Episode 6 Inspire: The Olympic Journey


Episode 6

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Life is rarely straightforward. To progress, we have to adapt and grow.

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This month we have come to a city that has done just that, it has

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emerged from difficult times to flourish once again. In the summer,

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and new chapter will be written as the Commonwealth comes to Glasgow.

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Today we will follow some of the amazing athletes who will make that

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journey, like the city itself, they have adapted and changed to perceive

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their goals, and their journeys have taken them in some and expect the

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directions. This is the Tollcross International swimming Centre, one

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of the venues for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next summer. It is

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more than a swimming pool. The whole community has enjoyed this facility.

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Olympic silver medallist Michael Jamieson learn to swim here and it

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is a place that is still dear to his heart. It has been a long time since

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I have been back swimming in Tollcross where I'm excited to see

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how it looks now. Also coming up on Inspire: The Olympic Journey, Steve

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Cram travels to the newest Commonwealth country, Rwanda, to see

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how cycling is creating new sporting heroes and new hope. We are Team

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Rwanda. We hear of Hannah Cockcroft's incredible determination

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to become a double Paralympic champion. You always get told there

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are things you cannot do and I like to show people that you cannot tell

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me that I cannot do something, because I will prove you wrong. And

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we want you to get inspired and try out a new sport like swimming or

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cycling. Go to our website to find a club near you. ?14 million has been

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spent on preparing Tollcross for the Commonwealth games, but for Michael

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Jamieson, it is still his local swimming pool. It did not look like

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this when little Michael first learned to swim? Not at all. It has

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had a full refund. It looks great. It is great for the city to have a

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venue like this. What was it like when you got the bug for swimming

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and you decided that you wanted to be competitive? When I first moved

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in -- when I first moved in here, this was my first moved to a next

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swimming club. I loved that social aspect. So many swimmers, guys and

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girls you run age, training and enjoying it together, pushing

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yourself to improve. When you trained as a young kid, how hard did

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you push yourself? You have to be able to switch off, your mind and

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your muscles, because it is telling you to stop. That is how you

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improve. You swim faster by breaking down muscle and rebuilding it so it

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comes back stronger. For me, the aim of the game as a youngster was to

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break myself down as much as possible. Did you never feel at that

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time, the alarm has gone off at five o'clock, I do not want to go, I want

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to stay in bed? Was it always in you? Not at all. I think it is the

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same with everyone. At that age, I was thinking about the bigger

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picture and the possibility of going to an Olympic Games. At the age of

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11, you write down in no uncertain terms your goals and aims? Yes, that

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has been quite strange about this whole experience. I actually wrote

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down a time that I thought would win an Olympic medal in 2012, which is

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when I thought I would yet my peak as an athlete. I was pretty much

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spot on. It is bizarre. It is of plastic silver medal for Michael

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Jamieson that is brilliant. I always had an idea of how hard I would have

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to work to get there. Things like balancing school life when I was

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younger, I loved it, because I was living as an athlete. Heading into

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that Olympic year, how much of that 11-year-old was still there, and

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still had that in mind? Because of the journey I took to get there, I

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loved the whole experience. It was great to have my friends and family

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they are supporting. There was one moment on the podium, receiving my

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medal, and I looked over to see everyone, and they were all in

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tears. I had to look away to make sure I kept it together. That being

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London was the culmination of a long journey for Michael's whole family.

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For his mum and dad who had supported him through years of hard

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work, it was a moment to savour. I closed my eyes when he touched. I do

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remember looking and really trying to focus on the results on the

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board. It takes a couple of minutes for the information to filter, and

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then euphoria. My goodness, he has done it. I want to know more about

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Michael the little boy. When he started swimming, he was resistant

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to the water to start with? Yes, when we signed him up for the first

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block of six-week lessons, at our local swimming pool, he would not go

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in the water because it was too cold. The first week, he did not

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want to go into the water, but on the way home, he assured me that he

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would definitely going the following week. This went on for three weeks.

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In the fourth week, I said, this is your last chance, I am not taking

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you back. For some reason, he went in and really took to it. When did

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US patents concede that you had something special on your hands? I

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think his competitive nature showed from an early age. Even as early as

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four. We used to play football in the whole. We would try and pass it

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I can forward without touching the wall. We started off, we could only

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get three passes, but he would try and try again. He always wanted to

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improve. Another big change must have been when he left to go to

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Paris. His coach has moved -- his coach had moved out there and he

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decided to go with him. You decided to follow him? Yes, it was an

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eye-opener. The accommodation could have been better. It was no more

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than his wingspan, because he could touch both walls with his hands. It

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was no more than 12 feet. You do not want to forget anything? We knew it

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was going to be tough. But to give you an insight into what Michael is

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likened his determination, that evening, we had spoken about staying

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there. I said to him, you cannot stay here. You will need to come

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home. He said, dad, I'm going to my bed, I am up in the morning and I am

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going to training. You must have been so tried to think that this is

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the man I brought up? People often say that. I am proud of the

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decisions he has made, the difficult decisions, the mental toughness he

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has shown to come through certain situations. I am more proud of the

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man he has become, not just the athlete. Michael will be one of the

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faces of the Commonwealth games. Expectation will be-is a carrying

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the hopes of a nation, some crack under the pressure. Others relish

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the challenge. The Rwandan cycling team fall into the latter category.

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Steve Cram has been to see how cycling is bringing a nation

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together. We are Team Rwanda. In 1994, this country was torn apart by

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genocide that killed over 1 million people. Since then it has gone

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through massive transformation and I have come here to see an event which

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encapsulates that recovery, that recovery that Rwanda has seen in the

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last 20 years. It is a cycling race that has become a focus for a

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country, a team that has emerged from one of the worst chap who's in

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human history and is now providing hope, inspiration, a future. 200

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people come to watch me. Everything you want to do, you have it in your

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heart and you can change your life. The Tour of Rwanda began in 1989 and

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has become one of the best races in Africa. From the teams then, to 16

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now. Cyclists come from around the world to take part. At its heart is

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a group of riders his place in the peloton would have been almost

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unthinkable a few short years ago. Around 300 million people will watch

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the tour over its eight kilometre journey. -- 3 million people. The

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biggest cheers will be reserved for Team Rwanda. I am near the finish

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line and the prizes are being given out. I was not sure of what to

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expect. It's sort of looked chaotic, but it was really well

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organised. You can see that these people really, really want their

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guys to do well in this sport. They came out in their thousands,

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villages, towns, the odd child standing by the side of the road. It

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was fantastic. Watching the tour ahead from the capital, Kigali, into

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the countryside and seeing how people responded to the cyclist was

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inspiring. Particularly when I thought back to the events of 1994.

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20 kilometres from the finish line was a powerful reminder. 25,000

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Tutsis came here seeking sanctuary, but one April night it became

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anything but. The morning was when the attack.

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-- they attacked. Did anyone survive?

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The thing I am struggling with a little bit, is that the country has

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come out of that so quickly, and people seem to have moved on from it

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so quickly? My visit to the skill in Murambi

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left a lasting impression. What happened there was shocking and the

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number of April who died unbelievable. At the same time, I

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heard the powerful message of a country trying to move forward. --

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school. Being at this sport event which is of is that having such an

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impact, and one hour later you're wandering around the site of the

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terrible atrocity. It is hard to keep your emotions in check. They

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are proud of their country, they are proud to be Rwandan. They want to

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see the flag flying, they want to see people wearing their shirt at

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the Olympic Commonwealth games, and they want to see a better image of

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the country, not one that Hank is back to 1994 and what happened then.

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-- and not one that goes back to 1994. They have moved on and they

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want us to move on as well. Cycling is nothing new. Every where you

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live, there are bikes. But until 2007, there was no racing. The idea

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of cycling as a sport did not exist. It took an American charity bringing

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mountain bikes to Coffey farmers to do something ground-breaking. --

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coffee. What has been achieved here has never been seen before. How can

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a country that has never been involved in cycling have the best

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race in Africa? The culture of cycling has only been in the last

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couple of years. It has not been easy. Creating a team from scratch

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in a country still coming to terms with its past and with no -- and

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with no history of sporting achievement has meant real

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challenges. We have about 20 minutes before the start of the race. Rather

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touchingly, they are having a nice team photo. I am not sure if people

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would be expecting them to be more stressed out, warming up, getting

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ready to race. I wish I was like this when I was racing. And going to

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get the traffic moving. -- I'm going.

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We are heading to see Adrian, one of the original members of the Team

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Rwanda cycling team. His name picture is all over billboards

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around here. He is a local hero. Adrian is Team Rwanda's success

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story. He writes for the best team in South Africa, MTM. During the

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genocide, five of his brothers and his sister were killed. The bike has

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changed his life. This is an inspiration for a lot of people in

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Rwanda because today, when we finished this stage, a lot of people

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came up and said, well done, we're big fans, we like what you have

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done. It is a great inspiration. Adrian opened the door for

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everybody. In all blossoming sports, you have to have a hero. He is the

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best writer in Rwanda. Everyone knows about the Rwandan

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genocide. A lot of people say that Rwanda is still not good. If you

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have been here, it is kind of amazing. Adrian was the first, an

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inspiration, and he has shown how Team Rwanda is not just about the

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bike. None of the cyclists are rich but they are paid a monthly salary

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and many have managed to buy a house. It is a massive achievement

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here. Becoming a cyclist is now a profession. Cycling is a job like

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any other. It can change your life. Many people know that cycling can

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change life. Here comes the main peloton. It is a

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brutal race. A real bone shaking section. If we go back to 1994, a

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bike meant you might escape the genocide. You come back after the

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genocide, if you had a bike, you could transport people, and you have

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an income. Now you have a whole generation looking at cycling to be

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able to succeed. It is putting people together that would have been

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enemies during the genocide. Our team is all Rwandan and it consists

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of people from all regions, from all different areas, and they have to

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work together for it to succeed. Long ago in Rwanda, there was only

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six riders. Now there are many. You think cycling is helping people

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to forget what happened? This has been a real eye-opener for

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me. The amount of people out here supporting has been incredible. They

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obviously love this sport. Although they have not got a winner to cheer

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today, I think they will in the future. For the time being, it is

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Adrian with the rest of the Rwandan cyclists are having to chase.

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-- who the rest. As my time here grew to a -- drew to a close, I was

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struck by something Nelson Mandela once said. Sport can create hope for

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once there was only despair. It is not a grandiose statement. It is not

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difficult to see how this team embodies the pride and hope of a

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nation whose progress in such a short space of time is in itself

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remarkable. If you have been inspired by the

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amazing feats of the Rwandan cycling team and want to get more involved,

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visit our website for information on where to find your nearest sports

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club. We have just seen how sport can change peoples lives and bring

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communities together. Glasgow was going to experience something very

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special with the Commonwealth Games but it is interesting to see what it

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can do to the City. What you think the Commonwealth Games will do for

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Glasgow? I think we have already seen the benefits. This side of the

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has been transformed with the new venues and the athletes and

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accommodation that will be used during the games. Generally, there

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was so much momentum created around the Olympics in London, creating

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that legacy and making it a lasting legacy, with the Commonwealth Games

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so soon after that, it is a real opportunity to capitalise on that.

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And in terms of the health benefits, is it happening? Will it help to

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push people on? I certainly think so. Swimming is well, it has

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arguably better health benefits than others. It is not a weight-bearing

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sport so it is maybe easier to get into if you are just looking to

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kick-start a healthy lifestyle. No rest for the wicked. What is

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today's session? Just an easy one. I will only swim about three

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kilometres. Is that all(!) It is an easy afternoon, a bit of physio.

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Michael's success has put Tollcross on the map. The next step is to get

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more local kids swimming and on our future stars. But the key to

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sporting success is really raw talent. Often, it is about how you

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respond to adversity. For Hannah Cockroft, that journey started at

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birth and everything since has been testament to her determination and

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desire to get faster and faster. Just being out there it gives you a

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sense of freedom. All of it. -- I love it. Nowhere else has such a

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beautiful surrounding. It is one of those places, I would never go

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walking up there, but I can go brawling and enjoy it like everyone

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else. That is the place I fell in love with wheelchair racing. I am in

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21 and I am in double Paralympic, 24 times record rigour, and double

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world junior champion. She was premature, so she was in a hurry to

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be born. She ended up having two heart attacks within a week. And

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that cost a lot of difficulties from then on. They said she would not

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speak or go to mainstream school. They did not give her a lot of time

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because they did not know how much damage was there. She was a miracle

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baby and she should not have lived. As a disabled person, you get told

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that there are things you cannot do. I have always been a person who

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hates that. Like to show people that actually you cannot tell me that I

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cannot do something goes I'm going to prove you wrong. She does not

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like you to say no. If you say no, she will find a way around it to do

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what ever it is she was told she could not do. She was told she could

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not dance but she wanted to be a ballerina. The one thing she will

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never be able to do. There were no schools that would take me, and my

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mum and dad searched every school and eventually found me a ballet

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school. I've learned to dance for 13 years. Without that upbringing and

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support, I guess I've would be a different person, sitting in your

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room and not believing in dreams. People have always seen that I have

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a hunger and that I'm going to prove people wrong. When I am on the

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track, I'm a different person. In everyday life, I am loud and bubbly

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and in-your-face but on the track, I am very quiet and get my head down

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and they know what want to do. Out there, I am nobody's friend.

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Hannah's journey started in 2007 when she first tried wheelchair

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racing. Five years later, she was ready for the Paralympics. Remember

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being on the line and that was some butterflies around, but as soon as

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they read your name, your focus. And as soon as you cross the line, my

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whole body just felt numb. I could not equate the athlete that was down

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there on the track with my daughter. It was not until afterwards.

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Basically, a dream come true in 18 .05 seconds.

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It has been announced that I will race the 100 metres and 800 metres

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instead of 100 metres and 200 metres, so any to start working on

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my 800 metres. I'll hold the world record but any to get under two

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minutes to dream of getting a decent gold medal. Hannah's list of

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achievements is incredible for her age. Termination, focus and hard

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work both ways she is today but she could not have done it on her own.

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She has had a lot of support around her, physiotherapists and doctors

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and lots of equipment. My parents are incredibly supportive. Without

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them, I would be in a wheelchair constantly and I want to succeed,

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just to give them something back for all the sacrifices they have made

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for me. Athletics is one thing that you cannot do on your own. It might

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be an individual support but at the end of the day, it is a team game.

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For athletes like Hannah Cockroft and Michael Jamieson, their families

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have provided so much love and support. It is warming to see how

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much that is appreciated by their children.

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How did that go? I know you said it was easy but it looks tough. I'm

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taking full advantage of the Christmas period. I have a few easy

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days, so that was not so strenuous. I will take your word for it. A few

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weeks ago, there was a story which sounded very dramatic, but your

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heart. How is that? Back to normal. It was a strange situation. I was

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doing a maximum effort circuit session, which is completely normal,

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and manage to get my heart rate up to 202 beats per minute, about ten

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beats higher than my formal maximum. It pushed my heart into an irregular

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rhythm. But the medical staff were brilliant and I was in and out of

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the hospital in 24 hours. Back to normal? Completely. Well, you are

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not normal, superhuman! Great to see you. Good luck in the build-up to

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Glasgow. Enjoy it. Take care. This summer, Michael's story will

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come full circle, from the cautious 5-year-old learning to swim to the

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Scottish Euro determined to give Glasgow something to cheer about. --

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Scottish hero. The will and determination to prove the doctors

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wrong has driven Hannah Cockroft's success on the track. She will never

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give up. We have witnessed sport's healing powers in Rwanda. Cycling

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cannot rebuild the country but it is helping to bring pride back to the

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people and that is so important. When you think of what our athletes

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have overcome, you cannot help but feel inspired. Would you like to get

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involved in sport? Click on the link to find out how. We will be back in

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January with more inspiring stories, with the Winter Olympics

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and the football World Cup, and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. There

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is plenty of sports to inspire us all in 2014. See you next time.

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Bye-bye.

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