:00:02. > :00:07.Doesn't it look fantastic? The Olympic Park almost ready for the
:00:07. > :00:11.greatest show on the earth. Welcome to North West Olympic Dreams,
:00:11. > :00:15.looking at sports men and women from the North West, hoping to win
:00:15. > :00:21.the medals this summer in the 2012 Olympic Games. Some of them will be
:00:21. > :00:24.going for gold and others just want to be hip. I am Steve Parry and
:00:24. > :00:28.this is North West Olympic Dreams. Coming up, we meet the teenager
:00:28. > :00:34.following in the footsteps of a legend and doing it at close
:00:34. > :00:38.quarters. He can ride, fence and swim. He can also run and shoot.
:00:38. > :00:44.The Lancashire man facing a five- star Olympic challenge. They have
:00:44. > :00:48.got a house full of medals but are chasing more. The husband and wife
:00:48. > :00:53.team with their Paralympic story. The scientists giving us a high-
:00:53. > :00:56.tech advantage. We go into the flat and are the guinea pigs for a day.
:00:56. > :01:01.Punching above her weight, beat Liverpool woman hoping to make
:01:01. > :01:11.Olympic history in boxing. They are the North West hopefuls with their
:01:11. > :01:44.
:01:44. > :01:48.Eight years ago I was lucky enough to win a medal in the pool in
:01:48. > :01:52.Athens and seeing this amazing facility almost makes me want to
:01:52. > :01:59.start again. Winning that medal has opened up a world of opportunity
:01:59. > :02:03.for me and gave me a moment I will never forget. But it is only a
:02:03. > :02:08.handful at get the opportunity to win an Olympic medal. One of those
:02:08. > :02:14.people is three-time world champion Beth Tweddle from the double. At 26
:02:14. > :02:24.she is called a veteran and cheeky people call her old. -- from
:02:24. > :02:28.
:02:28. > :02:32.Liverpool. But she has started a If there is one hot spot of
:02:32. > :02:38.potential Olympic excellence in the North West it is the Liverpool
:02:38. > :02:42.Gymnastics Club. Three women are preparing for a tilt at the medals.
:02:42. > :02:49.Beth Tweddle, current British champion and a Whelan and rising
:02:49. > :02:56.star, Jennifer Pinches. -- Hannah Whelan. They are national champions
:02:56. > :03:01.and are working towards 2012. At the moment it is 24-7. Beth Tweddle
:03:01. > :03:06.understands London 2012 is a last chance of Olympic glory. She is
:03:06. > :03:13.Britain's greatest ever gymnast but at 26, she is a veteran. Change
:03:13. > :03:16.your hands. Jennifer Pinches has got a whole career in front of her.
:03:16. > :03:19.The 17-year-old from Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire is in the lucky
:03:19. > :03:25.position of being able to train alongside one of the great and
:03:25. > :03:30.receive coaching from one of the best. Jenny is getting there. She
:03:30. > :03:33.is 17 at the moment. We had five years together. She is one of the
:03:33. > :03:37.most talented gymnasts I have worked with. She has got to
:03:37. > :03:42.concentrate a bit harder to achieve her goals. When they walk through
:03:42. > :03:48.the door, if they are willing to work hard in the double, we
:03:48. > :03:52.understand how to work champions. - - in Liverpool. We have had lots of
:03:52. > :03:57.different people doing the great work to create that. What makes the
:03:57. > :04:04.difference is the ones willing to work, day-in and day-out. Not for
:04:04. > :04:09.days a week, six days a week and giving 100 %. -- four days a week.
:04:09. > :04:14.She trains 50 miles away in Liverpool. She has understanding
:04:14. > :04:22.from families, teachers, coaches and training partners. Once a week,
:04:22. > :04:27.she lodges with bet Tweddell. time are we back? I am being picked
:04:27. > :04:32.up at 3 o'clock. She leads about an hour and a half away. I used to
:04:32. > :04:35.stay over because we finish at 8 o'clock at night and we have to be
:04:35. > :04:40.backed at 9 o'clock in the morning and it is too much travelling and
:04:40. > :04:46.you can sleep better if you stay over. I stay here and she stays
:04:46. > :04:52.there. She is like an older sister. I am with her quite a lot in the
:04:52. > :04:57.gym and we are a way together with the gymnastics team. I spend more
:04:57. > :05:07.time with Beth Tweddle, hander and Amanda than my parents. In my life,
:05:07. > :05:10.
:05:11. > :05:16.probably. -- hammer. She is a good And what a role model. If Jennifer
:05:16. > :05:22.is to achieve her ambitions, she need look no further than her
:05:22. > :05:27.trading partner and occasional landlady. She is not just the role
:05:27. > :05:32.model for them but for the country. Ask anybody in the street to name a
:05:33. > :05:37.gymnast, they will probably name Nadia Comaneci or Olga Korbut but
:05:37. > :05:41.Beth Tweddle is in the public eye now. It has not happened by
:05:41. > :05:46.accident. To get to the top takes determination had complete
:05:46. > :05:49.dedication. You are working every day in that gym and it is hard and
:05:49. > :05:59.you do not always want to get out of bed and had six hours of
:05:59. > :06:00.
:06:00. > :06:04.Amanda gives us some day off. That is our day to do what we once did
:06:04. > :06:07.it. -- Sunday. You can speak to your friends and say that you are
:06:08. > :06:13.free Saturday Night and Sunday it. You have to make time for your
:06:13. > :06:18.friends as well as trading. But when you are on that podium and you
:06:18. > :06:24.have got that goal that he wanted, it makes that worthwhile. You do
:06:24. > :06:27.not remember the hard times. Only the good times. While she is
:06:27. > :06:32.praying she could end her career in a blaze of glory, Jennifer is
:06:32. > :06:38.simply hoping she will be selected this time round. After that, who
:06:38. > :06:43.can tell? It is great having Beth Tweddle. She understands what it
:06:43. > :06:48.takes to win world championship medals. Gold medals. She is very
:06:48. > :06:58.successful and the best gymnast we have had in Britain. You can talk
:06:58. > :07:07.
:07:07. > :07:11.to her and she will understand what To do well in most Olympic events,
:07:11. > :07:16.you have to be absolutely outstanding at one discipline. One
:07:16. > :07:22.young man from Lancashire has to be amazing at five events to get any
:07:22. > :07:25.chance of making his mark. How does he cope? I used to struggle with
:07:25. > :07:31.remembering my swimming kit but he has got five different sports.
:07:31. > :07:36.Stuart Pollit explains. It does not get much more diverse than this.
:07:36. > :07:40.Horse riding, swimming, fencing, running and pistol shooting. You
:07:40. > :07:49.need to be good at all these to compete in the modern pentathlon
:07:49. > :07:54.arm. Fortunately for Steven Mason, he is. Five sport. Every day is
:07:54. > :07:58.going to be different. You can have a good day at fencing and goes
:07:58. > :08:04.wobbling. You can have a bad day swimming and have a good day
:08:04. > :08:09.running. -- go swimming. He was destined to get into the event. You
:08:09. > :08:14.could say it runs in the family. His father has been involved with
:08:14. > :08:19.and athletes for years and has been involved in the pathway programme.
:08:19. > :08:25.His mother is an administrator, organising her husband and her
:08:25. > :08:33.son's leads. His sister is a junior champion in a running and swimming
:08:33. > :08:40.event. He was following us around and he thought, I might as well get
:08:40. > :08:45.stuck in. His sister was inspirational. My sister has been
:08:45. > :08:53.in by a clumsy. That was pretty good. This is where I have ended up.
:08:54. > :09:02.-- buyout slums. Stephen made the British squad at 17. -- by athlete
:09:02. > :09:08.Like all Olympians, he has to put in the hard work and in his case,
:09:08. > :09:14.he has to do kid macro five times over. A busy week of training,
:09:14. > :09:24.would be eight training sessions and free gym sessions and shooting
:09:24. > :09:24.
:09:24. > :09:29.and five running sessions. Lessons of 45 minutes. A couple of hours of
:09:29. > :09:32.playing, riding. Once and twice a week. It takes a lot for him to
:09:32. > :09:39.have achieved what he has achieved. A lot of determination and hard
:09:39. > :09:45.work. Socialising, he does not get to do much of that. Friday night he
:09:45. > :09:50.will be at home and off to bed at 11 o'clock because he is winning
:09:50. > :09:55.early in the morning. It is a sacrifice. Although training for
:09:55. > :09:58.the Olympics sounds glamourous, it can be anything but. Running and
:09:58. > :10:05.shooting have been combined in depend athlete event. His
:10:05. > :10:13.neighbours are getting used to him pounding the streets. Then firing a
:10:13. > :10:20.few rounds in the driveway. Nice work. You must get some funny looks.
:10:20. > :10:24.Whenever the postman comes. He thinks I am shooting at him.
:10:24. > :10:29.actually it is harmless, isn't it? It is just a bit of light coming
:10:29. > :10:34.straight out of the end of the gum. Like all athletes, is got an idea
:10:34. > :10:39.of which disciplines he is best at and which ones need a bit of extra
:10:39. > :10:44.work. From best to worst, I would probably say running, first,
:10:44. > :10:54.followed by fencing and riding. I have never dropped below a certain
:10:54. > :10:59.
:10:59. > :11:04.standard. Then my worst is swimming Swimming is what I dread. I hate
:11:05. > :11:09.swimming training and it hurts the most. You have got to get in and do
:11:09. > :11:14.it. You cannot let one of them came do everything else. Get in and get
:11:14. > :11:17.on with it and get up and down. dramatic tattoo on his back bears
:11:17. > :11:23.the names of his family and illustrates their importance to his
:11:23. > :11:27.ambitions. It was definitely worth it. They got me through everything
:11:27. > :11:32.and have supported me. I want to give something back to them, I
:11:32. > :11:38.guess. The family will continue to be there, supporting his dream.
:11:38. > :11:44.a parent, you want him to do his best. It would be amazing if he got
:11:44. > :11:52.a medal. For me, him achieving a gold medal at getting into the
:11:52. > :11:55.Olympics, that would make us all There is a goal, to get to the
:11:55. > :12:05.Olympics and it is never going to come round again. I am only going
:12:05. > :12:09.
:12:09. > :12:13.to get one chance so why not give The Olympic Games doesn't finish
:12:13. > :12:16.here in August with the closing ceremony. In fact it is just
:12:16. > :12:22.halfway because a couple of weeks later, we have got the Paralympic
:12:22. > :12:28.Games. As always, the North West is well represented. No. More so than
:12:28. > :12:38.over there at the Velopark, where the cycling is taking place. It can
:12:38. > :12:39.
:12:39. > :12:43.When you are in training for the Paralympics, you must have an
:12:43. > :12:46.understanding partner because the hours are long and there are times
:12:46. > :12:52.when you are away from home for days. It is pretty handy with your
:12:52. > :13:00.other half is also in training for the Paralympics. You need to get a
:13:00. > :13:04.bit faster. That is the situation in the Storey household. Sarah is a
:13:04. > :13:09.Paralympic and world champions at all times over. Her husband is an
:13:09. > :13:17.able bodies pilot for blind cyclists. He is a double gold medal
:13:18. > :13:24.winner as well. Sport really keeps us going, doesn't it? I think both
:13:24. > :13:30.of us are very enthusiastic about sport. We are sporting anoraks.
:13:30. > :13:35.had a similar upbringing. Barney and myself. Very similar families.
:13:35. > :13:40.Mum and dad helped me and my brother and sister and Barney's mum
:13:40. > :13:43.and dad helped him. We have done sport since we were very young. It
:13:43. > :13:51.is strange we have grown up in two ends of the country's but have
:13:51. > :13:58.similar value. Sarah is a sporting phenomenon. She won an incredible
:13:58. > :14:05.16 swimming medals, including five golf. In 2005, she switched to
:14:05. > :14:10.cycling and in Beijing, she won and other two gold medals. Changing
:14:10. > :14:14.sports was not a big deal because I had done a lot as a kid at school
:14:14. > :14:19.at county and at national level. These were able-bodied sport.
:14:19. > :14:24.Running and everything. Table tennis. I tried everything. Cycling
:14:24. > :14:34.is the sport I had not tried competitively. Whatever she would
:14:34. > :14:44.
:14:44. > :14:47.do, she would be brilliant. She has I've had phenomenal success in a
:14:48. > :14:50.short space of time with that event and certainly it's not the end of
:14:51. > :14:55.me in team pursuit, it's just for now it's important that I
:14:55. > :14:58.concentrate on the Paralympics. Manchester may be blessed with the
:14:58. > :15:00.National Cycling Centre but it is also blessed with the sort of
:15:01. > :15:03.weather which sends road cyclists in search of warmer climes. So
:15:04. > :15:13.while the rest of us were enjoying turkey dinners and festive telly,
:15:14. > :15:21.
:15:21. > :15:24.Barney and Sarah headed for a We're about half-way through the
:15:24. > :15:30.week, five days down and the training's been going really well,
:15:30. > :15:33.the weather's been superb which is always good to have. We've been
:15:33. > :15:36.hearing reports from back home and there's been some rain going on and
:15:36. > :15:46.it's not been particularly good weather so we would definitely have
:15:46. > :15:47.
:15:47. > :15:49.beenstuck inside on the turbo had Both Barney and Sarah have a hectic
:15:49. > :15:59.year ahead - something they plan carefully with their Communications
:15:59. > :16:00.
:16:00. > :16:03.manager, Helen Scott. I've pulled a few things together for after the
:16:03. > :16:08.Worlds - a few requests that have come in. I've put them in little
:16:08. > :16:11.blocks here when you can fit stuff in. Both are in the British squad
:16:11. > :16:21.for next month's Paracycling World track championships in LA. After
:16:21. > :16:22.
:16:22. > :16:25.that, it's full steam ahead for London 2012. I think the Paralympic
:16:25. > :16:28.Games have changed since my first games in Athens in 2004 and then
:16:28. > :16:32.Beijing in 2008. I think people's awareness of the Games now are so
:16:32. > :16:35.much more so it's a great thing to be having the Games in our own
:16:35. > :16:39.country and I think people's interest will be so much more than
:16:39. > :16:42.there's ever been. The hard work's been done in many ways but we've
:16:42. > :16:46.still got the final preparations to do and we still don't know exactly
:16:46. > :16:50.how many riders we're going to have on our team. At the moment it's
:16:50. > :17:00.looking as if I could take part in four or five events so all to play
:17:00. > :17:02.
:17:02. > :17:06.Olympic medals are won and lost in a split second or by a fraction of
:17:06. > :17:09.a millimetre. Half a second slower and I would have finished fourth -
:17:09. > :17:12.and wouldn't be here today doing this! And it's when margins are
:17:12. > :17:15.tight, you've got to do everything you can to give yourself the best
:17:15. > :17:18.chance of winning. That's where Sports Science comes in. In our
:17:18. > :17:25.region we've got some of the best technology and best people around.
:17:25. > :17:28.Jacey Normand turned guinea pig to find out more.
:17:28. > :17:32.And Steven Parry's got about four strokes to hold on for a bronze
:17:32. > :17:34.medal. Come on Steven - he's got it! This is the moment when Steve
:17:34. > :17:37.put his mark on British sport finishing alongside the great
:17:37. > :17:44.Michael Phelps. In those days the use of Sports science was becoming
:17:44. > :17:47.an important part of an athlete's preparation. Now it's essential.
:17:47. > :17:50.This is the pool where Steve used to train - home to the Stockport
:17:50. > :17:54.Metro club and current Olympic hopefuls Kerry Ann Payne, James
:17:54. > :17:57.Goddard and Michael Rock. The man who looks like he's holding a stick
:17:57. > :18:02.in the water is sports physiologist Ben Hollis from the Manchester-
:18:02. > :18:05.based English Institute of Sport. The stick is actually an underwater
:18:05. > :18:14.camera which helps him to examine the technique of some of our best
:18:14. > :18:17.swimmers. We use race analysis on a daily and weekly basis. We look at
:18:17. > :18:21.how much time there is to be gained compared to Dan's best performances
:18:21. > :18:27.but also looking at the best in the world, looking at how those margins
:18:27. > :18:29.can be made. John Moore Universityin Liverpool
:18:29. > :18:36.is currently helping Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls to maximise
:18:36. > :18:39.their potential in time for this summer's Games. Dan Highcock from
:18:39. > :18:45.St Helens is part of the GB wheelchair basketball team and his
:18:45. > :18:48.training regime has been carefully calibrated by coach Peter Angell.
:18:48. > :18:51.At the top level, you think of a sprinter for example,the difference
:18:51. > :19:00.between first and second in the Olympic Final can be down to
:19:00. > :19:10.hundredths if not less of a second. It's those small differences that
:19:10. > :19:19.
:19:19. > :19:22.can have a huge impact basically. Have you seen a lot of improvement?
:19:22. > :19:32.Yes - I can keep working at the same rate. I'm relentless. I just
:19:32. > :19:32.
:19:32. > :19:35.keep on going and keep on going. We're going to look at ways we can
:19:35. > :19:38.improve your respiratory function, how you might adapt to different
:19:38. > :19:41.environments and we're also going to look at your running style
:19:41. > :19:48.through the biomechanics lab. Before I can start I need a lung
:19:48. > :19:51.function test - as I have suffered from mild asthma in the past.
:19:51. > :19:56.That's it - keep going, keep pushing it, keep going, keep going
:19:56. > :20:01.and then a big breath in. Got about 3.5 litres out in one second. For
:20:01. > :20:08.your height and age that's about 97% of what we expect to see.
:20:08. > :20:10.Anything above 90% of predicted is what we call normal. So there's
:20:10. > :20:20.nothing about my results that concerns you about my ability to
:20:20. > :20:29.
:20:29. > :20:32.exercise with mild asthma? So it's on to my first test. We're more
:20:32. > :20:35.interested in giving you a real big dose of dry air for high
:20:35. > :20:38.ventilation rates and breathing in dry air from the gas bottle. It's
:20:38. > :20:41.the dry air which is the big trigger for the exercise-induced
:20:41. > :20:43.asthma. That's what we're interested in - do you have any
:20:43. > :20:46.exercise-induced asthma? Here comes the gas through the system. Let's
:20:46. > :20:49.go. Nice big deep breaths. Little bit harder. Little bit faster.
:20:49. > :20:59.That's it. Imagine you're running for that bus. You just got up late
:20:59. > :21:06.
:21:06. > :21:16.for work and you're really pushing Stop there. Take that out. Oh my
:21:16. > :21:18.
:21:18. > :21:26.God that was horrible! That was awful! Next up is an examination of
:21:26. > :21:35.my running style. It's quite straight your thigh angle. It
:21:35. > :21:39.should probably be at a greater angle. I was specifically looking
:21:39. > :21:41.at barefoot running and we did find that they got more comfortable with
:21:41. > :21:44.time to, the running conditions. They landed with greater force
:21:44. > :21:51.which, when you're not used to a condition you tend to tiptoe around
:21:51. > :21:54.and they landed with greater force so yes, they did improve. Finally,
:21:54. > :21:57.it's on to the hard-core stuff - I'm off to the climate chamber. The
:21:57. > :22:07.good news is the temperature will be over 30 degrees Celsius. The bad
:22:07. > :22:17.
:22:17. > :22:27.news? I'm going to have to run in it. Remember this is the low
:22:27. > :22:32.
:22:32. > :22:36.intensity phase we haven't asked That should give you some idea of
:22:36. > :22:39.how hard athletes have to work. This chamber - it's really hot in
:22:39. > :22:46.here and I'm used to running on a treadmill and THAT was exhausting!
:22:46. > :22:49.After all that it's time for the verdict from Dr John. First off -
:22:49. > :22:53.100% effort, so it's a fantastic effort and that's what we're
:22:53. > :22:57.looking for from an elite athlete. Commitment from the start. In terms
:22:57. > :22:59.of respiratory function that looked perfectly normal. In terms of the
:22:59. > :23:02.work in the environmental chamber - normal physiological response -
:23:02. > :23:06.when you work at a higher temperature, your body's going to
:23:06. > :23:09.work hard and we saw that in there. We saw that you're a heel striker
:23:09. > :23:12.and maybe we can improve the way you're striking and the force that
:23:12. > :23:15.goes through your legs. We saw a few weaknesses but obviously what
:23:15. > :23:18.we can do there is analyse it a bit more, put a training programme
:23:18. > :23:22.together to take you on to the next level.
:23:22. > :23:25.Well I've really had to dig deep today and I think you'll find out a
:23:25. > :23:29.lot of things I didn't really want everybody to know, including how
:23:29. > :23:39.bad my running was! But with a bit of science and a bit of practice
:23:39. > :23:41.
:23:41. > :23:44.maybe I could also have a career as an Olympian. Not! The Ancient
:23:44. > :23:49.Greeks were fond of a test of strength. The original games
:23:49. > :23:52.featured boxing and wrestling. But what they would have made of the
:23:52. > :23:55.martial arts programme in 2012? Because for the first time ever, it
:23:55. > :24:03.features women's boxing. And a young lady from Toxteth is one of
:24:03. > :24:12.At 26, Natasha Jonas is hoping to make history - to be part of the
:24:12. > :24:15.first generation of women ever to compete for Olympic boxing gold.
:24:15. > :24:19.Obviously it's the first time it's going to be in the Olympics, and
:24:19. > :24:22.we've got it in London so it's on home soil. I'm really proud of my
:24:22. > :24:27.achievements so far but to get to the Olympics for an amateur it's
:24:27. > :24:30.just the greatest achievement. Her Olympic dreams still hang in
:24:30. > :24:34.the balance. Tasha is fourth in the world amateur rankings but is one
:24:34. > :24:37.of eight women in the GB squad. By May next year that figure will be
:24:37. > :24:44.reduced to just three who will go to the games. While she waits for
:24:44. > :24:52.the selection decision, she competes, trains and works. It's
:24:52. > :24:54.the blue one - there must be something in the bin! Tasha is a
:24:54. > :24:57.customer service advisor for Liverpool city council. They
:24:57. > :24:59.support her with an Elite Sports scholarship. It means she can be
:25:00. > :25:05.flexible about when she works, and can also continue with her
:25:05. > :25:09.relentless training. There were rumours around the office that I
:25:09. > :25:19.was some kind of athlete, but no one actually knew what I did. But
:25:19. > :25:24.
:25:24. > :25:29.Tasha trains at the Rotunda ABC in Kirkdale - one of the most
:25:29. > :25:32.successful amateur clubs in the country. It's produced 33 national
:25:32. > :25:42.champions in the last 15 years and trainer Mick McAllister knows why
:25:42. > :25:44.
:25:44. > :25:54.Her discipline, her dedication and she trains very hard. She never
:25:54. > :26:25.
:26:25. > :26:28.questions anything that you give As part of team GB, Tasha now
:26:28. > :26:38.spends most of her week at the English Institute of Sport in
:26:38. > :26:39.
:26:39. > :26:43.Sheffield. Her links with her home club are being stretched. She just
:26:43. > :26:48.comes back to us on the Friday so she's down there four days now
:26:48. > :26:51.training with all the Elites. Walmsley, head of development on
:26:51. > :26:58.the GB squad used to coach at The Rotunda. He's trained 75 national
:26:58. > :27:02.champions. Liverpool is traditionally a hot bed of boxing
:27:02. > :27:05.and there's a lot of clubs. It's just in our genes if you like.
:27:05. > :27:15.She's a very skilful boxer but I think her calmness and her ability
:27:15. > :27:16.
:27:17. > :27:19.to box under pressure if you like. It's not that dangerous as a sport.
:27:19. > :27:23.I had more injuries playing football than any other sport I've
:27:23. > :27:27.done. I'd encourage my kids to be athletic and do to a form of sport.
:27:27. > :27:33.If they chose it to be boxing then I'd support them all the way just
:27:33. > :27:36.like my family have. If Tasha is to realise her dream of
:27:36. > :27:39.walking into the Olympic stadium for this summer's opening ceremony,
:27:39. > :27:46.she must maintain her status as Britain's number one in the
:27:47. > :27:50.lightweight division. I for one wouldn't bet against her. You can
:27:50. > :27:53.be anything you want to be. Anyone from anywhere can be anything. Just
:27:53. > :27:57.because I'm black, or I'm from Liverpool 8 or I'm a woman doesn't
:27:57. > :28:07.mean that I can't aspire to be what I want. And if you ask for it and
:28:07. > :28:10.you fully believe it then that's Well, there's only six months to go
:28:10. > :28:15.before the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony and time's really gonna
:28:15. > :28:18.fly. For our athletes there's fitness levels to sort out,