0:00:02 > 0:00:04- 'Here's Kelly Holmes.' - 'The crowd are on their feet!'
0:00:04 > 0:00:07'What a start!'
0:00:07 > 0:00:09'Denise Lewis - Olympic champion!'
0:00:09 > 0:00:12'And Rebecca Adlington is bringing it home...'
0:00:23 > 0:00:25'Great Britain get the gold medal!'
0:00:27 > 0:00:29'Yes! Yes!'
0:00:29 > 0:00:32'Kelly Holmes for Great Britain! What a performance!'
0:00:32 > 0:00:34'Is the Olympic champion!'
0:00:34 > 0:00:36'You were absolutely brilliant!'
0:00:36 > 0:00:38'Great Britain takes gold!'
0:00:51 > 0:00:53CLAMOURING VOICES
0:00:53 > 0:00:57INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS
0:01:04 > 0:01:06The British Olympic Ball,
0:01:06 > 0:01:10usually it would mark the end of another year of fierce competition
0:01:10 > 0:01:12for many of our finest sportsmen and women.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24But this year, a trip down the golden carpet will only serve to remind them
0:01:24 > 0:01:29of just how close they are to competing at London 2012.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39And here is where it will all start come next July.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42The track set to be graced by the likes of Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis
0:01:42 > 0:01:46is now in place waiting for the Games to begin.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49And in this edition of British Olympic Dreams,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53we bring you shooting stars and a very special guest
0:01:53 > 0:01:56with a British Olympic dream of his own.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00But first, perhaps the most individual single-minded of events -
0:02:00 > 0:02:01the marathon.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05Paula Radcliffe is the fastest woman in history over the gruelling distance,
0:02:05 > 0:02:07but so far Olympic success has eluded her
0:02:07 > 0:02:11with illness and injury blighting her campaigns in Athens and Beijing.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16Now a mother of two, the former world champion made a successful return to action in Berlin
0:02:16 > 0:02:21and is ready to focus everything on one last shot at gold at London 2012.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Eddie Butler gives us his take on this fascinating story.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Sometimes it's not entirely obvious
0:02:35 > 0:02:39that there can be any pleasure in doing this.
0:02:39 > 0:02:40'And there is Paula Radcliffe,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43'her Olympic dream is absolutely shattered.'
0:02:45 > 0:02:49And, sometimes, it's all too clear that there isn't any pleasure at all.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52'She's stopping. Paula Radcliffe has stepped off the track.'
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Over the course of two hours and 20 odd minutes -
0:02:57 > 0:03:02depending on the heat, the contours, the pace, the pain -
0:03:02 > 0:03:05a lot can go through the mind of an athlete, some of it negative.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Can I still do this?
0:03:07 > 0:03:11What I notice more is that it just takes me longer to recover
0:03:11 > 0:03:13as I'm getting older.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15So I'll do a really good session
0:03:15 > 0:03:16and I'll think, "Yeah, that's great.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19"That felt really good. I felt like I did ten years ago running."
0:03:19 > 0:03:21And then, I'll go out the next day and I think,
0:03:21 > 0:03:22"God, I feel like a granny today."
0:03:22 > 0:03:26It's not so, so important to me that I'm going to make it
0:03:26 > 0:03:29so that I can't still run for pleasure for as long as I want to do
0:03:29 > 0:03:30and I'm not going to still be able
0:03:30 > 0:03:32to run around with the kids in five years.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34I'm not going to push it to that point.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40But what do the only really important people in my life think about what I do?
0:03:42 > 0:03:46I really want to obviously be the best that I can for them.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50But then, that's so much bigger than just being the best that I can on the track.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52So I then go through all these guilty things.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56"Oh, if I'm focused on my training, am I being as good a mother as I should be?"
0:03:56 > 0:03:59And that's kind of more important to them obviously,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02it is that I am the best mother that I can be.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04I don't think it really matters to them.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Isla knows that I go out and run, but she just says to me,
0:04:07 > 0:04:11"Mum, why do you want to run faster than anyone? It doesn't matter anyway."
0:04:15 > 0:04:18It would be quite rational, even when the brain is not stressed,
0:04:18 > 0:04:23to work out an argument for stopping for good. End of.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25'She had to come here and perform well.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29'She had to come here and post a time and she's done that.'
0:04:29 > 0:04:31But when this is what you do
0:04:31 > 0:04:34and when you know you can do it as well as this,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37then it is never easy to stop.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40I would find it very, very hard to drop out of a race now,
0:04:40 > 0:04:45even if I know, or I knew in my mind, that it was the best thing to do.
0:04:45 > 0:04:46Even running in New York in 2001,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49I can remember actually going through in the race and thinking,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52"If I didn't have all that history, I probably would just step off,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55"because I'm injured and I'm making this worse and it's silly.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57"And I'm not even going to get a good result out of it."
0:04:57 > 0:04:59But then, the other part of your brain is thinking,
0:04:59 > 0:05:03"No, it's just...the repercussions it would cause are just not worth the hassle.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05"You might as well just run on."
0:05:05 > 0:05:07But that was just for New York.
0:05:07 > 0:05:08I mean, if it had been at Olympic Games,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12I definitely wouldn't even have been thinking about finishing.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16And part of that is because of the criticism and everything from Athens,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19but part of it is also because it is the Olympics Games
0:05:19 > 0:05:23and you still, you still keep trying, you still keep fighting in there.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28And in the mind of an athlete who does this for a living and for love,
0:05:28 > 0:05:32then the thought of carrying on, not stopping, is a driving force
0:05:32 > 0:05:35through the pain barrier because there is a goal.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38If I didn't have London 2012 to look to,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42maybe I would have thought, "You know what, I've done a lot."
0:05:42 > 0:05:45But then, I had a couple of weeks where I just thought,
0:05:45 > 0:05:46"I'm not going to this any more."
0:05:46 > 0:05:48And two days later, I'm back there,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51"No, I still want to do it, I still want to do this, I want to try and do it."
0:05:53 > 0:05:55# The sun is filling up the room
0:05:55 > 0:05:58# And I can hear you dreaming
0:05:58 > 0:06:02# Do you feel the way I do
0:06:02 > 0:06:05# Right now? #
0:06:05 > 0:06:07I think if I look at my career,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11the Olympics is missing I feel that I haven't yet gone
0:06:11 > 0:06:15and performed as well as I was capable of doing,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17especially in the marathon.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21I'm a big believer in perseverance and I think, "Well, I've been to four Olympic Games.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25"Surely the fifth one I'm going to get a little bit of luck."
0:06:25 > 0:06:29And, even if it appears that there may not be much pleasure in doing this,
0:06:29 > 0:06:35this is a passion, this is a beautiful obsession that obvious pain cannot hide.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37I know that if people are looking at it from the outside,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40yeah, on paper, it's not my best shot.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44I am going to be 38 and it's probably not the strongest chance I'm ever going to have.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47The most important thing is to be there healthy on the day
0:06:47 > 0:06:48and just to enjoy it
0:06:48 > 0:06:51and what I really want is to run well in an Olympics and just to walk away and say,
0:06:51 > 0:06:53"Yeah, I gave it 100%.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55"And, OK, maybe it wasn't at the peak of my career,
0:06:55 > 0:06:59"but it was the best that I could do and it was a good result."
0:06:59 > 0:07:03Now, I defy anyone not to enjoy coming to this colourful arena
0:07:03 > 0:07:04to watch handball next year.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09The sport itself is fast, furious and might just be one of the stars of the Games.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13Britain's women are certainly hoping to make an impression here.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16We hooked up with them as the Army put them through their paces.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18Check, one, two!
0:07:25 > 0:07:27Today, we're going to take them through a typical day
0:07:27 > 0:07:31that we would give the young lads and lassies who want to join the Army,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34so we're going to put them through the Physical Selection Standard.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Bring the knees up.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41- How many are you going for?- Ten!
0:07:43 > 0:07:48I couldn't grab the bar. My makeup is all sweated off.
0:07:48 > 0:07:49Yes!
0:07:49 > 0:07:51We've just realised they've lifted 30 kilo,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54which is what they need to get in the Army.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57That's a very good standard, so, yeah, very impressive.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07This is awesome!
0:08:07 > 0:08:10Hurry up!
0:08:13 > 0:08:15It really has been good fun.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17The food you get is really quite good.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19It's full of protein, full of energy and they should enjoy it.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Mm, rice pudding. Yummy!
0:08:22 > 0:08:24- Do you want tuna pasta? - No, thank you.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26- Do you want paella?- No, thank you.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Do you want sweet Thai salmon?
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Yuck!
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Look at all the worms!
0:08:36 > 0:08:40You're going to work as a team to get across whatever obstacle we put in front of you.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42I think it's really good for us,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45like, especially to know when to talk and who's good at what,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47and that's something that we really use in handball as well.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53It's good to see if we could get in the Army.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56- Really good effort. - Would you sign them up?
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Differently. Now, get them in, get them in.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02My British Olympic dream, along with Chris' as well, would be to medal.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05That'd be why I am here every day,
0:09:05 > 0:09:08why I've played this sport since I was four years old,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12and why so many people have put their effort and time into helping me get there.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23Now, we welcome a special guest star to the show - Ian Thorpe.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25OK, so he's not actually British,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28but he does have a very British Olympic dream,
0:09:28 > 0:09:30as it was a trip to this building under construction
0:09:30 > 0:09:34that persuaded him to end five years of retirement from swimming.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38Nick Hope was granted exclusive access to his secret Swiss training base
0:09:38 > 0:09:40ahead of his imminent return to competition.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51'I am actually more worried about if I can do this.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55'I don't think anyone's done this before.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59'I think, with the timeframe that I have, realistically, it's probably too short.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03'There's all of these things going against me.'
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Chances are I am going to fail at this
0:10:05 > 0:10:09and I've actually...I've become comfortable with that.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14'In my mind, this is helping me, you know, it's making it harder.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16'So, you know, I am more focused.'
0:10:16 > 0:10:20It's the worst possible career move you can make.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24But it didn't do this for my career, I did this because I wanted to swim again.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35It just happened one day
0:10:35 > 0:10:37I was flying from Chicago to London
0:10:37 > 0:10:41and I was on the plane and, you know, I was watching a bad movie,
0:10:41 > 0:10:43as we all do on planes
0:10:43 > 0:10:47and, you know, I thought about swimming again.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50'It was the first time that those reasons why I wouldn't want to swim
0:10:50 > 0:10:53'didn't seem as significant as they had previously.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55'So this was very strange for me
0:10:55 > 0:10:57'because I'd been so dismissive of it before.'
0:10:59 > 0:11:04I was in London, actually doing some work for the BBC,
0:11:04 > 0:11:08'and I actually, I went to the pool and it was still being built, you know,
0:11:08 > 0:11:13'but I could kind of hear what the crowd would be like and kind of smell what it would be like.'
0:11:13 > 0:11:17That kind of gives you a bit of a spur along.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21But then, you know, I had to sit for a few more days and kind of wait.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26And then I jumped on a plane back to Australia and I started training when I got back home.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30'When I started, I had to have this strategy
0:11:30 > 0:11:33'of doing this under the radar, kind of thing.
0:11:33 > 0:11:38'And so, I was training, I think, at seven or eight different pools throughout Sydney,'
0:11:38 > 0:11:41so that I didn't appear to be at a pool more than once per week.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44'You know, it seems a little crazy, a little paranoid,
0:11:44 > 0:11:46'but I realised that, at the very beginning,'
0:11:46 > 0:11:49if people were to sniff that I was thinking about doing this,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52I would have run a million miles.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54I had to work out, you know, what this was like,
0:11:54 > 0:11:56what swimming was like again.
0:11:56 > 0:12:01Thorpe did travel a few miles though, around 10,000,
0:12:01 > 0:12:05swapping Sydney for Swiss surroundings at a town called Locarno.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08'The decision to come to Switzerland was based on the coaches here.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13'Gennadi Touretski, who I think is the best sprint freestyle coach in the world.'
0:12:13 > 0:12:16So, you know, that was the main reason
0:12:16 > 0:12:18and then, when I did arrive here, it wasn't this beautiful.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22It was actually quite overcast and then, the sky opened up
0:12:22 > 0:12:26and I realised the training was going to become a whole lot easier,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28'even in the kind of motivating setting that I'm in.'
0:12:31 > 0:12:34I think I'm in the best part of Switzerland.
0:12:34 > 0:12:35It's kind of, it's the Italian part,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38which most people forget outside of Switzerland.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41So it's kind of, you know, the best of an Italian lifestyle,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44but with Swiss organisation around it.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48So things work still, everything's on time.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52But you get that kind of Italian, kind of casual lifestyle.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55And how have you found sort of getting used to the language difference and things?
0:12:55 > 0:12:59I take lessons, I take a lot of lessons.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Oh, un espresso per me e...
0:13:02 > 0:13:04- Yeah, e per te, due espresso, per favore.- Si, grazie mille.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08As soon as, I think, everyone in the town knows now that I am taking lessons,
0:13:08 > 0:13:10and so, everyone's very forgiving of my Italian.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Before and after training, I get spotted a little
0:13:15 > 0:13:19but, you know, people keep to themselves mostly here, you know.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21And most swimmers try and keep to themselves.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23You know, people seek the heaven of the water to be left alone.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26So we have that in common.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Yeah, great comebacks always stir attention
0:13:29 > 0:13:32and Thorpe's had to deal with that from a very early age.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37I grew up in front of the camera
0:13:37 > 0:13:40and people, you know, tend to feel this sense of ownership
0:13:40 > 0:13:42over people that have been exposed to them like that.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47'For me, going to my first Olympics, I was a household name.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51'One on side, I was world champion, world record holder
0:13:51 > 0:13:53'and, on the other side of the coin,'
0:13:53 > 0:13:56you have a child who grew up in this town,
0:13:56 > 0:14:00who never thought that they'd be swimming at these Olympic Games
0:14:00 > 0:14:02because they'd be two young, they were 17,
0:14:02 > 0:14:04they were inexperienced in competition,
0:14:04 > 0:14:06they'd never been to the Olympic Games.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:14:08 > 0:14:10'My heat swim was terrible, I felt hopeless.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13'And I wasn't sure before this race, you know,'
0:14:13 > 0:14:15I was expected to win it,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18but I wasn't sure until, you know, basically I...
0:14:18 > 0:14:21When I was introduced to the crowd,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24and I knew the crowd would cheer for me a lot,
0:14:24 > 0:14:28but I didn't anticipate how much they'd yell.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30And I couldn't help but smile.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34'And it was at this point that, you know, all of that doubt went away
0:14:34 > 0:14:36'and I was ready to race.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40'And it became my race again at that stage.'
0:14:40 > 0:14:43'An absolutely unbelievable swim.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45'Oh, what a god he is!'
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Thorpe is nearing his competitive comeback
0:14:48 > 0:14:51and is set for his first race next month,
0:14:51 > 0:14:53at a World Cup meet in Singapore.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55'I'm where I thought I'd be.'
0:14:55 > 0:15:00Plus or minus 5% and I won't tell people which way that is
0:15:00 > 0:15:02because I am a little bit confused now
0:15:02 > 0:15:04'which side that actually falls on.'
0:15:04 > 0:15:07'What would represent success for 2012?'
0:15:07 > 0:15:12'My goal at the start, and this will remain my goal through the Olympics,
0:15:12 > 0:15:17'was to be able to swim faster than I used to be able to swim.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22'The thing about the London Games, what would be great is,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25'it's a nation that love sport, you know,
0:15:25 > 0:15:29'probably the most important thing as to what is going to be a great Games.'
0:15:29 > 0:15:32For me, it's probably the closest thing that I'm ever going to feel
0:15:32 > 0:15:34to having a second home Olympics
0:15:34 > 0:15:38unless I'm still swimming when I'm 100-and-something years old.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44Sadly, there will be no more medal opportunities for Ian Thorpe in London.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47All his training in Switzerland couldn't get him back to his best
0:15:47 > 0:15:50and he hasn't qualified for the Australian team.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54We now move from Torpedoes to shotguns.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Britain's outstanding medal hope in shooting is Peter Wilson,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00a farmer's son who took up the sport by chance.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03He's since risen to the top of the world rankings,
0:16:03 > 0:16:08with help from an unlikely source, as Noel Sliney discovers.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29'I started shooting after a freak accident in the Val d'Isere.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32'I ended up having to stop playing cricket and squash,
0:16:32 > 0:16:34'and took up shooting full-time.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36'A few years later I met Ian Coley at Bisley,'
0:16:36 > 0:16:38that's the National Clay Shooting Centre.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41'As a result, I ended up training with the Great Britain team.'
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Four months after that,
0:16:43 > 0:16:45I won the European Junior Championships out in Maribor.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49And , yeah, by then I was completely hooked and I absolutely loved it.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55Moving to 2008 and the Beijing Olympics,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57and I wasn't shooting my absolute best,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59'I'd be the first to admit that.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03'But also I lost all my funding due to the cuts to UK sport.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05'There's only a few people left on the programme,'
0:17:05 > 0:17:08the majority were taken off, one of which was me.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13Having lost absolutely everything, all my funding,
0:17:13 > 0:17:15everything just was dropped overnight,
0:17:15 > 0:17:20I then was picked up by Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum from the UAE
0:17:20 > 0:17:24'who was Olympic gold medallist in Athens.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26'We were having a chat, and I said, "I'm really struggling,'
0:17:26 > 0:17:30"I could do with some help. I want to move my shooting forward
0:17:30 > 0:17:34"and it looks highly likely now that I'll be coming off the programme and lose all my funding."
0:17:34 > 0:17:39'He was keen to coach someone and he saw, you know, a talent in me,'
0:17:39 > 0:17:43and I was just over the moon to think that he would ever consider me.
0:17:43 > 0:17:44'We talk a lot on the phone
0:17:44 > 0:17:50'and I spend a lot of February out in Dubai at his range in Nad Al Sheba.'
0:17:50 > 0:17:52So I don't see him a great deal,
0:17:52 > 0:17:54he doesn't spend a huge amount of time in the UK,
0:17:54 > 0:17:59a fraction in the UK, so it's exciting to be able to work together.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02I don't need to see him every single day,
0:18:02 > 0:18:06I just need to work on things that are important to my technique,
0:18:06 > 0:18:08and a lot can be done over the phone.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13We started working three years ago,
0:18:13 > 0:18:15and since then, I've set the new British record.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19That was about ten days ago now. I shot 149 out of 150.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22'I've won a World Cup - shooting just one off the world record,
0:18:22 > 0:18:24'I shot 195 targets.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29'And really everything back in the UK has been going phenomenally well.'
0:18:29 > 0:18:32My training's been fantastic. The GB trials,
0:18:32 > 0:18:34we've had five this year, I've won all five.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36I don't think that had ever been done before.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38So back in the UK training
0:18:38 > 0:18:41'and competition has been going brilliantly.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44'And abroad I got ranked number one in the world last month.'
0:18:44 > 0:18:47I'll end the year ranked top five in the world,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50and this has been slowly building up over the last three years.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53So we don't tend to dominate the world overnight,
0:18:53 > 0:18:55we tend to take little steps at a time,
0:18:55 > 0:18:59with the sole goal and purpose of 2012 in mind.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05It's not a cheap sport, but the kit themselves,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08'this gun would set me back about, if I were to buy it today,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11'about £10,000, which is a huge amount of money.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13'Cartridges obviously cost a great deal, clays,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16'and then flying all over the world.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19'We don't look to spend money like water.'
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Everyone's trying to save money here, there and everywhere,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25and it is tough, it's a very expensive sport.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Spending a lot of money, but I hope it's worth it
0:19:27 > 0:19:29in the sense that we'll bring back some medals in 2012.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35I'm pretty level-headed, I like to think I am.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38I'm just enjoying every day. I train every day I'm able to get out and shoot,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42and it's fantastic if my results are showing I'm in the top ten in the world.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44And if I'm the only one in Great Britain, that's great.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48I believe we've got a strong chance as a team, an Olympic shooting team, to win medals,
0:19:48 > 0:19:52and if that means I can bring back gold, that would be absolutely fantastic.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59I'd love to go there and put in a clean qualifications
0:19:59 > 0:20:03with the team and individually to make the all-round final and the team final,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05and then who knows what would happen in that final.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08It's going to be a lot of hard work, especially during the winter,
0:20:08 > 0:20:12but you've just got to be disciplined and keep your eye on the goal.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22Hi, I'm Mhairi Spence and I'm a modern pentathlete for Great Britain.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24MUSIC: "James Bond Theme"
0:20:26 > 0:20:29Did you see the light flash? I thought it flashed.
0:20:29 > 0:20:30That's quite cool.
0:20:32 > 0:20:33So we used to shoot with air pistols
0:20:33 > 0:20:37and now we shoot with these specially-designed laser guns.
0:20:37 > 0:20:38We've changed to these lasers
0:20:38 > 0:20:40because the governing body says they are safer,
0:20:40 > 0:20:42so more countries can use them.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44They are also much more spectator-friendly.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47This gun here is a lot heavier and there's no recoil,
0:20:47 > 0:20:49which makes it feel quite different.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53BOND THEME CONTINUES
0:20:56 > 0:20:57This change is the same for everyone,
0:20:57 > 0:20:59but we just have to learn to adapt quickly
0:20:59 > 0:21:01ahead of the Olympic Games next year.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12Now, it's about time I welcomed you to the canoe slalom course
0:21:12 > 0:21:14here at the Lee Valley White Water Centre.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17Be gentle with me, guys. OK?
0:21:17 > 0:21:20- We'll try!- Here we go. Let's go!
0:21:34 > 0:21:38I can perfectly vouch that the canoe slalom
0:21:38 > 0:21:40will be an incredible ride come the summer of 2012.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44'It's a new world record!'
0:21:44 > 0:21:46'Two gold medals!'
0:21:46 > 0:21:48'This man is unstoppable!'
0:21:51 > 0:21:54Still very much under construction here at the Olympic Park
0:21:54 > 0:21:56is the ArcelorMittal Orbit.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00Designed by artist Anish Kapoor and engineer Cecil Balmond,
0:22:00 > 0:22:04the sculpture towers over the Olympic Stadium,
0:22:04 > 0:22:05at just shy of 115 metres tall,
0:22:05 > 0:22:10to provide stunning views to visitors during the Games.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17Now, boxing could be a key sport for Britain at the London Games,
0:22:17 > 0:22:22as their four-medal haul at the World Championships in Azerbaijan recently proved.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25Despite it being only his first trip to the Worlds,
0:22:25 > 0:22:28Anthony Joshua was one of the big success stories.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the ring,
0:22:32 > 0:22:35representing England, Anthony Joshua!
0:22:35 > 0:22:36APPLAUSE
0:22:36 > 0:22:38'My style?
0:22:38 > 0:22:42'Assassin on the outside and a warrior on the inside.'
0:22:44 > 0:22:45He's very much a mummy's boy,
0:22:45 > 0:22:47but then to see him in the boxing ring,
0:22:47 > 0:22:49a totally different person.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53I thought, is he going to be serious enough to box?
0:22:53 > 0:22:55But then you see a different side to him.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57When he got in sparring,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00that friendly side goes and he's Mr Nasty.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05'Silver medal, Joshua, Anthony, England!'
0:23:05 > 0:23:06It's surprising.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10I was ranked number 46 in the world before I went.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12I thought, "Fair enough."
0:23:12 > 0:23:16It's amazing to be ranked number two in the world now,
0:23:16 > 0:23:21and I was just one point away, so it's an amazing accomplishment.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30You doing all right? You all right? Nice to see you again.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34- Meet the family.- Let's do that. - No problem.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37This is my mum, this is my cousin Mariah,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40a good friend and our family friend Priscilla.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43And this is me. Welcome to my home.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49What kind of viewer would you say you are when Anthony's fighting?
0:23:49 > 0:23:51I've never been to any of the fights,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54and I think Anthony told me on one occasion not to come
0:23:54 > 0:23:56because he knows what I'm like.
0:23:56 > 0:24:04The one fight I've watched was the fight in Baku with the Azerbaijani.
0:24:04 > 0:24:09And I watched that with a towel over my face in the corner of the room,
0:24:09 > 0:24:11trembling and really nervous.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15But, you know, at the end of the day, whatever sport he chooses,
0:24:15 > 0:24:17I've got to support him.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19Anthony, just tell us,
0:24:19 > 0:24:21why the sport of boxing?
0:24:21 > 0:24:24Physique, being strong,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28healthy, they were the main reasons.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31And then when I got into boxing,
0:24:31 > 0:24:35it was the discipline that I needed at the time.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37I'm good!
0:24:37 > 0:24:41- Stevo!- Well done!- Thank you.- We're proud of you, Josh.
0:24:41 > 0:24:47Finchley ABC, where the hard work started, my gym where I train,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50where I get down and dirty, put in work.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54This is the beginning - my heart and love.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57We've never trained someone with so much power.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01He broke my wrist, so I know he can punch.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Just that will, he just won't give up,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08and that's what all great fighters have got.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12I'm sure everyone will advise me,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15and I advise myself to keep my feet on the ground as well.
0:25:15 > 0:25:21Just got my family, the people that care for me, my coaches.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25When he comes in the gym, he's not a star, he's just another boxer.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28And if he starts like thinking he is a star,
0:25:28 > 0:25:30he's soon told and put into line.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32How good can he be? How far can he go?
0:25:32 > 0:25:36As long as he lives right, doesn't get carried away with what everybody's saying,
0:25:36 > 0:25:39knuckles down in the gym, he'll go to the top.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42I see him going as far as Lennox Lewis.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48I'm very proud, very, very proud of what he's achieved.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52Although I still say to myself, "Why boxing?"
0:25:52 > 0:25:54when I watch the fight.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58But, you know, I'm very, very proud of him
0:25:58 > 0:26:02and I think he's achieved quite a lot in a very short space of time.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05How often have you allowed yourself to visualise
0:26:05 > 0:26:07standing atop that gold medal rostrum?
0:26:07 > 0:26:09What, at the Olympics?
0:26:09 > 0:26:11This is the first time, when you asked me just then!
0:26:11 > 0:26:18That is the first time I've pictured myself standing on the number-one podium holding a gold medal.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21That is the first time I've actually visioned it.
0:26:21 > 0:26:22What does it feel like?
0:26:24 > 0:26:28It feels like what I should be doing, it feels right.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Now, where to watch the best of British at the Games?
0:26:37 > 0:26:40The opening ceremony takes place on July 27th
0:26:40 > 0:26:43with Mark Cavendish straight into action in the men's road race
0:26:43 > 0:26:46from The Mall to Surrey and back the next day.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50Tom Daley opens his diving campaign at the Aquatic Centre on 30th,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53while Britain's rowers should be in final action at Eton Dorney Lake
0:26:53 > 0:26:55from August 1st until the 4th.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57Expect to see Bradley Wiggins
0:26:57 > 0:27:01leading the team pursuit charge at the Velodrome on the 3rd,
0:27:01 > 0:27:03the same day as Becky Adlington defends her 800m crown
0:27:03 > 0:27:05at the Aquatics Centre.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08Super Saturday could be just that in the Stadium
0:27:08 > 0:27:10for heptathlete Jessica Ennis
0:27:10 > 0:27:13And there's no rest on Sunday with Ben Ainslie
0:27:13 > 0:27:15aiming for a fourth gold medal down in Weymouth
0:27:15 > 0:27:19and Paula Radcliffe for her first in the women's marathon in The Mall.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21Head back to the Velodrome on the seventh
0:27:21 > 0:27:23to catch Sir Chris Hoy in the men's keirin
0:27:23 > 0:27:26while the Stadium is the place to be on the ninth
0:27:26 > 0:27:28as Phillips Idowu looks to make a golden leap.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31The women's modern pentathlon could throw up a late medal
0:27:31 > 0:27:33for Great Britain in Greenwich Park
0:27:33 > 0:27:35before the curtain falls on the Games
0:27:35 > 0:27:37at the closing ceremony on August 12th.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Well, once again, we've come to the end of the road
0:27:41 > 0:27:43for another edition of British Olympic Dreams.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46And, as the games draw ever closer,
0:27:46 > 0:27:48you can always head to website...
0:27:50 > 0:27:51...for more information.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54And to keep up with everything that's happening
0:27:54 > 0:27:55in the world of Olympic sports.
0:27:55 > 0:27:56But before we leave,
0:27:56 > 0:27:58just time to look back
0:27:58 > 0:28:00at what's been a fantastic couple of months
0:28:00 > 0:28:02for our British Olympic athletes.
0:28:02 > 0:28:03- Goodbye.- See you.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd