:34:45 > 0:34:47so you have to keep yourself occupied
0:34:47 > 0:34:50and chess was one of the things that I loved to do
0:34:50 > 0:34:51because it kept me focused.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53And...it was like, you know,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56you're thinking in the ring, you're thinking on the board.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59And you were known for your approach to the game
0:34:59 > 0:35:02in terms of thinking about your opponent.
0:35:02 > 0:35:03- Yeah.- Analysing your opponent,
0:35:03 > 0:35:06it wasn't just all about the brawn and attacking all the time.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10Yeah, I mean, you know, everybody's strong
0:35:10 > 0:35:12and everybody wants to knock everybody out.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15But, you know, sometimes it doesn't really go that way,
0:35:15 > 0:35:18so you have to have an alternate plan.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21And there's different ways to wage war on different people.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23You just have to analyse 'em
0:35:23 > 0:35:25and say, "OK, this person can't take body shots,
0:35:25 > 0:35:29"so, you know, I'm going to work my punches and end up on the body.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31"Beat up his body and then his hands are falling
0:35:31 > 0:35:34"and then his chin would be open, then I'll have him."
0:35:34 > 0:35:37So I'm breaking him down from head to toe,
0:35:37 > 0:35:41that's part of my strategy sometimes in different fights.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44OK. Right, well, I'm going to try and focus on this for a second here.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48You brought your knight out. I think I might...
0:35:48 > 0:35:50CHRIS SIGHS
0:35:51 > 0:35:57..just move that forward there, which is possibly a stupid move.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00- All right.- OK. - So when I take this now...- Yep.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03And you take that, I'm going to take your queen.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09- Ah, you see. You see. - LENNOX LAUGHS
0:36:10 > 0:36:13You know, you can tell a lot of about somebody that plays chess.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16- Really?- Yeah.- Like what?
0:36:16 > 0:36:19- How they play.- You can tell about the person, I see, right.- Yeah.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24- CHRIS LAUGHS - So what can you tell about me?
0:36:24 > 0:36:27Erm...
0:36:27 > 0:36:29court's still out.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32BOTH LAUGH
0:36:32 > 0:36:34Did you ever feel that you came to a fight,
0:36:34 > 0:36:37you weren't maybe exactly where you wanted to be physically,
0:36:37 > 0:36:39but you knew that tactically you had the beating of the guy,
0:36:39 > 0:36:42or that you were going to bluff your way through it?
0:36:42 > 0:36:44- I mean, obviously, you can't completely bluff it.- Yeah.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48It's interesting that you say that, because look at Muhammad Ali -
0:36:48 > 0:36:51he developed the rope-a-dope because he was getting old
0:36:51 > 0:36:53and didn't want to move around, dance around as much.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57And he decided to take punches and watch what the guy was doing
0:36:57 > 0:37:00and then at the precise moment take...take the person out.
0:37:00 > 0:37:06My adjusting is probably, you know, doing a little more holding,
0:37:06 > 0:37:09being more closer to the man, so, you know,
0:37:09 > 0:37:11I don't have to use that much energy
0:37:11 > 0:37:14and allowing him to use up his energy more.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17So you become like a wise fox in the sport.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19Right.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22- CHRIS PUNCHES HIS CLOCK - There we go.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25You're smiling. I don't know if... That's probably not a good thing.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27It is, because I'm going to win.
0:37:27 > 0:37:28Yeah, I mean not good for me.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30LENNOX LAUGHS
0:37:30 > 0:37:32Oh, here we go.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34Check.
0:37:40 > 0:37:41CHRIS LAUGHS
0:37:41 > 0:37:45Yeah, the end is coming close, I reckon.
0:37:45 > 0:37:46It's not looking good.
0:37:46 > 0:37:48Check.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52I'm not a good loser, by the way.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54LENNOX LAUGHS
0:37:54 > 0:37:57- That's...That's it.- That's it. It's all over.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01- Thank you.- Thanks for the game. - Yeah.- Well done.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03- And I'll tell you what kind of player you are.- Yep.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07- Still learning. - BOTH LAUGH
0:38:07 > 0:38:09- Thanks, mate.- All right. Thanks. - Pleasure.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20It's never too late to learn the tactics of your sport,
0:38:20 > 0:38:25as I found out when I approached my third Olympics.
0:38:27 > 0:38:31I hadn't really needed tactics for the 1km Time Trial,
0:38:31 > 0:38:35but the event was removed from the 2008 games.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38So I had to adapt.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41I became what's known as a match sprinter.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45First person across the line wins,
0:38:45 > 0:38:48but you don't just go hell for leather from the start -
0:38:48 > 0:38:52it's as much about outsmarting your opponent as outsprinting them.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58I had to become...aware of my... What was happening around me.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00I wasn't just having a one-dimensional
0:39:00 > 0:39:02race against the clock, there was a rival,
0:39:02 > 0:39:04there was a competitor on the track with me.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06I had to react to them, I had to make decisions
0:39:06 > 0:39:10based on where they were and what their strategy was in the race.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13If you let someone else make the first move,
0:39:13 > 0:39:15then you're on the back foot.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17So I just tried to use my strengths,
0:39:17 > 0:39:20which at that time was just my pace, my speed.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24You know, I was very fast compared to most of the guys there.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27'Off the banking and into the finishing straight now.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30'Can Kenny hold off Hoy? Oh, he's got it!
0:39:30 > 0:39:34'He cruises to the line and punches the air with delight.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36'Gold medal number four!
0:39:36 > 0:39:40'Chris Hoy is the Olympic gold medallist,
0:39:40 > 0:39:42'the Olympic Sprint Champion!
0:39:42 > 0:39:45'He's won three here and in three different races.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49'This man is unstoppable!'
0:39:55 > 0:39:59The BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2008 is...
0:39:59 > 0:40:00Chris Hoy.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:40:18 > 0:40:20We all cope with failure, failures are easy.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23You know, we just get down there, down the stairs into the gym,
0:40:23 > 0:40:26back up here, on the track, and we train.
0:40:26 > 0:40:27Anyone can deal with failure.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Success is a totally different animal,
0:40:30 > 0:40:33and I don't think unless you're in their shoes, or in their camp,
0:40:33 > 0:40:36that you can understand what they're going through.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42Well, thank you very much for that long applause,
0:40:42 > 0:40:45it's given me a bit of time to think of something to say.
0:40:45 > 0:40:50Cos I really wasn't expecting this, this is just such a shock.
0:40:50 > 0:40:51CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:40:54 > 0:40:59'The whole period after Beijing came as quite a shock for me.'
0:40:59 > 0:41:01Nice to meet you. What's your name?
0:41:01 > 0:41:03- Oliver.- Nice to meet you, Oliver.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05- What's your name?- Owen.- Owen.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07- O-W-E-N?- Yeah.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09'Today I'm more used to it,
0:41:09 > 0:41:13'but becoming a household name wasn't something I'd prepared for.'
0:41:14 > 0:41:17I don't think we ever dreamt that I was going to get to the stage
0:41:17 > 0:41:20I'm at now, not just the success and the medals
0:41:20 > 0:41:23but the number of people interested in cycling...
0:41:23 > 0:41:26'Sporting success can bring its own pressures.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28'It brings distractions by the bucketload.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31'It also brings expectation.'
0:41:31 > 0:41:33CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:41:33 > 0:41:37COMMENTATOR: It's a golden triumph for Andy Murray.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42He finished off like the champion that he is.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:41:44 > 0:41:47- How are you doing? - Good to see you.
0:41:47 > 0:41:48Hello, how you doing?
0:41:48 > 0:41:50'Andy Murray probably knows that
0:41:50 > 0:41:53'better than any sporting champion in Britain.'
0:41:54 > 0:41:55Excellent, thank you, Andy.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58'From a very early age, he single-handedly
0:41:58 > 0:42:01'carried Britain's hopes on his shoulders in his sport.'
0:42:03 > 0:42:05'And still does.'
0:42:08 > 0:42:11What's it been like growing up in such a high profile sport
0:42:11 > 0:42:13and, obviously, a high profile event like Wimbledon
0:42:13 > 0:42:16when there's been no British winner for so many years?
0:42:16 > 0:42:18You know, you had to deal with that from age 18, 19,
0:42:18 > 0:42:22the whole way through your career. How did you deal with that?
0:42:22 > 0:42:26Yeah, I...I found it difficult for, for a few years
0:42:26 > 0:42:28because that first year, when I played Wimbledon,
0:42:28 > 0:42:31I was ranked like 350 in the world
0:42:31 > 0:42:34and I'd been playing in front of like ten people,
0:42:34 > 0:42:35before that, you know,
0:42:35 > 0:42:37when I was playing matches there was no-one there,
0:42:37 > 0:42:39and then I was, all of a sudden,
0:42:39 > 0:42:42playing on the Centre Court at Wimbledon with 15,000 people
0:42:42 > 0:42:45and there was photographers... I was 18 at the time
0:42:45 > 0:42:47and there was photographers following me,
0:42:47 > 0:42:48you know, back to my house,
0:42:48 > 0:42:52and camera crews waiting outside to see me going into Wimbledon
0:42:52 > 0:42:55and everything, and it was all very new.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59When people started talking about, you know, my personality
0:42:59 > 0:43:03and, you know, what I was like as, as a person,
0:43:03 > 0:43:06I started to find that very difficult and became, you know,
0:43:06 > 0:43:10quite defensive and I went into my shell a little bit.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13That didn't, that didn't really help me,
0:43:13 > 0:43:16but I've always found on the court it's what I know,
0:43:16 > 0:43:18so it doesn't matter how many people are watching -
0:43:18 > 0:43:21when I get on a tennis court I normally feel quite comfortable.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:43:26 > 0:43:29And what was it that kept pushing you on?
0:43:29 > 0:43:32Yeah, I actually, one of the things I always liked from a young age
0:43:32 > 0:43:34was proving people wrong.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39I always quite liked it when someone said,
0:43:39 > 0:43:41"He's not very good," or, "He can't do that."
0:43:46 > 0:43:48After the first couple of times,
0:43:48 > 0:43:50the press maybe starting to say "Is it ever going to happen?"
0:43:50 > 0:43:53Did you ever feel that maybe this, it wasn't going to happen,
0:43:53 > 0:43:55you weren't going to win your first Slam,
0:43:55 > 0:43:57you weren't going to become Wimbledon Champion?
0:43:57 > 0:44:01Yeah, it was something that actually when I came to terms with,
0:44:01 > 0:44:05it actually helped me a lot because it almost became an obsession
0:44:05 > 0:44:08that I was, I was so desperate to do it.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11I was working so hard and maybe wanted to do it too much,
0:44:11 > 0:44:18and it was after I lost in the Wimbledon final in 2012, you know,
0:44:18 > 0:44:19I was very upset afterwards
0:44:19 > 0:44:22and, you know, I remember sort of thinking and saying to myself, like,
0:44:22 > 0:44:23"Maybe it's just not meant to be."
0:44:25 > 0:44:27How did it feel when it started to get to the stage
0:44:27 > 0:44:31that the expectation was getting higher and higher, every year?
0:44:31 > 0:44:33How do you manage to block it out
0:44:33 > 0:44:35and focus on what you're trying to do?
0:44:35 > 0:44:38Yeah, it's, it's hard, I mean experience helps with that,
0:44:38 > 0:44:41when you go through those experiences of playing, you know,
0:44:41 > 0:44:44semifinals or finals of Wimbledon, that, that helps.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48You know, there was times where the closer you would get to the match
0:44:48 > 0:44:50the less I wanted to go on the court.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52You know, it wasn't something I was looking forward to.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56I was getting more and more nervous the closer the match came
0:44:56 > 0:45:00and when I started working with Ivan Lendl he helped me a lot with
0:45:00 > 0:45:04those matches and how to approach them and, you know, I was playing
0:45:04 > 0:45:07a lot like I had something to lose, but when I started working with him
0:45:07 > 0:45:11I was really, you know, going after the matches and playing to win
0:45:11 > 0:45:14and winning or losing the matches on my terms,
0:45:14 > 0:45:15and that made a big difference,
0:45:15 > 0:45:18going into matches with a different mentality.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23COMMENTATOR: Game, set and match, Murray.
0:45:23 > 0:45:25CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:45:25 > 0:45:27- COMMENTATOR:- The waiting is over
0:45:27 > 0:45:29and you simply cannot give more.
0:45:37 > 0:45:42'Andy became the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years.
0:45:44 > 0:45:48'He wrote his name into the history books.
0:45:48 > 0:45:50'And which athlete wouldn't want that?'
0:45:53 > 0:45:55'As I approached the London Olympics,
0:45:55 > 0:45:57'expectation was everywhere.'
0:45:59 > 0:46:03'But I wasn't even sure of making the team.'
0:46:10 > 0:46:13We had this new kid on the block who threatened
0:46:13 > 0:46:18the supremacy of Sir Chris, which was Jason, Jason Kenny.
0:46:18 > 0:46:20All of a sudden, you know, you've got a pretty big squad
0:46:20 > 0:46:23and Sir Chris not looking real good, and I actually got to a point
0:46:23 > 0:46:27where I thought, "You know what? He's not going to make this."
0:46:29 > 0:46:33Our job is to look at the data, look at the numbers,
0:46:33 > 0:46:36as objectively as possible
0:46:36 > 0:46:39and choose which rider is going to get the most success
0:46:39 > 0:46:40for the, the British team.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44Our business is about looking forward
0:46:44 > 0:46:47and looking at who's going to win the next event,
0:46:47 > 0:46:49not who's won the past one.
0:46:49 > 0:46:53That didn't mean that that was going to be the end of Sir Chris,
0:46:53 > 0:46:56but all of a sudden, you start to question his desire.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59So I went out to the side of the track
0:46:59 > 0:47:02and I said, "Now listen, trust me on this, you don't need this.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05"You've got enough money for the rest of your life,
0:47:05 > 0:47:07"you can go and open supermarkets, go to talks, make bikes,
0:47:07 > 0:47:10"do whatever you want for the rest of your life.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12"But when you cross the black line, you've got to want it."
0:47:12 > 0:47:17I said, "Right, we need to change things, we need to stop Twitter.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21"We need to disengage with all social media, you need to stop that
0:47:21 > 0:47:24"because it, basically, it's governing your life,
0:47:24 > 0:47:27"you're getting to bed late, you're not going to bed on time."
0:47:27 > 0:47:30So we looked at, you know, his sleep pattern, you know, we give him
0:47:30 > 0:47:33a right bollocking, you know, "You need to get into bed earlier."
0:47:33 > 0:47:36His lifestyle wasn't befitting that of one
0:47:36 > 0:47:38that won three medals in Beijing
0:47:38 > 0:47:40and I felt we were going to come up short.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44So, then, it was kick-arse time.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47Five, four, three,
0:47:47 > 0:47:49two, one, go.
0:47:49 > 0:47:51Come on, Chris.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53'With just one rider allowed per nation,
0:47:53 > 0:47:55'the selection process was intense.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58'The only way to prove I was still good enough
0:47:58 > 0:48:02'was to make the numbers, and hit my race targets.'
0:48:02 > 0:48:04Three, two, one, go!
0:48:04 > 0:48:06Up, up, up. Go, Chris.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09'Coming back to this lab brings back a lot of memories,
0:48:09 > 0:48:13'and this was just one of the tests we use to monitor our progress.'
0:48:13 > 0:48:17Five, four, three, two, one.
0:48:17 > 0:48:19Go up. Come on, Chris.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35This is always the bit you look forward to, or you dread.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37What's the numbers, what's the numbers?
0:48:38 > 0:48:41400 or 500, has to be the target, surely.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43- Oh, you're in the 500, easy.- Yeah?
0:48:43 > 0:48:47- Your all-time PB was 696...- Mm-hm.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49So you've got 586.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52606.
0:48:52 > 0:48:53Yes, there we go.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55529.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57It's all about the 606.
0:48:57 > 0:48:58And 603.
0:48:58 > 0:49:0060...ah, well, it was right leg, er, left leg.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03- Left leg, yeah, take that. - 600s in there,
0:49:03 > 0:49:06Lovely when it hits 600 the first time, and it was a big deal.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08- Yeah, yeah, yeah.- Yeah.
0:49:08 > 0:49:09I'm making a comeback.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12Anything more than one rev, though, you might be in...
0:49:12 > 0:49:15- Yeah, the first two revs...- If you get off the start line all right.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22'I think the last four years of my career were, without doubt,
0:49:22 > 0:49:25'the toughest because physically, whether you like it or not,
0:49:25 > 0:49:27'you are starting this slight decline.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30'You're doing everything you possibly can to fight it.'
0:49:30 > 0:49:34You become smarter with how you race and you become much more aware
0:49:34 > 0:49:37of recovery and just everything you're doing to keep yourself
0:49:37 > 0:49:40healthy and fit and ready, but it's, you know, compared to
0:49:40 > 0:49:44when you're 21, 22, the recovery part is much, much harder.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46And, you know, they were tough times,
0:49:46 > 0:49:49the four years between Beijing and London, it wasn't easy.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57I don't think I've ever really got over London,
0:49:57 > 0:50:00and I don't think I've ever really come to terms with what happened,
0:50:00 > 0:50:04because I think I personally was so stressed by the whole thing
0:50:04 > 0:50:07that by the time we got there I just really wanted it to be over.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14He desperately, desperately wanted to do it and I felt that pressure
0:50:14 > 0:50:17because I felt that I knew he could do it,
0:50:17 > 0:50:20and when you know somebody wants something so much
0:50:20 > 0:50:24and that it's possible, subject to a few variables,
0:50:24 > 0:50:31that's where the pressure came in to try and help him avoid injuries,
0:50:31 > 0:50:34from getting sick, from getting unwell,
0:50:34 > 0:50:38to help him even make the team, and to make all of that come true.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44To see him come home having put so much effort into the,
0:50:44 > 0:50:46the training sessions that would leave him
0:50:46 > 0:50:51just absolutely physically exhausted and fatigued and in pain...
0:50:53 > 0:50:56He told me that he'd been doing some training session
0:50:56 > 0:51:00and had worked so hard and had pushed himself to such a limit
0:51:00 > 0:51:03that he thought his heart was going to burst.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06You know, that's difficult for a wife to hear.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09Three months before the Games I would drive to work in tears
0:51:09 > 0:51:12and I would drive home from work in tears
0:51:12 > 0:51:15and then I would compose myself and go inside the house
0:51:15 > 0:51:19and that was purely, I think, looking back, that was how I let off steam
0:51:19 > 0:51:23and coped with the, with the stress of it so that I would never,
0:51:23 > 0:51:27I would never let that on to Chris that I was feeling it as well.
0:51:27 > 0:51:28I never told him that.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36Cyclists are famous for not spending any time on their feet
0:51:36 > 0:51:40if they don't have to, and that's kind of how I try to help him.
0:51:40 > 0:51:44I would do anything that I thought might save his legs,
0:51:44 > 0:51:48even for that one second, if it's all about marginal gains
0:51:48 > 0:51:52then I began to think, "OK, I'm going to help him at home with that."
0:51:52 > 0:51:56So he didn't have to think about food preparation, cooking, cleaning,
0:51:56 > 0:51:59bills, paperwork, anything in the house.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03Basically he could just come home, nurse his aches and pains,
0:52:03 > 0:52:07but wouldn't be using any extra energy to do all -
0:52:07 > 0:52:10all of those other things that I could help him with.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28Thanks to Sarra and the rest of the support around me,
0:52:28 > 0:52:32I hit my targets for two out of the three events,
0:52:32 > 0:52:34and made the team for London.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37The home games,
0:52:37 > 0:52:39and for me at 36,
0:52:39 > 0:52:41my final Olympics.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48COMMENTARY: '..gold medal for Great Britain!
0:52:48 > 0:52:50'A new world record.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53'I don't believe what I'm seeing here.'
0:52:53 > 0:52:55CHEERING
0:52:55 > 0:52:59In the first event, the team sprint, we won gold.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01It was my fifth,
0:53:01 > 0:53:03equal to Sir Steve Redgrave.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11And then I had one more race to go.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16The chance to achieve something that no other British athlete
0:53:16 > 0:53:17had ever done before.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21A sixth Olympic gold.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23STARTING GUN
0:53:23 > 0:53:26COMMENTARY: '..the greatest British Olympian of all time.'
0:53:27 > 0:53:29What I'd tried to do was focus on the process,
0:53:29 > 0:53:32and that's what Steve Peters always talks about -
0:53:32 > 0:53:34focus on the process, not the outcome.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37You know, deal with the things that you have control over,
0:53:37 > 0:53:39and don't worry about your rivals
0:53:39 > 0:53:41or worry about anything else. Just do what you can
0:53:41 > 0:53:43to be the best you can be and if you win, you win.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45If you don't, you shake the other guy's hand.
0:53:48 > 0:53:50COMMENTARY: 'Right, away we go. It's eight laps of the track.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53'Now then, can Sir Chris Hoy, Braveheart himself,
0:53:53 > 0:53:55'seal this gold medal?'
0:53:56 > 0:53:59The beauty of the event, really, is that it's very unpredictable.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02That's why the crowd love it - because anybody can win.
0:54:02 > 0:54:03Six guys on the track,
0:54:03 > 0:54:05and they're paced up to speed by the motorbike.
0:54:05 > 0:54:07With two and a half laps to go, the bike peels off
0:54:07 > 0:54:10and that's the start of the race.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12'Chris Hoy coming up on the outside
0:54:12 > 0:54:15'and the crowd is going to get behind the riders.'
0:54:15 > 0:54:16CROWD ROARS
0:54:16 > 0:54:18Really, all I was thinking about was the strategy
0:54:18 > 0:54:20and the strategy was to get to the front,
0:54:20 > 0:54:21to stay out of trouble,
0:54:21 > 0:54:23but the effort required to get to the front,
0:54:23 > 0:54:25it means that if you put in too much early on
0:54:25 > 0:54:29then you could fade at the end, so I had to put a big old surge in.
0:54:29 > 0:54:33'Two laps to go and Sir Chris Hoy has already ignited the burners.'
0:54:37 > 0:54:39I pretty much had my head down
0:54:39 > 0:54:42and when your head's down, you never want to look round
0:54:42 > 0:54:44over your shoulder, because if you do that,
0:54:44 > 0:54:46it kind of breaks your position, your aerodynamic position,
0:54:46 > 0:54:49so I was looking down between my legs and you can see
0:54:49 > 0:54:51if there's any wheels coming up on either side.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53'Hoy hits the line with one lap to go
0:54:53 > 0:54:56'and the challenge is coming here from Levy of Germany.'
0:54:58 > 0:55:00He was actually about half a wheel ahead
0:55:00 > 0:55:02and he had a clear half bike length,
0:55:02 > 0:55:04which, if it became a full bike length,
0:55:04 > 0:55:07he would then be able to close down and get in front of me
0:55:07 > 0:55:09and my race would have been over,
0:55:09 > 0:55:11so I knew that no matter what happened,
0:55:11 > 0:55:12I had to make sure that back wheel
0:55:12 > 0:55:14didn't get in front of my front wheel.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19It's all those thousands of hours of brutal training,
0:55:19 > 0:55:23the highs, the lows - I'm not going to let it count for nothing,
0:55:23 > 0:55:25I have to make it stick here.
0:55:25 > 0:55:26'Shoulder to shoulder.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30'Shoulder to shoulder now as they come off the crown of the bend.'
0:55:30 > 0:55:32As it goes from Levy being, you know,
0:55:32 > 0:55:34almost a bike length ahead,
0:55:34 > 0:55:36to just this acceleration,
0:55:36 > 0:55:39this just drive that I seemed to get
0:55:39 > 0:55:41and I just went like that, level,
0:55:41 > 0:55:43and as soon as I was level, I had the inside line,
0:55:43 > 0:55:44I knew that I had it
0:55:44 > 0:55:46and I came through the inside here,
0:55:46 > 0:55:50and it was almost like a, you know, from there to there.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52'And now they're lining up for the lunge to the line.
0:55:52 > 0:55:53'Who's going to get it?'
0:55:53 > 0:55:56Lunge for the line to be sure.
0:55:56 > 0:55:57Yeah. What a noise.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01'Chris Hoy gets the gold medal
0:56:01 > 0:56:04'here in the keirin! That's his sixth gold medal.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07'He becomes the greatest achiever ever,
0:56:07 > 0:56:09'the greatest British Olympian.
0:56:09 > 0:56:13'His tally - six golds and one silver.
0:56:13 > 0:56:19'Sir Chris Hoy is the Olympic champion for the keirin.'
0:56:19 > 0:56:21CROWD ROAR
0:56:29 > 0:56:32It is weird being back here, because I thought I might come back in
0:56:32 > 0:56:35and get all the kind of emotions and the goose bumps and everything.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37It just feels like an empty velodrome.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41Quite a sort of eerie, empty,
0:56:41 > 0:56:43almost a sort of, like, you know...
0:56:43 > 0:56:46You can see the ghosts of the events that have taken place before.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49Yeah, you come in here and you realise it's gone,
0:56:49 > 0:56:51that was it, it was that moment in time,
0:56:51 > 0:56:53that little snapshot, and as long as you can make the most
0:56:53 > 0:56:55of these opportunities in your life...
0:56:55 > 0:56:57I think that's what I've tried to do in my career -
0:56:57 > 0:57:02recognise when it was time to step up and be counted,
0:57:02 > 0:57:03stand up and be counted,
0:57:03 > 0:57:05and if you can do that under pressure,
0:57:05 > 0:57:06then it's a hell of a feeling.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10CROWD CHEER
0:57:20 > 0:57:22So, there it is.
0:57:24 > 0:57:28Sometimes I can't quite believe myself that it happened.
0:57:31 > 0:57:33But this didn't just happen.
0:57:33 > 0:57:35We made it happen.
0:57:37 > 0:57:39The team,
0:57:39 > 0:57:41the family,
0:57:41 > 0:57:44through sacrifice and support,
0:57:44 > 0:57:47hard work, and a million tiny improvements.
0:57:50 > 0:57:54Don't get me wrong, the medals are great,
0:57:54 > 0:57:58but I know that we did our very, very, very best.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04And that's really what it's all about.