Episode 1 Blue Peter's Big Olympic Tour

Caerphilly, get ready for your Olympic Countdown! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

Good morning. Welcome to Blue Peter's Big Olympic Tour. We are

following the torch around the UK to bring you what you've need to

know about the Olympics. We are starting right here, right now, in

car Philippe Baku, South Wales. -- I love it here. We have a map and

we are not afraid to use it. We are in Caerphilly. Does that happen

every time we say the word, Caerphilly? We have an action-

packed 30 minutes for you. Here is what is still to come. Coming up

today, the Blue Peter Olympic challenge. We take on four famous

faces to try to win gold. We will be joined by Steven Redgrave in our

super strength test. Have we got an exclusive for you? Check out the

first Olympic sketch later in the shirt. -- show. The Olympic flame

arrived this week in Lands End. will report on where the torch has

been and where it will be going. We will find out where it has been so

far and what to expect from our trip in South Wales. Hello and

welcome to Caerphilly. Today, the Olympic Torch will be passing

through my home town. This week the Olympic Torch travelled from

Cornwall, all the way to Cardiff. It arrived on a plane from Greece

and touched down in Cornwall. David Beckham lit the ceremonial cauldron.

The relay studied its 8000 mile route at Land's End. We have seen

it being carried by many heroes and a few famous faces like will.i.am,

Didier Drogba and Zara Phillips. It arrived last night in Cardiff. Now

for a quick tour off some of my favourite places in the area. I am

at a forest which is just outside of Caerphilly. There is a massive

bike trail. There is a totem pole in the middle of the Forest. It

tells the story of a Welsh explorer who went to America to try to find

a tribe who spelt -- spoke Welsh. This memorial is here to remember

the 440 men who lost their lives. It was a tragedy in the area. I

hope you like what you have seen. See you soon. Brilliant! Here it is

James and his crack team of helpers. You made that film yourself. Maybe

you could be a world-class Olympian. Are you looking forward to anything

in particular? Probably the cycling. Maybe you could introduce a new

sport - running with the camera? Maybe. It is pretty expensive.

Thank you very much for that. Jordan and Clary, it is fair to say

you are pretty excited about the Olympics. Why are you excited?

is in the UK and you get to seat all the famous Olympians battling

for gold medals and everything. What about you? I am looking

forward to seeing the torch go by and the swimming as well. We can

actually see where the torch is now. It is on its way to Swansea. If you

live nearby, you might recognise that area. It is heading here

shortly. We have footage from earlier. You get goose bumps when

you see that. It is exciting that it is happening in our country and

it is on its way to Caerphilly. Not many people can say they had won

five Olympic gold medals but we are very lucky. We have one with us

right now. It is the legendary rare and one of Britain's greatest

Olympians, says Steve Redgrave. -- Sir. What a great crowd!

Olympic fever is gripping the nation. Are you feeling it? I got

involved in the bid 12 years ago. It seemed such a long way away and

now it is days away. I am sure you remember the year zero Macro with

fond memories when you travel to the other side of the world. --

2000. So Sydney was the host of the summer Olympics and it was hot

competition. They have gone down in history as one of the best modern

Olympics to date. Not only for sporting achievements but also

flair and style. At first no one could believe that Sir Steve

Redgrave was competing. After winning his 4th Olympic gold in

Atlanta, he said this. If anyone sees me going anywhere near a boat,

you have my permission to shoot me. He was diagnosed with did --

diabetes. Despite that, he still got in the water. Watch out for

Italy! Great Britain on the line. Great Britain get the gold medal.

There after winning five gold medals, starting back in 1984, and

finishing in the year 2000, says Steve Redgrave really is a great

Olympian. -- Sir. That is because you are a legend. That is one of

those iconic moments. Do you ever tire of saying that? It does not

feel that long ago. It is 12 years ago. It was my oldest and youngest

in that shot. My eldest is 21 and my youngest is 14. You are not just

top of your game but top of your game for so many years. We would

like to say we think you are incredible. We give an award a way

to very special people and that is the gold Blue Peter badge. We would

like to present you with your very own gold Blue Peter badge. That is

very special - a very special indeed. Should it not be five?

are all going nuts about the Olympics but how will the athletes

be feeling? A lot of them still need to qualify to get to the Games.

Jessica Ennis is competing this weekend. Her selection has been

finalised but it is a very important weekend for her. It is

the rowing world Cup this weekend. Today is the semi-finals today and

tomorrow is the finals. Most selection is about four to six

weeks before the Games. A lot of people think they're going but it

will not be rubber-stamped before the time. They will be feeling the

pressure. We will test your strength later. Each week we will

get an insider's guide to an Olympic event. We will be speaking

to Andy Murray about 10 s and Beth Tweddell will be giving us the low-

High, I and Dai Greene, and this is your be Peter guide to the Olympic

hurdles. Dai Greene is a Commonwealth and European gold

medal hurdler. The Olympic hurdles events are 100 metres for women,

110 metres for men. And 400 metres for both. It is not just Dai Greene

who has set his sights on goal. They have a number of medal

hopefuls with Andy Turner and Perry shakes Drayton. Just before the

race starts, you are waiting for the command to go on your marks.

Everyone is looking at you. Silence descends on the stadium. When the

gun goes, I think, ran as fast as you can. Sprint the first 100

metres. After that it is executing my race plan. You cross the line

first and you realise you have achieved the goal you have set out

to do. It is an amazing sensation. It is about 160 strides and a need

to be spot on. If I am 30 centimetres away from my take-off

point, it seriously affects my race. I've finished 7th in the World

Championship final. When I was a younger, my main love was football.

I grew up idealising Ryan Giggs. I've taught myself to use my left

foot just to be like him. I could hurdle off both legs because of

this. That separates me from other guys in the world at the moment. It

is all thanks to Ryan Giggs. I found out I had epilepsy when I was

17. It was not easy. I had good friends and family around me. I

would never let it dominate my life or limit me in my aspirations all

dreams. My biggest threat will be coming from the Americans. They

took gold, silver and bronze at the last Olympics. Aynho I will have to

run something fantastic to beat them on the day. -- I know of. If I

give 100%, hopefully that will be enough. That was Dai Greene. This

is still to come. Which sporting celebrity be cheering in the

hurdling challenge? Watch out for the Horrible Histories sketch!

so bad at the hurdles. I am now in the rest of the park. When you come

here after 10 o'clock, there are loads of activities you can do.

This is the Wellcome Trust tent. It is a great machine you can have a

go on. It is showing the sequence of what happens when you jump. We

will wait for the system to restart and then I will have a go to a

right to see if says Steve Redgrave If you're watching this at home,

join in. Once you've got your countdown, you jump into the air

using as much force as you can. Try that at home. It will show what

I've achieved. It is also a slow- motion. You are looking for the

peak in that little read out. Sir Steve will have a go. He is an

Olympian. Let's see what happens. It is monstrous! That was nearly

off the charts. Your feet almost disappeared. You then move on to

your next part of the tent. This is brilliant. When you're an athlete,

you have to think about all parts of your body. This is an infra-red

scanner that you can place your hand on. It shows the veins in your

hands. It shows how the blood is being transported around the body.

The blood gets pumped full of oxygen and it heads to your muscles.

You can take pictures of this to show your grandma. There are loads

more things you can do in here. Make sure you come along and try it.

A beautiful day down here so come down and say hello. You can see the

sport behind the science. Horrible histories fans, this is the moment

you have been waiting for. We have got a series of exclusive sporting

sketches all about the ancient Games and the first on describes

how the marathon really began. -- It's for 90 BC, you join us in

ancient Greece for what should be a memorable long distance runner.

course starts right here. Can you keep the noise down? This as a live

broadcast. Thanks. The course starts right here at the Battle of

Marathon where the Athenian troops looks set to win an unexpected

victory against the massed ranks of the Persian army. This is the first

time a 25 mile distance has been run. We should really give it a

name. That's right. The course runs from Marathon to Athens so we

should obviously call it an Athens. Although this is the Battle of

Marathon. You are right. Let's call it battle. Unbelievable. I'm off to

talk about the favourite. He hello, what do you think your chances of

winning are? Pretty good, feeling confident. Can you remind us why

you were running to Athens? To take the message back home that we have

beaten the Persians. The race hasn't begun yet and I can't help

but notice that you seem a little bit out of breath already. Over the

last couple of days I've done 150 miles training run to spotter and

back to ask for their help. Wow. Have you got enough in the tank for

another 25 miles? There's only one way to find out, wish me luck.

they're off. Wish me luck. Good luck. Thank you. And they are off!

He makes a great start in first and last place. Can't wait to see what

happens at the finish line. This is the first time the course has been

run and what a challenging course it is. He really has a mountain to

climb. A big hill, anyway! The route ends with a steep climb into

Athens. That is going to be a real challenge in the heat of the Sun.

Athenian athletes faded but he is about to finish the first ever 25

mile marathon run. Call it Marathon, that is a great name. Really? Here

he comes. The poor boy looks exhausted. People of Athens, we

have won a great victory. I think he's dead. That will make the post-

race interview very, very difficult indeed. It has been such a great

race. The crowd has been amazing. Give everything. Is he all right?

You can see more new sketches later this summer. The Olympics is all

about testing physical ability and one part of that his drink. Each

week we are going to test the muscles of a celebrity guest.

pressure is on. Who thinks Sir Steve Redgrave is one big lump of

muscle. That was the mums! You will now prove it by hitting that as

hard as you can. The idea is to make it go up and hit the bell. You

are the first person to do this. You are setting the standard.

will definitely be in the lead! Let's give him a countdown.

That is how you do it. There's a slight mishap. This is also the

leaderboard and there's no way I can reach that high. Would you

stick your face right at the top? People know where to aim. Now it is

time for the first of our Blue Peter Olympic challenges. We got

together four celebrities and set out to find Blue Peter's ultimate

athlete. Over the next nine weeks you'll see our own mini Olympics.

We will be put through our paces and one of us will be at the top of

the paid him and one will be in the changing room feeling sorry for

ourselves. It is time to hand over Welcome to the Blue Peter bid

Olympic challenge. This is where Helen, Barney and four celebrity

friends will be competing in nine Olympic sports. On the track, in

the pool and on the court. They will be tested to the max. Who will

be setting the pace? This is the Sopranos singing sensation law

right. King of the strictly dance floor, Brendan Cole. No problem.

Former Ennerdale actress Adil silver. -- Ennerdale. The MC and

reality TV star Romeo. Not forgetting of course the Queen of

Blue Peter, Helen Skelton. And the final athlete, our very own Barney

Athletes, this is what it is all about. I have with me for medals.

It is bronze, silver and gold. Over nine weeks, you will be competing.

Points will be on offer and three of you will walk away with one of

these. The ultimate is the gold. How are you feeling? Terrified.

clues are behind you. Our first event is sprint hurdles. You will

need an explosive start, lightning speed and serious amounts of

agility. We're not just going to throw you in there. Please welcome

UK Athletics hurdling coach Roger Devlin. What makes a good hurdler?

First thing, courage. Second thing, Speed. Third thing, mobility. We

will go inside in a minute and we will show you how to run over

hurdles and not jump over them. you get it wrong, it can hurt. Good

motivational speech! That the secret. They are all yours. I fear

for Roger, he has got just one hour to get this lot in touch -- tip-top

shape. The step pattern for Adele is a little bit like a pigeon!

have to do three strides between each thing. I estimated mind at

about 9 1/2. I think Romeo is hiding his eyes. It is not sunny in

here. I think that is because he is fiercely watching everybody else.

Are you psyching out the opposition? It is just an early

morning. I had about three hours' sleep. They may not be admitting it,

but everyone is taking the chance to check out their rivals. They

always have these amazing legs that go on forever. They can just walk

over it! Brendan is insanely good. I suppose he is not dancing over

them. The others are worried about Roger has shown you the way. We

will now see an expert. Go wild for We have two races for you, and

men's race and the women's race. All that separates them from glory

is 60 metres and five hurdles. This is the height for the women. 69

centimetres. For the men, 84 centimetres. To give you an idea of

how hard it is for the prose, this is over a metre high. You go 9.14

metres to hurdle number two, then three... And then an almighty

sprint to the finish line. Let's handover to the commentator,

way. Helen Skelton looks incredibly focused. As stars and Dell. Watch

out for Laura on the outside. Pretty even to the first hurdle.

Laura has a big lead already. Look at that technique. Helen is looking

at second place. Lawro wins by a mile! Who finishes second? Helen.

And Del really struggling for any rhythm and length of stride. Laura

rhythm and length of stride. Laura made it look very easy. They may be

hugging now, but I wonder if they hugging now, but I wonder if they

will do that as the competition progresses. Over to the men.

Brendan Cole looks supremely confident, he is the man to beat

with his dancing feet. But the hurdles can trip up anyway. I'm not

sure if Romeo can see through those shades! Does Barney have fear of

confidence in his eyes? A very even start. It is between Romeo and

Brendan. Brendan lengthening his stride pattern. He takes it very

comfortable -- comfortably. Barney did not get started, coming in in

third place. It was that second hurdle where Romeo really tripped

up. Comfortable for Brendan. The cheeky glance behind him because

cheeky glance behind him because the others were bus-ride away and

he knew it. Congratulations, that was brilliant. You have completed

the first step. Shall we do the.? After the first event, one point,

Barney and the Dell. Finishing second with two points, Romeo and

Helen. Anne Darwin has today with three points, Brendan and Laura.

Nine events in total, this is the start of a long journey. Well done,

We had a nice time. I enjoyed myself immensely. Let's see how the

leader board stands at the moment. There are only three medals at the

end and it is very early days. At Dell and on eight are in the bronze

medal positions. Myself and Romeo sit in the silver-medal position.

But the ones to beat are Laura and Brendan, who are at the top of the

board. Steve, I'm struggling a bit. What it can you give me? Don't

expect a telegram for selection from the Olympics! Maybe next week.

A little bit more practice. Practice makes perfect. Training.

Get some power in my quads. just don't train yet. Do's and

squats during the last bit. If you are anywhere near here, come and

see us because we will be here all day. Steve will be sticking around.

Loads of things you can do. You can have a go at sports commentating.

You can test your body in the tent over there. Come along and join in

the fund. You don't need a ticket, it is absolutely free to get in and

you will get to see an Olympic legend right here. Just turn to

tell you what is happening next week. -- time. I get a sneak peek

at the Olympic village and I get to make some beds. Very neat! It is

part two of our Olympic challenge and time for a nerve-racking

penalty shoot-out. Will they show my penalty? It was a cracker! We've

also got Rav Wilding joining us and also a very special guest. That is