West Olympic Dreams

This is the Olympic Park in East London. This place is hugely

impressive. Just imagine what it will be like in July. Over the next

half an hour we will be meeting some of the people from the West

hoping to make it on to the podium just like Heather did four years.

It is an amazing feeling having that medal around your neck and I

am really excite for everyone that's going to be competing here

The road to London 2012 is long and challenging and only the most

dedicated will make it. If you want to know what hard work is like,

Pete Reid is your man. He is the current Olympic champion in the

men's coxless four. David Passmore has set his alarm for an early

start. Hour after hour, day after day,

countless thousands of lake miles. The physical demands on Britain's

top rower, a greater -- are rate are greater than in almost any

other sport. We can do up to 20 kilometres on

the water. It is not just one session. You have to do that time

after time and refuel and get ready for the next session.

On the water before before 8am and the physical demand are matched by

the mental pressure to remain at the top of his game.

There is no sneaky short cut or way around what I am trying to achieve.

It is coming down to Caversham and training three times a day side by

side with the guy that is are trying to unsettle me. I have

stayed on the top spot. I know what to to expect and you need to to

fight off one guy and fight off another. It is ruthless and that's

why I enjoy sport. There is life away from the lake at

home with his partner. Spaghetti bolognaise is his

speciality. I I do a good bolognaise.

Even if he eats three times she does.

Most people have wine racks, we have water bottle racks.

A life dominated by another gold and sleep.

If I can possibly get nine hours sleep and get 6,000 calories in as

well, I am well fuelled and well rested and I can tackle the

training properly. As soon as those things start to slip, I start to

fall off the pace a little bit. When that happens, I get irritable.

Yes! Gold medal, Great Britain.

Peter Reid won gold at the Beijing Olympics. Not only does that now

count for nothing in the world of GB rowing, since then Peter Reid

competed in the pairs. The problem with that, they have yet to beat

the New Zealand pair. So, the dilemma, does the coach stick with

Reid and TrigHodge or put Peter Reid in the fours to ensure a gold

there? Selection is always the hardest bit.

We are operating with more athletes than we have we have seats and we

have to look very carefully at how we use our potential and our best

athletes. Until the line-up is announced, the

daily grind, being the best he can be and trusting the coach to make

the right call to ensure the greatest number of gold medals for

rowing and the overall Team GB tally.

The opportunity to be winning in London, that's something to come

down and train for and to not give up because it is a life changing,

it would be a life changing six minutes for us. It maybe hard, it

maybe boring, but there is that ultimate goal that drives him on

through the wind and the rain, that dream of Olympic success.

Pete Reid's medal was one of 47 for the Great Britain team in Beijing,

so quite a target to aim for in London. One genuine prospect is Dai

Greene, the current world champion over the 400 meters hurdles. He

credits much success to his coach, Malcolm Arnold. He guided his and

the leeths to over -- athletes to over 65 medals in a coaching career

spanning four decades. In 1968, Bristol was getting ready

to launch the iconic aeroplane. That year, the career of a PE

teacher was about to take off. Medal after medal, would follow.

Who is the man behind the success? Somebody said he is a combination

between Victor Meldrew. That's the best way to describe him. That's

him down to a T. I'm ready.

He is old school. He is the same as Alex Ferguson. He had the same

amount of success. He is not one to lavish praise!

Straight after the race, all I got from him was a well done and a

handshake., ""halfs all right. -- that was all right." I want him to

be proud of of me and these the biggest compliment you can get from

him is a well done. But he gets the best results.

He is just magical and I think I was really blessed to have him as

my coach. You sit down at the beginning of

the winter and we plan our following season, and then he would

work backwards and say say these are the key races. I have got them.

All these handwritten A4 notes. Jason Gardner got off brilliantly.

He will give you 100%, but you have got to give back 100%. He has taken

many athletes through the journey time and time again. It is not by

luck or by chance that he can take people on top of the rostrum.

For Great Britain it has gone up on the scoreboard. He finds himself a

meter or two in the lead. I am not his best athlete. He will

take me under his wing and look after me and hopefully we can come

away with the right result. He made it on to the podium himself.

The winner is Malcolm Arnold. I think everybody likes to be part

of a successful organisation and some of the athletes who have I

have coached in the past are here tonight and I shall go back to the

restaurant at the University of Bath and they will be pleased

because they have done well this year. I am sharing in their success.

Heading to his 12th Olympics, there is no sign of Malcolm reaching his

finishing linepm. Even at 71, he is willing to change things and I

think that's what makes him a star because the same thing doesn't work

for every athlete and when you know your coach cares about your success,

it makes you more inspired to show up every day.

We have got so much to learn from him as well. UK athletics have and

the coaching set-up have that you need him to stick around.

Malcolm and his handlers will be focused on the athletic stadium

here in the Olympic Park. Let's look at the West's brightest hopes

to make the podium in the other venues.

Here is one of our favourites to win gold.

Laura helped Great Britain to European team gold. There is our

Royal rider, Zara Phillips. Purchase won gold in Beijing. He

has been world champion for two years.

I won't forget you, Heather. A silver in Beijing and who knows,

maybe a gold in London? That's the aim. I mean, I am quite

proud of this one, but don't forget, I am yet to qualify for London.

That's a fair point. Well, this is the Aquatics Centre, where Heather,

you are hopefully going to be doing your swim. The challenge is,

hitting your peak on all five of them on the same day. So here is my

guide to modern pentathlon. The modern pentathlon was invented

by the founder of the modern Olympics. It tells the story of a

liaison officer whose horse is brought down in enemy territory. He

defends himself with pistol and sword and swims across a river

before delivering his message on foot. Scores are awarded for each

of the five sports. The highest overall wins. The first up is

fencing. In the fencing, we use a tough

blade. You have got to to put a force down through the tip. To

score a hit, you can basically hit anywhere on the body from the wrist

to the foot, mask, torso, anywhere and you have just a minute in which

to score your hit. It is into the pool for a 200 meter freestyle swim.

That's four lengths. The top scoring women will be looking for a

time under two minutes ten. Then There is a quick change to be ready

for showjumping. The horse you ride is allocated in a draw. You have 20

minutes to get used them and then the competition, jumping 12 fences

all one meter 20 in height. After that, it is on to the climax of the

competition. The run and shoot. Your hult so far

de-- result so far decide where you start. Highest points go first. It

takes a steady hand to hit five targets as quick as possible,

especially when combined with running a kilometre. You do both

three times. The first person across the finish line is Olympic

champion. This is the only thing I could find

to wear! I am not saying anything you can do,

I can do better, but I would like to kind of earn this tracksuit.

What can I have a go at? Well, how about the horse riding? Or we could

try swimming. I would like to keep my hair dry.

How about a spot of shooting? You have got to do shooting and

running as well? Let's do more shooting.

This is what we are going to be using today. Had is your gun?

this my gun. You still have to kind of cock it. You don't put anything

So basically it is loaded and ready to go. Look at your sights and line

them up so they are level and line up with the black.

Wow, look at how unsteady my arm is. Is that a hit? That's a hit.

You have got to keep moving because you have got 70 second.

I have got to do five in 70 seconds. You need to do it in less than that.

OK, so the maximum time you are going to be there is 70 seconds.

Someone has done it in ten seconds. Hit five? From When the first shot

goes. Wow!

You have got your GB tracksuit on, you have got to be serious. You

have got to run. Off you go! Come on. You have got a lot of

catching up to do! A lot of hard work, but worth it

when you step out into an Olympic venue like this. I remember that

feeling in Beijing and competing in London in front of an enormous

crowd will be amazing. Here is a run through of some of the athletes

from the West hoping to make it it first time lucky.

Another one to watch out for Jamie Cook from Cheltenham. Last year, he

won the world junior championships. Abbey Burton won silver at the the

Commonwealth Games. Another future star from Bath is former European

junior champion, Lawrence Clarke. The hurdler was Commonwealth bronze

in 2010. Katie Dorkins is part of the

Synchronised swimming squad. Swindon born, Jazz Carlin has hopes

of making it to the Aquatic Centre. One skill our first timers will

need is their ability to hold hold their nerve.

Laura Gallagher had to take a year off as she battled a crisis of

confidence. She is patron for the mental health charity charity MIND

and she recorded a video diary for us at the World Championships in

It is a bit scary and it looks so professional and knowing there is

going to be a lot of people coming to watch us and cheer us on and

when you go to any competition, especially something as massive as

this, I always find that I get little doubts. I think it is just

natural to feel, "Can I do this?" You know question yourself. We need

to get two girls in the top eight to get our place in the Olympics.

I am here with Emma, Kat and Amanda and we just finished our first

training session in the competition hall in Birmingham. We think it

went well. Very nervous. I just want it to go really well. My

training has been good. I have done everything I can possibly do. I

have got to do it on the day. So, with two Olympic places up for

grabs, the GB team needed two goals to make the final by finishing in

the top eight. The competitors must complete two routines. The first of

these is set. The judges are looking for a straight controlled

body, staying on the cross and keeping a consistent height. It's

not a bad routine for Laura. She loses it a bit, landing off centre,

but Paul sit back and finishes strongly. -- pools it back. As it

stands, Laura is qualified. The second routine is voluntary, so she

can make all the difference here. She has chosen a more difficult

routine in order to maximise her Again, she starts strongly, but

unfortunately, the nerves are starting to get to her, and she

loses control, almost falling off the trumpery altogether, which

results in a heavy penalty. It's not been one of her best

performances. A lot of pressure out there, and overall I am

disappointed because I could have done so much better. Just relief

that it is over. Probably more disappointment coming to me. He

missed opportunity. She is in third in we have calculated that there is

a possible seven more in front, so it is whether their nerves hold or

not. So we have to sit here and tell eight o'clock. -- until eight

o'clock. I ended up missing the final by just one place, so I'm

absolutely gutted. Fortunately, Catt Driscoll did qualify, giving

Britain won Olympic place. Now, it's between five goals to -- goals

to compete for that one place, and it will be hard because we are all

at a similar standard. Laura did get to jump again, and fared much

better in the team event. Standing on the podium was amazing. I want

to be doing that again. It makes all the hard work and all the hours

training just really worthwhile. Such a sensational feeling.

Olympics is not just about London. Hundreds of athletes will be

descending on our doorstep for training camps ahead of the Games.

The entire Great Britain Paralympics squad is going to be

based here, at the University of Bath, before going to the Olympics

village. They will be taking advantage of these incredible

facilities. In Beijing, our Paris Olympians came home with 102 medals.

Will a top this? Stephanie Mail would took three golds. For the men,

Anthony see Vince took bronze at the Euros. Last year, Lucy won

back-to-back women's doubles titles. And on horseback, look out that an

act done them who won three goals in Athens. Despite that vast array

of talent, very few of our Paris Olympians are household names. Then

rush Grove is looking to change that. He sprinted to the silver

medal, despite having a broken foot. He has been telling me about his

hopes for raising the profile of disability sport. In Sport and in

life, really, it is about being the best you can be. I want people to

see sport, disability sport, in a different way. That is slowly being

achieved through the examples that I and others are setting. Paris

Olympian, public speaker, and now a movie-star - since winning in

Beijing, Benn has become more than just an athlete. An independent

film-maker has spent the last three years following him, and tonight

his movie is getting its premier. It's quite a personal film. A lot

of people don't know this side of His friends and family are

gathering in his. As we head to meet them, there is a chance to ask

him what he thinks his film will say. The Paralympics are not the

younger brother of the Olympics any more. They are at the same level,

and that is important. Are you know this? No, not really. You're famous

now! Look, really all I want to say is thank you for turning up.

Obviously, you will see a lot of me in this film. I just hope you enjoy

it. His story is compelling subject matter. Born with cerebral palsy

and virtually death, his childhood was a challenge. They moved to a

special boarding school transformed his education and unearthed his

hidden talent. He would run everywhere. Once asked him to go

collect something from the laundry what was right on the other side of

quite a big school. When we went, I thought I would bring them up to

let them know he was on his way. By the time I rang them, he was

already there! What made him stand out? We have reunited him with a

talent scout who spotted him eight years ago. How did you choose me

over other people? It was that determination and that

wholeheartedness with which she threw yourself into the process. We

stood in awe of you. We thought, if we can't make something of that one,

I don't know what we need! great thing about being disabled is

that you have an opportunity to educate everybody else who is not

disabled. You almost, I feel, have a responsibility to do that. He is

I regular speaker in schools. Today, it is 6th formers. This is what I

really enjoy doing. This is my hobby on the side. Paralympic

competitors have the ability to inspire people even more because of

where they have got to and what they have gone through. I think he

is an absolute delight. I am driven by the idea that I want to get to a

point where society accepts disability in the same way that it

accepts ability. It's not just on about the medals for him, it's

about getting a message across as the bulk -- as well. The movie

premier has been a success. I was feeling the tension just like you

guys, even though I knew what was going to happen! His message has

been powerful. I kept wiping away tears from her eyes and hoping

nobody saw me. To hear your child talking as openly as he did there

is quite revealing, and make you feel very proud. It touched on

everything you could think of, and that is such a strong basis to work

from when you are making a film. Passionate off the track and

determined on it, this star of the silver screen it might also end up

with gold later this year. Getting to the top of your sport

can be tough, so it is rare to find more than one sporting superstar in

the same family. Martin Sinclair is the eldest of three brothers. His

siblings are professionals at Southampton and Swansea City.

Martin is hoping to make it a hat- trick, going for gold with the

Anne Sinclair, a hat-trick at Wembley! That's what it looks like.

The trappings of success that come with being a Premier League

footballer. Contrast this with Scott's older brother, Martin,

whose day starts helping pupils at a school. This is my dream, I

really wanted to do this when I was younger, help kids who are the same

as me. It's not really a job, to be honest. Martin was born with

cerebral palsy. He broke his hip at 15, meaning he also had used a

wheelchair. Do you want a ticket it forward? But football runs in the

family. His dad was semi- professional and both his brothers

are professionals. Scott is enjoying the high life with Swansea

City. There is no place they envy, though, and now Martin is getting

his term with the British Cerebral palsy team. We are to a different

people in different situations at the end of the day. -- we are two

different people. He is living his dream and I will hopefully be

living mind when I get picked for the 2012 Olympics. Martin has made

the last cut before the final selection for London. It is a tense

time, but that doesn't stop the banter about Martin's famous

brother. Here years. -- here he is. I think he thinks he is Scott! When

he's playing the game, he goes, Scott, pass it! What are you

doing?! Ever since he got that haircut, it's like, is that Scott?

Is that Scott? No, it's Martin! the family home, Scott and his mum

know the battle Martin has faced to get this far. He wears special

boots, which is a hard because we couldn't get the ball beats for him.

-- football boots for him. So we would buy different sizes and fill

them up with insults to make his left leg a bit longer. -- in soles.

He is an inspiration and he's been through a helluva lot, so hopefully

he can kick on now and get a place. To me, it's really no different at

all. GB qualified as host nation. Now, they face sides to train full-

time. But there is only one goal for Martin. It's cold, it's always

gold. Hopefully, the lads will get behind us, the fans, and make a

gold medal. After years spent following his brother's Careers,

Martin wants them to be cheering him on in September. Hopefully they

will be watching me if they are not training and supporting me like I

usually do for them! But they will, they are great brothers and

hopefully I can go out there and have a proud moment for the family.

Well, not that long before Martin, Laura, Pete and all of the West

Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls are right here, competing hard and

hoping for the experience of their lives. You can be with us every

step of the way by tuning into your local radio station. We are back on

Saturday with a winter youth games special. That BBC One at 1pm.

leave you with a reminder of just what the Olympics means far as.

It's every athlete's dream to run Were going to get it, we going to

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 4851 seconds

get it! Called the Great Britain! Good evening.

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