:00:00. > :00:00.session. He will start from last on the grid tomorrow. The BBC News it
:00:00. > :00:20.is rude to Rio. Hello and welcome, this is Road
:00:21. > :00:23.to Rio, your monthly round-up of the biggest Olympic
:00:24. > :00:27.and Paralympic News. The games are fast approaching,
:00:28. > :00:29.here's what's coming up Who will be in the boat come Brazil
:00:30. > :00:34.and can GB continue their domination of Olympic rowing this summer
:00:35. > :00:36.after mixed results Is GB tae kwon do set
:00:37. > :00:41.for their best ever games? They claim a hat-trick
:00:42. > :00:45.of European titles. We'll meet the Fiji rugby sevens
:00:46. > :00:48.team hoping to win their country's first ever Olympic medal
:00:49. > :00:51.with their British coach. And we catch up with the British
:00:52. > :00:55.diving partners and best mates Jack Laugher and Chris Mears,
:00:56. > :00:57.who have a novel take Imagine you're in a giant washing
:00:58. > :01:03.machine and then one minute it turns this way and then
:01:04. > :01:06.suddenly it turns that way. We'll also hear from golfer
:01:07. > :01:15.Rory McIlroy and speaking all things Usain Bolt with athletics
:01:16. > :01:18.legend Michael Johnson. Lets start with rowing
:01:19. > :01:21.and at European Championships in Germany there were some strong
:01:22. > :01:23.British performances Great Britain, heads up,
:01:24. > :01:33.looking powerful, looking strong. Great Britain's Glover,
:01:34. > :01:41.a stunning job, well done. These could be the strongest British
:01:42. > :01:45.4 we have seen. Really bouncy out there and you've
:01:46. > :01:50.got a lot to do, it is a real strap. Really bouncy out there
:01:51. > :01:53.and you've got a lot to do, And the British now
:01:54. > :02:00.will come through. Absolutely brutal, the entire
:02:01. > :02:03.way down the course, Into the line, they are
:02:04. > :02:11.through on the line. They are two lengths
:02:12. > :02:12.up, enjoying it. And they are actually
:02:13. > :02:18.rowing incredibly well. Great Britain getting the gold
:02:19. > :02:22.in the lightweight men's pair. We were not quite ready,
:02:23. > :02:25.but we wanted to get some racing No matter how bad it is,
:02:26. > :02:43.they're still digging in. So, as expected, plenty of medals
:02:44. > :02:46.for Britain's rowers at the Europeans and to tell us
:02:47. > :02:52.what it all means, we're joined by the five-time Olympic
:02:53. > :02:54.champion Steve Redgrave. Are they the closest thing we have
:02:55. > :03:02.to a guaranteed gold? Obviously you can never guarantee
:03:03. > :03:04.anything, but they are the closest They are unbeaten for
:03:05. > :03:12.the last four years. Before 2012 they are unbeaten
:03:13. > :03:16.and every time that anyone has put their best crews out
:03:17. > :03:19.against them they've Their only issue possibly
:03:20. > :03:25.could be complacency. They don't seem to have that and now
:03:26. > :03:28.getting so close to Rio I can't see We must speak about comebacks,
:03:29. > :03:35.you are famous for it for yourself. Katherine Grainger is the big story
:03:36. > :03:39.going into Rio after many people thinking she'd
:03:40. > :03:41.step out after London. What you make of her comeback
:03:42. > :03:44.and how difficult is it as an athlete to step away
:03:45. > :03:47.from a sport? Being out of sport, even though
:03:48. > :03:50.she was dabbling with some bits and pieces in between,
:03:51. > :03:54.being out of that for 2.5 years A big ask at the age of,
:03:55. > :03:59.I won't say what age she is, but she's older than me
:04:00. > :04:02.when I competed at my last Olympics. To get back to that
:04:03. > :04:09.level is really tough. With that in mind, why do people
:04:10. > :04:12.want to come back, we've seen how much pain you put yourself
:04:13. > :04:14.through and the squad You don't see it as the pain,
:04:15. > :04:18.you see it as the enjoyment You forget all the times you push
:04:19. > :04:25.yourself to your limits within training, forget
:04:26. > :04:31.about all the tough races where it did not quite work out for you,
:04:32. > :04:34.you remember the good times and think, I would like
:04:35. > :04:36.to keep that going. Nine medals in London 2012,
:04:37. > :04:38.what is a realistic target I would certainly say two
:04:39. > :04:44.golds, possibly three. I can't see it being much below six,
:04:45. > :04:56.possibly could creep up Six or seven medals
:04:57. > :05:01.is what I predict Now, rowing is not the only spot
:05:02. > :05:09.covers European Championships in the last few weeks,
:05:10. > :05:12.British swimmers and tae kwon do Their successes feature
:05:13. > :05:15.in our round-up of the best A good month for Bianca Walkden,
:05:16. > :06:40.defending her European A timely moment to catch up
:06:41. > :06:45.with her ahead of what will be her I think because I missed the first
:06:46. > :06:59.time it was devastating and heartbreaking and nothing else
:07:00. > :07:01.could go wrong. This time, because I thought,
:07:02. > :07:06.I'm not going to let it happen again, the worst thing that
:07:07. > :07:09.could happen, but if you bring yourself down to it you probably
:07:10. > :07:12.wouldn't go again and I thought, Doing well at the Olympics
:07:13. > :07:21.was amazing and has pushed the sport up a lot more,
:07:22. > :07:26.especially in the media. Hopefully now we can go to Rio
:07:27. > :07:29.and get more medals than we did in London and if it just keeps
:07:30. > :07:33.going it will get bigger and bigger. Everyone is stressed
:07:34. > :07:39.because they want to do well, but at the same time everyone
:07:40. > :07:42.is buzzing because it's As the games approach,
:07:43. > :07:53.problems in Brazil persist, particularly concerns over these
:07:54. > :07:56.Zika virus that is carried by mosquitoes and can cause
:07:57. > :07:58.serious birth defects. One authority suggested the games
:07:59. > :08:02.should be to postponed but the International Olympic Committee
:08:03. > :08:05.guided by The WHO insists the virus It is causing some potential
:08:06. > :08:11.Olympians to consider I've been reading a lot of reports
:08:12. > :08:18.about Zika and there is some articles coming out saying it might
:08:19. > :08:23.be worse than what they say, so I have to monitor that situation
:08:24. > :08:26.as well, because there will be a point in time over the next couple
:08:27. > :08:30.of years were we will have to think about starting a family and I don't
:08:31. > :08:34.want anything to affect that. So right now I'm ready to go
:08:35. > :08:39.to the Olympics and go to Rio Is there a chance you might not go
:08:40. > :08:44.if that gets worse? I mean, yes, I'm going to get my
:08:45. > :08:49.injections for all of that, so at least I will be
:08:50. > :08:52.immunised if I do get bitten Right now I'm going,
:08:53. > :09:02.and I'm looking forward to it. We will get the latest on that
:09:03. > :09:05.in our next Road to Rio Still to come on this show we get
:09:06. > :09:11.the latest from Paralympics GB as they announce swimming,
:09:12. > :09:13.wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball squads
:09:14. > :09:17.for the 2016 games. And we meet with the little-known
:09:18. > :09:19.British coach who is a megastar in Fiji as he looks to win that
:09:20. > :09:22.country its first ever Let's turn our attention
:09:23. > :09:28.to the track and the biggest star in athletics, Usain Bolt,
:09:29. > :09:30.he's dominated the last two Olympics, winning six gold medals,
:09:31. > :09:34.but Rio will be his last games, hoping to bow out with more titles
:09:35. > :09:37.and a man who knows him well is the four time Olympic champion
:09:38. > :09:40.Michael Johnson. Delighted to say he
:09:41. > :09:42.joins us from the USA. This will arguably be the biggest
:09:43. > :09:46.challenge of his career, First, anyone with Usain Bolt's
:09:47. > :09:55.talent, you just never bet But I think that last year's
:09:56. > :09:59.World Championship performance when he came under more pressure
:10:00. > :10:03.than he has ever come under in his career, he was still able
:10:04. > :10:06.to pull out a victory and not having had the best preparation leading up
:10:07. > :10:09.that championship and Justin Gatlin was in probably the best form
:10:10. > :10:21.we seen him in the last few years. I think that Usain Bolt showed
:10:22. > :10:24.at that point something special, so I would not bet against him
:10:25. > :10:27.to deliver another 100, 200 and 4x100m relay
:10:28. > :10:34.victory in Rio this summer, Fascinating, what is it
:10:35. > :10:39.like for an athlete at this stage of their careers,
:10:40. > :10:42.because you've been through it yourself, you want the success to go
:10:43. > :10:45.on but you also want to bow out I'm sure you've spoken
:10:46. > :10:50.with him about that? I think, and we've spoken about this
:10:51. > :10:53.and retirement and when is the right time to retire and I think that
:10:54. > :10:57.you want to maintain a level of excellence while you're out
:10:58. > :11:03.there and bow out at the same level, that becomes increasingly more
:11:04. > :11:06.difficult as you get older as an athlete after having gone
:11:07. > :11:08.through so many championships because then the focus
:11:09. > :11:12.becomes remaining healthy. That is difficult and not
:11:13. > :11:15.quite as much fun, so not That is a difficult position to be
:11:16. > :11:22.in and a difficult one to navigate. You mentioned Justin Gatlin earlier,
:11:23. > :11:26.to many he represents the negative side of the sport with the drugs
:11:27. > :11:30.cheating that we've seen in athletics, what do you make
:11:31. > :11:33.of the current state of the sport I've been asked that question a lot
:11:34. > :11:40.and I've never shied away from giving answers on issues
:11:41. > :11:42.and difficult issues. At this point, to be completely
:11:43. > :11:48.honest I have no perspective on what is going to happen with this
:11:49. > :11:51.sport because I could not have possibly imagined any of the things
:11:52. > :11:56.that have happened that have transpired over the last year,
:11:57. > :12:01.I'm just hopeful that something good will come out of this and the sport
:12:02. > :12:04.will come back to a point where there is trust from the fans
:12:05. > :12:12.and athletes in the sport. Next to the Paralympics
:12:13. > :12:21.and a new sport for the games - Britain have two gold-medal,
:12:22. > :12:27.two silvers and a bronze at the recent World Championships
:12:28. > :12:29.so are in a strong There are six events in Rio
:12:30. > :12:32.and expectations are Mark Chadlow has been to meet two
:12:33. > :12:41.of their medal hopes. This British squad are full-time
:12:42. > :12:54.athletes and believed their journey into Para-Canoe has given them
:12:55. > :12:58.the physical and mental toughness I was on a gap year in Australia
:12:59. > :13:04.working on a farm at about six weeks in I contracted a virus,
:13:05. > :13:07.we don't know where from still, that basically paralysed my arms
:13:08. > :13:12.and legs overnight. Nick Beaton was an Army
:13:13. > :13:14.captain and Afghanistan I was about 40 metres away from our
:13:15. > :13:21.base and I stood on an IED - an improvised explosive device -
:13:22. > :13:23.so I was injured Sport has been key to
:13:24. > :13:31.rehabilitation, many of this squad reached elite level
:13:32. > :13:34.in other para sports. Nick in rowing, Emma at sitting
:13:35. > :13:38.volleyball, both competed in London. But the new Paralympic sport opened
:13:39. > :13:44.up of bridge and it is that Emma was But the new Paralympic sport
:13:45. > :13:48.opened up opportunities, Emma was spotted on the talent ID
:13:49. > :13:51.Day three years ago I've done a bit of kayaking but not
:13:52. > :13:55.much, certainly not To go from starting in March
:13:56. > :13:58.to being world champion that Great Britain have qualified to six
:13:59. > :14:06.ports for real, who will be in them will be decided in early
:14:07. > :14:11.June as the team aim to change their target of three
:14:12. > :14:13.medals in the sport's We are very focused and very
:14:14. > :14:17.determined to achieve Our medal target and beyond,
:14:18. > :14:24.is a real driving force. That para-canoe squad is yet to be
:14:25. > :14:27.named but Paralympics GB have pitched their teams
:14:28. > :14:33.in wheelchair rugby, basketball and swimming
:14:34. > :14:35.pools picked their teams in wheelchair rugby,
:14:36. > :14:38.basketball and swimming pools A squad of 31 operatives para
:14:39. > :14:48.summing A squad of 31 British swimming athletes have been selected
:14:49. > :14:51.for Rio will be to improve on the seven golds they won
:14:52. > :14:53.in London and amongst those, champion Ollie Hind, who has won
:14:54. > :14:57.every major title since 2012. So he knows all eyes will be
:14:58. > :15:02.on him the games. Obviously you never expect that
:15:03. > :15:07.all of the success will come but I've worked really hard for it,
:15:08. > :15:10.I'm really proud of what I've been able to achieve but it is looking
:15:11. > :15:13.forward for me now, what else there is that I want to achieve
:15:14. > :15:17.and looking into Rio there's plenty of things that I want to achieve
:15:18. > :15:19.and focusing on those. The only female selected
:15:20. > :15:25.is Coral Beattie, competing She is more than happy to be treated
:15:26. > :15:39.like one of the guys. It is no different, we still have
:15:40. > :15:43.to train as hard and we It's been a lot of hard work
:15:44. > :15:48.going into it. Sometimes twice a day,
:15:49. > :15:54.obviously now it's shown that There is a mixture of youth
:15:55. > :16:01.and experience selected for the women's wheelchair
:16:02. > :16:04.basketball squad, debutant Sophie Cargill has overcome the odds
:16:05. > :16:07.to make the team following a tough I was rushed into hospital,
:16:08. > :16:13.I had something wrong with my bowels I remember saying to my mum
:16:14. > :16:19.and my boyfriend at the time, I'm not going to Rio but obviously
:16:20. > :16:22.the road back has been a struggle and it's been difficult
:16:23. > :16:25.and the amount of support I've had has really pulled me
:16:26. > :16:28.through and to be able to get myself of British athletes that have been
:16:29. > :16:37.selected for Rio so far. With ten more sports expected
:16:38. > :16:39.to make the announcement in June. Wheelchair rugby was one of the most
:16:40. > :16:45.popular events at London 2012 but rugby sevens
:16:46. > :16:49.will make its debut in Rio. One of the leading contenders
:16:50. > :16:51.for goal will be Fiji, who are led One of the leading
:16:52. > :16:55.contenders for gold will be Fiji, who are led by British coach
:16:56. > :16:58.Ben Ryan, they've just won the Sevens World Series
:16:59. > :17:00.for the second year in a row. David McDaid cough up with them
:17:01. > :17:03.on the Canadian leg of the tour with a swap the white sand
:17:04. > :17:06.of the Pacific Islands for something This is the first time
:17:07. > :17:15.for me to feel the snow Inexperienced, perhaps on snow,
:17:16. > :17:22.but experts on the rugby field. The Fiji sevens team
:17:23. > :17:25.is the world's best. Something they are keen
:17:26. > :17:29.to underline this summer by winning their nation's first ever
:17:30. > :17:34.Olympic medal. Sevens rugby is going on,
:17:35. > :17:38.it stops the nation. It will be really something special
:17:39. > :17:44.for Fiji, the first time But we are not there
:17:45. > :17:48.just to win a medal, Trying to help them achieve
:17:49. > :17:54.that is their English coach. Whose success has already made him
:17:55. > :17:57.a major celebrity in Kids have been named after me,
:17:58. > :18:08.I cannot go from there, to difficult, I will have a couple
:18:09. > :18:11.of hundred photos a day We have a very good side
:18:12. > :18:16.that is playing at the moment, one of the best side Fiji have ever
:18:17. > :18:20.had and I am lucky I'm part of that They really like him,
:18:21. > :18:28.he is there for us and that's how we want to play,
:18:29. > :18:31.we want to play Fiji rugby in open Fijian success comes
:18:32. > :18:38.despite the islanders humble But Ryan believes that can help them
:18:39. > :18:47.achieve their Olympic dream. The fact they've got no money,
:18:48. > :18:50.that this will turn them into household names forevermore
:18:51. > :18:54.back in Fiji is driving the team. And I think it is a real positive
:18:55. > :18:59.and a real advantage that the negative of not having
:19:00. > :19:02.any money can really be If we will win a gold medal
:19:03. > :19:07.at will not be because of money, it will be because of heart
:19:08. > :19:10.and ability and the local boys from the local
:19:11. > :19:13.villagers doing their thing. From a seven man team to double act,
:19:14. > :19:30.Jack Lord Chris Mears won gold at what was a record-breaking
:19:31. > :19:33.European champions at the British Jack and Chris are best
:19:34. > :19:41.mates and live together, but as we discovered they're not
:19:42. > :19:45.always silly in sync. Are you going to
:19:46. > :19:53.literally prompt us? I'm Jack Law, and I'm
:19:54. > :20:01.a British Olympic athlete. I was going to go in there
:20:02. > :20:03.saying I'm Chris Mears. I would say were the worst
:20:04. > :20:08.people to work with. After eight minutes
:20:09. > :20:17.were done four lines. We competed at London 2012
:20:18. > :20:25.and that was an amazing experience, In 2014 we had the Commonwealth
:20:26. > :20:31.Games and we came home victorious with a gold medal and in 2015 world
:20:32. > :20:34.championships we came home It was fantastic to get the third
:20:35. > :20:38.place because it meant we qualified a spot for the real Olympics,
:20:39. > :20:41.which took the pressure off Something you might not know that
:20:42. > :20:46.Chris is he is an up and coming DJ and music producer and he is working
:20:47. > :20:49.that I support him every step of the way, is touring Zurich
:20:50. > :20:57.and London clubs doing a bit of it. Something you might not know
:20:58. > :21:04.about Jack Law is that every living second he is not in the pool
:21:05. > :21:07.or in the gym he is, in fact, on many games,
:21:08. > :21:10.most of them are first person down This is the big dive
:21:11. > :21:17.I was speaking about. This year we've learnt a new dive,
:21:18. > :21:20.for the viewers who don't know much about diving,
:21:21. > :21:27.imagine you're in a giant washing machine and one minute it turns this
:21:28. > :21:34.way and suddenly it turns that way. To have the Commonwealth and now
:21:35. > :21:49.the European gold medal around our neck is an achievement
:21:50. > :21:52.will remember for All of the training
:21:53. > :21:55.is about what will help us perform, maybe even
:21:56. > :21:58.better, on that big stage. There's not been many Olympic
:21:59. > :22:00.medals, there has been For us to do that would be something
:22:01. > :22:11.that I can only dream of since I've been a kid, that is fantastic
:22:12. > :22:14.when you win anything but a win alongside your best buddy
:22:15. > :22:18.is the best feeling in the world. Jack and Chris, two great characters
:22:19. > :22:25.that about it for another action packed show, we will back in a month
:22:26. > :22:29.and will leave you with a glimpse of what is coming up
:22:30. > :23:43.on the Road to Rio. Many places in June plenty of
:23:44. > :23:47.sunshine today if you can see the satellite picture. Central and
:23:48. > :23:48.western areas getting the best sunshine.