:00:11. > :00:21.This month, our Olympic journey follows the story of three young
:00:22. > :00:25.women. Talented, dedicated, strong. An inspiring trio, who are focused
:00:26. > :00:31.on their goals, but never blinkered from life beyond sport. Balanced yet
:00:32. > :00:35.resolutely passionate, three different women, three different
:00:36. > :00:42.sports, three very different journeys. I have come to Manchester
:00:43. > :00:48.to meet a young Welsh cyclist who stormed onto the Welsh -- to the
:00:49. > :00:51.world stage earlier this year. A double world champion, pretty
:00:52. > :00:57.impressive when you consider that Becky James is still only 22. Also
:00:58. > :01:02.on Inspire: The Olympic Journey. Katherine Grainger gets a taste of
:01:03. > :01:08.life on the road with skeleton world champion, Shelley Rudman, and
:01:09. > :01:13.family. And Matthew Pinsent spends the day with Captain Heather
:01:14. > :01:18.Stanning, as she adjusts to life after six months in Afghanistan. It
:01:19. > :01:23.is so sad. You go away for so long, and then you come straight back to
:01:24. > :01:29.training! We want to see how you have been inspired. Share a video or
:01:30. > :01:35.picture of you inspired, what ever the sport, by e-mail or Twitter. We
:01:36. > :01:44.will feature some of the best pictures on our website.
:01:45. > :01:55.Hello, Becky. Nice to meet you. It's a gorgeous day! So you are from a
:01:56. > :01:59.completely cycling crazy family? Are you the one who instigated it all?
:02:00. > :02:04.Yes, I started off in primary school, in year six, and then went
:02:05. > :02:09.from there, and everyone else got into it. My second youngest sister
:02:10. > :02:13.has just got onto the Olympic development programme for mountain
:02:14. > :02:18.biking, which is awesome. My other younger sister is just a demon in
:02:19. > :02:23.whatever she does. She loves all sports. Your parents care 24-hour is
:02:24. > :02:30.a day for a severely disabled daughter, your sister, Beth Allen.
:02:31. > :02:35.That is incredible. But then to give all the support they do to you, you
:02:36. > :02:38.must wonder how they do it. My parents are incredible. Having six
:02:39. > :02:42.kids and travelling all around the country with all of us, doing
:02:43. > :02:47.different sports, and looking after my sister as well. It is
:02:48. > :02:51.incredible. I could not have better parents. When I am racing and things
:02:52. > :02:55.get hard, I ring my mum, and she puts things in perspective. Yet,
:02:56. > :03:01.with that great support, you absolutely love what you do. That
:03:02. > :03:06.isn't always the case when you talk to sports people. But you love
:03:07. > :03:10.racing. I do. Especially when I am so relaxed going into it. That is
:03:11. > :03:15.one I enjoy it the most. All I can do is my best. It is not life or
:03:16. > :03:21.death if you win. People will forget about it at the end of the day. I'm
:03:22. > :03:27.there to entertain people, and people get joy from watching racing.
:03:28. > :03:32.I just want to do my best. You can't be on top form all the time, so I
:03:33. > :03:36.just enjoy it while I can. Did that attitude held in 2012, when it must
:03:37. > :03:39.have been a huge disappointment to be told that you are staying in
:03:40. > :03:44.Manchester and you are not going to be a reserve in London. It was
:03:45. > :03:48.really hard. But I spent the weekend with my family, and after having
:03:49. > :03:56.plenty of tears over that weekend, I was ready by the Monday. I knew it
:03:57. > :03:59.wasn't the end of the world. I just focused on the next thing. I could
:04:00. > :04:04.chat to you all day, but there was work to be done. You have already
:04:05. > :04:08.done one session today, right? Yes, been on the road for an hour. But I
:04:09. > :04:09.have a track session this afternoon. Let's get to the
:04:10. > :04:25.velodrome. This is it. We are at work. Your
:04:26. > :04:29.work head goes on. Being a two-time world champion, has that changed
:04:30. > :04:35.your motivation? When you go on the track, does it feel different now?
:04:36. > :04:39.Is there more pressure? I try not to think of it. I am more of a person
:04:40. > :04:45.to put pressure on myself, but after winning the world is, I know what it
:04:46. > :04:53.feels like. I want to go back and try to repeat that again. You want
:04:54. > :04:58.that feeling? Yes. Can you tap into that feeling? Yes, if someone shows
:04:59. > :05:03.it to me, but it still doesn't feel that real to me. It is a bit weird
:05:04. > :05:07.that it actually happened. I have to pinch myself. It is a good
:05:08. > :05:25.motivation, after winning that, to get that feeling again.
:05:26. > :05:31.Becky's desire to succeed and defend her world titles fuels these tough
:05:32. > :05:36.training sessions. For our winter athletes, that determination will
:05:37. > :05:40.come into focus in February, with the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Our
:05:41. > :05:46.world skeleton champion, Shelley Rudman, has been fine tuning her
:05:47. > :05:56.performance in Norway. Katherine Grainger has been to spend some time
:05:57. > :06:01.with Team Bradman. -- Rodman. Shelley Rudman is many things to
:06:02. > :06:05.many people. She is Olympic silver medallist, and also one of the
:06:06. > :06:11.greatest hopes for gold at next year 's Winter Olympics. Perhaps more
:06:12. > :06:23.importantly, she is also a mum. I have come to Norway to find out just
:06:24. > :06:33.how she manages all of that. Hello! You must be Ella. Lovely to see you.
:06:34. > :06:36.Sorry to interrupt your breakfast! We have been really, really lucky
:06:37. > :06:41.that we have had great family support from both sets of
:06:42. > :06:46.grandparents. Both have been brilliant. Everybody is ready
:06:47. > :06:50.supportive of us as a unit. There are some quirks which make it
:06:51. > :06:53.challenging, but we accept that. With regards to travel, we need to
:06:54. > :06:59.travel and organise everything ourselves, but we have to be really
:07:00. > :07:02.organised. We start booking our hotels and flights from April
:07:03. > :07:08.through to October, and then we have to think, who is looking after Ella
:07:09. > :07:14.here? Who is coming out with us? What is an average day like? We get
:07:15. > :07:18.up in the morning. If Allah comes to the track, we get her ready, go to
:07:19. > :07:22.the track, and then she is looked after by grandparents. We have
:07:23. > :07:27.lunch. We go to the gym for training, and then Ella gets home
:07:28. > :07:33.tutored for a good two hours. Who does that? I do. The school have
:07:34. > :07:38.been great. They give me weekly plans, and I just follow that.
:07:39. > :07:43.Today, they are doing the life cycle of a frog. Ella is here doing the
:07:44. > :07:50.same. Those aspects are really easy to look -- to keep up with. Is there
:07:51. > :07:56.any element of guilt from new for taking her out of what might be a
:07:57. > :08:02.normal environment, and taking her along with you? Know. She is really
:08:03. > :08:08.adjustable. Ella is so dynamic. She will sleep in any bed just like
:08:09. > :08:12.that. She will communicate with the different athletes from different
:08:13. > :08:21.nations in their own language. Can you speak Russian? What can you say?
:08:22. > :08:29.How are you? Good morning, it in German, do you remember that? What
:08:30. > :08:34.about, I do know. From your side, loads of athletes I know, if they
:08:35. > :08:40.have any break between training sessions, they crash out. As a mum,
:08:41. > :08:44.do you get that downtime? When I was a full-time athlete and just
:08:45. > :08:53.training, I got quite bored. Who designed the head? Let's hide that
:08:54. > :08:58.one! Now, I do a school run, I go straight to the gym, and I have to
:08:59. > :09:02.work out. I think, on these days, I can fit my physio in all my
:09:03. > :09:07.training, before I have to dash to do the school run again. And then I
:09:08. > :09:12.have to do the food shop. Just to keep life operating in the house. It
:09:13. > :09:17.is a real logistical operation, but it does actually suit me, because I
:09:18. > :09:26.like to be busy. See you at the track. It is clear to me that the
:09:27. > :09:31.support that Shelley and Christian get from the family is hugely
:09:32. > :09:35.important. They can both focus on competing at the highest level,
:09:36. > :09:39.knowing that Ella is happy and well looked after. With both mum and dad
:09:40. > :09:44.aiming for Sochi, it is no surprise that she is their biggest fan. What
:09:45. > :09:52.do you want to do next? Leg swinging? She is really savvy with
:09:53. > :09:57.the sport of skeleton. We joke about it, but she is probably the most
:09:58. > :10:04.knowledgeable six-year-old in skeleton you could get. It's really
:10:05. > :10:13.funny. She used to do a full race prep and everything! You can do
:10:14. > :10:21.this! It's like this on the start line. The first time it happened, we
:10:22. > :10:25.were like, how funny is this? She's really, really watched us. She knows
:10:26. > :10:31.all of the terminology and all of the athletes. They are all on high
:10:32. > :10:38.five terms with her, and all joking. She just absorbs it, and really
:10:39. > :10:44.loves it. Well done! That was a big one! Thanks to athletes like
:10:45. > :10:49.Shelley, Great Britain is one of the leading nations when it comes to
:10:50. > :10:54.women's skeleton, despite a lack of facilities and ice in the UK. The
:10:55. > :11:00.success of the squad in the past means that the pressure is on in
:11:01. > :11:05.Sochi. We don't have enough training runs. In Great Britain, we don't
:11:06. > :11:09.have a track, so everything they do, every run, becomes important. This
:11:10. > :11:14.is about focus. It is about everything giving towards what is
:11:15. > :11:19.going to happen. Everybody says to me, what about the gold medal? That
:11:20. > :11:24.would be amazing, but I am really, really happy with my silver Olympic
:11:25. > :11:29.medal. The main focus for me is to try and qualify for Sochi firstly,
:11:30. > :11:34.and secondly, to get their quite fit and healthy. Thirdly, that the
:11:35. > :11:39.tracksuits me and that I have connected with it well. And then to
:11:40. > :11:44.try and perform as best I can. I am more open-minded going into this
:11:45. > :11:52.Olympic cycle. I am thinking, OK, if I suit that track I could be in with
:11:53. > :11:54.a chance of doing well. If I don't, it will be hard work. Is there
:11:55. > :11:59.increased pressure, because there is this history of delivery of results?
:12:00. > :12:02.There's no pressure. They drive themselves. This is their dream.
:12:03. > :12:06.They've been waiting for this full four-year is. I have every
:12:07. > :12:13.confidence that we will do well. We will be really competitive. It is
:12:14. > :12:18.amazing to see these guys in training. We have talked about it
:12:19. > :12:23.not being as intense as racing, it is more low-key, but they throw
:12:24. > :12:27.themselves down this track, hurtling at huge speeds. There is a risk
:12:28. > :12:31.element in everything they do. It is so different when we are rowing,
:12:32. > :12:36.doing training, it is far more low-key. There is not this sense of
:12:37. > :12:42.adrenaline and fear. It is incredible. I have been really
:12:43. > :12:48.impressed at how Shelley fits everything in. Training is intense,
:12:49. > :12:52.and the demands are huge. Despite that, she works incredibly hard to
:12:53. > :12:58.give Ella as normal a life as possible. It is rare to be a mum and
:12:59. > :13:04.an Olympian. Shelley is very much both. I've had a few friends who've
:13:05. > :13:09.had young children, and initially, you lose the ambitious and
:13:10. > :13:13.competitive side of yourself. I really wanted to have targets and
:13:14. > :13:19.medals. The fact that I was a mum, I thought that that was really cool.
:13:20. > :13:23.When Ella grows up, she can say, oh, my goodness! I went to world cups
:13:24. > :13:28.with my mum. At the back of my mind, I thought, how cool would it
:13:29. > :13:33.be for Ella to say that she has been to an Olympics to watch her mum
:13:34. > :13:36.compete. That is probably the biggest motivator, just for my
:13:37. > :13:42.family as well, to do something to make them really proud. I race for
:13:43. > :13:50.that more than anything. They must be so proud. I hope so. You can see
:13:51. > :13:54.how Shelley gets on at the Winter Olympics. There's full coverage
:13:55. > :14:06.across the BBC. The action kicks off on February seven. It is a privilege
:14:07. > :14:10.to spend time in the inner sanctum of British cycling and watch these
:14:11. > :14:19.athletes training. It is also clear how high the attention to detail is.
:14:20. > :14:23.It is really impressive. It is clear you have got another talented crop
:14:24. > :14:29.of cyclists. How hard hasn't been to manage the transition? There are
:14:30. > :14:34.household names who have lost the sport. You cannot deny it has made a
:14:35. > :14:37.difference but life goes on. Sometimes it might seem
:14:38. > :14:42.uncomfortable but once you remove the top, the others,. As they assume
:14:43. > :14:47.there are levels of performance they assume new levels of leadership.
:14:48. > :14:52.Where did Becky James come to your attention? When she was in the
:14:53. > :14:58.junior ranks. The talent he were working with 14-year-olds, so the
:14:59. > :15:04.Top 14 new rules were being pulled together. What we do is bring them
:15:05. > :15:08.together to raise. It is brutal, but you can see them one to one. We
:15:09. > :15:11.would prefer a talented writer with less talent and more commitment. If
:15:12. > :15:18.there is no commitment we are wasting our time. The last two
:15:19. > :15:24.generations, they will not get there without the dedication, are they?
:15:25. > :15:30.This is what you see today. It is all about work ethic. It is
:15:31. > :15:33.interesting to see Paralympians and Olympians training side-by-side.
:15:34. > :15:38.When you hear that you think that they train in the same place, but
:15:39. > :15:41.not in the same session. It has always been the way, it has been an
:15:42. > :15:47.integrated programme. Every discipline has their own coaches and
:15:48. > :15:51.the Paralympians are the same. We use the same approach, the same
:15:52. > :15:55.training methodology, the same equipment. We are dealing with
:15:56. > :16:02.athletes and that is it, they are athletes like everybody else.
:16:03. > :16:16.Becky's sister is training as a pilot and we know of her other
:16:17. > :16:24.sister sisters. -- her other sisters. Becky James is going to do
:16:25. > :16:32.it! She is the champion of the world. What a ride! Her two world
:16:33. > :16:36.title is made up for the disappointment of not competing at
:16:37. > :16:48.the 2012 Olympics. It was, for her, very hard. Everyone was dreaming of
:16:49. > :16:52.going to London, the home games. She really took it very hard. What do
:16:53. > :16:59.you think it has done to her mindset? Is she able to draw on the
:17:00. > :17:03.disappointment, do you think? I would not say that she drew on the
:17:04. > :17:09.disappointment, I think it gave her more drive and a positive attitude.
:17:10. > :17:14.Helen Glover and Heather Stanning were winning Britain's first old
:17:15. > :17:18.medal of the games while Becky was training here. They have gone in
:17:19. > :17:21.different directions since. Helen Glover has teamed up with Polly
:17:22. > :17:27.Swann and won World Championships this year while stunning went to
:17:28. > :17:30.Afghanistan to serve in the Army. Matthew Pinsent has been to find the
:17:31. > :17:43.challenges she faced and her hopes for the future.
:17:44. > :17:54.Great Britain's Helen Glover, seven minutes away from's glory... The
:17:55. > :18:03.crowd or roaring -- or roaring... They are making history here. Great
:18:04. > :18:22.Britain, into the record books! Welcome home, first of all. Thanks.
:18:23. > :18:31.How is it to be back? It is nice. Not nice to be -- it is nice to be
:18:32. > :18:35.back in the countryside. How do you sum up Camp Bastion? Yahoo! Camp
:18:36. > :18:45.Bastion in the summer - very dusty and hot. It is -- has every thing
:18:46. > :19:00.you need with everyone around. Is it dangerous? We had a lot of
:19:01. > :19:06.weapons and it was dangerous, but I was happy in the environment I was
:19:07. > :19:10.in. The last time I spoke to you on camera was before you won the gold
:19:11. > :19:15.medal and I said to you very specifically, if you win, it will be
:19:16. > :19:19.a great story for the army, but they will not be bothered if you go or
:19:20. > :19:24.not to Afghanistan. But you said, no, I am going to go. Having the
:19:25. > :19:29.opportunity to do the job was really important to me, career-wise, to
:19:30. > :19:34.stay in the Army. They cannot credit me with just rowing. To be in the
:19:35. > :19:41.military I have to prove myself as an officer. Do you enjoy them both
:19:42. > :19:47.equally? Be you compare and contrast them? I love being an athlete and
:19:48. > :19:55.the opportunities I have had, and it is the same with the Army. I am not
:19:56. > :20:03.ready to give either one up. Back to the routine. Yes. Act to the
:20:04. > :20:08.commute, back to rowing. This is Caversham. It is the natural
:20:09. > :20:12.training centre for rowing. All of the GB medal winners in the last few
:20:13. > :20:15.years have been based here. This was a second home for Heather in the
:20:16. > :20:22.run-up to 2012. Is it strange being back now that the hoopla has gone
:20:23. > :20:30.away? Yes, it is different. Building up to London, there was a focus on
:20:31. > :20:37.this area. Yes, the boathouse is still here and we have got the fleet
:20:38. > :20:45.of boats. When did you join the GB programme? 2007 was the first year I
:20:46. > :20:51.did trials. I was very much of a novice, I was falling out of boats!
:20:52. > :20:56.That was my biggest fear, do not fall out in front of people you do
:20:57. > :21:02.not know. The British rowing honours board, how does it feel to have your
:21:03. > :21:07.own section? The first time I saw it was today. It is very impressive to
:21:08. > :21:12.see my name on the board. The first time I came in here it was like, ,
:21:13. > :21:21.look at all these people and hopefully someone will look for my
:21:22. > :21:31.name one day. Where is your name Dom ACPO? At the top somewhere.
:21:32. > :21:53.We were aware that I was just going for a race. Did you really think
:21:54. > :22:00.like that? Yet. I can hope -- yes, I hope I can draw on it again. You can
:22:01. > :22:04.smell the sweat in here. You have probably had enough of these
:22:05. > :22:17.machines for a while? Yahoo! Yes, but I am sure I will be back soon.
:22:18. > :22:25.There was a definite afterglow from the Olympics. We have tried hard to
:22:26. > :22:29.engage with going forward. It was difficult not to keep enjoying the
:22:30. > :22:38.moment and we still get out the video of the amazing race. Good to
:22:39. > :22:47.see you back. Congratulations on your little boy. I am looking
:22:48. > :22:54.forward to training, I need the routine. After the dust of London
:22:55. > :22:59.had settled, Helen Glover started a new combination with Polly Swann and
:23:00. > :23:05.they picked up where Glover and stunning had left off. There is an
:23:06. > :23:14.issue in that there are three of you who want to and expect to row in the
:23:15. > :23:18.pairs. Like anyone in the team, it is not to say that there are three
:23:19. > :23:25.of us, there is a whole squad who would want to be in the boat. It has
:23:26. > :23:30.to be fair. We cannot prejudice the situation. The athletes have to show
:23:31. > :23:34.us. We just have to get through a few months of fitness work so that
:23:35. > :23:39.they can display what they can do. It is a good situation at further
:23:40. > :23:49.down-the-line, decisions have to be made. You burn it to come here but
:23:50. > :23:53.once you are here, on days like today it is amazing. In a couple of
:23:54. > :23:58.days it will look like the North Sea and I will not be looking forward to
:23:59. > :24:02.going out there! It focuses my mind to think that I want to be in one of
:24:03. > :24:09.those boats next summer. How have you left it with the Army? If I make
:24:10. > :24:13.the national team the Army will give me the time off and I will become an
:24:14. > :24:20.Army athlete. So you have got to make the cut ready soon! You have
:24:21. > :24:23.got to perform before Christmas. I have got to do something before
:24:24. > :24:28.Christmas to earn my place with the team. Maybe I need to knuckle down
:24:29. > :24:36.to the training. It comes round very quickly. It is just round the
:24:37. > :24:45.corner. I have had a good year off and I have less than three years to
:24:46. > :24:49.go. We are very used to seeing the last few minutes of someone's
:24:50. > :24:56.Olympic four years ending with hopefully another gold medal. We
:24:57. > :24:59.very seldom see the first few minutes of the Olympic campaign.
:25:00. > :25:17.What a privilege. Heather's dedication to her work and
:25:18. > :25:19.to getting back into the GB team is fantastic to see. Dedication is an
:25:20. > :25:35.appropriate word around here. I have been working with Becky for
:25:36. > :25:43.seven years. I started in 2006. She was one of my first athletes. She
:25:44. > :25:48.achieved a lot. Did you think she was in the form to win world titles,
:25:49. > :25:53.were she ready? We knew she would be thereabouts. It is unlikely to go
:25:54. > :26:01.with four disciplines and come home with four medals. And there were two
:26:02. > :26:11.gold out of that. It was not a surprise but it is with us now.
:26:12. > :26:19.Heguy James, double world champion. -- Becky James. Difficult day, but a
:26:20. > :26:28.good day. In the first session, are you warning up? To begin with, we do
:26:29. > :26:33.a 40 lap warm up getting progressively faster. Then we do a
:26:34. > :26:40.flying 300 metres, see you can get up to 75 kilometres per hour. It set
:26:41. > :26:45.you up for the session. We were scared when you were on the back of
:26:46. > :26:53.the motorbike. When do you stop being scared? You get used to it and
:26:54. > :27:02.get over the fear. You do feel alert us and -- a bit nervous. It looks
:27:03. > :27:09.pretty scary to me. But it looks like an adrenaline rush as well.
:27:10. > :27:13.Yes, I like it. You look so fresh and relaxed. In the middle, does it
:27:14. > :27:22.hurt? We could not see if you are grimacing. After each one I have to
:27:23. > :27:27.close my eyes and rest. It is nice when you get a session done because
:27:28. > :27:30.you feel satisfied. Keep it up. It was great to meet you and to see
:27:31. > :27:38.your life and how you are getting on. Much success to you. Thank you.
:27:39. > :27:43.Perspective, that is the word that comes to mind when I think of Becky
:27:44. > :27:48.James - the grounded outlook on life and sport has helped her to become a
:27:49. > :27:51.world champ in. Shelley Rudman's commitment to her daughter is
:27:52. > :27:56.uncompromising. Ella will come first always. Combining motherhood and
:27:57. > :28:03.competing at the highest level is impressive. After a year away from
:28:04. > :28:06.rowing, Heather Stanning's desire to set out on another Olympic journey
:28:07. > :28:14.is stronger than ever. Three inspiring women. Would you like to
:28:15. > :28:23.get involved in sport? Visit the website and type in your postcode to
:28:24. > :28:31.find out activities near you. You can get in touch by Twitter as well.
:28:32. > :28:37.That is all. We will be back next month on Saturday, 21st December. I
:28:38. > :28:42.will be in Glasgow with Michael Jamieson and we will have a report
:28:43. > :28:45.from Rwanda. But you do not have to be an Libyan to get active. It is
:28:46. > :28:50.about getting out there and having fun. I hope we have inspired you.
:28:51. > :28:57.Goodbye for now.