0:00:06 > 0:00:0814,000 competitors...
0:00:11 > 0:00:12..from over 200 nations.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17An audience of billions...
0:00:17 > 0:00:21and the never-ending quest for faster, higher, stronger.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28For the first time in a lifetime it's coming to these shores,
0:00:28 > 0:00:30so this week, Songs Of Praise gets ready
0:00:30 > 0:00:32for the greatest show on Earth.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37With the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
0:00:37 > 0:00:39just around the corner,
0:00:39 > 0:00:43we celebrate with great hymns from the Olympic borough of Greenwich.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45We'll catch up with some of Team GB's elite athletes
0:00:45 > 0:00:49and we've inspirational readings from star of Chariots Of Fire,
0:00:49 > 0:00:50Nigel Havers.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01I'm sure I wasn't the only one who watched the Olympic Games
0:01:01 > 0:01:05as a kid on television and dreamed of one day being an Olympic champion.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10The sad news is, my own sporting career peaked at the age of 12
0:01:10 > 0:01:13and very little has been written about it.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15But as a presenter, I've had the privilege of covering
0:01:15 > 0:01:17some of the biggest sporting events in the world.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20And they don't come much bigger than the Olympic Games.
0:01:21 > 0:01:22For both sets of Games,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25London has been split into six Olympic boroughs.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27We're in one of them, Greenwich,
0:01:27 > 0:01:29and you might recognise the grand buildings
0:01:29 > 0:01:31of the Old Royal Naval College.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35It's a place with surprising sporting pedigree.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39Henry VIII jousted here and built tennis courts and a bowling alley,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43and recent excavation work has unearthed some fascinating finds.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Old sporting equipment from the period
0:01:45 > 0:01:47when this site was a Royal Hospital For Seamen,
0:01:47 > 0:01:52where the disabled veterans played a series of fiercely competitive games in the grounds.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55And soon, people from all over the world will be coming here
0:01:55 > 0:01:59to see the 2012 equestrian events just across the road.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04The chapel behind me is already a popular tourist attraction.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Many come here for a peek and a wander,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09but it's also a thriving place of worship,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12and the setting for all our hymns on Songs Of Praise this week.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15We'll kick off with Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54This is the Lee Valley specialist training facility in London.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57It's a second home to many Team GB athletes,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00including sprinter Anyika Onuora.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02- ANNOUNCER:- 'And Onoura's going to take this.'
0:06:02 > 0:06:05We met up with her during her final preparations
0:06:05 > 0:06:08for the most important races of her life.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11It's pressure but it's a good pressure.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14You have uncertainty and doubt and that's OK.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16That's never a bad thing.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19I'm sure someone who does the average nine to five has an off day,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22but it's how you pick yourself up,
0:06:22 > 0:06:26remembering God never took you this far to fail you.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30It's my gift given from him,
0:06:30 > 0:06:35so my gift back is to make sure I become one of the best in the world.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37We know you've got a strong Christian faith.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40I just wondered how you square that. When you're on the track,
0:06:40 > 0:06:44how does that sit with that ultra-competitive edge
0:06:44 > 0:06:46that you've clearly got?
0:06:46 > 0:06:50You want to melt the person next to you!
0:06:50 > 0:06:54I want to melt them, take them out, do whatever I can to destroy them.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58I have that edge, that competitive edge,
0:06:58 > 0:07:02but also the faith that helps me.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05He's just there to help you along the way,
0:07:05 > 0:07:09and to hopefully watch you achieve what is that you're trying to do.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Marilyn Okoro is also based at Lee Valley.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16She's an 800 metre specialist,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20but has a shot at Olympic glory in the women's 4x400 relay team.
0:07:22 > 0:07:27I'm so excited to have an Olympics in, essentially, my home town.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31I can quite easily be at the centre
0:07:31 > 0:07:33from nine in the morning till six in the evening.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35It's a massive sacrifice for me.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37I don't get to spend a lot of time with my loved ones
0:07:37 > 0:07:39and people I really want to spend time with.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44But I really felt I was called to do what I'm doing on tracks.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47You said you called to do what you're doing.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50How important is your faith in God
0:07:50 > 0:07:53to who you are now and who you are when you're on the track?
0:07:53 > 0:07:56My faith is massive. God is at the centre of it all.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00I really believe if not for him I wouldn't be doing this.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Where he's brought me from to this is just amazing,
0:08:03 > 0:08:08and I just feel like I am a testament of his grace over my life.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13Do you pray to win or do you pray to compete well?
0:08:13 > 0:08:14I used to pray to win all the time.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17"Lord, please let me win. Amen, thanks."
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Erm... Yeah, but it doesn't work like that.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24- ANNOUNCER:- 'Marilyn Okoro, she's really going to have to work hard.'
0:08:24 > 0:08:26There's been so many up and downs,
0:08:26 > 0:08:30and challenges and I've wanted to walk away so many times,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33and that's when my faith really became massive.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37It was like, "Are you going to believe who Christ says you are,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40"or are you just going to let this take over?"
0:08:40 > 0:08:42I would love to win a medal,
0:08:42 > 0:08:48but if all I do in this team is just let one other person find Christ,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51I'm happy with that as well.
0:11:33 > 0:11:38Filmmakers have tried for decades to immortalise sporting heroes,
0:11:38 > 0:11:39often with mixed results.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42After all, there's nothing quite like live sport.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45But for me, there's one film that stands out above all others,
0:11:45 > 0:11:47an Oscar-winning masterpiece
0:11:47 > 0:11:50charting the story of a rather special Scotsman.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52The music wasn't bad either.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Be honest, at some stage we've all been inspired
0:11:54 > 0:11:57to try a little slow motion running.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00MUSIC: Theme from "Chariots Of Fire"
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Chariots Of Fire charts the progress of two British sprinters
0:12:03 > 0:12:05preparing for the 1924 Olympic Games,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12A strong Christian, Eric refused to run in the 100 metres,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15his favoured event, as the heats were run on a Sunday.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18Instead, he ran in the 400 metres and won gold.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24The Eric Liddell story has inspired many over the years,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27but for me, it's not so much what he achieved on the track,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29but the Christian life he lived off it.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32He spent much of his later life as a missionary in China,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35but it was here at Eltham College where he was educated,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38just a stone's throw from Greenwich.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40We are quite literally looking for Eric.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42So where is he, fellas?
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Here he is. He was captain of the cricket in 1919.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47Skipper in the middle, obviously.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49Yeah. He's...
0:12:49 > 0:12:53- There with his brother. - OK. This is his eldest brother.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55I think the great thing about Eric Liddell
0:12:55 > 0:12:58is that you hear about his story from day one.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02When I joined in Year Three, everyone would sit in the pews at the front
0:13:02 > 0:13:04and look at the stained-glass window.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08I think, obviously, it's incredible that you can firstly be an Olympian,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11but the fact that you can sacrifice potential success,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15obviously he didn't run on the Sunday, he didn't run the 110 yards,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18he was willing to sacrifice his success
0:13:18 > 0:13:20just to prove how strong his faith was.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24And to say, "Look, I'm not running, that's the way I'm going to do it.
0:13:24 > 0:13:25"I'll run the 400 if I have to."
0:13:25 > 0:13:29I think that also shows the selfless nature of Eric Liddell.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34And in his later life, he went out to China to do missionary work,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36which is a very selfless thing to do.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40He's leaving everything he knows behind, to a foreign country.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43And it shows how selfless he is.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45His brother was a brilliant athlete, as well.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47I remember looking at the records
0:13:47 > 0:13:50and he was only 16, his brother was 18.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55And they held every record for every event.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57First and second, first and second.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01It's just amazing that they have stood for such a long time, as well.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04I've been reliably informed you're a bit of a speedster,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07so how close to the 110 yards do you get?
0:14:07 > 0:14:09I'm nowhere near the standard of Eric Liddell.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11You've got a bit of work to do?
0:14:11 > 0:14:13I've still got a lot of work to do, actually.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Character-wise, as well.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20If you come to school at Eltham College, which has its heritage
0:14:20 > 0:14:23and you're educated in the context of Eric Liddell and his values,
0:14:23 > 0:14:25it's not the sort of thing you forget.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28Eric Liddell was just a fantastic man.
0:14:28 > 0:14:33You've been taught to live your life the way Eric Liddell lived his.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35Model ours around his.
0:14:35 > 0:14:36He wouldn't approve of us saying that
0:14:36 > 0:14:39because he would want us to say we should live our life like Christ.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41But if we could get close to Eric Liddell,
0:14:41 > 0:14:42that would be great as well.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Have you not known?
0:14:52 > 0:14:54Have you not heard?
0:14:54 > 0:14:57The everlasting God, the Lord,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59the creator of the ends of the earth,
0:14:59 > 0:15:03neither faints nor is weary.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06His understanding is unsearchable.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08He gives power to the weak.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10And to those who have no might,
0:15:10 > 0:15:12he increases strength.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16Even the youths shall faint and be weary.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18And the young men shall utterly fall.
0:15:18 > 0:15:23But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26They shall mount up with wings like eagles.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28They shall run and not be weary.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33They shall walk and not faint.
0:17:48 > 0:17:53The winner of Year Seven 100 metres and 200 metres...
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Eric Liddell's spirit lives on in Eltham College,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00not least at the annual sports day, where he first showed his running talents.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03But this year, they welcomed a very special guest.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Patricia Liddell Russell is the eldest daughter of Eric Liddell,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09and she made a rare visit to the UK from her home in Canada
0:18:09 > 0:18:11to present the sports day prizes
0:18:11 > 0:18:14and share her memories with Songs of Praise.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20The last time I saw him, I was actually six-years-old.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23And people say, how can you remember anything from six?
0:18:23 > 0:18:26But I remember that summer in Scotland
0:18:26 > 0:18:32as, er...one of the most wonderful summers that we've ever had.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34And he... SHE CHUCKLES
0:18:34 > 0:18:37He was lots of fun. He was lots of fun.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40He had a winning personality.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42People just loved him.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46And his faith sort of shone out of him.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50He loved to run. He loved to run.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53And I think it expressed his joy of life.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55MUSIC: Theme from "Chariots of Fire"
0:19:01 > 0:19:04The film touches on the Olympics and the struggle,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08the difference between the two runners. The dynamics.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13But his real life began after the Olympics.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15And the important part.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19As my mother said, he very seldom spoke about the Olympics.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22It was great fun.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25But there were other things that had to be done
0:19:25 > 0:19:26that were more important.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31At the height of his fame, Eric left for China
0:19:31 > 0:19:34to follow in his family's footsteps as a missionary.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37Two decades later, the Second World War made China a dangerous place
0:19:37 > 0:19:42and Eric sent his wife and his young family to the safety of Canada.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45But he stayed behind. He continued to serve others,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48even when interned in a Japanese prison camp,
0:19:48 > 0:19:52before falling ill just months before the end of the war.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56I think he thought he'd had a nervous breakdown and this,
0:19:56 > 0:19:58this was distressing to him
0:19:58 > 0:20:02because he thought his faith should be strong enough to carry him through.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05And, of course, he had an extraordinary, extraordinary faith.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09But he had a brain tumour growing.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12And at the end, and they had a hospital there,
0:20:12 > 0:20:17and he asked the band, I think it was a Salvation Army band,
0:20:17 > 0:20:19to play his favourite hymn.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22And they played outside the window.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27Be Still My Soul, to the tune of Finlandia.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33This hymn has always been very special to us as a family.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Somehow, it just brings us closer to him.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41MUSIC: "Be Still My Soul"
0:20:47 > 0:20:50I wish I'd known him more.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53I knew him through my mother and as a small child.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55But one of my sons said the other day,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58"Gosh, Mum, I wish I'd known him.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00"You know? I wish I had known him."
0:21:00 > 0:21:03And I said, "Don't we all."
0:21:03 > 0:21:04Yeah.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48A bronze medallist at the Paralympic World Cup,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Anne Wafula Strike made history in 2004
0:23:51 > 0:23:54when she became the first wheelchair racer from East Africa
0:23:54 > 0:23:57to compete at the Paralympic Games.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Having moved to the UK with her English husband,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03she now hopes to represent Team GB at London 2012.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06But when she was growing up in Kenya
0:24:06 > 0:24:09and learning to live with a disability from childhood polio,
0:24:09 > 0:24:11she didn't even know the Games existed.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16It's been a long journey, but, um...
0:24:16 > 0:24:19I mean, what I can say, it's been a blessing.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23It was very difficult growing up with a disability.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25Both for myself and my family.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28There was a lot of stigma attached to a disability in Africa
0:24:28 > 0:24:31and so many people thought I'd been bewitched.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34They thought it was witchcraft.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37And some people thought it was a punishment from God.
0:24:38 > 0:24:43You know, when I was growing up, I used to be very angry at God.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46But I look back and I say that
0:24:46 > 0:24:49God wanted me to go through that.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53I knew that I could still serve God.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58I could still tell the world that God loves us the way we are.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01Where did you start becoming interested?
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Where did you start to realise you had real talent for athletics?
0:25:04 > 0:25:07The year the Commonwealth Games were being held in Manchester.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10- 2002?- In 2002, yeah.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13And I remember sitting in my front room going through the channels
0:25:13 > 0:25:18and I saw these amazing women in their racing chairs.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21And I was, like, this is what I want to do.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23"I could do that."
0:25:23 > 0:25:25I said, I want to do that and I want to be competitive
0:25:25 > 0:25:27and I want to beat some of them.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31In 2004, I qualified to go to Athens.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34That was my first Paralympics.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37It was amazing.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39I mean, the atmosphere was just electrifying.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46I know that I'm not just defined by the medals,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49I'm not defined by how many world records I've broken.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53To me, every day is an achievement.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Just for me to get on the start line,
0:25:55 > 0:25:58push and get to the finish line.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00It's an achievement.
0:26:03 > 0:26:08# Here's to the heroes
0:26:08 > 0:26:14# Those few who dare
0:26:14 > 0:26:21# Heading for glory
0:26:21 > 0:26:27# Living a prayer
0:26:27 > 0:26:34# Here's to the heroes
0:26:34 > 0:26:39# Who change our lives
0:26:39 > 0:26:46# Thanks to the heroes
0:26:46 > 0:26:52# Freedom survives
0:27:01 > 0:27:08# Here's to the heroes
0:27:08 > 0:27:14# Who never rest
0:27:14 > 0:27:19# They are the chosen
0:27:19 > 0:27:25# We are the blessed
0:27:25 > 0:27:32# Here's to the heroes
0:27:32 > 0:27:38# Who aim so high
0:27:38 > 0:27:44# Here's to the heroes
0:27:44 > 0:27:50# Who do or die
0:27:50 > 0:27:56# Here's to the heroes
0:27:56 > 0:28:02# Who aim so high
0:28:02 > 0:28:09# Here's to the heroes
0:28:09 > 0:28:15# Who do or die
0:28:16 > 0:28:24# Here's to the heroes
0:28:26 > 0:28:34# Who do
0:28:34 > 0:28:42# Or die. #
0:28:54 > 0:28:56Therefore we also,
0:28:56 > 0:28:59since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
0:28:59 > 0:29:01let us lay aside every weight,
0:29:01 > 0:29:05and the sin which so easily ensnares us,
0:29:05 > 0:29:08and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
0:29:08 > 0:29:10looking unto Jesus,
0:29:10 > 0:29:13the author and finisher of our faith.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
0:29:17 > 0:29:19despising the shame,
0:29:19 > 0:29:24and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
0:29:27 > 0:29:28You might be one of those
0:29:28 > 0:29:31who thinks the Olympic Games are just that, games.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35But there are times when sport can inspire like nothing else.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38And who knows how many of those magical moments we'll see in that very stadium
0:29:38 > 0:29:41and the other Olympic venues over the coming weeks.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43I'll let you in on a secret,
0:29:43 > 0:29:44I'm quite excited.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46Thanks for watching and goodbye.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33Next week, it's the final Olympic countdown.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37Aled will be taking a look around some of the Olympic venues
0:33:37 > 0:33:40before the crowds arrive and talking to rower Debbie Flood
0:33:40 > 0:33:42about going for gold this summer.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45All that, with the usual offering of fantastic music.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd