0:00:03 > 0:00:08Being a great athlete is not only about the body, it's about the mind.
0:00:08 > 0:00:14Learning how to win, how to lose, how to overcome adversity.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17It's gaining all of the knowledge possible about your body's
0:00:17 > 0:00:20capabilities, and then pushing it further still.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23This month, we meet three people leaving nothing to chance
0:00:23 > 0:00:27as they strive for excellence on their sporting journeys.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31I've come to the University of East London to meet a sprinter
0:00:31 > 0:00:33who's earning praise from the very best.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37A world junior and European Under-23 100m champion,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40just how does Adam Gemili combine life
0:00:40 > 0:00:42as an ordinary 20-year-old student
0:00:42 > 0:00:44and an international track star in waiting?
0:00:50 > 0:00:54Also in today's show, Lee McKenzie heads to Scotland to see how
0:00:54 > 0:00:57judo player Euan Burton is combining coaching with competing.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00The way I balance it is I do everything
0:01:00 > 0:01:03I can to be the best coach I can and I squeeze the training in around it.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06We spend a day with squash world champion Nick Matthew,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09whose sights are firmly set on this summer's Commonwealth Games.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13Having two gold medals in Delhi was an amazing feeling,
0:01:13 > 0:01:16and I'm desperate to add to my tally in Glasgow.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19And we want to inspire YOU to get active.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Find out more about getting involved in a sport near you
0:01:22 > 0:01:25by visiting our website.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30And you can also get in touch with us via Twitter.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40- Hey, Adam.- Hiya.- How are you?- Yeah, I'm good thank you. How are you?
0:01:40 > 0:01:43- Thank you very much for meeting us here today.- It's cool.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46So this is where it all happens for you in the cerebral
0:01:46 > 0:01:49- part of your life, the thinking part.- Yeah, this is the university.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51How long have you been here now, two years?
0:01:51 > 0:01:53This is my second year. One more year after this...
0:01:53 > 0:01:55- You can graduate. - Then I'm graduated.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58- And you've got a lecture today. - Yes, a couple of lectures today.
0:01:58 > 0:01:59- And training.- And training.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01- And us.- And you guys, so...
0:02:01 > 0:02:04- You've got a lot to squeeze in. - Yeah, we've got a busy day today.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06We'd better get started. Let's have a little look around.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17Adam, tell us exactly what your degree is called and all about then.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19So, I'm studying Sports and Exercise Science here
0:02:19 > 0:02:21at the University of East London.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25It involves a lot of different modules related to sports,
0:02:25 > 0:02:27whether it be anatomy, psychology, biomechanics
0:02:27 > 0:02:31and things like that and it's something that I really enjoy doing.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33So are you doing it to learn even more about your body
0:02:33 > 0:02:35so you can be an even faster sprinter,
0:02:35 > 0:02:37or are you doing it because
0:02:37 > 0:02:40you want to get a degree whatever, whether you were doing sport at all?
0:02:40 > 0:02:43I've always wanted to have a degree, even when I was playing football.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47I've been very encouraged by my mum, my dad and my grandma and stuff like that.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52They've always encouraged me to get some sort of educational backing behind me
0:02:52 > 0:02:54and obviously it does help a lot with sprinting,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56especially the biomechanics side of things
0:02:56 > 0:02:59and if you're using psychology, you can learn a bit about your mind.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01So, yeah, it does help me in both,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03but I've always wanted to get some sort of a degree.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06But then you've got to balance being an international superstar
0:03:06 > 0:03:09in the making with getting a degree.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11You're in the second year now, so it's a lot of work.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Any student watching this will know the kind of workload you've got,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17and a lot of people you're on the line with at the beginning
0:03:17 > 0:03:19of a race are only focusing on athletics, aren't they?
0:03:19 > 0:03:20Yeah, it can be tough.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25It can be extremely tough to juggle doing coursework and exams
0:03:25 > 0:03:28and things like that around training, but along with my uni
0:03:28 > 0:03:31and my coach and stuff, we're very flexible and we move
0:03:31 > 0:03:34things around and we make things work and we get it done.
0:03:34 > 0:03:35When I went to Florida last year to train
0:03:35 > 0:03:37and a lot of those guys are just there focusing on
0:03:37 > 0:03:40track and field, track and field, track and field...
0:03:40 > 0:03:42When I'm there, doing coursework after training
0:03:42 > 0:03:44and they're all chilling by the pool,
0:03:44 > 0:03:48it can be a bit frustrating, but it's something I've got to do.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50But do people look at you in a different way here?
0:03:50 > 0:03:53- Are you seen as a bit of a superstar round campus?- I don't think so.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57I think people around campus are familiar with me and when people get to know me,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59they know that I'm just a normal guy
0:03:59 > 0:04:01and I can be a bit of a loser at times or whatever like that.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04- Surely not. Forgetting your books, getting up late...- Yeah.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Staying out until three in the morning? Surely not.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Not quite, not quite that, but apart from the party side
0:04:09 > 0:04:13and the going out side, I'm just like a lot of young students.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18PRESENTER: Well, it wasn't that long ago that on a Saturday morning,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Adam Gemili would have been pulling on his football boots
0:04:20 > 0:04:22and thinking about starting the football season.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27A Dagenham and Redbridge player, now a British Olympian sprinter.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31- Let's go back, at the end of 2011, you were still at Dagenham and Redbridge.- Yeah.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33So at that point, you're thinking that you're still going to
0:04:33 > 0:04:35be a professional footballer.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38At football, they said, "We'd like to offer you a professional contract.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41"However, you can't do running any more
0:04:41 > 0:04:44"and you can't go to university, and you can't do things like that."
0:04:44 > 0:04:46And these things were quite important to me.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49So it was a big decision with my mum and my dad and the rest of my family
0:04:49 > 0:04:52and friends to sit down and think, "OK, let's stop football, you can
0:04:52 > 0:04:55"always come back to football if athletics doesn't work out."
0:04:55 > 0:04:56That's interesting.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59So as well as obviously the attraction of being able to
0:04:59 > 0:05:01do more, being able to study,
0:05:01 > 0:05:05you thought perhaps football might be an option further down the line?
0:05:05 > 0:05:06Oh, yeah, definitely.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09After 2012, I was completely planning on going back to football.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14It was only because of the World Juniors and making the Olympic team and doing so well, that I thought,
0:05:14 > 0:05:16"OK, maybe I can't just walk away from this."
0:05:16 > 0:05:18I'm a world champion. I need to have a look at this!
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Maybe I've got a bit of potential to do better.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26And the talent that you have physically is one thing.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28That can be honed, that can be trained.
0:05:28 > 0:05:29The mental side,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32to not be a competitor in athletics for all those years and then
0:05:32 > 0:05:35turn up at World Championships, that must be an innate thing.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39I think, if anything, it might have been a bit of naivety,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42not actually knowing the scale of things.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45I don't think I realised the scale of the Olympics until after.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47At the British trials in 2012
0:05:47 > 0:05:48when I made the team,
0:05:48 > 0:05:49I was really happy
0:05:49 > 0:05:51and I went home and I was happy and then
0:05:51 > 0:05:53I just went to bed and woke up the next day
0:05:53 > 0:05:54and that was it for me.
0:05:54 > 0:05:55It wasn't a big deal
0:05:55 > 0:05:57because I didn't realise the scale of it
0:05:57 > 0:06:00and how hard people have trained to make that sort of team, so, yeah...
0:06:00 > 0:06:01Feel a bit guilty now?
0:06:03 > 0:06:05A little bit.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07But like you said, when I am on the start line,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09and you see me smiling, especially in 2012,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12it was literally just because I was just enjoying myself.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15I had no pressures to be there, I had no stress, I had no expectations.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17That's interesting, yeah.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19I was just there to have fun, so I try and do that now,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22cos I think I'm not really the type of person to be angry
0:06:22 > 0:06:24and aggressive and stick my chest out.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27I'm not that type of person, so I just try and enjoy myself.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Usain Bolt doesn't do it either.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Yeah, he has fun, and I think the more relaxed you are,
0:06:31 > 0:06:32the better it is.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36How much has it kept you grounded,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39coming into the student union on a weekly basis?
0:06:39 > 0:06:40Yeah, extremely grounded.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43I think, like I said to my friends after the World Championships,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46they were all like, "Oh, yeah, good job, but you finished fifth,
0:06:46 > 0:06:48"and you got disqualified from the relay".
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Get yourself off. I know you've got a lecture to go to now.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53- Thank you very much. - So what are we going to now?
0:06:53 > 0:06:56- We're going to Research Methods. - I'll let you do that.- OK.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59..You're going to go to Brazil for...
0:06:59 > 0:07:02an event, yeah...
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Studying is helping to keep Adam's mind focused and sharp,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08but being at university is also helping to keep him grounded
0:07:08 > 0:07:11as he works towards achieving his goals on the world stage.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Euan Burton might be slightly older at 35,
0:07:14 > 0:07:17but he's asking new questions of himself as he combines
0:07:17 > 0:07:21competing with a job coaching the Scottish judo team.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25And as Lee McKenzie found out, it's a role he's revelling in.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31You've come in, you've done your admin, you've been a coach, now you're back to being a player,
0:07:31 > 0:07:32you're sweating.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34I mean, it's a strange balance that you've
0:07:34 > 0:07:36got to get right in your day-to-day life now.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39I've had 20 years of being pretty selfish about my training
0:07:39 > 0:07:41and now I'm having to make sure
0:07:41 > 0:07:44I'm as selfish as I can be for the guys in my team, and that's...
0:07:44 > 0:07:46The way I balance it is, I do everything I can to be
0:07:46 > 0:07:49the best coach I can and I'll squeeze the training in around it.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52That's probably why I'm a bit sweatier than everyone else.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55The truth is, I probably don't work any harder,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58I'm probably slightly less fit than some of these guys at the moment,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01but hopefully by Commonwealth Games time, that'll have rectified itself.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07'Really, for me, the end of my career as an athlete came after London.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10'I knew after London I was going to take a job coaching
0:08:10 > 0:08:13'and I knew with that was going to come more responsibility
0:08:13 > 0:08:15'and responsibility for a lot of other people,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18'so although I am going to compete in Glasgow
0:08:18 > 0:08:20'and although I obviously want to end up on the top of the podium
0:08:20 > 0:08:23'in Glasgow, it's kind of like a second end to my career.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27'It's like I've been given a last reprieve of this last two years,
0:08:27 > 0:08:29'which is quite nice.'
0:08:29 > 0:08:30London was Euan's second Olympics,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33and they ended when he lost his first fight of the Games.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38London was kind of a completely mad experience for me
0:08:38 > 0:08:41because it was the lowest of lows for me on tournament day.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44PRESENTER: All the hard work, the four years of waiting,
0:08:44 > 0:08:49and he's been dumped out in less than a couple of minutes.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54Have you watched that back? Have you watched the moment back? Have you watched the interview back?
0:08:54 > 0:08:58I've watched the fight that I had once since the Games.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00I think if it had been any other point in my career,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02I'd have probably watched it a few times
0:09:02 > 0:09:04and tried to analyse what went wrong
0:09:04 > 0:09:07and how I could stop that the next time, but I knew London was almost
0:09:07 > 0:09:08the finish of my career from a GB
0:09:08 > 0:09:10point of view, I knew I was never going to go to another
0:09:10 > 0:09:14Olympic Games, so because of that, and because it was so devastating,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17I kind of just put it to the side and tried to say "OK, that's done,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20"I can't do anything about it now but I'm not going to dwell over it".
0:09:20 > 0:09:24Unfortunately, I've seen the interview or parts of the interview once or twice.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27I've let myself down a bit, I feel like I've let my coaches down,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30I've let everybody I've ever trained with down.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34I've let my mum and my dad and my brother down.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36'It's difficult to watch.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40'Not at least cos it's embarrassing to watch yourself crying on telly,'
0:09:40 > 0:09:43but it was a difficult day for me
0:09:43 > 0:09:46and those emotions were very raw and very real.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51I've not let it hold me back and I won't let it hold me back
0:09:51 > 0:09:53in the rest of my life and it won't define me.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56But it's always going to be pretty hard to think about that day
0:09:56 > 0:09:57or think about what happened there.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00Whilst London might not have provided
0:10:00 > 0:10:02the positives for Euan as an athlete,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06for his now wife Gemma Gibbons, her success helped soften the blow.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08The saviour for me was what Gemma did,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10because actually, if she'd have gone
0:10:10 > 0:10:12and bombed out of the tournament or even won a fight or two,
0:10:12 > 0:10:14but not got anywhere near the medals,
0:10:14 > 0:10:20I think I'd have had quite a negative view of my London experience
0:10:20 > 0:10:22and because of what she did, London sort of took on a whole new
0:10:22 > 0:10:26lease of life, and actually, I had an amazing experience.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30What was it like coming back from London
0:10:30 > 0:10:33when everything had been geared to that, to coming back
0:10:33 > 0:10:35to somewhere, which I imagine
0:10:35 > 0:10:37- held so much of the training memories.- Yeah.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39It takes on a different life.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43'Coming back here initially was quite difficult.'
0:10:43 > 0:10:45- Morning, Darren. Morning.- Morning.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49Everybody that was here - training partners and coaching staff
0:10:49 > 0:10:52and, you know, members of the Judo Scotland community, were people
0:10:52 > 0:10:56who had invested a lot of their time and hopes
0:10:56 > 0:11:01and dreams in me and that had come short in London and that was probably
0:11:01 > 0:11:03the most difficult thing to deal with coming back initially,
0:11:03 > 0:11:07but everybody's got a pretty good nature about them round here
0:11:07 > 0:11:09and everyone's got a decent sense of humour.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11It's all all right once you've had a laugh at yourself.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Talking about greeting on TV,
0:11:14 > 0:11:18just looking for the ratings crying on telly, sort of thing.
0:11:18 > 0:11:19People don't let you be down for too long.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23The experience, both good and bad,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26that Euan can offer Scottish judo players is invaluable.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29This, combined with the confidence that he brings to the whole team,
0:11:29 > 0:11:33has put Judo Scotland in a great place ahead of the home games.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36People's perception of judo training that don't know judo is,
0:11:36 > 0:11:38you just get a load of guys in their pyjamas on the mat
0:11:38 > 0:11:41and they fight each other for a bit and then they go home,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44and there's still a certain truth to that, so that's part of it.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48- We do come on the mat and fight each other, but... - Not in your pyjamas.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50No, not in my pyjamas. Not in my Superman pyjamas.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53There are also lots of other things around that if you take
0:11:53 > 0:11:57care of them well and do them professionally, can help you have
0:11:57 > 0:12:01a higher level of career, and a longer time at that high level.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03Is there an element that when you're coaching,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06you are also, in some ways, reminding yourself of things
0:12:06 > 0:12:09that you do know, but you actually forget when you're an athlete.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12- Oh, yeah, absolutely. - And you're almost relearning.
0:12:12 > 0:12:13Does that help you, do you think?
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Yeah, I think what I've learned about my duelling
0:12:16 > 0:12:18and about judo in general
0:12:18 > 0:12:23since I've started coaching full-time, is probably as much as I'd
0:12:23 > 0:12:27learnt about my judo in the eight or ten years previous to that.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30I think I'm still learning. Every day, I'm still learning.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Eventually, I'll get to a point physically
0:12:33 > 0:12:36- where I'm not able to do it.- Yeah. - But I think I'm still...
0:12:36 > 0:12:38I'm a better judo player today than I was yesterday.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42As a coach, Euan finds himself in the unusual position
0:12:42 > 0:12:45of mentoring one of his rivals, James Austin.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Hopefully he'll be my main competitor, you know,
0:12:48 > 0:12:50but I can't think of a better situation
0:12:50 > 0:12:53for the Commonwealth Games than the two of us can meet in the final.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56But it's an interesting dynamic on trust from both of your parts.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59Yeah, I think it's testament to him as a person
0:12:59 > 0:13:02and hopefully to me as a person as well, that there is that
0:13:02 > 0:13:03element of trust there,
0:13:03 > 0:13:07because it gets very easy for people to start feeling, "Oh, someone's
0:13:07 > 0:13:10"keeping something back, or not telling something,"
0:13:10 > 0:13:14but actually, for James to be the best athlete he can be, I need to
0:13:14 > 0:13:17give him everything I can as a coach, but also as an athlete,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20the better I am, the better he'll be.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23And the better HE is, the harder it pushes me.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27What would be a successful Commonwealth Games
0:13:27 > 0:13:29from your point of view?
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Is it about you? Is it about the team?
0:13:31 > 0:13:32For me, it's really about the team.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35We've set out our stall that we want to have the most successful
0:13:35 > 0:13:38Commonwealth Games that a Scottish judo team has ever had,
0:13:38 > 0:13:40and if we do that, then regardless of my own result,
0:13:40 > 0:13:42that'll have been a success for me.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46We've got a really strong team, we've got a good mix of some youth
0:13:46 > 0:13:49and some a bit more experienced like myself,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52and I think there's every chance that
0:13:52 > 0:13:56if we do the right things like we have been doing in the past
0:13:56 > 0:13:59few years, that we can have a very successful Games.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10Euan Burton will no doubt try to use the mental toughness he forged after
0:14:10 > 0:14:14his disappointment in London 2012 to help motivate his team
0:14:14 > 0:14:15and, of course, himself.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18And mental strength is something that Adam Gemili is going to need in abundance.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Yes, to compete on the track alongside Yohan Blake
0:14:21 > 0:14:24and Usain Bolt, but also to deal with the inevitable attention
0:14:24 > 0:14:27that comes with being an international track star.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37- So that's the first part of your day over now in the studies.- Yep.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40- How did it go?- Yeah, good.- Yeah? - Quite difficult but it's OK.
0:14:40 > 0:14:41It's all good. Not too long left, so...
0:14:41 > 0:14:44- And you're just saying you're on for a first?!- Yeah! Yeah.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47So not only are you doing this degree, and combining it
0:14:47 > 0:14:49with your athletics, but you're going to get a top degree.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51I'm hoping so. If it keeps going well.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55- Let's go do some first-class training, shall we?- Yeah, let's go.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Does it excite you? Does it faze you? Kind of being well-known.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02And you must have noticed it more and more that you're getting recognised.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04Yeah, I suppose so.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07I think, for me, I just think, "Why are people interested in me?"
0:15:07 > 0:15:10because at the end of the day, all I really do is run. That's my job.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13I'm not a telly presenter, Not someone you see every week on the TV.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15I just run for a living and people really enjoy that.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Here's the thing, Adam.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Every single person watching you has tried to run fast.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Not everybody has tried any of those other sports or jobs.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Everybody has, at one point, tried to run fast
0:15:25 > 0:15:28- and you can do it better than anybody else.- Yes, I suppose so.
0:15:28 > 0:15:29I just...
0:15:29 > 0:15:33When I see guys like, obviously, Mo Farah, Jess Ennis, Greg Rutherford,
0:15:33 > 0:15:34these are the big names in athletics.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37These are the people guys recognise and they've got
0:15:37 > 0:15:39Olympic gold medals, so I think I'm a little bit off of that status.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43But, yeah, I think I more just want to be a role model for young people
0:15:43 > 0:15:45rather than in that sort of glamour lifestyle.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47I don't want to be going to every event.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Like I said, I don't want my face to be all over billboards
0:15:49 > 0:15:52and stuff like that because it's just...
0:15:52 > 0:15:53I think I'd find it weird
0:15:53 > 0:15:56and plus, my friends would probably ruin me for it
0:15:56 > 0:15:59if I was walking and my face was, say, on that billboard there,
0:15:59 > 0:16:01I know I'd get so many pictures of them just taking the mick,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05standing in front of it, just absolutely rinsing me.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11In terms of your goals and dreams and hopes and aspirations, do you
0:16:11 > 0:16:17set yourself targets for each season or is it kind of a long-term thing?
0:16:17 > 0:16:21For me, yeah, I just want to make the next Olympics,
0:16:21 > 0:16:23that's probably the long-term goal.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25And short-term, this year, the Commonwealth Games
0:16:25 > 0:16:26and the European Championships,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29I want to make both of those teams, and you want to go and win.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33And as silly as it may sound with some of the sprintage you've got
0:16:33 > 0:16:35in the world at the moment,
0:16:35 > 0:16:38you want to go there and be challenging for a gold medal.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42Any medal's good, but a gold medal is what every sprinter wants.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46OK, Adam, enough talk.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48You've done the sitting down part of your day and now it's the
0:16:48 > 0:16:51really tough physical stuff, so I'm going to let you get on with that.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54- Yeah.- Have a good session. - Yeah, it'll be good.
0:16:54 > 0:16:55It'll be good today, so...
0:16:55 > 0:16:58- And I'm going to try and catch up with your coach.- Yeah, OK.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01- Catch you in a bit. - All right, see you later.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09So, today we've seen Adam go to a lecture, spend a bit of time
0:17:09 > 0:17:11over there being a student, being an ordinary 20-year-old,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14and then drive across here for his session with you.
0:17:14 > 0:17:15You've driven from Loughborough.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17Is this a typical day in your lives together?
0:17:17 > 0:17:20Yeah, this is a typical Tuesday for us anyway.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25Adam then takes Wednesday off and travels up to Loughborough
0:17:25 > 0:17:28and then we do the rest of the week up in Loughborough.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31Unlike a lot of other athletes at his level, you know,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34people who are appearing in the finals of World Championships,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37not many of them have to kind of deal with that juggling of student lifestyle.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40That's quite admirable, isn't it? Having to stick to that plan.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42'Yeah, I think education's important to him
0:17:42 > 0:17:45'and his family and it's part of what they want to do
0:17:45 > 0:17:48'and the person they want him to become,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51'and it's just realising that he is only 20,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54'and there is an opportunity in time to do this sort of stuff now
0:17:54 > 0:17:58'rather than go full-time as an athlete and then maybe sort of lose
0:17:58 > 0:18:01'that opportunity, so we're just trying to support him doing that.'
0:18:01 > 0:18:04So he's had this very interesting journey into the sport
0:18:04 > 0:18:06which was much documented, especially around London
0:18:06 > 0:18:08when people said, "Six months ago,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11"this guy was playing professional football," and clearly hadn't
0:18:11 > 0:18:13had a lot of the build-up to the Games that so many athletes had.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Do you think that, in a way, has kind of aided his mental state
0:18:16 > 0:18:18and approach to racing?
0:18:18 > 0:18:20Yeah, he's...got no fear.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25I think what Adam's got which a lot of other British sprinters
0:18:25 > 0:18:29don't have is he's come into the sport very, very raw,
0:18:29 > 0:18:30had a lot of success
0:18:30 > 0:18:33and hasn't really experienced a period where
0:18:33 > 0:18:35he hasn't had success, so he's got no fear,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38he doesn't know the sort of bad side to the sport,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40which a lot of other sprinters we've had
0:18:40 > 0:18:43and a lot of sprinters who have won the World Junior Championships,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46British guys, have appeared in their early 20s
0:18:46 > 0:18:48where it hasn't really worked out for them.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50They've had a lot of negativity around their careers.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53It does scar them. It leaves scars and stuff that they have to deal with
0:18:53 > 0:18:55further on in their career
0:18:55 > 0:18:57and what we're trying to do in British athletics,
0:18:57 > 0:18:58not just with Adam,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01but with all the sprinters, is make sure that we don't have this
0:19:01 > 0:19:05situation where they're extremely talented as juniors and sort of fade
0:19:05 > 0:19:08away in their early 20s and come back to sport in their late 20s.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10That's the pattern we have in British sprinting, so...
0:19:10 > 0:19:12What kind of session have you got for him today?
0:19:12 > 0:19:14Today, we're trying to give his body a chance to breathe
0:19:14 > 0:19:17and his neural system a chance to recover,
0:19:17 > 0:19:19so the session's not going to be quick, it's just about rhythm.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22- He thought it was going to be a quick session.- Yeah.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25So he spent all day panicking, thinking it's going to be a really
0:19:25 > 0:19:28hard speed session and now you've just blown that out the water.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30No, no. It's more about rhythm and finesse today.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32And just sort of getting ready for a bigger
0:19:32 > 0:19:34session at the end of the week.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38It's an easy one, Adam, you're all right. It's an easy session.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47Adam is very much at the start of his journey, but with his drive,
0:19:47 > 0:19:51determination and enthusiasm, he will only get faster and stronger.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53The sky is the limit as to what he can achieve.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Nick Matthew has already achieved in his chosen sport.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00Three-time world squash champion and two Commonwealth gold medals,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03as well as being ranked number one in the world on many
0:20:03 > 0:20:04occasions over the last few years.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07Well, at 33 years old, this summer will provide him with yet
0:20:07 > 0:20:10another opportunity to showcase his talents on the world stage.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17The squash ball's got a quite unique, distinctive sound
0:20:17 > 0:20:20when it hits the walls.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25As a kid, I was obviously attracted to that. Curious - what was that?
0:20:25 > 0:20:26Went and checked it out and the next week,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29I was the one who was making that noise.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Probably not as sweet a sound as I hopefully make nowadays.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37I just love that one-on-one nature of the sport,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39two people in a confined space
0:20:39 > 0:20:42trying to beat each other physically,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45but without sort of landing actual blows,
0:20:45 > 0:20:47so, you know, it's a real challenge.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51Squash has been described as chess at a million miles an hour.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55The beauty about squash is it challenges everything
0:20:55 > 0:20:59and you need to be fast, you need to be aerobically strong,
0:20:59 > 0:21:01technically proficient, mentally strong.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04When you step on that court, there's no hiding place.
0:21:05 > 0:21:06It ultimately comes down to you,
0:21:06 > 0:21:09whether you want it more than the other person.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14I used to go and watch the British Open,
0:21:14 > 0:21:16which is the most famous
0:21:16 > 0:21:19squash tournament in the world, and that was at Wembley Arena,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22back in the day with the likes of Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan winning
0:21:22 > 0:21:26so many titles and that was the first time it dawned upon me
0:21:26 > 0:21:29that I could make a living playing this sport.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31ANNOUNCER: Ten years in a row,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Jahangir Khan has been British Open squash champion.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38We used to make the homage every Easter to see the
0:21:38 > 0:21:41British Open at Wembley and I'm a big Sheffield Wednesday fan as well.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43I think my favourite weekend ever was in '91
0:21:43 > 0:21:46and Wednesday won the Rumbelows Cup on the Saturday
0:21:46 > 0:21:49and I went to watch the squash on the Sunday.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Best weekend ever.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53- Welcome back.- Thank you.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56Turning professional at squash is a massive decision.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00I had to have a little bit of a wrestle with my parents to
0:22:00 > 0:22:02persuade them that it was a good idea.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06They wanted me to go to university, continue my education.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10I managed to persuade them to have three or four years on the tour.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13I didn't shoot up the rankings as quickly as I would have liked.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17I was a slow burner, but I learnt so much in those years, you know,
0:22:17 > 0:22:18you travel alone, just yourself
0:22:18 > 0:22:22in a pretty shocking bed and breakfast somewhere,
0:22:22 > 0:22:24trying to fend for yourself, not earning much money.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28Playing in tournaments where the prize money is 3,000 total
0:22:28 > 0:22:30between 16 or 32 players.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33So, I sort of struggled along.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35My first big breakthrough was
0:22:35 > 0:22:37winning the British Open in 2006.
0:22:37 > 0:22:43To become the first English winner of that title of 67 years was an amazing feat.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47Real lap of luxury we're living in here.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49Oh, yeah.
0:22:52 > 0:22:542010 was an amazing year.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58Winning my first world title, two Commonwealth gold medals
0:22:58 > 0:23:01and getting to world number one, it was a dream year.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05I was the oldest ever first time world number one, which shows
0:23:05 > 0:23:09you don't have to achieve everything while you're still a youngster.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14There's still plenty of time. You're never too old to get to the top.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20They're winners!
0:23:20 > 0:23:25Nick Matthew is world champion for the third time in four years.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29The third world title in Manchester was definitely the best.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32The fact that it was in my home country, all my friends
0:23:32 > 0:23:34and family were there watching.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38The fact that squash is not yet an Olympic sport makes
0:23:38 > 0:23:42the Commonwealths our pinnacle, and I think squash owes a lot to the Commonwealth Games.
0:23:42 > 0:23:43We've been a Commonwealth sport
0:23:43 > 0:23:46since 1998 and it's seen as the pinnacle of our sport.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50It's the biggest multi-game event that squash is part of.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56Winning two gold medals in Delhi was an amazing feeling
0:23:56 > 0:24:00and I'm desperate to add to my tally in Glasgow, and hopefully
0:24:00 > 0:24:05we'll carry on the momentum of sport in this country after London 2012.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09ANNOUNCER: His opponent tonight
0:24:09 > 0:24:12is a very familiar face here at the Canary Wharf Classic.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15He's won this event three times already.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18- He is, of course, Nick Matthew. - Wooh! Go, Nick!
0:24:18 > 0:24:21APPLAUSE
0:24:21 > 0:24:25The last year in this tournament here in Canary Wharf, I erm...
0:24:25 > 0:24:26lost my way a little bit.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29It was my eighth tournament in a three month period between January
0:24:29 > 0:24:34and March of 2013 and I think I was just squashed out, to be honest.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39I'm not going to lie, one of my rackets ended up in the Thames
0:24:39 > 0:24:40that year, I was done.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42I needed a break and fortunately,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45I came back stronger having had that break, so it taught me a lesson
0:24:45 > 0:24:50with my scheduling. Hopefully I'll never make the same mistake again.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56To be the best in the world at squash, you have to have discipline,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59you have to have dedication, you have to have determination.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01There's no magic formula.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05There's a lot of work over a lot of years, a lot of attention to detail.
0:25:05 > 0:25:0811-8! Game to Matthew. Matthew won by three games to love...
0:25:08 > 0:25:11Hopefully we can inspire not only the next generation of players,
0:25:11 > 0:25:15but also youngsters to take up the sport.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18It is an amazingly dynamic and enjoyable sport to play.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23You can see whether Nick achieves his dream of a third Commonwealth
0:25:23 > 0:25:27gold in Glasgow, with full coverage of the Games right across the BBC.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31If Adam Gemili wants to be challenging the very best
0:25:31 > 0:25:34this summer, that'll mean more hard work
0:25:34 > 0:25:37and more hours spent out on the track.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52He looks absolutely shattered and he's got four more of those to go
0:25:52 > 0:25:54before he moves onto another group.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00There must be some kind of training camp rivalry with James.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04- Does that give each of them... - There honestly isn't.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07ANNOUNCER: Look at James Dasaolu go. Magnificent!
0:26:07 > 0:26:09Mark Lewis-Francis in second place.
0:26:09 > 0:26:139.91. Wow!
0:26:13 > 0:26:16STEVE: They both realise they're at different points of their career.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19They're both educating each other in different ways.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21James is good at the front end of the race,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23so Adam will spend a lot of time observing the way that James
0:26:23 > 0:26:26does that, that's sort of picked up a lot.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30Adam's very good at dealing with the stresses of training and stuff,
0:26:30 > 0:26:32so I think James has learnt a lot from that,
0:26:32 > 0:26:34so they're helping each other.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37James is a 25-year-old guy, you know, Adam's 20.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40James is at a point in his sort of career where, you know,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43a lot of stuff's happened in a short space of time.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Adam's the guy we can progressively build into that.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48So they're completely different, they really are.
0:26:48 > 0:26:5017, good.
0:26:52 > 0:26:53Did you deliberately give him
0:26:53 > 0:26:56a session where he could still talk at the end of...?
0:26:56 > 0:27:00- Very considerate of you. - Not for today, more thinking about sessions later on in the week.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03- How did that feel?- Better. Easier that way. A lot easier.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05- And the whole session? - Yeah, it's not too bad.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07Not too bad.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Had worse sessions, so it was a good session.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14- We were talking about the rivalry. - Yeah.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Steve assures us that you and James, there's no rivalry there.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20There's not. We've both sort of got that mentality.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23It's like... beating each other is good
0:27:23 > 0:27:25and being competitive with each other is good,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28but if we make each other better, and with the other guys in the group
0:27:28 > 0:27:31as well, then we can go and beat the Americans
0:27:31 > 0:27:37and Jamaicans who are like, levels and levels above us, so we just...
0:27:37 > 0:27:39It's good to have competitiveness in this country.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41The Jamaicans have four guys that go under 10,
0:27:41 > 0:27:43same as the Americans.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48For us to be up there with them, it's hard but...we'll get it done.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53- With that kind of session and a few more of those?- Oh, man.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56I thought I was going to vomit after the first three.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58After the first three, running into the wind.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00Your mum would have absolutely killed you
0:28:00 > 0:28:03if you'd done that in front of our cameras, you know that?
0:28:03 > 0:28:05"You're making a fool of yourself."
0:28:07 > 0:28:11Striking a balance between striving for success on the track and living
0:28:11 > 0:28:15the normal life of a 20-year-old is so important to Adam Gemili.
0:28:15 > 0:28:20His outlook is refreshing and as the times fall and his fame rises,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23it should keep his feet firmly on the ground.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25For Euan Burton,
0:28:25 > 0:28:29his competing career could yet end in a glorious Glaswegian summer,
0:28:29 > 0:28:32but it's his new challenge, coaching the next generation of
0:28:32 > 0:28:36judo players that is really inspiring him now.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38Nick Matthew has achieved it all in squash,
0:28:38 > 0:28:42but seeing his incredible drive to stay at the top is
0:28:42 > 0:28:44so impressive and tells you everything about what's
0:28:44 > 0:28:48required to get there in the first place.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50Do you want to get involved in sport?
0:28:50 > 0:28:53Go to our website to find out more about activities
0:28:53 > 0:28:56happening near you. We're back on Sunday, the 8th of June.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58In the meantime, here's a reminder of some of the sport coming up
0:28:58 > 0:29:00on the BBC between now and then.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02We'll see you next time.