East Olympic Dreams

That is a great win and another Hello and welcome to East Olympic

dreams. On this winter's day, it is really hard to imagine this place

in July and August. After years of counting down, we are finally here

in 2012 agree -- it really focuses the mind. We will be looking

through the eyes of La -- our Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls.

For gymnasts, it has been a life's work getting this far but it was

What you learn about people in adversity is how strong their

commitment is, how strong their resolve is. There is Lewis, there

is another poster of Lewis! I am It is November 1820 11, the gym

club is packed to the rafters. The majority do not have a care in the

world, in contrast to the feel unique FA -- far corner. It went

horribly wrong at the World Championships. This mistake cost

him the chance of qualifying. have had setbacks in the past and

they are very dedicated. They understand about competition and

they are motivated by losing as well as winning. These gymnasts are

in Britain's elite squad. They have an impression -- impressive

collection of medals between them. They have been coming to this James

is they were toddlers. Very vivid memories. I remember the foam pit.

That is the main attraction when you are in a toddler. I was a loose

cannon. I was all over the place. All of the information would in one

year and out of the other. I did for fun rather than looking for

results. As I got older, I started it get results and I realised I

could do something with it. Anima bits and pieces. The -- I remember.

They were not amazingly talented. If you would have asked me 15 years

ago if they would have been here now, I would have said they would

not. All three were spent most of

Christmas training. An Olympic test event is the last chance saloon.

They are now putting the finishing touches to their routines. They are

trying to help Team Great Britain to qualify for the Olympic Games

will stop it is all or nothing It is looking pretty good. Just one

event remaining and they are leading the way. They are nearly at

the lender Olympics. -- the London Olympics. Confirmation soon came.

have constantly been telling the guys all week, have fun. It is a

big, massive competition but if you treat it like that, you will get

scared that nervous. -- and nervous. We put in a lot of work over

Christmas and New Year. It has really paid off today. Watching the

was the form was mum Elaine. He is on posters whenever I look! There

is Lewis up there! There is another poster of Louis up there. I am

really proud. London is probably his final Olympic Games. He is keen

on a career in fashion design afterwards. But he will always be

indebted to a sport that shaped his life. My mother is a single parent.

I spent most of my time in the Aegean. There is a much discipline

and responsibility. -- the gym. harsh reality is not everyone will

make it. We have a our chances -- fingers crossed that he will get

fit and he will show them like he did for the Commonwealth Games what

he can do and he will make that final team. Regardless. We will be

rooting for everyone. Looking around the club, there are plenty

of youngsters all hoping to one-day fulfil an Olympic dreamed. For the

Real McCoys, the next six months will be about hard work, focus and

luck. An injury could wreck everything. It might be an

emotional end for some. London and the UK, everyone will really feel

Coming at, I will be trying out the brutal sport that his wheelchair

basketball and how the flatters region of the country has become

the home of Olympic mountain biking But first year is a look at some of

our contenders. I have never looked at it as a job, it is a passion.

Anything I get from it, any money, it is just a bonus of. -- bonus for

Fingers crossed and keep working hard and someone looking down on

you giving you a bit of luck, it will all happen and we will get

Every day I train, it is steered towards peaking at London 2012. In

the final, right there, bringing Outside the Olympic Stadium and in

the aquatic Stadium, the hottest ticket in time is the hot --

women's beach volleyball. Lucy is hoping to be in the team. The

combination of the historic venue at Horse Guards Parade and women in

bikinis has proved a real marketing success. But how does Lucy feel

about that? Who and would have thought a minority sport would have

been one of the bigger sellers at the Olympic Games has earmarked the

image of barely cloud women has helped to sell tickets. -- clad. It

is a triumph of marketing and sits uncomfortably with the Olympic

ideals. You can sink -- and think it is just women in bikinis

prancing around but it is the most practical thing to wear. If that is

what has attracted them to buying a ticket for the Olympics, that is

fine but when they do come and this is the feedback we have, from the

average guy coming out of work and watching the volleyball, it is

respect. The British weather means that Lucy plies her trade around

the world, trying to qualify for the Olympic Games. Her life reads

like a postcard. Welcome to the Ukraine. We are up against the

Dutch. We are in it Switzerland this week. We are in Moscow this

week for the third grand slam of the year. As host nation, we have

one guaranteed place but there are three pairs of Women who want it.

There are three women's teams playing on the tour right now. It

will be one of us three. It will be very tough on whether it does not

get to go. There may be comparisons with a watch but the fact is that

the women's final is more or oversubscribed than the men's. --

Baywatch. I don't know why they don't wear a skirt! This is the

white water centre in aperture. -- It is not just for the experts,

anyone can have a go. It would be handy to breathe one am going down!

This is quite useful to take the battle when you go down with you!

We got a chance to try out the course. Birdies and -- even for

Britain's number one, it is no event -- easy ride. It is such a

difficult course. It is so complicated, so powerful, it is

also quite unpredictable. Learning its idiosyncrasies will be an

There are two Major drops, won a third of the way down and another

two-thirds. There are two big sections where the water is very

powerful and it accelerates and most away quickly. We will spend

quite a lot of time practising on them. We are also working on

generally the course, the signature is it is so intense, there are so

many features. What we try and do is work out ways of smoothing out

all of the Whitewater sections so that we can glide and moved

together. I have to try and learn to anticipate what he is seeing. I

can try and follow him. That is what we are trying to work on. We

need to tap into the power of the Realistically, we are one of the

best teams in the world. Whichever team from Britain gets selected,

they could theoretically get onto the podium. We know that it is a

big test. If we are involved, we are definitely going to be aiming

to get on at the podium. It is not just a dream. We will make it a

reality. Good luck. Their house a lot to qualify for the Olympics,

like most of our athletes, in fact. -- that they have still got to

qualify. Essex is not known for its

mountains but it is all happening this year. Dan Jarvis is a mountain

biking commentator. It is his It is not going to be as hot as

Sydney and Beijing. This is the place where I first

rode a mountain bike. There is a gate down there with an imprint of

my face! You could say there is a part of me

that is always here. It has been amazing for me to see it and when I

was riding here 25 years ago, there was no way I would have thought the

Olympics would be here and not only are they going to be here, we have

realistically got a claim for the best Olympic scores ever. -- a

There has been so much work put into this. It was a big leap of

faith for a lot of people. We managed to overcome the doubts. It

is an unparalleled spectator course. You can see 80 % of the course at

any one point. It is relentless. The raiders are being punished. It

is uphill, downhill all the time. Every course is different. That is

what is fantastic about the sport. It is tough, it is fun, it is fast.

It is difficult. Most of the tiny you were on a single track. This is

tricky. It has claimed a couple of the victims. The real problem is

that it is so relentless. We will have a fantastic race here.

Hopefully we can exploit the legacy in the future. We hope to done for

gold in 2016 as well. -- to go for Here are some runners and riders

hoping to make a name for themselves. The Olympics is the

thing that is missing from my career. I am a big believer in

perseverance. Surely I would get This is the pinnacle. This is where

it all matters. It is the biggest event anyone will ever play in.

This is where I want to play my I am sure I will give most of the

Not many athletes get the chance to As soon as the Olympic Games is

finished, the Olympic Park is dusted down ready for the

Paralympics. We hope to have some contestants from our region. I went

to meet some of them. The team will be selected in April or May. Do not

be late for the next meeting. You will be sent straight back.

coach leaves a strict but fair regime. This newcomer is beginning

to understand that. The Friday session is to prepare for a hard

weekend. For Caroline this will be her 4th

Paralympics. Amy is hoping that this will be her

first Paralympics. She keeps me going. If I am down I go to a knee.

-- quoted a me. In the lost a leg when she was 14.

Kidd can be mean. Now I do not 2011 was the best ever for this

team. They won medals at the European Championships and at their

under 25 World Cup. But what counts The hardest part of my job will be

to pick the team for 2012. It will be a tough decision but it will be

the right decision. The team will site itself. It will be cruel at

Easter to decide the final team. You can never prepare yourself. In

your mind you think you're going to be selected. When it comes down to

it it is scary. This is arguably the toughest Paralympic sport. It

can be brittle. You do not know what it is like until you try it.

There is so much contact. Before my friend had seen the game may be

thought it was lame. It could be the perfect story for this pair if

they were picked for the Paralympic team. Let us hope the streets of

One other biggest medal hauls at the last Olympics was on the water.

Nick is a world champion who has been to three Olympic Games. Maybe

It is the biggest event of my life. It will be huge. It is on home

It is on my mind when I we cap and when I go to bed. -- when I wake up.

I am looking forward to it. Weymouth Bay has become the second

home to Neck. It is good conditions today. It means I have to work flat

out. There is nobody else training here today. Everyone is here in the

summer but it is as here in the It takes dedication, training twice

a day, six days a week. It is a once and a lifetime chance. It is

special. They will be a lot of pressure on myself and the other

British sailors. From the challenge of the open water to the calm of

the lake here in Peterborough. This is where the windsurfing adventure

began for Neck. His parents still live nearby.

brothers were windsurfing here with three or four other people. Nick

wanted to join in. He was a quiet and shy child. He took to it.

boys would dress in their wetsuits and come down here and spend a few

hours every day. The enjoyed it. The did not want to go anywhere

else. Did he show an early flair for windsurfing? He dead. -- he

showed an early flair. He certainly I love it. I have always loved that.

It is like nothing else. On these shores he has been untouchable for

15 years. He has been its British No. 1 since 1998. He has won world

titles and European titles. London will be his 4th Olympics. He won

bronze in Athens in 2004. One of the team told him he had won bronze.

Barry asked him to do something. That was the picture that was in

the newspapers. A double Olympic medallist.

She will be behind him. Do you dream of winning gold? Every day. I

try not to think about it. What will be will be. But that is the

driving factor. It is the pinnacle. If you want to be the best you have