:00:10. > :00:18.Life is rarely straightforward. To progress, we have to adapt and grow.
:00:19. > :00:22.This month we have come to a city that has done just that, it has
:00:23. > :00:29.emerged from difficult times to flourish once again. In the summer,
:00:30. > :00:34.and new chapter will be written as the Commonwealth comes to Glasgow.
:00:35. > :00:39.Today we will follow some of the amazing athletes who will make that
:00:40. > :00:42.journey, like the city itself, they have adapted and changed to perceive
:00:43. > :01:00.their goals, and their journeys have taken them in some and expect the
:01:01. > :01:02.directions. This is the Tollcross International swimming Centre, one
:01:03. > :01:08.of the venues for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next summer. It is
:01:09. > :01:13.more than a swimming pool. The whole community has enjoyed this facility.
:01:14. > :01:17.Olympic silver medallist Michael Jamieson learn to swim here and it
:01:18. > :01:22.is a place that is still dear to his heart. It has been a long time since
:01:23. > :01:27.I have been back swimming in Tollcross where I'm excited to see
:01:28. > :01:30.how it looks now. Also coming up on Inspire: The Olympic Journey, Steve
:01:31. > :01:34.Cram travels to the newest Commonwealth country, Rwanda, to see
:01:35. > :01:42.how cycling is creating new sporting heroes and new hope. We are Team
:01:43. > :01:44.Rwanda. We hear of Hannah Cockcroft's incredible determination
:01:45. > :01:50.to become a double Paralympic champion. You always get told there
:01:51. > :01:54.are things you cannot do and I like to show people that you cannot tell
:01:55. > :01:59.me that I cannot do something, because I will prove you wrong. And
:02:00. > :02:03.we want you to get inspired and try out a new sport like swimming or
:02:04. > :02:15.cycling. Go to our website to find a club near you. ?14 million has been
:02:16. > :02:18.spent on preparing Tollcross for the Commonwealth games, but for Michael
:02:19. > :02:23.Jamieson, it is still his local swimming pool. It did not look like
:02:24. > :02:31.this when little Michael first learned to swim? Not at all. It has
:02:32. > :02:35.had a full refund. It looks great. It is great for the city to have a
:02:36. > :02:39.venue like this. What was it like when you got the bug for swimming
:02:40. > :02:45.and you decided that you wanted to be competitive? When I first moved
:02:46. > :02:50.in -- when I first moved in here, this was my first moved to a next
:02:51. > :02:58.swimming club. I loved that social aspect. So many swimmers, guys and
:02:59. > :03:02.girls you run age, training and enjoying it together, pushing
:03:03. > :03:08.yourself to improve. When you trained as a young kid, how hard did
:03:09. > :03:11.you push yourself? You have to be able to switch off, your mind and
:03:12. > :03:19.your muscles, because it is telling you to stop. That is how you
:03:20. > :03:24.improve. You swim faster by breaking down muscle and rebuilding it so it
:03:25. > :03:27.comes back stronger. For me, the aim of the game as a youngster was to
:03:28. > :03:34.break myself down as much as possible. Did you never feel at that
:03:35. > :03:39.time, the alarm has gone off at five o'clock, I do not want to go, I want
:03:40. > :03:46.to stay in bed? Was it always in you? Not at all. I think it is the
:03:47. > :03:50.same with everyone. At that age, I was thinking about the bigger
:03:51. > :03:56.picture and the possibility of going to an Olympic Games. At the age of
:03:57. > :04:02.11, you write down in no uncertain terms your goals and aims? Yes, that
:04:03. > :04:07.has been quite strange about this whole experience. I actually wrote
:04:08. > :04:11.down a time that I thought would win an Olympic medal in 2012, which is
:04:12. > :04:20.when I thought I would yet my peak as an athlete. I was pretty much
:04:21. > :04:25.spot on. It is bizarre. It is of plastic silver medal for Michael
:04:26. > :04:31.Jamieson that is brilliant. I always had an idea of how hard I would have
:04:32. > :04:35.to work to get there. Things like balancing school life when I was
:04:36. > :04:41.younger, I loved it, because I was living as an athlete. Heading into
:04:42. > :04:46.that Olympic year, how much of that 11-year-old was still there, and
:04:47. > :04:51.still had that in mind? Because of the journey I took to get there, I
:04:52. > :04:56.loved the whole experience. It was great to have my friends and family
:04:57. > :05:01.they are supporting. There was one moment on the podium, receiving my
:05:02. > :05:06.medal, and I looked over to see everyone, and they were all in
:05:07. > :05:13.tears. I had to look away to make sure I kept it together. That being
:05:14. > :05:18.London was the culmination of a long journey for Michael's whole family.
:05:19. > :05:24.For his mum and dad who had supported him through years of hard
:05:25. > :05:30.work, it was a moment to savour. I closed my eyes when he touched. I do
:05:31. > :05:35.remember looking and really trying to focus on the results on the
:05:36. > :05:39.board. It takes a couple of minutes for the information to filter, and
:05:40. > :05:48.then euphoria. My goodness, he has done it. I want to know more about
:05:49. > :05:53.Michael the little boy. When he started swimming, he was resistant
:05:54. > :05:58.to the water to start with? Yes, when we signed him up for the first
:05:59. > :06:01.block of six-week lessons, at our local swimming pool, he would not go
:06:02. > :06:06.in the water because it was too cold. The first week, he did not
:06:07. > :06:11.want to go into the water, but on the way home, he assured me that he
:06:12. > :06:18.would definitely going the following week. This went on for three weeks.
:06:19. > :06:23.In the fourth week, I said, this is your last chance, I am not taking
:06:24. > :06:28.you back. For some reason, he went in and really took to it. When did
:06:29. > :06:33.US patents concede that you had something special on your hands? I
:06:34. > :06:39.think his competitive nature showed from an early age. Even as early as
:06:40. > :06:43.four. We used to play football in the whole. We would try and pass it
:06:44. > :06:50.I can forward without touching the wall. We started off, we could only
:06:51. > :06:56.get three passes, but he would try and try again. He always wanted to
:06:57. > :07:02.improve. Another big change must have been when he left to go to
:07:03. > :07:06.Paris. His coach has moved -- his coach had moved out there and he
:07:07. > :07:12.decided to go with him. You decided to follow him? Yes, it was an
:07:13. > :07:19.eye-opener. The accommodation could have been better. It was no more
:07:20. > :07:26.than his wingspan, because he could touch both walls with his hands. It
:07:27. > :07:34.was no more than 12 feet. You do not want to forget anything? We knew it
:07:35. > :07:40.was going to be tough. But to give you an insight into what Michael is
:07:41. > :07:43.likened his determination, that evening, we had spoken about staying
:07:44. > :07:50.there. I said to him, you cannot stay here. You will need to come
:07:51. > :07:55.home. He said, dad, I'm going to my bed, I am up in the morning and I am
:07:56. > :07:59.going to training. You must have been so tried to think that this is
:08:00. > :08:08.the man I brought up? People often say that. I am proud of the
:08:09. > :08:11.decisions he has made, the difficult decisions, the mental toughness he
:08:12. > :08:16.has shown to come through certain situations. I am more proud of the
:08:17. > :08:22.man he has become, not just the athlete. Michael will be one of the
:08:23. > :08:28.faces of the Commonwealth games. Expectation will be-is a carrying
:08:29. > :08:35.the hopes of a nation, some crack under the pressure. Others relish
:08:36. > :08:40.the challenge. The Rwandan cycling team fall into the latter category.
:08:41. > :08:51.Steve Cram has been to see how cycling is bringing a nation
:08:52. > :08:55.together. We are Team Rwanda. In 1994, this country was torn apart by
:08:56. > :09:00.genocide that killed over 1 million people. Since then it has gone
:09:01. > :09:05.through massive transformation and I have come here to see an event which
:09:06. > :09:11.encapsulates that recovery, that recovery that Rwanda has seen in the
:09:12. > :09:16.last 20 years. It is a cycling race that has become a focus for a
:09:17. > :09:20.country, a team that has emerged from one of the worst chap who's in
:09:21. > :09:30.human history and is now providing hope, inspiration, a future. 200
:09:31. > :09:46.people come to watch me. Everything you want to do, you have it in your
:09:47. > :09:50.heart and you can change your life. The Tour of Rwanda began in 1989 and
:09:51. > :09:57.has become one of the best races in Africa. From the teams then, to 16
:09:58. > :10:03.now. Cyclists come from around the world to take part. At its heart is
:10:04. > :10:09.a group of riders his place in the peloton would have been almost
:10:10. > :10:12.unthinkable a few short years ago. Around 300 million people will watch
:10:13. > :10:18.the tour over its eight kilometre journey. -- 3 million people. The
:10:19. > :10:26.biggest cheers will be reserved for Team Rwanda. I am near the finish
:10:27. > :10:32.line and the prizes are being given out. I was not sure of what to
:10:33. > :10:38.expect. It's sort of looked chaotic, but it was really well
:10:39. > :10:43.organised. You can see that these people really, really want their
:10:44. > :10:47.guys to do well in this sport. They came out in their thousands,
:10:48. > :10:54.villages, towns, the odd child standing by the side of the road. It
:10:55. > :10:58.was fantastic. Watching the tour ahead from the capital, Kigali, into
:10:59. > :11:04.the countryside and seeing how people responded to the cyclist was
:11:05. > :11:10.inspiring. Particularly when I thought back to the events of 1994.
:11:11. > :11:17.20 kilometres from the finish line was a powerful reminder. 25,000
:11:18. > :11:25.Tutsis came here seeking sanctuary, but one April night it became
:11:26. > :11:36.anything but. The morning was when the attack.
:11:37. > :11:58.-- they attacked. Did anyone survive?
:11:59. > :12:05.The thing I am struggling with a little bit, is that the country has
:12:06. > :12:07.come out of that so quickly, and people seem to have moved on from it
:12:08. > :12:47.so quickly? My visit to the skill in Murambi
:12:48. > :12:50.left a lasting impression. What happened there was shocking and the
:12:51. > :12:56.number of April who died unbelievable. At the same time, I
:12:57. > :13:04.heard the powerful message of a country trying to move forward. --
:13:05. > :13:07.school. Being at this sport event which is of is that having such an
:13:08. > :13:12.impact, and one hour later you're wandering around the site of the
:13:13. > :13:16.terrible atrocity. It is hard to keep your emotions in check. They
:13:17. > :13:22.are proud of their country, they are proud to be Rwandan. They want to
:13:23. > :13:26.see the flag flying, they want to see people wearing their shirt at
:13:27. > :13:32.the Olympic Commonwealth games, and they want to see a better image of
:13:33. > :13:38.the country, not one that Hank is back to 1994 and what happened then.
:13:39. > :13:45.-- and not one that goes back to 1994. They have moved on and they
:13:46. > :13:51.want us to move on as well. Cycling is nothing new. Every where you
:13:52. > :13:58.live, there are bikes. But until 2007, there was no racing. The idea
:13:59. > :14:02.of cycling as a sport did not exist. It took an American charity bringing
:14:03. > :14:15.mountain bikes to Coffey farmers to do something ground-breaking. --
:14:16. > :14:20.coffee. What has been achieved here has never been seen before. How can
:14:21. > :14:24.a country that has never been involved in cycling have the best
:14:25. > :14:28.race in Africa? The culture of cycling has only been in the last
:14:29. > :14:33.couple of years. It has not been easy. Creating a team from scratch
:14:34. > :14:38.in a country still coming to terms with its past and with no -- and
:14:39. > :14:44.with no history of sporting achievement has meant real
:14:45. > :14:48.challenges. We have about 20 minutes before the start of the race. Rather
:14:49. > :14:54.touchingly, they are having a nice team photo. I am not sure if people
:14:55. > :14:59.would be expecting them to be more stressed out, warming up, getting
:15:00. > :15:12.ready to race. I wish I was like this when I was racing. And going to
:15:13. > :15:22.get the traffic moving. -- I'm going.
:15:23. > :15:27.We are heading to see Adrian, one of the original members of the Team
:15:28. > :15:33.Rwanda cycling team. His name picture is all over billboards
:15:34. > :15:37.around here. He is a local hero. Adrian is Team Rwanda's success
:15:38. > :15:45.story. He writes for the best team in South Africa, MTM. During the
:15:46. > :15:54.genocide, five of his brothers and his sister were killed. The bike has
:15:55. > :15:56.changed his life. This is an inspiration for a lot of people in
:15:57. > :16:02.Rwanda because today, when we finished this stage, a lot of people
:16:03. > :16:08.came up and said, well done, we're big fans, we like what you have
:16:09. > :16:15.done. It is a great inspiration. Adrian opened the door for
:16:16. > :16:22.everybody. In all blossoming sports, you have to have a hero. He is the
:16:23. > :16:41.best writer in Rwanda. Everyone knows about the Rwandan
:16:42. > :16:47.genocide. A lot of people say that Rwanda is still not good. If you
:16:48. > :16:55.have been here, it is kind of amazing. Adrian was the first, an
:16:56. > :16:59.inspiration, and he has shown how Team Rwanda is not just about the
:17:00. > :17:02.bike. None of the cyclists are rich but they are paid a monthly salary
:17:03. > :17:07.and many have managed to buy a house. It is a massive achievement
:17:08. > :17:10.here. Becoming a cyclist is now a profession. Cycling is a job like
:17:11. > :17:23.any other. It can change your life. Many people know that cycling can
:17:24. > :17:46.change life. Here comes the main peloton. It is a
:17:47. > :17:56.brutal race. A real bone shaking section. If we go back to 1994, a
:17:57. > :18:03.bike meant you might escape the genocide. You come back after the
:18:04. > :18:08.genocide, if you had a bike, you could transport people, and you have
:18:09. > :18:15.an income. Now you have a whole generation looking at cycling to be
:18:16. > :18:22.able to succeed. It is putting people together that would have been
:18:23. > :18:26.enemies during the genocide. Our team is all Rwandan and it consists
:18:27. > :18:37.of people from all regions, from all different areas, and they have to
:18:38. > :18:39.work together for it to succeed. Long ago in Rwanda, there was only
:18:40. > :18:49.six riders. Now there are many. You think cycling is helping people
:18:50. > :19:12.to forget what happened? This has been a real eye-opener for
:19:13. > :19:19.me. The amount of people out here supporting has been incredible. They
:19:20. > :19:22.obviously love this sport. Although they have not got a winner to cheer
:19:23. > :19:26.today, I think they will in the future. For the time being, it is
:19:27. > :19:32.Adrian with the rest of the Rwandan cyclists are having to chase.
:19:33. > :19:37.-- who the rest. As my time here grew to a -- drew to a close, I was
:19:38. > :19:41.struck by something Nelson Mandela once said. Sport can create hope for
:19:42. > :19:46.once there was only despair. It is not a grandiose statement. It is not
:19:47. > :19:49.difficult to see how this team embodies the pride and hope of a
:19:50. > :19:59.nation whose progress in such a short space of time is in itself
:20:00. > :20:03.remarkable. If you have been inspired by the
:20:04. > :20:07.amazing feats of the Rwandan cycling team and want to get more involved,
:20:08. > :20:15.visit our website for information on where to find your nearest sports
:20:16. > :20:19.club. We have just seen how sport can change peoples lives and bring
:20:20. > :20:25.communities together. Glasgow was going to experience something very
:20:26. > :20:29.special with the Commonwealth Games but it is interesting to see what it
:20:30. > :20:33.can do to the City. What you think the Commonwealth Games will do for
:20:34. > :20:38.Glasgow? I think we have already seen the benefits. This side of the
:20:39. > :20:41.has been transformed with the new venues and the athletes and
:20:42. > :20:48.accommodation that will be used during the games. Generally, there
:20:49. > :20:54.was so much momentum created around the Olympics in London, creating
:20:55. > :21:00.that legacy and making it a lasting legacy, with the Commonwealth Games
:21:01. > :21:05.so soon after that, it is a real opportunity to capitalise on that.
:21:06. > :21:10.And in terms of the health benefits, is it happening? Will it help to
:21:11. > :21:16.push people on? I certainly think so. Swimming is well, it has
:21:17. > :21:21.arguably better health benefits than others. It is not a weight-bearing
:21:22. > :21:28.sport so it is maybe easier to get into if you are just looking to
:21:29. > :21:33.kick-start a healthy lifestyle. No rest for the wicked. What is
:21:34. > :21:39.today's session? Just an easy one. I will only swim about three
:21:40. > :21:46.kilometres. Is that all(!) It is an easy afternoon, a bit of physio.
:21:47. > :21:51.Michael's success has put Tollcross on the map. The next step is to get
:21:52. > :21:55.more local kids swimming and on our future stars. But the key to
:21:56. > :22:00.sporting success is really raw talent. Often, it is about how you
:22:01. > :22:05.respond to adversity. For Hannah Cockroft, that journey started at
:22:06. > :22:10.birth and everything since has been testament to her determination and
:22:11. > :22:16.desire to get faster and faster. Just being out there it gives you a
:22:17. > :22:22.sense of freedom. All of it. -- I love it. Nowhere else has such a
:22:23. > :22:25.beautiful surrounding. It is one of those places, I would never go
:22:26. > :22:30.walking up there, but I can go brawling and enjoy it like everyone
:22:31. > :22:37.else. That is the place I fell in love with wheelchair racing. I am in
:22:38. > :22:45.21 and I am in double Paralympic, 24 times record rigour, and double
:22:46. > :22:50.world junior champion. She was premature, so she was in a hurry to
:22:51. > :22:55.be born. She ended up having two heart attacks within a week. And
:22:56. > :23:01.that cost a lot of difficulties from then on. They said she would not
:23:02. > :23:05.speak or go to mainstream school. They did not give her a lot of time
:23:06. > :23:13.because they did not know how much damage was there. She was a miracle
:23:14. > :23:18.baby and she should not have lived. As a disabled person, you get told
:23:19. > :23:22.that there are things you cannot do. I have always been a person who
:23:23. > :23:24.hates that. Like to show people that actually you cannot tell me that I
:23:25. > :23:30.cannot do something goes I'm going to prove you wrong. She does not
:23:31. > :23:34.like you to say no. If you say no, she will find a way around it to do
:23:35. > :23:38.what ever it is she was told she could not do. She was told she could
:23:39. > :23:43.not dance but she wanted to be a ballerina. The one thing she will
:23:44. > :23:48.never be able to do. There were no schools that would take me, and my
:23:49. > :23:52.mum and dad searched every school and eventually found me a ballet
:23:53. > :23:55.school. I've learned to dance for 13 years. Without that upbringing and
:23:56. > :24:05.support, I guess I've would be a different person, sitting in your
:24:06. > :24:11.room and not believing in dreams. People have always seen that I have
:24:12. > :24:15.a hunger and that I'm going to prove people wrong. When I am on the
:24:16. > :24:20.track, I'm a different person. In everyday life, I am loud and bubbly
:24:21. > :24:23.and in-your-face but on the track, I am very quiet and get my head down
:24:24. > :24:31.and they know what want to do. Out there, I am nobody's friend.
:24:32. > :24:34.Hannah's journey started in 2007 when she first tried wheelchair
:24:35. > :24:41.racing. Five years later, she was ready for the Paralympics. Remember
:24:42. > :24:45.being on the line and that was some butterflies around, but as soon as
:24:46. > :24:52.they read your name, your focus. And as soon as you cross the line, my
:24:53. > :24:56.whole body just felt numb. I could not equate the athlete that was down
:24:57. > :25:02.there on the track with my daughter. It was not until afterwards.
:25:03. > :25:21.Basically, a dream come true in 18 .05 seconds.
:25:22. > :25:27.It has been announced that I will race the 100 metres and 800 metres
:25:28. > :25:31.instead of 100 metres and 200 metres, so any to start working on
:25:32. > :25:34.my 800 metres. I'll hold the world record but any to get under two
:25:35. > :25:39.minutes to dream of getting a decent gold medal. Hannah's list of
:25:40. > :25:44.achievements is incredible for her age. Termination, focus and hard
:25:45. > :25:49.work both ways she is today but she could not have done it on her own.
:25:50. > :25:56.She has had a lot of support around her, physiotherapists and doctors
:25:57. > :25:59.and lots of equipment. My parents are incredibly supportive. Without
:26:00. > :26:03.them, I would be in a wheelchair constantly and I want to succeed,
:26:04. > :26:07.just to give them something back for all the sacrifices they have made
:26:08. > :26:11.for me. Athletics is one thing that you cannot do on your own. It might
:26:12. > :26:17.be an individual support but at the end of the day, it is a team game.
:26:18. > :26:20.For athletes like Hannah Cockroft and Michael Jamieson, their families
:26:21. > :26:25.have provided so much love and support. It is warming to see how
:26:26. > :26:31.much that is appreciated by their children.
:26:32. > :26:37.How did that go? I know you said it was easy but it looks tough. I'm
:26:38. > :26:42.taking full advantage of the Christmas period. I have a few easy
:26:43. > :26:47.days, so that was not so strenuous. I will take your word for it. A few
:26:48. > :26:51.weeks ago, there was a story which sounded very dramatic, but your
:26:52. > :26:58.heart. How is that? Back to normal. It was a strange situation. I was
:26:59. > :27:02.doing a maximum effort circuit session, which is completely normal,
:27:03. > :27:08.and manage to get my heart rate up to 202 beats per minute, about ten
:27:09. > :27:15.beats higher than my formal maximum. It pushed my heart into an irregular
:27:16. > :27:20.rhythm. But the medical staff were brilliant and I was in and out of
:27:21. > :27:26.the hospital in 24 hours. Back to normal? Completely. Well, you are
:27:27. > :27:30.not normal, superhuman! Great to see you. Good luck in the build-up to
:27:31. > :27:36.Glasgow. Enjoy it. Take care. This summer, Michael's story will
:27:37. > :27:40.come full circle, from the cautious 5-year-old learning to swim to the
:27:41. > :27:46.Scottish Euro determined to give Glasgow something to cheer about. --
:27:47. > :27:49.Scottish hero. The will and determination to prove the doctors
:27:50. > :27:55.wrong has driven Hannah Cockroft's success on the track. She will never
:27:56. > :27:59.give up. We have witnessed sport's healing powers in Rwanda. Cycling
:28:00. > :28:06.cannot rebuild the country but it is helping to bring pride back to the
:28:07. > :28:11.people and that is so important. When you think of what our athletes
:28:12. > :28:23.have overcome, you cannot help but feel inspired. Would you like to get
:28:24. > :28:29.involved in sport? Click on the link to find out how. We will be back in
:28:30. > :28:33.January with more inspiring stories, with the Winter Olympics
:28:34. > :28:37.and the football World Cup, and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. There
:28:38. > :28:39.is plenty of sports to inspire us all in 2014. See you next time.
:28:40. > :28:49.Bye-bye.