Episode 4 Inspire: The Olympic Journey

Behind me is Weymouth Bay,

home to some of the best sailing conditions in the world.

Chesil Beach just over there provides fantastic shelter.

It's easy to see why this is the home of GB sailing.

I've come here to meet the next generation of British sailors

hoping to follow in the footsteps of Sir Ben Ainslie.

These guys are well and truly ready to set sail

on their Olympic journey.

Also in the show today,

Denise Lewis travels to East London to witness Christine Ohuruogu's

determination to give back to the community she grew up in.

There's a big world out there and if you just work hard you can

really achieve what you want to go out and achieve.

We introduce three young amateur boxers hoping to make

a mark at this month's World Championships.

When I started boxing, you know,

I could see the road that I needed to go to reach my goal.

You just have to keep improving, and then take it as far as you want.

If you want to get inspired and try a new sport like sailing,

boxing, or athletics, then click on our website to find out

how you can join a club near you.

Almost 6,000 miles south west in that direction is

Guanabara Bay, just off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

Those warmer waters will host the regatta of the 2016 Olympics.

Sir Ben Ainslie is not expected to compete in Rio,

focusing instead on the America's Cup.

With only one spot available in the Finn Class,

in which Ben Ainslie won three of his four Olympic gold medals,

the question is, "Who's ready to be his successor?"

So, we're out on the water

with the GB Finn Class coach, Matt Howard, here,

who's shouting instructions to his boys

and keeping them in check in very still conditions.

Just about on the edge to what you can sail in at the moment,

but, still, they're getting some good work done.

Yeah, yeah, and we've kind of had to, um, change how we view,

um, the very light winds.

It can be difficult for the patience,

it can be quite difficult for the concentration,

but with the next Olympic Games being in Rio,

we're very likely to be sailing in this sort of stuff so we've got to

kind of rethink what's fun and spend plenty of time sailing in it.

There is so much strength and depth still in the Finn Class.

Does that mean there's a strain on friendships and relationships,

or are you able to put that to one side when you come off the water?

For sure, it's a factor.

Later on in the cycle, things become a bit more, um...

personal, because, ultimately, we're all wanting the same thing and, uh...

only one of us can have it, so...

You know, with that does come a bit of friction, but, generally,

you know, we manage it very well and we're all good friends and...

we try and leave everything that goes on in the water,

on the water as much as possible.

It doesn't always happen though, I'm sensing an undercurrent of, um...!

-The thing is...

-It bubbles over.

-Normally, it does, actually.

Um, it certainly doesn't ever last more than half an hour

since we've been off the water.

There might be a little bit of friction in the boat part,

but then, you know, we'll go away, we'll have a beer

and we'll be friends again until the next day.

I've probably raced against Andrew and Giles

since I was about 15 or 16. So, built up over time,

you're always trying to beat each other at everything we do,

sailing, when we're out on the bikes,

when we're in the gym, et cetera, so it does build up and build up.

Oh, good roll, Giles! Good roll!

How difficult is it to manage their expectations and manage,

-you know, this rivalry on the water?

-Yeah.

On the water, it's certainly difficult to manage the rivalry

and sometimes I feel like I should be, you know, wearing gloves

and keeping them apart in a ring.

Um, but generally as they get ashore, it's all good again,

but it's a tough thing in this sport.

You know, we've got four guys who are top ten in the world.

Any one of those guys could compete at the Olympics

and come home with a medal and only one of them will,

so it's really tough, particularly as

they know that it's really important that they all

sail together, so that the person who does win the trials to

go on has the best chance of medalling.

But sometimes that's also difficult because you're then helping

people who could potentially take your place.

What's it like for you, then, having to deliver the bad news to

people who've worked for a four-year cycle? It's not going to be theirs.

It's the worst day of my four-year programme.

Um...

But I try and also make it the best day

of my four-year programme by making the phone calls to the people

who have been selected at the same day.

Do you make the bad calls first?

No.

-So, you tell those who are going first...

-Yeah.

-And then you...

-start the ring round.

-Yeah. Yeah. And, eh...

And the reason is...it's not the actual conversation that's

necessarily particularly hard, the reason it's hard is

because I know the level of application and the sacrifice

that those guys made, and how much they really want it.

You know, if they hadn't made the effort, if they hadn't done

the hard yards, if it wasn't the most important thing to them,

then they wouldn't be disappointed. It wouldn't be that big a deal.

But the guys that are in our programme at the top end

are fighting it out for selection,

they're all in that bracket and that's why it's difficult.

It's a selection process, isn't it?

That you have to tick a lot of boxes for.

Most people think we're going to peak in 2016,

but already the World Championship's next year in 2014,

are a key part of the selection process, so,

in many respects, your campaign's got to be ready, you know,

at the beginning of this season to do very well at the World Championships.

So, we're kind of already moving into a little bit of a peaking zone,

and that'll continue on until the selections are made.

How much does a place in the squad for Rio mean to you right now?

Oh, well, it's kind of, you know...

It's everything.

In my mind, there's absolutely no point putting

a four-year campaign together if...

..you know, if you don't believe you can go and win in Rio, and that's

ultimately what it's all about and that's what we're all trying to do.

As these Finn sailors know,

qualification for an Olympic Games is extremely tough.

Peaking at just the right time for selection is the same for any sport,

but one athlete who always times her preparation

and her races to perfection is Christine Ohuruogu.

The world 400-metre champion may be one of our most successful athletes

of all time, but she's never one to seek the limelight or fame.

So, what does motivate Christine?

Former Olympic heptathlete champion Denise Lewis has been to

the East End to find out.

I'm in Newham, one of the Olympic boroughs from last year, to visit

Christine Ohuruogu, someone I've really admired

and watched her career over the years. She's got three

global titles and she could do anything with her time, yet she has

chosen to visit all the schools in her borough,

and I really want to find out why.

The Chobham Academy only opened in September, but it's

the latest of the 150 schools that Christine has pledged to visit.

What's more, it truly embodies the spirit of legacy as it uses

buildings and infrastructure from the Olympic village itself.

Wow! This is an impressive school.

Hi, how are you?

-Hi, guys.

-APPLAUSE

-Morning, everyone.

-CHILDREN: Good morning.

DENISE WHISPERS: 'So, we're at a whole school assembly

'at Chobham Academy and Christine is actually just telling everyone'

about her athletics career and what it's like to be an athlete.

You guys are a very, very new school. I couldn't actually find it.

That's how new you are, but it's great to be here.

I just think she has such a natural way of articulating to these

young people and they're riveted.

So, I've made it my personal mission to go round to all the schools

and just to try and give them a really positive message,

just to tell them that, you know, sometimes...

there's a big world out there and if you just work hard, you can

really achieve what you want to go out and achieve.

How many schools have you done so far?

Cos you've set yourself a pretty tall order.

Yeah, I think probably about 25.

-You've got a long way to go.

-So, I have a long way to go,

but I did, in the beginning, from the onset

say it was going to be a long haul.

So, just, um...

..do it as and when I can, and I think that

because I actually enjoy it and feel so strongly about it,

I don't really care how long it's going to take.

I was born in Newham, I went to school in Newham,

um...I have, I'm from a big family,

I've got six brothers and one sister.

There's eight of us and we all went to school in Newham.

I was just conscious or very aware of the fact that, you know,

once the Olympics goes, a lot of the youngsters will fall into that gap.

They'll feel that the Olympics came, brought so much excitement,

so much money, but it's almost like once it's gone,

there's nothing left, you know?

People are just here for the Olympics and once they've gone,

we're just back to how it was before.

-Please come and sit down here.

-Here?

You're writing on the table?

-We are writing on the table.

-Wow!

We're going to start with Ronaldo. What does it mean

-to you to be part of the Olympic legacy?

-It means quite a lot because

when the Olympics came to London, and the Olympic Games,

I would be stuck to the TV every day watching and

you could see people cheering, being happy, Team GB, Christine Ohuruogu...

Everyone who competed, they were completely amazing.

I'd walk down the road and then I'd just go into the shop

and I'd see hundreds of people going to the Olympics from

all different countries.

My idea behind it was to tell them that, you know, you can't go back to

how it was before, you've really got to use the Games, um, and push on.

-And build on it.

-Build on it, exactly.

Keep pushing on, don't just sit and say, "Oh, they don't care about us

"and we're not going to do anything about it." Really use...

what stories you got from the Games to build yourselves up

and go out and achieve great things.

The most important kind of defendants of this legacy programme

-are the residents themselves.

-Absolutely.

Those are the ones who are going to drive it, those are the ones

who live there, who know what goes on, day in, day out,

they're the ones that have kids that go to schools,

they don't want to work in a borough, they know what the borough

needs, so when we're talking about legacy,

don't sit and wait for other people to put your destiny into place,

you go out and say, "This is what our kids need

"and this is what we're going to do as parents, residents,

"as business owners. This is what we're going to do for the borough."

We all can remember one thing growing up, somebody that's

said something that really sticks in our minds, just one thing

and that's all you need sometimes, you know?

So, as long as they just can remember one thing I've said.

I talk for ages. I think today was quite short. I think I was cut!

DROWNED OUT BY LAUGHTER

Everyone that visits the Academy, we're going to start to get,

like, autographs and just a little comment or a few little words.

The pressure is on!

When I think about my own experience, I was really young, so eight was when

the light bulb went off for me and I wanted to be an athlete

and learn how to run, and that was what I asked my mum.

But you - it was about 18, did you say? Which is...?

-16, it was sports day.

-16.

That was our final year at school, so I knew about athletics but

I didn't know in that much detail, I never really watched track and field on TV.

I knew of all the big personalities, like yourself,

Linford, Sally Gunnell, but I didn't know what they did.

-I just knew they did something and they won golds!

-Keep it simple!

I didn't know what they were doing.

I didn't have any idea of anything - how races worked,

what you wore on your feet, because I was training in trainers.

I didn't... You know, I didn't know anything.

My event is not actually very nice.

It hurts, but in a strange way, I actually really enjoy it,

because every day, I push myself really hard.

' "I've never done a four before. What do I do?" '

This guy just said, "Just jog the first three

-"and then sprint the hundred."

-Oh, so that's how it started, huh?!

And you took that all the way through the international career.

-Hey, it worked.

-I didn't want to say that, but, yeah, that's how it's...

-Three global titles.

-He said, "Just jog."

I know. It's terrible, isn't it? But I won. I won and I kept on winning.

So, that became my event, the 400.

Will she get there? Christine's coming. She might just make it.

She might just... Made it!

Imagine when things haven't gone well.

We've had that scenario, haven't we?

Someone's asking you a ridiculous question

that you really don't want to answer, but you feel like you have to.

I'm sure I've done that to you, Christine.

THEY LAUGH 'The Olympics was incredible,'

but you were disappointed with that silver medal.

How did you pick yourself up?

I did want to win that and, in the schools I go to,

I make no illusions about the fact that I did want to win.

And I have got a silver, but I would have liked it to have been gold.

That's standard, I'm sorry, I'm not going to beat around the bush.

I wanted to win gold. I didn't. I came with a silver.

That's where my disappointment came from,

but I think, at the same time,

I think it's recognising where I'd come from to get that

and I think, now I look back on it,

I think the silver meant more to me than the Beijing gold medal...

-Right.

-..because of where I'd come from.

I, literally, clawed my way out from the bottom of a bottomless pit.

That's what it felt like.

I think it felt like every year was just not going right,

nothing was working.

I always tell myself that what I was going to do going into 2012

was that I would prepare myself the best way I can

and I'll defend my title with everything I've got.

The one thing I really want to tell you

is go out there and dream big.

Really go out and really set your standards high.

-This seems to be your calling.

-Yeah.

-To give something back.

-Yeah.

-To inspire. Not the glitzy, glamour, the...

-Yeah, I mean...

-All the other side that people expect you to do, having been a champion.

-Yeah.

I always try to live by what I preach,

that's one thing I've always, you know, tried to be true to myself

and what I believe and what I expect of myself.

Me, personally, I just like to be on the ground floor.

I like to get my hands dirty.

I like to go out and work and just see what's happening.

That's my kind of passion for, you know,

helping my borough move on, is...

far outweighs my passion for, you know, glitzy life stuff!

I'm sure we could stand here and talk all day,

but I've got to head off now, so go out and enjoy yourself.

Remember to dream big and keep looking after each other. Cool.

Do you feel satisfied? Are you complete?

I'm happy with what I've done. With me, I'm never fully happy,

because it's what I do,

I, kind of, have a responsibility to keep doing it.

So, it doesn't matter what I've achieved. That's not the point.

The point is that this is what I have been put on this Earth to do.

This is my purpose, my calling.

So, I will keep on doing it until, you know, the time's up.

If Christine has inspired you to get involved in sport,

then visit our website

for information on where to find your nearest club.

Back in May,

this close-knit sailing community here in Weymouth

was hit by devastating news.

Andrew Simpson, or Bart as he was affectionately known,

won gold at the Beijing Olympics

and silver on these waters in 2012, with sailing partner Ian Percy.

Having switched their focus to the America's Cup this year,

the pair were on a routine training exercise

when their yacht, Artemis, capsized.

Simpson was trapped under the hull of the boat.

Attempts to resuscitate him failed.

Andrew's widow, Leah,

and close friends, including Olympic medallists Sir Ben Ainslie,

Iain Percy and Paul Goodison have set up

the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation

to help encourage youngsters into sailing.

Bart had more friends than any of us.

Literally, he would speak to anybody, help anybody,

and he was just one of those lovable characters

that everybody felt really close to and felt really special to be around.

He was one of those guys who'd always go out of his way to help you out,

no matter where you were or what you were doing.

He was a real special guy.

You know, life can be pretty short

and you've got to value the time that you have

and the conversations that often,

in amongst all that competitiveness that we were talking about,

that actually, it's a pretty tight-knit family.

These are people that travel the world 200 days a year.

You spend more time with them than you do with your family.

And you refer to some of the younger sailors

and Andrew being a big impact.

Quite a big impact on some sailors

he maybe only had one conversation with,

maybe only a passing comment with,

but was a big character in the squad.

I always remember him as, you'd be in the gym in the morning

and there'd be maybe five or six guys there

and he would spend his time speaking to every single person individually

to make sure they're all right

and what they're working on and everything.

It was maybe a bit because he didn't particularly like the gym,

but, you know, he was always there and he chatted away

and he would always put everyone before everyone else.

Andrew was a...

You know, he was a great man.

And to me, personally, he was very much a mentor.

You know, he was someone I always went to for advice.

It's had a massive impact on the team

and, you know, everyone's pretty keen

to try and make sure they do what they can do,

in terms of their sailing,

to try and sort of live up to the sort of standards

that Andrew kept, in terms of actually putting his performance

and putting himself on the line when he went racing.

The foundation in his name will do that.

It will help to encourage kids

who might not have an opportunity to sail

to get access to the sport that you all love.

One of the biggest things is trying to get these young guys

into sailing clubs, just their local sailing clubs,

so anywhere around the country.

The foundation aims to try and provide some coaching

from just local, regional coaches, all the way through to Olympic medallists,

to try and help mentor these kids and give them the chance

to find out what sailing is all about.

It's not only just that.

It's actually trying to get little Freddie and Hamish

something to remember their father by,

because they are only three and one years old,

so they need to be reminded of Andrew

and what he actually did for the sport.

This is a great way to try and show them

how he influenced so many people and also try and help them into sailing

and follow in his father's footsteps.

Andrew's love of sailing and his passion for helping youngsters

will be remembered through his foundation,

which is so important for those who loved and cared for him.

Nurturing talent is vital in any sport,

and at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield,

youngsters are given the opportunity to learn and grow.

We caught up with three boxers

who are flourishing in that environment.

As an athlete, I'd say I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

If I want something, I'll put everything

into it and, hopefully, when it matters, I get it right.

When I started boxing, you know, I could see the road

that I needed to go to reach my goal.

Just have to keep improving and then take it as far as you want.

As soon as you've won that fight,

it's just the best feeling ever.

You know, it's worth it.

It's just a shame the training feels so hard!

This is their workshop,

this is where they go to work. They are full-time elite athletes.

They come here, it's a job. A job of work.

Monday to Thursday, we train three times a day,

and we usually leave the sparring till last.

If we can spar and perform to full potential

when we've done all these things during the day,

like strength conditioning and running,

then when we're out in tournaments, it should be easy work.

Got to get your front foot in.

Quicker to your left and to your right, quicker.

The expectation's always high, because if you're a GB boxer,

you're expected to medal wherever you go.

JOE: You're around top athletes,

so it's a good environment to improve and train.

You know, it's a bit like uni or something like that.

Like, it's got a good group mentality, sort of thing.

-SAM:

-Train here Monday to Thursday.

Every Thursday, when you wake up in the morning, you think,

"Got two more sessions, can't wait to get home."

It's the best feeling ever. But then when you're home,

you do look forward to coming back here,

because you know we're getting the best training in the world.

It's a bigger gap between the two of yous. Come on, box closer, Sam.

That was good, really liked that.

Can't get better sparring than what I've just had.

These lads have been the Olympics, been the Worlds, been the Europeans.

So, sparring with them, it's only a bonus. Only make me better.

OK. Away we go.

JACK: Me and Nicola, we spar together, we bring each other on.

She's been great for me in the past and I've been great for her.

I was sparring with her before she won a gold medal in the Olympics

and, hopefully, I helped her win that gold,

but we all play a part in each other's training

and it really helps and we all spar each other.

-DAVE:

-Boxing's a very solitary life,

even though we've got a team ethic here.

They get in the ring and they're on their own.

They can't do things like normal people do.

They have to make weight, they have to train hard,

they can't go out, like their friends,

or go out and have a pizza. They've got to be careful what they eat.

-SAM:

-Constantly a boxer, like, your whole life,

you're constantly thinking about what you can eat,

what you can't eat, because it's a weight-making sport.

We get given all our food and we get breakfast, we get snacks,

we get lunch, another snack and then the main meal.

There's no preparation or nothing like that.

'However long it says put it in a mic, you put it in the mic

'and then it's done.' Easy.

If you're close to the competition, you'll get the same meals,

but you might only get, like, you know, a smaller portion of it.

It just helps. You don't have to think about cutting down your food.

You just eat what they've given you.

So, yeah, it makes weight-making easier.

DAVE: They stay at the flats up the road.

They get given nutritional food, which is sent in to them,

but they then have to look after themselves. They're grown men.

Yes, boys.

Smells nice in here.

-Kezza's cooking, yeah?

-Yeah.

I think the furthest we go is a yoghurt, innit, on a night.

-That's our treat, innit?

-Yeah.

-Chocolate for some of them.

I have a huge bar of chocolate!

'I started boxing at the age of nine. My dad,'

he was a coach, and my uncle's a coach.

And I had my first fight at the age of 11.

Before I knew it, I was on my trials for Great Britain at 17,

and when I found out I had trials, I trained so hard.

When I was out on my runs, that's all I was thinking about.

And when you finally get on the squad

it's mad, because you get your kit

and you're really excited and stuff, so to be on the squad

and competing in tournaments such as Europeans, Worlds

and, hopefully, looking towards the Olympics, it's massive for me.

Hopefully, one day I can go to Rio 2016 and be on the podium.

-JOE:

-We weigh in each morning and we have to have a weight target.

108.6.

I enjoy weightlifting and that and, you know,

the sparring, the bags and the pads.

But I think the run's probably the toughest one in the morning.

If I wasn't boxing, I'd still be training hard because, you know,

that's my lifestyle, that's what I've always done.

Since I was little, I've done every sport under the sun.

I do them for a while and then get, you know,

want to try something else.

Go on. WHISTLE BLOWS

But I think with boxing, you know, there's so many aspects to it,

so many things you've got to do to train, you don't get bored.

Slow feet, fast hands. What does that say? Get in, get out, hit him hard.

Take your foot off the gas in the middle if you have to.

This is your last round, this is the big one. Don't give it away.

That's nice and long.

We create competition at all weights

so that there's always somebody, you know, alongside you that's a rival.

The rivalry that's developed between Sam Maxwell

and Josh Taylor is a healthy rivalry.

You know, they push each tremendously hard in training.

If I see Josh training hard, I think,

"I want to train as hard as him."

If he's winning the runs, I want to, next time on a run,

-I want to try and beat Josh.

-We're great friends,

but then, obviously, it turns into, "I want to win",

because we're in the sport to win.

In the ring, we're taking no... No mercy, as they say.

You change lives coming up here and it's nice to watch them grow,

as people and as boxers.

Time. Let's go, come on.

-SAM:

-My dad passed away and all my mum's family are from Liverpool,

so we moved from London to Liverpool

so we could be around all the family,

cos Mum was only young and she was left with three kids

and we were all under ten, and my little sister wasn't even born yet.

My cousin was part of a boxing gym, and he said,

"Why don't you try boxing?"

I fell in love with boxing.

My coach, he was like a father figure, a role model, a friend.

When I first came in, he could see I had talent,

but I had a lot of, like, anger in me and stuff like that,

and boxing just helped to...

He said boxing helped me get the discipline I needed

to channel that aggression into boxing and performing.

These three guys have applied themselves,

they're good lads, they've got a good attitude.

JACK: When I'm training, I'm thinking about maybe getting that gold medal,

and if I don't put the sacrifice in in training, then it's not going to happen.

I'd just like to see them fulfil their potential,

because when they're boxing and firing on all cylinders,

it's a joy to watch, all of them.

The Olympic journey is a four-year cycle

that requires a deep determination.

Our young boxers are being carefully nurtured every step of the way.

Christine has achieved so much, yet remains so focused.

Her desire to share her love of sport is inspiring in itself.

And the Finn boys are unwavering in their commitment,

even though their journey may end in disappointment.

If you've been inspired to get involved in sport then click on...

You can also get in touch via Twitter...

Keep looking for that flash of inspiration.

We'll see you next time on Inspire: The Olympic Journey.

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