:00:27. > :00:32.Welcome to one are the biggest and most influential cities in the
:00:32. > :00:37.world, and this year it is also the Olympic city, and we are here to
:00:37. > :00:42.look at Scotland's Olympic dreams. Yes, we bring you the stories of
:00:42. > :00:47.the Scottish men and women hoping to become heroes this summer.
:00:47. > :00:52.Some have travelled to Kenya to train for glory, but can at our
:00:52. > :00:57.athletes run into the medals? must make sure I get there. If I
:00:57. > :01:01.can get to the final five will be very happy. In swimming, hopes are
:01:01. > :01:05.high for one of our most talented teams in years. To be able to take
:01:05. > :01:09.part in something that will be quite big in history book Great
:01:10. > :01:14.Britain, it is great to be a part of it. We meet the two Daniels had
:01:14. > :01:20.been to be the first ever Scots to win gymnastics medals. If you are
:01:20. > :01:29.not ready, one bad landing can be a major disaster. I cannot explain
:01:29. > :01:36.how I feel. I am in the gym every day working hard to try to nail it.
:01:36. > :01:40.He has overcome club fought and cancer. Now one man is growing at
:01:40. > :01:49.the Olympics. This is my chance to become a champion in the sport and
:01:49. > :01:53.potentially go to home games and and win a gold medal. It is
:01:53. > :01:58.definitely a second chance and I am grabbing it with everything. And we
:01:58. > :02:03.ask what does Gotland think about the Games? Do you feel part of the
:02:03. > :02:07.biggest show on earth? The London Olympics this year will be a great
:02:07. > :02:13.event for everybody to enjoy it and spectate from a bar or in person.
:02:13. > :02:17.As far as London is concerned, it is exciting for them, put the
:02:18. > :02:22.ripple effect has not reach me yet. But first, he will shine for
:02:22. > :02:26.Scotland this summer? Who are the stars most likely to bring back
:02:27. > :02:32.gold medals? Paralympic correspondent, Aung San Suu Kyi,
:02:32. > :02:42.has been tracking down some of Scotland's biggest contenders. --
:02:42. > :02:43.
:02:43. > :02:50.our correspondent, Kheredine Idsan. Sadly, none of the games are likely
:02:50. > :03:00.to feature many a Scottish athletes here, as track-and-field is not one
:03:00. > :03:02.
:03:02. > :03:09.of our sports at the moment. So we need to think growing. And tennis.
:03:09. > :03:13.And of course, cycling. Chris Hoy is the Olympic gold medallist. The
:03:13. > :03:18.Olympic sprint champion. He has won three here and in three different
:03:18. > :03:28.races. Even good things come in threes, Scotland has a trio of top
:03:28. > :03:31.
:03:31. > :03:36.contenders for Olympic gold this This would be the end of my Olympic
:03:36. > :03:39.career and to win another Olympic gold medal, or two or three are
:03:39. > :03:43.ideally, inventor of a home crowd, it is something not many athletes
:03:43. > :03:47.get the opportunity to do, never mind win a gold medal but to get to
:03:47. > :03:52.compete in front of a home crowd. It is a massive jams and would be
:03:52. > :04:02.everything. Every Olympic Games has been amazing so far but it would be
:04:02. > :04:06.
:04:06. > :04:10.They do not dig out the medals just because it would be nice to get one.
:04:10. > :04:17.-- either out the medals. Be genuinely have to learn it on the
:04:17. > :04:27.date and the display have pawns -- happens on the day but you really
:04:27. > :04:29.
:04:29. > :04:33.You are playing for your country and that is what makes it that
:04:33. > :04:36.little bit more special. You play the Davis Cup and stuff in the
:04:36. > :04:42.tennis and it is a different feeling because you are playing for
:04:42. > :04:50.18. I'd been out tennis has got very big in the Olympics. I will
:04:50. > :04:55.try and at the Lee win Wimbledon and the Olympics this year! --
:04:55. > :05:00.hopefully win. I can cry like Roger. It is just a
:05:00. > :05:06.shame I cannot play like him! the pain of defeat, the emotion of
:05:06. > :05:14.having to settle for silver, it is tears of joy that Scotland's stars
:05:14. > :05:18.now hope to shed from the top of This is the Olympic park where
:05:18. > :05:22.construction is almost complete and anticipation is enormous that this
:05:22. > :05:26.could be one of the best Olympic Games ever.
:05:26. > :05:30.The is that has gone and feels? With just under four months to go,
:05:30. > :05:35.would you say you have been gripped by an Olympic Games diva? David
:05:35. > :05:44.McDaid has been finding out. -- fever.
:05:44. > :05:54.Seven years in the making. More than �11 billion spent on new
:05:54. > :06:00.
:06:01. > :06:07.infrastructure. The game's of the And the people of the nation's
:06:07. > :06:15.capital are getting ready. To welcome athletes and fans from all
:06:15. > :06:20.corners of the globe. It is not long now until London hosts the
:06:20. > :06:24.biggest show on earth. We're told it is an Olympic Games for the
:06:24. > :06:28.whole United Kingdom but research indicates that people in Scotland
:06:28. > :06:32.feel less engaged with London 2012 than those in other parts of the UK.
:06:32. > :06:35.Clearly there is the challenge of something which is mainly based in
:06:35. > :06:38.London, engaging the whole country, but my sense is that the whole
:06:38. > :06:43.country is engaged. You look at the benefits that the Games has brought,
:06:43. > :06:48.not just to London but across the UK, in terms of business contracts,
:06:48. > :06:52.the Cultural Olympiad, there are events, at football at Hampden Park,
:06:52. > :06:56.the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, volunteers come from across the
:06:56. > :07:01.country. So there is a whole range of things which are not just London
:07:01. > :07:10.focused. The organisers have made efforts to bring London 2012 around
:07:10. > :07:13.the British Isles. Last month, Glasgow hosted music nation, part
:07:13. > :07:19.of the Cultural Olympiad. And the torch relay will take the Olympic
:07:19. > :07:23.flame within an hour's drive of 95 % of the country. So how do some of
:07:23. > :07:28.the people along be reached view the London 2012 Olympics?
:07:28. > :07:38.Olympics this year will be a great event for everybody to enjoy and to
:07:38. > :07:38.
:07:38. > :07:43.spectate, from a bar or in person. -- from afar. We will be getting
:07:43. > :07:48.really excited. I do not think many people will relate to the Olympics,
:07:48. > :07:53.being so far away. I think it will be one of the big things in my life.
:07:53. > :07:59.It is very interesting. It is just so far away that it does not feel
:07:59. > :08:08.like we are connected. I do not like it. I will not be going. On a
:08:08. > :08:16.watch it on TV. The issue is being British but it is nothing to get
:08:16. > :08:20.excited about. As far as London is concerned, it is exciting for them,
:08:20. > :08:25.but the ripple effects has not reach me yet. It is good Brindisi
:08:25. > :08:30.Great Britain crossing the line first, or second all that. -- when
:08:30. > :08:33.you see Great Britain. Some of those opinions may explain the
:08:33. > :08:42.ticket sales for the football matches due to be held here, at
:08:42. > :08:49.Hampden Park. They will go back on sale later this month. And of the
:08:49. > :08:51.�6 billion Olympic contracts, has Scotland fare? We will see tens of
:08:51. > :08:55.millions of pounds flowing into Scrooges businesses, and that is
:08:55. > :08:59.good news. We would always which Paul Moore and certainly there are
:08:59. > :09:08.still opportunities out there between now and the games and we
:09:08. > :09:13.are encouraging our members to bid for as many contracts as possible.
:09:13. > :09:19.I want you to design a torch for the Olympics. But the demographic
:09:19. > :09:22.organisers want to engage more than any other is the young. At this
:09:22. > :09:28.primary school Ian Paisley Bay are more excited than most. I am a bit
:09:28. > :09:37.annoyed because I will be in Florida so I might not get his seat
:09:37. > :09:42.on the TV. How excited are you out of ten? About an eight. I even like
:09:43. > :09:48.the Olympics more than my birthday and Christmas. This is our torch
:09:48. > :09:54.and we have red, white and blue army to represent the Union Jack.
:09:55. > :09:59.The is for the Olympics so we have the Olympic rings. Every one of the
:09:59. > :10:05.stripes represents the torch our use of friendship, peace and unity.
:10:05. > :10:10.At any Olympics, athletics is the blue Riband event. It is the major
:10:10. > :10:16.draw at any games. The last spot to win gold on the track was Alan
:10:16. > :10:21.Wells way back in 1980. In fact, Scots Olympic athletes who are
:10:21. > :10:27.becoming something of a rare breed. I set out to find out why.
:10:27. > :10:31.From debt tracks in Kenya... To the best facilities in Bath. Two Scots
:10:31. > :10:41.athletes with the same Olympic dreams. And this is the ultimate
:10:41. > :10:44.
:10:45. > :10:50.prize. Scotland's last Olympic gold medallist, Alan Wells. But that was
:10:50. > :10:55.32 years ago. Since then, Scots achieving in the Olympics have been
:10:55. > :10:59.few and far between. Probably the most important thing is to have
:10:59. > :11:06.professional coaches. That is very important. Ketches that can
:11:06. > :11:11.motivate. Ketches that understand the system, how to bring an athlete
:11:11. > :11:17.forward to world class. So I travelled to bat to meet Eilidh
:11:17. > :11:20.Child, who has quit her job back home to train with a carriage with
:11:20. > :11:24.immense experience at the University of Bath. Malcolm Arnold
:11:24. > :11:28.is a legend in UK Athletics coaching but he says Scottish
:11:28. > :11:32.athletics is now a conspicuous absence on the world stage. It is
:11:32. > :11:39.not helped by the recent departure of not one but two Scotland had
:11:39. > :11:42.cringes. E it is a constant thought, what has happened to Scottish
:11:42. > :11:47.athletics? There has been a fair amount of turmoil among the leaders
:11:47. > :11:52.of the sport at the last two or three years, which is not good for
:11:52. > :11:59.the participants. Athletes and coaches need some body too trusting.
:11:59. > :12:04.There does not seem to be too much trust. Training alongside the
:12:04. > :12:09.Eilidh Child is the world's champion winning Dai Greene, and
:12:09. > :12:14.Natasha Danvers. Everyone is so down-to-earth and humble. They are
:12:14. > :12:17.just normal people, although they have done extraordinary Earth --
:12:17. > :12:23.extraordinary things in their sport. You think, he is they have done
:12:23. > :12:27.that then why can't I do as well as they have done? A big aimed for me
:12:27. > :12:32.would be to get into that final. Malcolm and I think that would be a
:12:32. > :12:37.realistic aim but it would also be challenging and tough. Everybody
:12:37. > :12:40.always says when you get to the final anything could happen. I will
:12:40. > :12:45.have to win each rank like it is my final to make sure I get there but
:12:45. > :12:50.if I can get to that final I will be very happy. From bat to Kenya,
:12:50. > :12:54.and Steph Twell, recovering well from a devastating leg-break at the
:12:54. > :12:59.start of last year. And in this training camp, there is the added
:12:59. > :13:05.bonus of training alongside Mo Farah, amongst others. It is
:13:05. > :13:08.amazing to be alongside such great athletes. I am here amongst
:13:08. > :13:12.athletes are planning to go to the Olympics training alongside them
:13:12. > :13:17.and it is great to be socialising with them and sparing our
:13:17. > :13:21.experiences. You have trails down to the track, or you can go a bit
:13:21. > :13:26.further out and went for miles and miles along gorges red dirt tracks,
:13:26. > :13:32.which are really good under foot. You can explore all these different
:13:32. > :13:38.rails. It is quite a big gymnasium and at certain times of the day it
:13:38. > :13:42.can get really busy. We do exercises to control posture. It is
:13:42. > :13:50.really important especially towards the end of race. Now we are in the
:13:50. > :13:55.lounge, where we like to chill. spend a lot of time here, speaking
:13:55. > :13:59.to my wife and daughter on Skype. Be is a good opportunity for us to
:13:59. > :14:05.come here after a trainee and put the telly on and watch a bit of
:14:05. > :14:11.football. The motivation of London around the corner, all the hard
:14:11. > :14:15.work that might kedge and I put in is finally coming to fruition so
:14:15. > :14:19.for me it is about picking up where I left off and just believing that
:14:19. > :14:23.I have had injuries in the past and I have dealt with them so I will
:14:23. > :14:26.come back from this one as well. That is the building where we think
:14:26. > :14:30.we will see some Scottish medals this summer. It is the Aquatics
:14:30. > :14:35.Centre. We cannot get in because some athletes are training their.
:14:35. > :14:45.Team GB swimming help their Olympic trials there last month and five
:14:45. > :14:47.
:14:47. > :14:50.Scots qualified. Here is Kheredine With its space-age design, the
:14:50. > :14:57.Olympic aquatic session -- centre looks pretty impressive from the
:14:57. > :15:00.outside. But it is even better when you get poolside. The aquatic
:15:00. > :15:06.centre is where the cream of Scottish swimming hopes to achieve
:15:06. > :15:15.a lifetime's ambition and win an Olympic medal in the poll. To find
:15:15. > :15:21.the last Scot to achieve that, you have to go back a few years.
:15:21. > :15:27.It was Olympic bronze for Graeme Smith, Scotland's only medallist at
:15:27. > :15:31.the 1996 Atlanta Games. How is the class of 2012 shaping up? One star
:15:32. > :15:37.pupil already has a world- championship silver and is clearly
:15:37. > :15:41.capable of an Olympic medal. It is in your home territory. You know
:15:41. > :15:44.that you will have a home crowd behind you. It is really exciting
:15:44. > :15:53.to be able to take part in something that is going to be a big
:15:53. > :15:59.part of history for Britain. Managing expectations is also part
:15:59. > :16:05.of the paternal coaching plan. my experience, it is all down to
:16:05. > :16:08.what is in your head. I have huge confidence in Hannah's ability. She
:16:08. > :16:16.is extremely prepared and capable, probably the most professional
:16:16. > :16:22.athlete I know. I watch many people from around the world, and she's a
:16:22. > :16:25.pat seers all of them. I am not sure why. -- she so passes.
:16:26. > :16:29.Hannah's reward for winning the trials, an interview with a silver
:16:29. > :16:34.medallist who sees history repeating itself. Sharron Davies
:16:34. > :16:39.finishes in second place! She is doing my events, coached by her
:16:39. > :16:43.father, and I was coached by my father. I know exactly what is
:16:43. > :16:49.going through her head. Her chances are good. Anything can happen once
:16:49. > :16:54.you're in the final. It will be a hard race, as it always is. It is
:16:54. > :17:04.not going to come easy, but she is one of the toughest that I know.
:17:04. > :17:07.
:17:07. > :17:11.Adhere is another tough cookie. -- and here is.
:17:11. > :17:16.He is working to make the step up from Commonwealth champion two
:17:16. > :17:19.Olympic contender. When you are in the final, anything can happen. I'm
:17:19. > :17:24.not going to say that I will get the gold medal because it will be
:17:25. > :17:29.very hard, but at the last Olympics, I was just a spectator. I made two
:17:29. > :17:34.finals, so this time, I will really be competitive and hopefully come
:17:34. > :17:40.away with one. I love the way he swims. He has been trained in very
:17:41. > :17:45.well. -- training very well. I think he is a superstar and he is a
:17:45. > :17:52.lovely guy. I would love to see and do well. If he does his best, he
:17:52. > :18:02.has a shot. The medals will be very hard to come by. It is tough when
:18:02. > :18:04.
:18:04. > :18:09.you're just 17. Craig Benson was second. 60.7, he has made it.
:18:09. > :18:14.have just set a new Scottish record. I have as well! I did not even
:18:14. > :18:21.realise. Wow, that is a massive achievement. Craig Spence and
:18:21. > :18:24.surprised everyone by qualifying for the Olympics. -- Craig Benson.
:18:24. > :18:34.Including a gold medallist in his event, he was looking at him in the
:18:34. > :18:35.
:18:35. > :18:42.long term. I believe he is good. He should be in games after Rio, at
:18:42. > :18:52.his age. If he is achieving those events in between, that is good.
:18:52. > :18:55.
:18:55. > :18:59.the moment, all eyes on London. With 17,500 spectators inside the
:18:59. > :19:03.aquatic Centre, expect performances of a lifetime.
:19:03. > :19:07.The focus here has been on the household names, from whom we have
:19:07. > :19:11.already heard. But in gymnastics, we are confident of bringing back
:19:11. > :19:18.medals to Scotland. I have heard from two men called Daniel, old
:19:18. > :19:22.going into the lion's den. This is Daniel Purves, in 2010 he won
:19:22. > :19:26.bronze at both the European and world championships. Last year, he
:19:26. > :19:31.was world No. 1. All this in a sport that is tougher than it looks.
:19:31. > :19:41.Even the best in the world must practise until they drop. Don't be
:19:41. > :19:41.
:19:41. > :19:45.fooled by his accent. His mother is from Dundee. If you have already,
:19:45. > :19:51.one bad landing and that could be in major disaster, so you have to
:19:51. > :19:56.be focused. When we are training, we do three routines every day. It
:19:56. > :20:00.is the third routine that is hard. Once you get off the pommel horse,
:20:00. > :20:05.you cannot feel your arms. You have to rest before the next routine.
:20:05. > :20:12.Day-in, day-out, you are pushing it. That is why gymnastics is artistic.
:20:12. > :20:17.We try to make it look elegant. That was Daniel Keatings, whose
:20:17. > :20:21.parentage meant that he could represent Scotland in the Twenties
:20:21. > :20:26.-- 2006 Commonwealth Games. In 2009, he really arrived on the world
:20:26. > :20:30.stage, becoming the first Brit to win a medal at the World gymnastics
:20:30. > :20:37.Championships. That was silver in the all-round competition. 2010
:20:37. > :20:43.also started well. I became European champion on the pommel
:20:43. > :20:49.horse. Two days later went back into training, and I snapped a
:20:50. > :20:53.ligament in my right knee. When I did it, I thought that was going to
:20:53. > :21:00.be career-ending. But I kept thinking positively and within a
:21:00. > :21:05.few months, I was back on my feet, training hard. Fully recovered by
:21:05. > :21:08.the world championships last year, a disastrous performing --
:21:08. > :21:11.disasters a four month -- a disastrous performance from him
:21:11. > :21:18.meant that the Olympic event this year was the last chance for the
:21:18. > :21:23.man to qualify for London. It was nerve-racking. All I could think of
:21:23. > :21:31.was about the fall had had. I put in a good routine and you could see
:21:31. > :21:38.the relief on my face once I landed. It is like being at a football
:21:38. > :21:41.match, the crowd are going behind you. It improves your performance.
:21:41. > :21:45.With a fully funded full-time training programme with coaches,
:21:45. > :21:50.nutritionists and doctors, our gymnasts have enjoyed unprecedented
:21:50. > :21:56.success since the last Olympics. But that is only part of the
:21:56. > :22:00.explanation. A big factor is team spirit. I think it helps. It gives
:22:00. > :22:05.you the belief that maybe we can do it. Over the years, British
:22:05. > :22:08.gymnastics has not been immediately strong at world level. I think the
:22:08. > :22:15.people behind us will be even more confident because of what we have
:22:15. > :22:19.achieved. Hopefully it will get better and better. Gymnastics is an
:22:19. > :22:23.individual sport but it is also a team competition. It is great to
:22:23. > :22:28.stay together as a team. If we see people doing good routines, it puts
:22:28. > :22:36.our confidence up and we push off each other. That is why we get good
:22:36. > :22:41.results. With the GB team happily qualified, the two Daniels have
:22:41. > :22:45.passed hoping. They expect to become the first Scot to win medals
:22:45. > :22:53.in gymnastics. It creates pressure. You have to put it to the back of
:22:53. > :22:58.your mind. I can get my head down and get training. I have done this
:22:58. > :23:02.100 times in training, so we just need to do it once now. If I get a
:23:02. > :23:07.good result, I can think about everything afterwards. We are
:23:07. > :23:12.contenders but we have to keep our feet on the ground and focus. It is
:23:12. > :23:17.easy to get injured. That can ruin your chances. The way I see it,
:23:17. > :23:24.every session counts. I were a lot the gold, an Olympic medal in
:23:24. > :23:28.London, that would be the biggest thing ever. I cannot explain how I
:23:28. > :23:33.would feel about getting that, and that is why I am working 110% every
:23:33. > :23:37.day to make the dream become a reality.
:23:37. > :23:41.It has been quite a journey for another Scottish person travelling
:23:41. > :23:45.to London this summer. Taking part in paralympic rowing is Dave Smith
:23:45. > :23:55.from Newtonmore. He has overcome clubfoot and cancer of the spine
:23:55. > :23:56.
:23:56. > :24:01.but he has a very realistic chance of winning gold.
:24:01. > :24:05.Dave Smith is rare. He is a current World Champion in adaptor of rowing
:24:05. > :24:09.but before his involvement in Paralympic sport, he had been well
:24:10. > :24:15.on the way to the able-bodied 2006 Olympics in an entirely different
:24:15. > :24:22.sport. I was on the squad for the bobsleigh team leading up to the
:24:22. > :24:27.Olympics. I was set on going to those games. My body was shutting
:24:27. > :24:32.down and they did not know what was wrong with me. It looked like I had
:24:32. > :24:36.been over-training, and I remember going home and, that was it, I had
:24:36. > :24:41.trained my whole life of those Olympics, and I knew we were not
:24:41. > :24:45.going to win a medal, but the top 15 might have been good. It was
:24:45. > :24:51.heartbreaking. While recuperating in Edinburgh, a physiotherapist
:24:51. > :24:55.told him that he would qualify for the Paralympic squad. I was born
:24:55. > :24:59.with a disability, club for it. I spent the first three years of my
:25:00. > :25:05.life learning to walk in special plaster cast, which has left my
:25:05. > :25:10.left -- right leg fuse that the ankle. I have no flexibility in a
:25:10. > :25:16.rectangle. -- fused at the ankle. The decision to take up adaptive
:25:16. > :25:23.rowing saved days's life. If I had not come here, I would never have
:25:23. > :25:27.found a tumour. It was my physio who discovered it, and decent for
:25:27. > :25:36.the MRI scan. If I had not made the decision to come here, I dread to
:25:36. > :25:41.think where I make have been today. -- and sent for the MRI scan. It
:25:41. > :25:47.could have been a different story. From what I heard, I might not have
:25:47. > :25:53.been able to move from the neck down. The tumour was in David's
:25:53. > :25:58.spine. It was successfully removed in 2010 and his recovery has been
:25:58. > :26:07.so successful that one year later, he was a World Champion and
:26:07. > :26:11.targeting London. Our boat is a minimal disability boat. We have
:26:11. > :26:14.two visually impaired athletes and two physically impaired athletes.
:26:14. > :26:20.We have to balance the male and female relationships within the
:26:20. > :26:24.team. He went through a difficult patch in the 2010 season. I think
:26:24. > :26:28.that now we're able to see him come back up and he is so positive about
:26:28. > :26:32.everything. He is such an amazing person to train with because every
:26:32. > :26:37.day he makes me laugh about something, just during training. He
:26:37. > :26:43.left morale. When this came along, it was a second chance and I would
:26:43. > :26:52.not change anything. It has fallen at just the right time. That is
:26:52. > :26:59.just amazing. It is a dream come true. My whole twenties was held
:26:59. > :27:07.back by this, so this has been a real chance for me. I could
:27:07. > :27:10.potentially go to my home games and hopefully win a gold medal, yeah,
:27:10. > :27:17.that is what second chances are made of and I'm grabbing it with
:27:17. > :27:22.everything. Good luck to all the athletes
:27:22. > :27:26.taking part in London 2012. We will have all the Olympic news
:27:26. > :27:30.for you across TV, radio and online throughout the Games. Sport Nation