:00:31. > :00:39.It took our breath away. And they inspired a nation. And Wales's
:00:39. > :00:45.finest made history. And a superstar from North Wales is the
:00:45. > :00:54.Olympic champion. It is a new world record and Great Britain have won
:00:54. > :01:04.the gold medal. We have done it! We have done it! And we have done it
:01:04. > :01:05.
:01:05. > :01:11.in style. Great Britain, the Olympic champions. The men come
:01:11. > :01:21.right up on to the line. He is the most successful Welsh boxer of all
:01:21. > :01:24.
:01:24. > :01:34.time. That is quite a moment for Hannah Mills and Saskia Clarke.
:01:34. > :01:37.
:01:37. > :01:41.Absolutely brilliant! Growth what a After a glorious Olympics which
:01:41. > :01:47.kicked off here in Cardiff, we will be catching up with gold medal
:01:47. > :01:54.winner Geraint Thomas and looking ahead to 2016 in Rio. Bus so much
:01:54. > :02:01.more coming up. Welcome to the new season of Sport Wales. Coming up:
:02:01. > :02:07.We have an exclusive interview with Cardiff City chairman.
:02:07. > :02:13.Give us an option to show you that we will be here for a long time.
:02:13. > :02:17.also hear from you Swansea City boss Michael Laudrup. It is very
:02:17. > :02:22.difficult for me to be as good as a manager as I was as a player.
:02:22. > :02:28.we catch up with former British rally champion David Llewellyn.
:02:28. > :02:32.heart was absolutely pounding. football first and he is one of the
:02:32. > :02:36.greatest players to have ever graced the game - but what will
:02:36. > :02:46.Michael Laudrup be like as a manager? Sport Wales has been to
:02:46. > :03:12.
:03:12. > :03:16.find out more about the new man at MUSIC PLAYS her.
:03:16. > :03:22.It has been quite a sum at the Liberty stadium. Brendan Rogers
:03:22. > :03:28.said goodbye to Swansea and hello to Liverpool. But who to replacing?
:03:28. > :03:33.In walked one of the greatest footballers who ever lived. Michael
:03:33. > :03:40.Laudrup said yes. We met in Birmingham. We had a talk, knowing
:03:40. > :03:44.each other at, of course, and I had a lot of phone calls and references.
:03:44. > :03:48.I did not know much about Swansea. I just knew it was a team from
:03:48. > :03:53.Wales playing in the Premier League. So you had to do some research?
:03:53. > :03:57.course because I think it is very important to do research. Sometimes
:03:57. > :04:02.he does get a phone call and you meet and have 48 hours to decide.
:04:02. > :04:05.This time I bid you wanted to do my homework very well. Everyone was
:04:05. > :04:12.very positive about the club under way they played. I saw some games
:04:13. > :04:16.last year in a different style that. It was a style that suited me a lot
:04:16. > :04:23.so that was a positive thing. did a part of you worry whether it
:04:23. > :04:26.was the right move for you or way you convinced? Especially because I
:04:26. > :04:32.had a couple of experiences where I may be did it too quickly without
:04:32. > :04:36.doing the research, it is sometimes that you are lucky and sometimes
:04:36. > :04:40.you pay deeply for that mistake. I did not want to do that mistake.
:04:40. > :04:44.You have made mistakes, you think, with the jobs you have taken in the
:04:44. > :04:48.past? My philosophy is that you have to learn from the bad things
:04:48. > :04:55.and remember the good ones. Of course I remember some are less
:04:55. > :05:00.nice things and I have used this time to make everything very
:05:00. > :05:03.positive. That is why I am here. Laudrup arrived at Swansea after
:05:03. > :05:09.mixed coaching experience is in Russia, Spain and his native
:05:09. > :05:13.Denmark, where he won the League Cup double. His decision to jump on
:05:13. > :05:16.and off the managerial merry-go- round is a surprise to a former
:05:16. > :05:24.team-mate. A I was a little bit surprised when he first went
:05:24. > :05:30.coaching. I did not think he would do that. He has not managed before.
:05:30. > :05:36.He has been head coach. So in Spain and Russia, he was very successful
:05:36. > :05:39.and those clubs - you are not in charge of anything other than the
:05:39. > :05:48.team. Sometimes you are not even in charge of that so basically do
:05:48. > :05:52.other guy -- you what are the guys that coaches the team. Now he needs
:05:52. > :05:57.to manage. He is the boss. Every time anything happens within the
:05:57. > :06:07.club, everyone is going to look to Michael. This is why he has to step
:06:07. > :06:11.
:06:11. > :06:18.I have no doubt that the manager role in Great Britain is different
:06:18. > :06:22.to other places in the world. Of course, the managers in Madrid have
:06:22. > :06:30.a lot of power and there are few other clubs like that but normally,
:06:30. > :06:34.the manager or the trainer or coached - whatever you call them -
:06:34. > :06:41.is in charge of the team this double. He can give his opinion on
:06:41. > :06:46.buying and selling. I really like that it is different here. It gives
:06:46. > :06:52.you more work but I am responsible at the end of the day. If things
:06:52. > :06:56.are not working, it is the manager's head that roles. He has
:06:56. > :07:01.already seem Joe Allen followed Rogers's to Liverpool. Others could
:07:01. > :07:11.follow him out of the exit door. But good Laudrup's name attract
:07:11. > :07:12.
:07:12. > :07:16.bigger and better stars? Players want to play for him and the reason
:07:16. > :07:23.why they want to play for him is because of his philosophy and how
:07:23. > :07:26.he trains every day, and his knowledge. It means he can attract
:07:26. > :07:33.players to come to the club and I think if it goes well in the first
:07:33. > :07:37.season, you will see more famous -- famous and better players wanting
:07:37. > :07:43.to come and join Swansea. And what about a reunion with the man whose
:07:43. > :07:48.goal helped win Euro 1992 for Denmark? We understand that Laudrup
:07:48. > :07:51.is keen to bring his former number two on board at Swansea. I would
:07:51. > :07:55.definitely consider coming because I would love to be in the Premier
:07:55. > :07:58.League. We have been talking about it this summer and of course we
:07:58. > :08:02.have to wait to see what is going to happen because he just came to a
:08:02. > :08:08.new club and needs to find out how it is up a new club - fans, owners,
:08:08. > :08:13.players and the staff. But if I got a chance to come back, I would
:08:13. > :08:17.definitely consider it. Laudrup's main task is to keep Swansea up and
:08:17. > :08:21.keep defying those who doubt them. But is he worried his reputation as
:08:21. > :08:27.a player could be harmed if things go wrong? Some people might say
:08:27. > :08:32.that Abbas not as good as a manager and as a player. But I don't think
:08:32. > :08:37.whatever I do have the player will always be there. I am not offended
:08:37. > :08:42.because people say I am not as good as a manager as I was as a player.
:08:42. > :08:52.To be honest, it is very difficult for me to be as good a manager as I
:08:52. > :08:58.was a player. Plenty more still to come on to Mike's Sport Wales.
:08:58. > :09:04.We have an exclusive interview with Cardiff City's chairman. And we
:09:04. > :09:09.assess the legacy of London 2012. For most of us, the sum of 2012
:09:09. > :09:14.will be remembered for the efforts of Team GB at a London Olympics,
:09:14. > :09:18.with Welsh competitors gathering a record haul of seven medals. Llinos
:09:18. > :09:22.Lee caught up with gold medallist Geraint Thomas.
:09:22. > :09:30.The first Welsh gold of London 2012 went to the cyclist Geraint Thomas.
:09:30. > :09:40.It makes it a double Olympic champion -- makes him. He is back
:09:40. > :09:40.
:09:40. > :09:46.in his home town of Cardiff after Look at the time! It is a new world
:09:46. > :09:52.record and Great Britain have won the gold medal. Can use some up
:09:52. > :09:57.London 2012 for us? I think it has just been loud. That is one of the
:09:57. > :10:02.words. Just to be part of the hall of Team GB and such a successful
:10:02. > :10:05.games, it is such an honour. I have not had time for it to sink in
:10:05. > :10:09.because up to the race you are thinking about the race and the
:10:09. > :10:14.training and have you are going to attack the race. You never really
:10:14. > :10:20.think about afterwards and how you are going to feel and what is going
:10:20. > :10:28.to happen. You dream of winning one day so to be sitting here now with
:10:28. > :10:33.two blows my mind. All my closest people in my life were all there to
:10:33. > :10:40.go through it with me and it was extra special. Afterwards, to see
:10:40. > :10:44.them and to go out and celebrate together was really nice. How does
:10:44. > :10:49.it feel to be part of the British cycling team, especially after what
:10:49. > :10:53.happened in Beijing? The pressure was on to produce, wasn't it?
:10:53. > :11:01.Cycling just blew up after Beijing and everyone expected us to bring
:11:01. > :11:04.home 10 golds. We got seven so we got pretty close. It wasn't bad! I
:11:04. > :11:09.just feel fortunate that I am at the right age to benefit from the
:11:09. > :11:14.system that is their that Dave set up. When somebody starts doing
:11:14. > :11:19.really well, you definitely get a buzz of that. It is not like it
:11:19. > :11:23.happened overnight. It has been growing and growing since Sydney.
:11:23. > :11:29.Each year, it has been getting better. We are fortunate to have a
:11:29. > :11:35.lot of money put into cycling. They definitely utilised every penny and
:11:35. > :11:39.spent it in the right way. That is the big difference, really.
:11:39. > :11:43.head coach has said the what is next for you is to concentrate on
:11:43. > :11:49.York Road. Is that what you are doing? The best, that is what I
:11:49. > :11:55.have said all along. Definitely for the next two or three years I will
:11:55. > :12:00.concentrate on the road and just see where I can take it. The big
:12:00. > :12:08.one-day races in April and then the Tour the France, and then, Rio it
:12:08. > :12:12.may be the cut the road race and the time trial. -- may be look at
:12:12. > :12:17.other road race. A straight back on the road for you? Renault Restall
:12:17. > :12:22.time for celebrations? We have had a few celebrations but I am
:12:22. > :12:31.straight back into training. I am racing in Germany and then two days
:12:31. > :12:34.later I have a race in Denmark. It is just manic but I prefer that. If
:12:34. > :12:41.I didn't have any more races, I would just be at home wondering
:12:41. > :12:46.what I was doing. I am so used to going on to the next goal all the
:12:46. > :12:52.time. When a -- where will you be based? Idea finished a Manchester?
:12:52. > :12:56.I have to sport a house in Cardiff. It is quite strange. I move to
:12:56. > :13:04.Manchester when I was 18 so it is the start of a new chapter in my
:13:04. > :13:10.life. So it is all eyes on Rio now or in
:13:10. > :13:20.2016. But what is the legacy? What will the London Games impact on the
:13:20. > :13:21.
:13:21. > :13:25.This may be the end of these two glorious weeks, but what we have
:13:25. > :13:29.begun will not stop now. The spirit of the Olympics will inspire a
:13:29. > :13:34.generation. London 2012 saw Britain record its
:13:34. > :13:39.best males called for a century. World competitors completed more
:13:39. > :13:43.than before. But can they inspire those hoping to fly the flag in
:13:43. > :13:52.Rio? In my training session, I had been
:13:52. > :13:57.watching its. I have wanted to watch and try harder.
:13:57. > :14:01.I went to the games. The atmosphere was phenomenal. It
:14:01. > :14:06.inspired me that I want to be there next time.
:14:06. > :14:10.Inspire a generation was the mantra of the games. When a 17-year-old
:14:10. > :14:16.Welsh javelin thrower was selected to be one of the seven aspiring
:14:17. > :14:22.runs -- youngsters to lower the torch into the cauldron.
:14:22. > :14:26.That was when I realise what I had just done, and it was phenomenal. I
:14:26. > :14:31.could not believe it, the way they have tried to hand it on to the
:14:31. > :14:35.next generation. It is awesome. The experience will stay with him
:14:35. > :14:41.for the next four years. He was cherished being part of an opening
:14:41. > :14:45.ceremony in front of 80,000 people. That will give him -- with him for
:14:45. > :14:49.the next four years. I hope we will see him representing Great Britain
:14:49. > :14:57.in Rio. Becky James was a reserve cyclist
:14:57. > :15:02.at the games. She has ambitions for 2016.
:15:02. > :15:09.It is frustrating, but with the form that Victoria and just Ennis
:15:09. > :15:12.have had, it was always tough to get selected. -- Jessica Ennis. It
:15:12. > :15:17.was unlikely that anything was going to happen, but I had to keep
:15:17. > :15:22.my head on in case something happened.
:15:22. > :15:27.In some cases, the youth came through at these games. The future
:15:27. > :15:31.arrived in the present. Jade Jones won a gold, buoyed by the presence
:15:31. > :15:36.of travelling to the Youth Olympics two years ago. She was funded them
:15:36. > :15:43.by those who celebrating with had this week.
:15:43. > :15:48.Fred Evans credited his time in Beijing as the main reason for his
:15:48. > :15:54.silver. The Olympics are very special.
:15:54. > :15:58.You have to live among thousands of people. He have to go to a strange
:15:58. > :16:03.dining-rooms, shared bedrooms with people. If you can experience that
:16:03. > :16:07.before your first Olympics, you have almost been there and done it.
:16:07. > :16:15.At London 2012, five more Welsh athletes were put on the same
:16:15. > :16:23.programme. My next target is 2013. I will be
:16:23. > :16:27.looking for the gold. I'm just adding a few extra kilos.
:16:27. > :16:31.Definitely Glasgow 2014 for a gold. The Commonwealth games in two years
:16:31. > :16:35.will give us an accurate indicator of whether Welsh athletes can head
:16:35. > :16:42.to Rio with realistic medal hopes. But future talent has been
:16:42. > :16:47.motivated to emulate the heroes of 2012.
:16:47. > :16:52.Laura McAllister, seven medals in London - have you set a target for
:16:52. > :16:55.Rio yet? We have just seen some hopefuls.
:16:55. > :16:59.When do you start to build towards that?
:16:59. > :17:04.It is already under way. As well as Rio, we have got the Commonwealth
:17:04. > :17:08.games in 2014, which is important for us. Wales competes as a nation
:17:08. > :17:15.in its own right. A lot of our strategy is geared to was us. But
:17:15. > :17:21.it is important. A lot of our successful athletes just missed out
:17:21. > :17:25.in London. But I have great potential for Rio.
:17:25. > :17:29.The challenge for you now, it is all very well people having an
:17:29. > :17:33.interest in taekwondo, but how do you translate that into
:17:33. > :17:38.participation? That is the main challenge facing
:17:38. > :17:43.us. We did not just starts talking about legacy in the past few weeks.
:17:43. > :17:46.Virtually everything we have done in the past few years has been
:17:46. > :17:50.towards capturing the biggest ever marketing campaign for sport. We
:17:50. > :17:55.can't do everything ourselves. We are not doing things on the ground.
:17:55. > :17:58.We are encouraging, funding, supporting partners to achieve. But
:17:58. > :18:03.I said from the beginning that it would be absolutely scandalous if
:18:03. > :18:06.any child in Wales wanted to take part in sport after the games,
:18:06. > :18:09.having been inspired by what they have seen, and that they were
:18:10. > :18:17.turned away by club that did not have the capacity or enthusiasm to
:18:18. > :18:22.take them on board. I stand by that. Motorsport now, and whatever the
:18:22. > :18:25.level you compete at in rally driving, Wales has some of the best
:18:25. > :18:35.terrain in the world. Last weekend there was a classic car event with
:18:35. > :18:43.some classic drivers. Here on an industrial estate is the
:18:43. > :18:48.service area for the need the early stages, when 90 cars all-race in
:18:48. > :18:54.the forests. Joining Today's gang of amateur's eye couple of
:18:54. > :18:58.characters who once completed at the very top of motorsport. -- are
:18:58. > :19:03.a couple. David was one of Britain's most
:19:03. > :19:12.talented drivers. Twice British champion, he was given a chance to
:19:12. > :19:15.race in the world Championship. 20 years later, they could not race --
:19:15. > :19:20.resist the opportunity to race again.
:19:20. > :19:23.It is the adrenalin, the noise, the excitement. To put it in
:19:23. > :19:29.perspective, when I went and a test last Thursday, I came back into
:19:29. > :19:39.service and put my hand on my son's shoulder, and he said, Dad, and
:19:39. > :19:40.
:19:40. > :19:45.shaking. I said yes, that his I went back 20 years when I started
:19:45. > :19:49.this course. If I had this car that time, I would have done more
:19:49. > :19:55.rallies. It is just exciting, nice to go and see what you can do. I
:19:56. > :20:01.would like to think I have got the base to give him a push.
:20:01. > :20:11.That depends who is the Rus deist. Joining David is fell short, the
:20:11. > :20:14.
:20:14. > :20:19.It is 22 years since he raced in Wales.
:20:20. > :20:29.These stages have a lot of memories for me. Some good times and some
:20:30. > :20:35.
:20:35. > :20:40.bad times. They are just Kong -- Guiding them through the Forestry
:20:40. > :20:45.wire their former co-drivers. -- were their former co-drivers.
:20:45. > :20:49.The guy is obviously exceptionally talented. Being a four-time world
:20:49. > :20:55.champion, he has got nothing to prove.
:20:55. > :21:02.I only know that we are 56 seconds in front. D first-stage was 16
:21:02. > :21:07.seconds faster than them. Bake -- it can be tricky because the
:21:07. > :21:13.corners get affected, and Lady try to drive in a flamboyant Weightman
:21:14. > :21:23.you can be caught out. -- and if you try. You have to be
:21:24. > :21:26.
:21:26. > :21:31.And the last Welshman to win the rally GP came first by a margin of
:21:31. > :21:35.almost one minutes. He was very quick this morning. He
:21:35. > :21:40.was very quick on his pace this afternoon. If we started with more
:21:40. > :21:49.gusto, we would have been OK. At the end of the day, it is not about
:21:49. > :21:55.winning, we are here for fun. It was nice to be back.
:21:55. > :21:59.At the start of the rally, my heart was pounding. It is just the
:21:59. > :22:03.excitement of it all. Oh, boy, it gets you excited. It is like
:22:03. > :22:07.nothing else. There's nothing like winning,
:22:07. > :22:17.nothing like driving one of those quickly. But winning is good as
:22:17. > :22:21.
:22:21. > :22:25.We had from the new Swansea bus earlier. So, to Cardiff City and
:22:25. > :22:30.the Blue birds have been hitting the headlines on and off the field
:22:30. > :22:37.this summer. -- the Bluebirds. Red or Dead. That was the size of
:22:37. > :22:43.Change colours or face meltdown. A backlash from the fans, a U-turn
:22:44. > :22:53.from the club, and then everything. Blue, after all, would become red.
:22:54. > :23:02.
:23:02. > :23:08.-- then a rethink. Football has to be run as a
:23:08. > :23:17.business. Because the Far East has a huge market, we feel that some
:23:17. > :23:21.rebranding, some change, could be good to catch the eye of fans in
:23:21. > :23:27.the Far East. One could say that companies go through rebranding so
:23:27. > :23:33.they can freshen up. We have been careful, because the bat, for
:23:33. > :23:38.instance - the Bluebird is still the motif. -- for the badge. The
:23:38. > :23:48.Welsh dragon, which is the insignia for Wales, is prominent. Rebranding
:23:48. > :23:58.is one thing. But we have also done a lot of planning for the stadium
:23:58. > :23:59.
:23:59. > :24:06.go into -- the boys stayed in, in With football clubs nowadays, we
:24:06. > :24:11.are conscious of sustainability. When you look at Portsmouth,
:24:11. > :24:14.Rangers, we want to be realistic. Do you feel, in hindsight, that the
:24:14. > :24:19.whole rebranding thing was handled badly?
:24:19. > :24:27.In hindsight, yes, we should have done more. But we were pre-emptive.
:24:27. > :24:31.That is difficult. Since then we have spent a lot of time trying to
:24:31. > :24:36.explain, especially to those who were against the scheme, the
:24:36. > :24:42.ramifications of such a transformation. It also comes with
:24:42. > :24:45.following investment, putting this wonderful club on a platform, which
:24:45. > :24:51.we hope, if we'd get to the Premiership, will make things
:24:51. > :24:55.easier. What position is the club in terms
:24:55. > :25:04.of debt? 70 million, some Bithell say?
:25:04. > :25:07.That is certainly not true. We have clear a lot of the issues. Do you
:25:07. > :25:14.know what the level of debt is? Can you tell us?
:25:14. > :25:19.I think it is maybe �50 million. It is in that region.
:25:19. > :25:26.This is the money man driving the change, the 10th richest man in
:25:26. > :25:32.Malaysia, worth 1.2 billion. He holds the rights to chains like
:25:32. > :25:36.Starbucks and McDonald's in his country. So why does he have
:25:36. > :25:44.Swansea City? If it does not make money, he would
:25:44. > :25:48.not be in this business! We have gone through much of the hard part.
:25:48. > :25:53.It is something where we feel that in our lifetime, if we can make a
:25:53. > :26:00.difference... So you are in it for the long-term?
:26:00. > :26:10.My friend, if we were to walk out, we would have gone into the dark
:26:10. > :26:11.
:26:11. > :26:18.ages. When we Kenny, the HMRC was on our backs. -- when we came in.
:26:18. > :26:28.We have had too much for years of stability. -- to two years of
:26:28. > :26:30.
:26:30. > :26:38.As he launches another campaign tonight, the manager says the club
:26:38. > :26:45.may have been heading in the other direction without the Malaysians.
:26:45. > :26:51.If he had withdrawn from the club, 15, 16 clubs would fold in the
:26:51. > :26:56.Championship. What has changed over the summer? Have you seen any
:26:56. > :27:02.tangible difference? Last year was a year of trying to
:27:02. > :27:06.patch up and get a squad together, but really it was a small budget.
:27:06. > :27:16.It was free transfers. This year I am able to go and try to compete
:27:16. > :27:19.
:27:20. > :27:26.with clubs in the division. I'm able to go and compete in terms of
:27:26. > :27:30.bringing in players. Mackay has been able to spend �5
:27:30. > :27:37.million on new players, Craig Bellamy de Marquise signing. Can he
:27:37. > :27:42.help to bring the club into the Premiership?
:27:42. > :27:47.The best three teams will go up. It is proven to be the case every year.
:27:47. > :27:56.I see no difference. Hopefully we will be one of the top three teams.
:27:56. > :28:00.If not, it will not be down to our work ethic.
:28:00. > :28:05.So, red shirt, blue shirts, Bluebirds, dragons, whatever the
:28:05. > :28:11.symbolism, the players and manager just want to get on with it. It
:28:11. > :28:21.will be how they do on the pitch which determines how things go in