Episode 5 Inspire: The Olympic Journey


Episode 5

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This month, our Olympic journey follows the story of three young

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women. Talented, dedicated, strong. An inspiring trio, who are focused

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on their goals, but never blinkered from life beyond sport. Balanced yet

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resolutely passionate, three different women, three different

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sports, three very different journeys. I have come to Manchester

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to meet a young Welsh cyclist who stormed onto the Welsh -- to the

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world stage earlier this year. A double world champion, pretty

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impressive when you consider that Becky James is still only 22. Also

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on Inspire: The Olympic Journey. Katherine Grainger gets a taste of

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life on the road with skeleton world champion, Shelley Rudman, and

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family. And Matthew Pinsent spends the day with Captain Heather

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Stanning, as she adjusts to life after six months in Afghanistan. It

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is so sad. You go away for so long, and then you come straight back to

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training! We want to see how you have been inspired. Share a video or

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picture of you inspired, what ever the sport, by e-mail or Twitter. We

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will feature some of the best pictures on our website.

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Hello, Becky. Nice to meet you. It's a gorgeous day! So you are from a

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completely cycling crazy family? Are you the one who instigated it all?

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Yes, I started off in primary school, in year six, and then went

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from there, and everyone else got into it. My second youngest sister

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has just got onto the Olympic development programme for mountain

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biking, which is awesome. My other younger sister is just a demon in

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whatever she does. She loves all sports. Your parents care 24-hour is

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a day for a severely disabled daughter, your sister, Beth Allen.

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That is incredible. But then to give all the support they do to you, you

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must wonder how they do it. My parents are incredible. Having six

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kids and travelling all around the country with all of us, doing

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different sports, and looking after my sister as well. It is

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incredible. I could not have better parents. When I am racing and things

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get hard, I ring my mum, and she puts things in perspective. Yet,

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with that great support, you absolutely love what you do. That

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isn't always the case when you talk to sports people. But you love

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racing. I do. Especially when I am so relaxed going into it. That is

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one I enjoy it the most. All I can do is my best. It is not life or

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death if you win. People will forget about it at the end of the day. I'm

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there to entertain people, and people get joy from watching racing.

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I just want to do my best. You can't be on top form all the time, so I

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just enjoy it while I can. Did that attitude held in 2012, when it must

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have been a huge disappointment to be told that you are staying in

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Manchester and you are not going to be a reserve in London. It was

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really hard. But I spent the weekend with my family, and after having

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plenty of tears over that weekend, I was ready by the Monday. I knew it

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wasn't the end of the world. I just focused on the next thing. I could

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chat to you all day, but there was work to be done. You have already

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done one session today, right? Yes, been on the road for an hour. But I

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have a track session this afternoon. Let's get to the

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velodrome. This is it. We are at work. Your

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work head goes on. Being a two-time world champion, has that changed

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your motivation? When you go on the track, does it feel different now?

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Is there more pressure? I try not to think of it. I am more of a person

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to put pressure on myself, but after winning the world is, I know what it

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feels like. I want to go back and try to repeat that again. You want

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that feeling? Yes. Can you tap into that feeling? Yes, if someone shows

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it to me, but it still doesn't feel that real to me. It is a bit weird

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that it actually happened. I have to pinch myself. It is a good

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motivation, after winning that, to get that feeling again.

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Becky's desire to succeed and defend her world titles fuels these tough

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training sessions. For our winter athletes, that determination will

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come into focus in February, with the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Our

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world skeleton champion, Shelley Rudman, has been fine tuning her

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performance in Norway. Katherine Grainger has been to spend some time

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with Team Bradman. -- Rodman. Shelley Rudman is many things to

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many people. She is Olympic silver medallist, and also one of the

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greatest hopes for gold at next year 's Winter Olympics. Perhaps more

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importantly, she is also a mum. I have come to Norway to find out just

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how she manages all of that. Hello! You must be Ella. Lovely to see you.

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Sorry to interrupt your breakfast! We have been really, really lucky

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that we have had great family support from both sets of

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grandparents. Both have been brilliant. Everybody is ready

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supportive of us as a unit. There are some quirks which make it

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challenging, but we accept that. With regards to travel, we need to

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travel and organise everything ourselves, but we have to be really

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organised. We start booking our hotels and flights from April

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through to October, and then we have to think, who is looking after Ella

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here? Who is coming out with us? What is an average day like? We get

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up in the morning. If Allah comes to the track, we get her ready, go to

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the track, and then she is looked after by grandparents. We have

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lunch. We go to the gym for training, and then Ella gets home

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tutored for a good two hours. Who does that? I do. The school have

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been great. They give me weekly plans, and I just follow that.

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Today, they are doing the life cycle of a frog. Ella is here doing the

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same. Those aspects are really easy to look -- to keep up with. Is there

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any element of guilt from new for taking her out of what might be a

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normal environment, and taking her along with you? Know. She is really

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adjustable. Ella is so dynamic. She will sleep in any bed just like

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that. She will communicate with the different athletes from different

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nations in their own language. Can you speak Russian? What can you say?

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How are you? Good morning, it in German, do you remember that? What

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about, I do know. From your side, loads of athletes I know, if they

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have any break between training sessions, they crash out. As a mum,

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do you get that downtime? When I was a full-time athlete and just

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training, I got quite bored. Who designed the head? Let's hide that

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one! Now, I do a school run, I go straight to the gym, and I have to

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work out. I think, on these days, I can fit my physio in all my

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training, before I have to dash to do the school run again. And then I

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have to do the food shop. Just to keep life operating in the house. It

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is a real logistical operation, but it does actually suit me, because I

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like to be busy. See you at the track. It is clear to me that the

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support that Shelley and Christian get from the family is hugely

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important. They can both focus on competing at the highest level,

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knowing that Ella is happy and well looked after. With both mum and dad

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aiming for Sochi, it is no surprise that she is their biggest fan. What

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do you want to do next? Leg swinging? She is really savvy with

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the sport of skeleton. We joke about it, but she is probably the most

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knowledgeable six-year-old in skeleton you could get. It's really

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funny. She used to do a full race prep and everything! You can do

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this! It's like this on the start line. The first time it happened, we

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were like, how funny is this? She's really, really watched us. She knows

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all of the terminology and all of the athletes. They are all on high

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five terms with her, and all joking. She just absorbs it, and really

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loves it. Well done! That was a big one! Thanks to athletes like

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Shelley, Great Britain is one of the leading nations when it comes to

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women's skeleton, despite a lack of facilities and ice in the UK. The

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success of the squad in the past means that the pressure is on in

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Sochi. We don't have enough training runs. In Great Britain, we don't

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have a track, so everything they do, every run, becomes important. This

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is about focus. It is about everything giving towards what is

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going to happen. Everybody says to me, what about the gold medal? That

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would be amazing, but I am really, really happy with my silver Olympic

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medal. The main focus for me is to try and qualify for Sochi firstly,

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and secondly, to get their quite fit and healthy. Thirdly, that the

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tracksuits me and that I have connected with it well. And then to

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try and perform as best I can. I am more open-minded going into this

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Olympic cycle. I am thinking, OK, if I suit that track I could be in with

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a chance of doing well. If I don't, it will be hard work. Is there

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increased pressure, because there is this history of delivery of results?

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There's no pressure. They drive themselves. This is their dream.

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They've been waiting for this full four-year is. I have every

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confidence that we will do well. We will be really competitive. It is

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amazing to see these guys in training. We have talked about it

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not being as intense as racing, it is more low-key, but they throw

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themselves down this track, hurtling at huge speeds. There is a risk

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element in everything they do. It is so different when we are rowing,

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doing training, it is far more low-key. There is not this sense of

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adrenaline and fear. It is incredible. I have been really

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impressed at how Shelley fits everything in. Training is intense,

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and the demands are huge. Despite that, she works incredibly hard to

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give Ella as normal a life as possible. It is rare to be a mum and

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an Olympian. Shelley is very much both. I've had a few friends who've

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had young children, and initially, you lose the ambitious and

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competitive side of yourself. I really wanted to have targets and

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medals. The fact that I was a mum, I thought that that was really cool.

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When Ella grows up, she can say, oh, my goodness! I went to world cups

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with my mum. At the back of my mind, I thought, how cool would it

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be for Ella to say that she has been to an Olympics to watch her mum

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compete. That is probably the biggest motivator, just for my

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family as well, to do something to make them really proud. I race for

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that more than anything. They must be so proud. I hope so. You can see

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how Shelley gets on at the Winter Olympics. There's full coverage

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across the BBC. The action kicks off on February seven. It is a privilege

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to spend time in the inner sanctum of British cycling and watch these

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athletes training. It is also clear how high the attention to detail is.

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It is really impressive. It is clear you have got another talented crop

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of cyclists. How hard hasn't been to manage the transition? There are

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household names who have lost the sport. You cannot deny it has made a

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difference but life goes on. Sometimes it might seem

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uncomfortable but once you remove the top, the others,. As they assume

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there are levels of performance they assume new levels of leadership.

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Where did Becky James come to your attention? When she was in the

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junior ranks. The talent he were working with 14-year-olds, so the

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Top 14 new rules were being pulled together. What we do is bring them

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together to raise. It is brutal, but you can see them one to one. We

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would prefer a talented writer with less talent and more commitment. If

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there is no commitment we are wasting our time. The last two

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generations, they will not get there without the dedication, are they?

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This is what you see today. It is all about work ethic. It is

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interesting to see Paralympians and Olympians training side-by-side.

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When you hear that you think that they train in the same place, but

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not in the same session. It has always been the way, it has been an

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integrated programme. Every discipline has their own coaches and

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the Paralympians are the same. We use the same approach, the same

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training methodology, the same equipment. We are dealing with

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athletes and that is it, they are athletes like everybody else.

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Becky's sister is training as a pilot and we know of her other

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sister sisters. -- her other sisters. Becky James is going to do

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it! She is the champion of the world. What a ride! Her two world

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title is made up for the disappointment of not competing at

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the 2012 Olympics. It was, for her, very hard. Everyone was dreaming of

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going to London, the home games. She really took it very hard. What do

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you think it has done to her mindset? Is she able to draw on the

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disappointment, do you think? I would not say that she drew on the

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disappointment, I think it gave her more drive and a positive attitude.

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Helen Glover and Heather Stanning were winning Britain's first old

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medal of the games while Becky was training here. They have gone in

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different directions since. Helen Glover has teamed up with Polly

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Swann and won World Championships this year while stunning went to

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Afghanistan to serve in the Army. Matthew Pinsent has been to find the

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challenges she faced and her hopes for the future.

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Great Britain's Helen Glover, seven minutes away from's glory... The

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crowd or roaring -- or roaring... They are making history here. Great

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Britain, into the record books! Welcome home, first of all. Thanks.

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How is it to be back? It is nice. Not nice to be -- it is nice to be

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back in the countryside. How do you sum up Camp Bastion? Yahoo! Camp

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Bastion in the summer - very dusty and hot. It is -- has every thing

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you need with everyone around. Is it dangerous? We had a lot of

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weapons and it was dangerous, but I was happy in the environment I was

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in. The last time I spoke to you on camera was before you won the gold

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medal and I said to you very specifically, if you win, it will be

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a great story for the army, but they will not be bothered if you go or

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not to Afghanistan. But you said, no, I am going to go. Having the

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opportunity to do the job was really important to me, career-wise, to

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stay in the Army. They cannot credit me with just rowing. To be in the

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military I have to prove myself as an officer. Do you enjoy them both

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equally? Be you compare and contrast them? I love being an athlete and

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the opportunities I have had, and it is the same with the Army. I am not

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ready to give either one up. Back to the routine. Yes. Act to the

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commute, back to rowing. This is Caversham. It is the natural

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training centre for rowing. All of the GB medal winners in the last few

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years have been based here. This was a second home for Heather in the

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run-up to 2012. Is it strange being back now that the hoopla has gone

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away? Yes, it is different. Building up to London, there was a focus on

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this area. Yes, the boathouse is still here and we have got the fleet

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of boats. When did you join the GB programme? 2007 was the first year I

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did trials. I was very much of a novice, I was falling out of boats!

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That was my biggest fear, do not fall out in front of people you do

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not know. The British rowing honours board, how does it feel to have your

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own section? The first time I saw it was today. It is very impressive to

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see my name on the board. The first time I came in here it was like, ,

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look at all these people and hopefully someone will look for my

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name one day. Where is your name Dom ACPO? At the top somewhere.

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We were aware that I was just going for a race. Did you really think

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like that? Yet. I can hope -- yes, I hope I can draw on it again. You can

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smell the sweat in here. You have probably had enough of these

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machines for a while? Yahoo! Yes, but I am sure I will be back soon.

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There was a definite afterglow from the Olympics. We have tried hard to

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engage with going forward. It was difficult not to keep enjoying the

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moment and we still get out the video of the amazing race. Good to

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see you back. Congratulations on your little boy. I am looking

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forward to training, I need the routine. After the dust of London

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had settled, Helen Glover started a new combination with Polly Swann and

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they picked up where Glover and stunning had left off. There is an

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issue in that there are three of you who want to and expect to row in the

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pairs. Like anyone in the team, it is not to say that there are three

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of us, there is a whole squad who would want to be in the boat. It has

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to be fair. We cannot prejudice the situation. The athletes have to show

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us. We just have to get through a few months of fitness work so that

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they can display what they can do. It is a good situation at further

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down-the-line, decisions have to be made. You burn it to come here but

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once you are here, on days like today it is amazing. In a couple of

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days it will look like the North Sea and I will not be looking forward to

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going out there! It focuses my mind to think that I want to be in one of

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those boats next summer. How have you left it with the Army? If I make

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the national team the Army will give me the time off and I will become an

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Army athlete. So you have got to make the cut ready soon! You have

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got to perform before Christmas. I have got to do something before

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Christmas to earn my place with the team. Maybe I need to knuckle down

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to the training. It comes round very quickly. It is just round the

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corner. I have had a good year off and I have less than three years to

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go. We are very used to seeing the last few minutes of someone's

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Olympic four years ending with hopefully another gold medal. We

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very seldom see the first few minutes of the Olympic campaign.

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What a privilege. Heather's dedication to her work and

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to getting back into the GB team is fantastic to see. Dedication is an

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appropriate word around here. I have been working with Becky for

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seven years. I started in 2006. She was one of my first athletes. She

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achieved a lot. Did you think she was in the form to win world titles,

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were she ready? We knew she would be thereabouts. It is unlikely to go

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with four disciplines and come home with four medals. And there were two

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gold out of that. It was not a surprise but it is with us now.

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Heguy James, double world champion. -- Becky James. Difficult day, but a

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good day. In the first session, are you warning up? To begin with, we do

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a 40 lap warm up getting progressively faster. Then we do a

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flying 300 metres, see you can get up to 75 kilometres per hour. It set

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you up for the session. We were scared when you were on the back of

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the motorbike. When do you stop being scared? You get used to it and

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get over the fear. You do feel alert us and -- a bit nervous. It looks

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pretty scary to me. But it looks like an adrenaline rush as well.

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Yes, I like it. You look so fresh and relaxed. In the middle, does it

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hurt? We could not see if you are grimacing. After each one I have to

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close my eyes and rest. It is nice when you get a session done because

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you feel satisfied. Keep it up. It was great to meet you and to see

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your life and how you are getting on. Much success to you. Thank you.

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Perspective, that is the word that comes to mind when I think of Becky

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James - the grounded outlook on life and sport has helped her to become a

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world champ in. Shelley Rudman's commitment to her daughter is

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uncompromising. Ella will come first always. Combining motherhood and

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competing at the highest level is impressive. After a year away from

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rowing, Heather Stanning's desire to set out on another Olympic journey

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is stronger than ever. Three inspiring women. Would you like to

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get involved in sport? Visit the website and type in your postcode to

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find out activities near you. You can get in touch by Twitter as well.

:28:24.:28:31.

That is all. We will be back next month on Saturday, 21st December. I

:28:32.:28:37.

will be in Glasgow with Michael Jamieson and we will have a report

:28:38.:28:42.

from Rwanda. But you do not have to be an Libyan to get active. It is

:28:43.:28:45.

about getting out there and having fun. I hope we have inspired you.

:28:46.:28:50.

Goodbye for now.

:28:51.:28:57.

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