:00:23. > :00:32.Great Britain get the gold medal. Yes! Kelly Holmes of Great Britain,
:00:32. > :00:42.what a performance. Absolutely brilliant. It is going to be
:00:42. > :00:44.
:00:44. > :00:54.brilliant. It is going to be Britain one and two. Good speed,
:00:54. > :00:56.
:00:56. > :00:59.The North has produced some unforgettable moments in Olympic
:00:59. > :01:08.history, but who will be our heroes in seven months' time, when the
:01:08. > :01:18.Games come here to London? Anybody has a dream to win an Olympic gold
:01:18. > :01:18.
:01:18. > :01:21.medal. Desire and determination is going to be a key in the Olympics.
:01:21. > :01:24.Winning a medal at the Paralympics would be awesome, to win a gold
:01:24. > :01:27.medal would be unreal. In tonight's programme we will follow some of
:01:27. > :01:32.the athletes from our region as they try to make their mark on
:01:32. > :01:34.Olympic history. Winning the Olympics, that is what it is all
:01:34. > :01:39.about. I am thinking about today's training sessions, tomorrow's
:01:39. > :01:43.training sessions. I'll find out from some of the
:01:43. > :01:47.stars of yesteryear what it meant to be part of the greatest show on
:01:47. > :01:51.Earth. There were three middle- distance runners who all got
:01:51. > :02:00.Olympic medals, so when I got back to Tyneside I was not even the best
:02:00. > :02:04.First tonight, we meet the man who many feel represents the best
:02:04. > :02:14.chance of a podium place in the athletics arena. He makes his
:02:14. > :02:18.
:02:18. > :02:24.My name is Chris Tomlinson, I am the British indoor and outdoor
:02:24. > :02:29.record holder, European medallist at the long jump. I am from
:02:29. > :02:35.Middlesbrough and I am going for gold in London 2012. The last
:02:35. > :02:43.summer has gone really well. I broke the British record. It was a
:02:43. > :02:47.world-class jumper. He has got such good speed. He knew straightaway
:02:47. > :02:55.that was a big jump. Unfortunately just before the World Championships
:02:55. > :03:02.my knee started playing up and I needed an operation. I had an
:03:02. > :03:12.operation six or seven months ago. Some intense training. I have to
:03:12. > :03:12.
:03:12. > :03:15.make sure I do not overdo it. I was absolutely devastated, I got the
:03:15. > :03:20.injury at the start of September, I had two months waking up every
:03:20. > :03:30.night and thinking about it. It was microsurgery. He went into the
:03:30. > :03:33.tendon. Below the knee cap you have got a tendon, and it was inflamed.
:03:33. > :03:37.As a result, every time that the knee would travel forwards it would
:03:37. > :03:45.give me a hell of a lot of pain. They go in there, then you need to
:03:45. > :03:55.give it time to heal. This is one of the problems of being an athlete,
:03:55. > :03:59.
:03:59. > :04:09.you have to be really careful what medicine you take. You look like
:04:09. > :04:22.
:04:23. > :04:32.At the moment, believe it or not, I have got to lose weight. That is
:04:33. > :04:34.
:04:34. > :04:41.far too much. It needs to be like that. It is sticking out. I am 6 ft
:04:41. > :04:46.6 and I need to get down to about 84 kilograms. When you are jumping
:04:46. > :04:56.eight metres, you do not want to be carrying any extra weight. You have
:04:56. > :05:08.
:05:08. > :05:10.to be super-skinny, super-fast, This morning I did my weight
:05:10. > :05:15.session. It consists of a lot of conditioning exercises, over the
:05:15. > :05:22.last the years I have been doing it a bit more than I like to, so I
:05:22. > :05:29.need to get over my injuries. I do not like doing weight-training. It
:05:29. > :05:36.is boring. I prefer doing sprinting and long jumping. It is not the
:05:36. > :05:44.height of my week. I had a few interviews recently, I was in the
:05:44. > :05:54.papers. It is rather embarrassing, I am on the back page. There is a
:05:54. > :05:58.
:05:58. > :06:05.bit in there about drugs cheats It is 9:10am on 25th November, I
:06:05. > :06:13.have got the day off. The knee is coming on well. I have spoken to my
:06:13. > :06:16.agent about flying out to Moscow on 5th February. I might be ready for
:06:16. > :06:26.that, but my priority is for the Olympic Games, I need to get back
:06:26. > :06:28.
:06:28. > :06:31.into competitive shape as soon as He is in third place, now into
:06:31. > :06:36.second place. People are talking to me about London 2012, but I am
:06:36. > :06:42.thinking about today's training session, tomorrow. That is what it
:06:42. > :06:50.is like for me. Getting ready for the baby coming. We have got loads
:06:50. > :06:56.of stuff. When are you due? March. March 17th. But the world
:06:56. > :07:02.championships are in Turkey on 10th March.
:07:02. > :07:12.I would like to be here for the birth. If it was the Olympics it
:07:12. > :07:15.
:07:15. > :07:17.In my event, I'm fortunate I don't have a world record holder. I'm not
:07:17. > :07:27.going against Usain Bolt. They're very good athletes, but not the
:07:27. > :07:29.
:07:29. > :07:32.greatest ever. I have a chance. A medal is a medal.
:07:32. > :07:40.Chris is back in full training and returns to competitive action next
:07:40. > :07:50.month at an indoor event in Moscow. From sand to sea, because not every
:07:50. > :07:53.
:07:53. > :08:03.event takes place on dry land. Sailing takes place here at
:08:03. > :08:03.
:08:03. > :08:11.Weymouth Bay. The perfect place, I fell off my motorbike, and broke
:08:11. > :08:16.my back. I was lying in the ditch thinking, "This is not good."
:08:16. > :08:20.Immediately you know it's not right. The accident left John paralysed
:08:20. > :08:26.from the chest down. He was forced to give up his career as a weapons
:08:26. > :08:36.mechanic in the RAF. Why give up? You have a wobble, but realise,
:08:36. > :08:43.
:08:43. > :08:52.This boat has been to the Olympics? Yeah, we used her in Athens, 2004.
:08:52. > :08:56.John is part of a three-man team in the Sonar class at the Paralympics.
:08:56. > :09:04.What's your role? Not to crash! Not to fall over. My job is to steer.
:09:04. > :09:10.You're the helmsman. Hannah does the tactics, Steve does the
:09:10. > :09:20.mainsheet. What makes a good helmsman? Shut up and do it.
:09:20. > :09:21.
:09:21. > :09:31.what you're told. John is the practical joker of our team. He's a
:09:31. > :09:31.
:09:31. > :09:41.character, a typical Northerner. jokes are quality. It's that Greek
:09:41. > :09:46.one. The double-dip, hummus and taramasalata. Double-dip recession.
:09:46. > :09:50.John is deadly serious about gold. He swapped life in Sunderland for
:09:50. > :09:59.the south coast to prepare. The team has been sailing together for
:09:59. > :10:04.a decade. They competed in 2004 and 2008.
:10:04. > :10:11.John and his team are yet to get a medal. But the omens are good. They
:10:11. > :10:16.finished 2nd at a test event and have home advantage.
:10:16. > :10:26.Getting used to everything here is pretty good. How important is that
:10:26. > :10:32.
:10:32. > :10:42.Massively important. We've learned so much in the last 8-10 years.
:10:42. > :10:44.
:10:44. > :10:47.Realised what you need. Hopefully third time lucky? Hopefully. What's
:10:47. > :10:52.the appeal of sailing to you? getting out in the water, having
:10:52. > :10:55.fun with your mates. That's the key to it. If you didn't enjoy it you
:10:55. > :11:05.wouldn't do it. And it's a level playing field. Absolutely, it's one
:11:05. > :11:07.of the only sports where you can compete against able-bodied guys.
:11:07. > :11:14.It's like anyone else, really. No discrimination or prejudice, just
:11:14. > :11:20.He's the messiest bloke you'll ever meet, yet when it comes to sailing,
:11:20. > :11:25.he's a perfectionist. Winning any medal at a Paralympics is awesome,
:11:25. > :11:29.but gold would be just unreal. You've given a lot to the sport.
:11:30. > :11:38.Has sailing given you something? It's given me everything. Direction,
:11:38. > :11:48.a job, something to strive for. I would never have had the chance to
:11:48. > :11:49.
:11:49. > :11:59.sail for my country, win World I am pretty fortunate, and proud to
:11:59. > :12:04.
:12:04. > :12:06.To another watersport, rowing. The north-east has a great chance here.
:12:06. > :12:16.We've no fewer than five athletes from the region training full-time
:12:16. > :12:29.
:12:29. > :12:36.at the Team GB base a few miles The dream of all means an early
:12:36. > :12:40.start, where training is under way. It was going to be pretty special
:12:40. > :12:50.and it will be a massive event. We have a lot of experience. We have
:12:50. > :12:55.new people as well. We are all going through this together.
:12:55. > :13:03.Normally we trained three times a day. The worst parts are non-stop
:13:03. > :13:13.training and being tired. Her love of rowing began here on the River
:13:13. > :13:16.
:13:16. > :13:20.How big a part has this club played in your progress? Massive. I would
:13:20. > :13:30.not be where I am today without them. I started here when I was
:13:30. > :13:41.
:13:41. > :13:49.This picture of me is horrendous. That is my twin sister. We won a
:13:49. > :13:57.It is quite hard to get out of rowing once you get into it. Before
:13:57. > :14:02.you know what you are an Olympic rower. I used to bring them down
:14:02. > :14:11.every day to train. Sometimes it was before school, every day after
:14:11. > :14:21.school. We were -- into the house, a quick sandwich. -- we would go
:14:21. > :14:23.
:14:23. > :14:30.into a house. How long was it? People at a similar age to you, you
:14:30. > :14:38.can train with them. The parents would all help out. It must cabin
:14:38. > :14:44.quite exciting for you? -- it must have been. We are looking forward
:14:44. > :14:54.to watching it on the telly. seems like you slot straight back
:14:54. > :15:04.in. I think that have matured slightly. I spent several years
:15:04. > :15:10.
:15:10. > :15:17.You for your son or daughter or through what they're doing and if
:15:17. > :15:27.they get to the next level, you do what it takes! We have been all
:15:27. > :15:27.
:15:27. > :15:33.over Europe for an to China. What was she like to coach? Very easy,
:15:33. > :15:41.because she just got up and did it. There was never any question of
:15:42. > :15:45.slacking off, it was 100% every time. Two weeks of cycling on the
:15:45. > :15:55.rowing machine -- two weeks of cycling, on the rowing machine,
:15:55. > :15:56.
:15:56. > :16:00.lifting some weights. We aim to win an Olympic gold medal. It is a
:16:01. > :16:04.realistic dream. We were 2.5 seconds behind the Americans this
:16:04. > :16:08.year and then the world championships. I think it would be
:16:08. > :16:13.bigger and better than you ever think about anything but to be very
:16:14. > :16:19.special to bring it back to Durham and it would be unbelievable and
:16:19. > :16:22.everything I ever dreamed of. One sport making an appearance at the
:16:22. > :16:28.Olympics for the first time is one in's boxing.
:16:28. > :16:37.It is a dream come true for Amanda Coulson from Hartlepool. She faces
:16:37. > :16:39.the fight of her life just to qualify for 2012. Some people think
:16:39. > :16:44.something so impossible that I do not.
:16:44. > :16:46.The desire and determination will be there to get me to the Olympics.
:16:46. > :16:51.She is one of the greatest female boxers this country has ever
:16:51. > :16:56.produced. All she has ever wanted is the chance to show the world on
:16:56. > :17:01.the biggest stage. I have been boxing now for 14 years and it has
:17:01. > :17:05.always been my dream to be part of an Olympic cycle. But a man as a
:17:05. > :17:09.problem. Bill and bigger authorities have allocated just the
:17:09. > :17:19.weight categories for women. There is just one British fighter allowed
:17:19. > :17:23.in each division. -- the boxing authorities. There is good
:17:23. > :17:26.competition. It is wide open and it is all to play for between the
:17:26. > :17:33.three goals at this stage. I know what their weaknesses and strengths
:17:33. > :17:36.are. Once the bell goes, they're not your friend any more. Despite
:17:36. > :17:42.competition from two younger girls, Amanda is not about to throw in the
:17:42. > :17:51.Tote. She has taken a two-year career break from her job with
:17:51. > :17:57.Cleveland Police to train full-time with team GB in Sheffield. It has
:17:57. > :18:04.improved me. I am a lot stronger and sharper. Amer more clever boxer.
:18:04. > :18:08.I have made some sacrifices. If people are out partying, I do not
:18:08. > :18:12.bowl. If people are on holiday, I do not go. I've had to give up my
:18:12. > :18:18.job, so there is a financial burden as well. It is like putting your
:18:18. > :18:25.life on hold. It is late November and demand a faces one of the
:18:25. > :18:35.biggest boats of her life. -- and Amanda faces. She's fighting one of
:18:35. > :18:35.
:18:35. > :18:44.her rivals for an Olympic place. Defeat today would be a disaster.
:18:44. > :18:48.The winner and Great Britain champion, Amanda Coulson. Ed meant
:18:48. > :18:53.everything. I put it in the performance of my life. You Olympic
:18:53. > :18:58.dream is very much alive? Are definitely has after that
:18:58. > :19:05.performance. I would say so. Back, the Hartlepool Catholic boxing club
:19:05. > :19:14.where it all began, Amanda has time to reflect on her success. There
:19:14. > :19:18.was it a lot -- there was a lot of desire of hunger to achieve that. I
:19:18. > :19:22.put in the performance of my life to get the decision. She has had
:19:22. > :19:29.the same coach since she first came here as a 14-year-old. He reckons
:19:29. > :19:35.she has put herself in poll position for selection. I believe
:19:36. > :19:45.that she is better than the other girls. Only one of them will get
:19:46. > :19:47.
:19:47. > :19:50.selected and I believe that she has a really good chance. I started and
:19:50. > :20:00.Hartlepool with a heart liberal Catholic boxing club, and that is
:20:00. > :20:03.
:20:03. > :20:06.where my heart is. -- with the Hartlepool Catholic boxing club.
:20:06. > :20:11.Bibby be absolutely amazing if I got there and fingers crossed it
:20:11. > :20:15.happens. Also threatening to make a splash in 2012, the women's what a
:20:15. > :20:18.poor team. The squad includes two women from
:20:18. > :20:26.Cumbria who are sacrificing everything for their shot at
:20:26. > :20:32.Olympic glory. We both live in small villages in Cumbria and
:20:32. > :20:37.moving to such a big city, Manchester, is a better if a shock.
:20:37. > :20:44.The village I am from is only about 20 houses, and they think I am a
:20:44. > :20:48.massive celebrity. They are like, we're so proud of you! Welcome to
:20:48. > :20:55.Manchester, home of British water polo, where our girls are fighting
:20:55. > :21:00.for a place in the British Olympic team. I never dreamed I would have
:21:00. > :21:08.the chance to compete in a home Olympics. It is amazing. This is
:21:08. > :21:13.said, we are run a home run now. Alex had a bit of her dual role.
:21:13. > :21:20.She used to be a right winger. She has changed position now. Chloe
:21:20. > :21:26.plays on the left wing. Water polo is a seven-a-side game divided into
:21:26. > :21:32.quarters. It is very tough. Poor rugby, it is probably one of the
:21:32. > :21:36.most physical sports to play. -- below rugby. There is a lot of
:21:36. > :21:40.pulling, kicking, scratching, especially with girls. It is very
:21:40. > :21:46.physical. That means a training outside of the pool can get a bit
:21:46. > :21:56.rough. The wrestling is coming in very handy! My answer really can
:21:56. > :21:57.
:21:57. > :22:05.this morning. -- my arms. Only 13 of the goals will make the Olympics.
:22:05. > :22:09.-- of the women. If the pitch themselves, they will have
:22:10. > :22:16.incredible chances to get into the final 13. The train full-time, paid
:22:16. > :22:22.for by the National Lottery. The money has had a huge impact on the
:22:22. > :22:24.girls. They have gone from doing jobs are going to university and to
:22:24. > :22:34.water polo in their spare time to move into Manchester and training
:22:34. > :22:44.twice a day really hard. They have water pours the profession. -- they
:22:44. > :22:48.
:22:48. > :22:53.have what report as their profession. -- water polo. It only
:22:53. > :22:57.received funding five years ago, so they face a steep learning curve of
:22:57. > :23:01.the are to become competitive on an international level. We are going
:23:01. > :23:05.to have to take it game by game. We're probably ranked seven in
:23:05. > :23:12.Europe. We're looking for the top 10 in the world, which is massive
:23:12. > :23:17.progress. Like Alex and Chloe, most of our athletes are still to find
:23:17. > :23:24.out whether they are competing here later this year. He is a quick
:23:24. > :23:28.guide to some of our other Olympic hopefuls.
:23:28. > :23:29.$$YELLOW# I'm on the edge of glory # And I'm hangin' on a moment of
:23:29. > :23:39.truth... # Daisy Smith getting really involved
:23:39. > :23:44.
:23:44. > :23:47.here in fifth. # And I'm hangin' on a moment with
:23:47. > :23:50.# I'm on the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge
:23:50. > :23:55.# The edge, the edge, the edge # I'm on the edge of glory
:23:55. > :23:57.# And I'm hangin' on a moment with # I'm on the edge with you, with
:23:57. > :24:07.you, with you # I'm on the edge, with you, with
:24:07. > :24:16.
:24:16. > :24:21.Those athletes have real hopes of glory later this year. They are
:24:21. > :24:26.following in the footsteps of some great North Olympians of the past.
:24:26. > :24:34.Charlie Spedding from Gateshead to part in the marathon in 1984 in Los
:24:34. > :24:38.Angeles. He went down in North East folklore. I had been nervous the
:24:38. > :24:43.entire week but I also saw it as the greatest opportunity of my life.
:24:43. > :24:50.It was my third marathon. I tried the marathon out in Houston in
:24:50. > :24:54.January. I thought, this is the event for me and I had to then run
:24:54. > :24:58.the London Marathon, because that was a trial. I won that one as well.
:24:58. > :25:06.So I went to the Olympics as a bit of a novice at the marathon but
:25:06. > :25:12.also undefeated. It was a really nice position to be in. What a
:25:12. > :25:17.tremendous effort it will be if Charlie Spedding gets any medal.
:25:17. > :25:22.Did you have a plan? Can you remember how the day went? Yes, my
:25:22. > :25:32.plan was just to view the best I could. A fine run by Charlie
:25:32. > :25:33.
:25:33. > :25:36.Spedding. Was ecstatic at winning any medal at all. I think it was 16
:25:36. > :25:41.years since a British man or woman won a marathon medal. Nobody has
:25:41. > :25:46.done it since you. Are you proud? It is quite nice to hold any sort
:25:46. > :25:56.of record and to do something that is unusual, but now I wish someone
:25:56. > :26:02.
:26:02. > :26:06.the British would win a medal. Margaret Auton was just 15 when she
:26:06. > :26:16.appeared in the Mexico Olympics in 1968. I felt all right at the
:26:16. > :26:23.beginning of the race. I did feel rather badly. I did just about my
:26:23. > :26:29.own fastest time which, at altitude, I was very pleased with. And
:26:29. > :26:33.Hartlepool, I was, I suppose, a bit of a celebrity. I was invited to
:26:33. > :26:42.pull a raffle ticket out at Hartlepool United football match
:26:42. > :26:46.one time. That was about as good as it got. Charmian Welsh from County
:26:46. > :26:56.Durham was just 15 when she almost one a diving medal in the 1952
:26:56. > :26:58.
:26:58. > :27:04.Olympics in Helsinki. I started diving in 1950. A lot of my diving
:27:04. > :27:14.was trial and error. I just went at it time after time after time. I
:27:14. > :27:15.
:27:15. > :27:19.ended up bruised from here right across my back. It was this ippon
:27:19. > :27:29.be used to cool the pet. The water was always warm. It was black and
:27:29. > :27:30.
:27:30. > :27:34.you could not see the bottom. -- to cool the pit. I knew if I went too
:27:34. > :27:41.far off the board, I would land on concrete. A great incentive to get
:27:41. > :27:46.your dive right! Definitely. Despite having no coach, she
:27:46. > :27:50.qualified for the Olympics. I finished 5th, although we should
:27:51. > :27:59.have been fought. But the British judge was stung and he did not see
:27:59. > :28:09.my dive. Appear wasps stung him. Apparently, he stuck up a zero. Can
:28:09. > :28:16.
:28:16. > :28:19.you believe you were part of that? Looking back on it, know. -- no. I
:28:20. > :28:25.did not think any different about it at the time. It was part of my