27/04/2014 Sport XIV

Hello and welcome to April's edition of Sport XIV.

We are well past the 100 day to go mark and the excitement is

building towards Glasgow 2014 and these guys need no reminding.

My first training session was the two-year anniversary of Dad's death.

Our newest netball star, Fiona Themann, talks about her emotional journey...

That psychological difference is a reason why I didn't win.

There's fighting talk from Michael Jamieson...

You start to feel the pressure building a little bit.

Steve Frew on holding his nerve under pressure...

So, what have you learned? Where do you think you did go wrong.

In London, I had maybe unrealistic expectations of how I could do.

Imogen Bankier and Kirsty Gilmour look ahead to Glasgow.

I was like, "I'm never going to be able to dae this."

And weight-loss weightlifter Georgi Black talks mind over matter.

Now, can you imagine leaving your family, your job and your partner

behind and travelling halfway around the world for one shot at glory.

That's what one netball player did.

Scotland's three match win over Trinidad and Tobago was

significant for many reasons.

Not least that Australian-born Fiona Themann made her debut.

Here she tells us her emotional story.

It was a sunny day with clear skies.

Across our suburbs it's going to be hot and sunny tomorrow,

a very hot 36 degrees.

This is a purchase I made before I came over because I didn't own

any warm jackets.

We do get cold, well, we call it cold, winters in Melbourne.

But this was probably the only purchase that I really had to make.

Mum bought it for me for my birthday.

Three weeks today I've been here so,

not long but a lot has happened in those three weeks.

We had the selection for the TNT 3 Test Series.

I was lucky enough to be included into the squad of 12.

So I was pretty happy with that.

With my dad being Scottish, I hold a dual citizenship

so I was able to come across here and represent Scotland.

I took a year off work and flew over in March, so, yeah,

it's all happened.

Dad actually passed away two years ago on March 15th

so my first training session was the two-year anniversary

of Dad's death, so that's pretty special.

I don't know if it's meant to be or things like that,

but it just means a lot to be able to do that. Dad was the number one fan.

Back home everyone knew him in the crowd, big Scottish accent.

Screaming "Go, Fiona!" in the crowd.

# Oh, flower of Scotland

# When will we see... #

When we actually got to go out and sing the national anthem,

when I was singing that I was thinking, this is actually awesome.

I just wish that he was here to see it all.

Doona's another one we've got to know. What? A doona. Yeah.

David and I have been having conversations

and halfway through we're just like, "What does that word mean?"

'So I moved over and have come straight to my uncle's

'place in Govan.

'They've really welcomed me into the house so I've made myself at home.

'I've only been here three weeks and we've all been saying out there'

that it feels so much longer than three weeks.

So I guess that's a good thing.

She's brilliant. It really is. We're so pleased that she is here.

Couldn't be mair happy for her.

Will it be exciting for you to see her playing for Scotland?

Aw, the heart was bursting.

It really was. She's something amazing.

I would say that my style of play,

I'm probably quite a vocal defender as I'm not afraid to maybe

leave my player and go and have a fly out or a hunt as we call it,

for the ball outside the circle.

Having Hayley Mulheron behind me, who is an experienced Scottish goalkeeper

has been excellent.

We're starting to get an understanding together on the court.

Rachel Forbes, obviously the Australian wing defence,

plays a similar game as well so that's been great.

She has a real man on man defensive style. Just her experience, her knowledge.

She's got some great coaches out in Australia,

so she brings it with her.

She's really fitted in nicely into the team.

That's what I got given.

I got presented that after my first game on Monday night.

I think I got it on Tuesday and all the girls signed it

so, yeah, pretty cool.

PA: This is Fiona's first match for Scotland.

I guess, when you get an opportunity like this, you don't know if you're

going to make it halfway around the world, whatever it is,

anyone that you ask that's playing netball at a high level,

or any sport that is at a high level, you do it because you love it.

You don't think about those things.

You just want to be the best that you can be.

Obviously, it's made even more special that

I can hopefully represent Scotland in the Commonwealth Games in memory

of my late father, so all of those things add into it.

I left my boyfriend back in Australia. He was supportive.

He sent me over here. Mum is hopefully going to come over as well.

So you sacrifice a lot, but it means so much more to be here.

Now he is the poster boy for these Commonwealth Games

and one of the best-known sports stars in our country.

And as Chris McLaughlin discovered at the Scotland team

announcement this month, Michael Jamieson

is as relaxed as he is focused on making his mark this summer.

Being sedated and having my heartbeat reset,

I really don't see myself as someone who's got bags of talent or ability.

Swimming kind of chose me from an early age.

You know, obviously by then it's too late.

Michael, it's almost upon us.

We've had 100 days, now the team announcement. It's getting real.

Yeah, another milestone today I guess,

the team announcement itself.

Things are getting real now.

You can really feel the excitement building in the city

as well as in the pool.

Jamieson in four...

It's going to be Jamieson...

CROWD SCREAMS

I remember the night you won your silver in London,

not too far from here,

there was a packed Celtic Park watching you on the big screens.

Yeah, that was incredible.

I think it shows how well the Scots look after their own.

That's what I mean in saying that we could be part of something special

this summer. I am thoroughly looking forward to it.

I must admit you are probably one of the most laid-back athletes

I've ever spoken to.

Is the nasty streak in the pool?

I think, within reason, yes. I love competing.

Training is very much a process.

As much as I enjoy those tough days in training,

it's with things like this summer in mind, you know I train to win medals.

I think that's where the biggest transition in my career has

come in the last couple of years.

Pre-London Olympics, the goal was always to make podiums

and to be in the top three. Since then it's to win gold.

It has to be that way now if I want to keep progressing as an athlete.

Britain's Olympic silver medallist Michael Jamieson has revealed that

doctors had to restart his heart on Wednesday morning.

Jamieson, who is 25, said on Twitter that he was back at home

and had been cleared to resume training after the scare, during

which his heart rate soared and he developed an irregular heart beat.

Yeah, it was not a situation I thought I'd find myself in.

It was a bit strange. It was just a blip. It was a one-off occurrence.

There is no indication that something like that will ever happen again.

I think the positive to come out from that is that it now shows,

everyone knows how hard I'm pushing for this summer.

Within 12 hours I'd gone from doing a max effort

session in the gym to being sedated and having my heartbeat reset

almost and pushed back into a regular rhythm.

So that is done and dusted now and if nothing else,

it makes for a good story to tell.

Rickard in two. Jamieson in five.

Rickard in two and Rickard has got it.

I really don't see myself as someone who's got bags of talent or ability.

There's been no special recipe to it. I've just enjoyed working hard.

I've enjoyed training hard, and swimming is a sport where you can't

get the results you're looking for unless you're willing to put

the work in, and I've never been scared of the hard work.

Psychologically I think I'm a better athlete now,

and as I mentioned earlier, now I think about winning titles

and not just finishing in the top three, and that change in mindset

is, I think, has been important in my development as an athlete.

It's probably the reason why I never won Olympic gold

because I didn't think about winning Olympic gold until I was

actually in the water, and, you know, obviously, by then, it's too late.

That silver medal was an amazing result for me

and was everything I wanted it to be,

but a few years on, looking back on it,

that psychological difference is the reason why I didn't win

and, you know, that's what's changed post-Olympic Games.

You come from a sporting background, don't you?

Your father was a professional footballer with Alloa.

But you were also nearly a footballer?

HE LAUGHS

I think, er, I think I'd say that loosely.

I mean, I wasn't a great footballer.

I played upfront and I had absolutely no pace, so, erm...

A poacher, a good old-fashioned poacher?

A poacher, yeah.

I used to enjoy football, I loved playing it,

but, I mean, swimming kind of chose me from an early age, I think,

and that story's just kind of ran its course and, erm, you know,

I always have a laugh about it with my dad

because he, you know, is always taking the Mick about it

and says I never once had a career in football.

You know, I was just kind of sport mad as a kid

and enjoyed competing and taking part in anything, and, erm,

you know, obviously, made the right choice in sticking in the pool.

Don't go away, plenty still to come here on Sport XIV.

'Your mind gives up before your body does.

'Train harder to fight harder.

'At the end, it's you that's got to help yourself.'

'It's hard to explain how much it would mean.'

'Nothing was really expected of me

'which is the complete opposite to now.'

But before that, let's go back in time.

Scotland's only won one gymnastics gold medal,

it was back in 2002, it was Steve Frew.

A fairy tale performance in his very last routine before retirement.

BARRY DAVIES: A very warm welcome

for the man from the Alloa Gym Club,

Steve Frew.

'My expectations going into the event was that

'I wanted to hit my personal best.'

I was planning for this to be my final gymnastic competition,

and, erm, I was going there to do the best that I possibly could.

In the rings final, there's eight gymnasts compete.

I was number eight to go up out of eight, so, seven gymnasts go up,

compete the routine,

and then you start to feel the pressure building a little bit.

I knew that I had the opportunity, the stage was set,

and, er, you know, I'd trained really well in the year prior to Manchester,

so I was physically and mentally prepared to do the best that I could.

I'd never get a better opportunity, I think.

I mean, it's almost like a force, a G-force is going through your body.

I had 10 moves to do in my routine

and I was only concentrating on each single move as it happened.

So I was taking each step at a time.

So I wasn't even really thinking about gold, silver or bronze.

'And he's been in four Games,

'he's never managed to make the final before.

'Is there some reward?'

I knew that I was good enough

and it was just a case of could I pull it off under pressure?

'And it's silver.

'In fact, it's shared gold!

'It's shared gold.'

It's not too rare in gymnastics.

If two gymnasts get the same score, then they tie for a medal.

I was so happy to win a gold medal regardless.

It was a pleasure, actually, to share my glory with someone else.

I thought that was a great moment.

You know, Herodotos was a great rings worker,

and to be put on the same level as him, for me, I was happy with that.

I'd done the best routine that I possibly could at the time.

So, as I say, there was nothing to lose at all.

I was very happy with what I did.

This gymnast of long standing has well deserved the reward that

he's about to receive, Steven Frew.

It was incredible. I am Scottish.

I, you know, I lived, I was born in Scotland, and it was great to

finally give something back to the country that I'm from.

Erm, to listen to the national anthem,

to hear the joy from the crowds, the people, and just knowing that you had

done the best that you could to help the team around you

was a great thing for me.

It was a first, and it's still the only gymnastics gold medal

for Scotland in the history of the Commonwealth Games, so that was a

big thing and a pleasure to have been the one to do that for the country.

So, hopefully, fingers crossed,

Scotland will win a gold medal in gymnastics in 2014 in Glasgow.

Badminton will take place at the Emirates Arena,

and although the team hasn't been picked, hopes are high of medals.

We brought together the past, the present

and the future as three of our best players looked ahead to the summer.

Take one, action.

Imogen, there's only a couple of months to go until Glasgow.

Just tell me how this season has gone so far.

Yeah, it's gone quite well.

We've obviously been really busy qualifying for the Games of course.

Both myself and Kirsty have been trying to get seeded,

or in seeding positions, for our respective events.

It's been really busy,

but now it's quite exciting cos it's getting really close.

Looking forward to it.

How have you been getting on, Kirsty?

How is everything going in the build-up to Glasgow?

Yeah, it's been going really well.

Obviously it's been nonstop since September.

We had a little rest at Christmas.

Then it was straight back in to tournaments.

It's been really quite relentless.

That is it. It's the end of the Olympic dream for Bankier and Adcock.

You were disappointed with how you did in London.

Do you think Glasgow's your chance to redeem yourself?

Yeah, that's how I like to think of it in my head, because I feel

as though it was a disappointing tournament for me in London.

Yeah, I think I've got a chance to redeem myself

and to learn from where I went wrong in London.

So what have you learnt?

Where do you think that you did go wrong

and you won't make those mistakes again?

I think that the expectation is different.

In London I had maybe unrealistic expectations of how I could do.

Based upon a couple of good tournaments, I thought

we could do really well.

Looking back now in hindsight,

I don't think that was really realistic.

We just expected because we were in London

and because it was a home event, everything was just going to

fall into place and work for us, and it didn't.

That's nice.

Lovely interception.

Kirsty, this is your second Commonwealth Games,

but you're far more experienced this time compared to Delhi

when you were just a little kid.

Obviously Delhi I was on a total experience clause. I wasn't really...

Nothing was really expected of me, which is

the complete opposite to now, which I think I'm a real...

Obviously I've got a really good medal chance,

but there's maybe five or six girls that are contenders

for the three medals, so it's going to be really quite tough.

You guys have both moved up from the GB system,

or you've come out the GB system to train in Scotland.

Imogen, you came out of the GB system after the Olympics,

and you now have Scottish partners rather than English partners.

What do you think that has done for you?

Em, well, first of all it's enabled me

to focus a lot more on the Commonwealth Games,

cos if I'd still been a part of the GB system then

I wouldn't be focusing on it at all,

I'd be focusing on the World Championships

with my English partners.

It's enabled me to really make the Commonwealth Games a milestone,

whereas I think it was just going to breeze past

if I'd been part of the GB system.

How about you Kirsty? I did the same as you.

I came out of the GB system and trained in Scotland.

Certainly I think it was a huge benefit, training up here.

How about you? Yeah, definitely.

I think there was a little bit of pressure to go down to Milton Keynes.

I'm really happy up here.

It is enabling me to wholly concentrate on Commonwealth Games,

cos it's a really big deal for me and for all Scottish athletes.

I know they don't put as much emphasis on it.

Yeah, I'm quite happy being up here right now.

It's long!

Susan Hughes kept her nerve. The Glaswegian gets a bronze.

What would it mean to both of you guys to stand on a podium,

watching the saltire go up?

That would be, I would guess, both your biggest achievements to date.

I got maybe a tiny little taste. I got a Youth Games bronze medal.

That's maybe the closest I've ever been to being on a podium with the

flags going up, cos at international tournaments that doesn't happen.

I think for me, at this stage of my career,

it would've course be the highlight of my career so far.

It's hard to explain how much it would mean,

but that's certainly been a focus for the last couple of years,

so if it all came together on the day,

I think that would be absolutely fantastic.

You guys will also be playing ladies doubles together.

How have you managed to get on?

You've only started playing together this season.

It's been quite a slow, gradual progression,

because we both, in our respective events,

have achieved quite a lot, so there's been

a lot of emphasis on Kirsty for her singles and me for my mixed.

I think we're the two players that have it in us, have the

capability of managing to beat people.

How's it been for you playing doubles, Kirsty?

Has it felt easy when you've only got half a court to cover?

That's what I always say. Oh, it's so easy.

It's more like three quarters if she's playing with me.

She has a corner. It's like singles with an obstacle.

It's a really exciting few months for Scottish athletes.

I think I'm pretty jealous that you guys are getting the whole build-up.

Yeah, I think it's going to be...

I'm quite glad I'm going to be in the city, for a start,

living in Glasgow for the build-up to the Games.

I think people are getting excited now.

All the different arenas are finished

and people are getting that buzz and excitement about the Games.

That's great to be a part of.

Well, it's been great to catch up with you both.

You're both looking really fit, and really good luck for the Games.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Here, with some of the other stories

that have made the headlines this month, is Jane Lewis.

What a race there by Lee McConnell. Big smiles - a silver medal.

There will be no emotional fourth Commonwealth Games

for Lee McConnell.

She's decided to retire after giving birth in October.

I'd love to have been able to compete in Glasgow.

I now believe that I wouldn't be at my best at Glasgow.

I've never been willing to turn up at Glasgow, Hampden,

in front of a home crowd, and deliver a below-par performance.

The Emirates played host to the National Boxing Championships,

and there was a big win for Lewis Benson,

who moved up to welterweight to defeat his friend Connor Law.

Yeah, he's a great pal of mine, but today we've not spoke one word.

He was staring me out in the ring beforehand, like,

"Aye, you must be for real then. Let's do this."

So I went in there.

Game plan was, first two rounds, make sure I get them in the bag.

I got them in the bag. Then the third round I was coasting a wee bit.

Elsewhere there were wins for Scott Forrest in red,

and a big knockout victory for bantamweight Joe Ham.

Plenty of new faces for Team Scotland.

Squash players Kevin Moran, Stuart Crawford and Greg Lobban,

and gymnasts Lauren Brash, Rebecca Bee

and Victoria Clow got their Glasgow call-ups.

While earlier this week the boxing, wrestling

and Para-bowls teams were named.

And here's what they'll be competing for.

Glasgow 2014 medals were officially unveiled earlier this month.

15 kilos - how heavy is that?

15 bags of sugar

and the maximum weight you can check in on some airlines.

When it comes to body weight, it's a lot.

Trying to lose 15 kilos and getting stronger is difficult,

as weightlifter Georgi Black explains.

Two years. Two years of cutting down and cutting things out.

I was like, "I'm never going to be able to do this."

The heaviest I was 78.6, I remember on the scales.

The February of this year I was able to make 63, 15 kilos all in.

Hungry.

Starving.

If you eat all the right things, you get all your vitamins,

minerals, and you don't really crave much, do you know what I mean?

As long as you drink hundreds of water too,

it keeps you fuller for longer.

Oh, aye, it was hard work. My mum, she works offshore.

When she came home, she didn't phone in as much takeaways.

Phoned something in when I'm not in the house.

So everybody's helping me out.

I'd make sure there's nothing around the house that I can pick,

eat things as extra calories, as we'll call it.

Focus and determination was definitely there.

Aye, I wasn't...

People question what way do you do it.

It wasn't rocket science, really. It was just hard...

Up here, up here in the brain.

Everything you want to do in life is upstairs.

I'm a great believer in that.

This is a couple of photos of Georgi.

One here when she was slightly heavier.

She started just partying

and never took the weightlifting as serious as we'd have liked it to be.

When that photo came in, I couldn't believe it.

A lot of people, when I was on the left photo wouldn't say that's

a really bad picture, I didn't look like that.

But obviously I did, you know what I mean?

I'm well happy with the right photo. Just keep that one.

It's a lifestyle change, it's not a diet.

If it becomes a diet then you've already prepared yourself

that you're going to come off it.

Just cutting out simple things like white bread or all breads anyway,

pasta, rice, potatoes. Any starchy carbs.

We got her down to about 67 kilo at the tail end of last year.

66.2, I made. So we still had three, three-and-a-half kilo to go.

That was the hard point to do.

She came from eating 1,500 to 1,800 calories in a day

down to, the final two weeks was 800.

Under 800. Under 800 calories a day.

Come the day of the comp, we stripped her and she weighed-in on

the scales, that was the first gold - making that weight.

Training feels easier.

Obviously with excess body weight, body fat, you're not as flexible.

You've got a lot more fat round about your joints.

You're slower, you're sluggish. I became faster, leaner.

My muscles were working better. Training feels better.

You don't feel tired halfway through a training session either.

You know what grans are like.

Grans like to give you cakes and stuff, "Oh, you're looking thin."

But...

my friends, they all know the Commonwealth Games are coming up.

It's the biggest opportunity, the biggest achievement of my life.

From just being a competitor in Glasgow,

we're going to be in the medal hunt in Glasgow, you know what I mean?

I'm not saying we're going to come away with a medal,

but if everything goes well and there are a couple of hiccups

with the strong countries, that will let Georgi in the door.

I know what it's like, cos I used to strip down from 90 kilo

to 82.5 to compete, and I went to the Games.

So I was just implementing how I felt into Georgi's head.

Somebody positive there to keep you on the right track,

even although they maybe tell you a wee lie.

How you feeling today, "Brilliant."

You ken with the voice, you know what I mean?

I know when she walks in the door.

Last night she walked in the door, I'm going,

"Oh, aye, do you need a cuddle tonight." Things like that.

That just keeps them going a wee bit.

Your mind gives up before your body does,

so if you can re-programme that to train harder, to fight harder,

to focus on your goals, then anything is possible. Nothing's impossible.

You can't make PBs all the time,

you'll have more downs than you will ups.

It's just keeping motivated, keep focused, have your own goals,

make your own short-term goals, long-term goals.

Where do you want to be?

There's hundreds of people out there who will help you,

but at the end it's you that's got to help yourself first.

Well, that's just about it for this month.

If it's whetted your appetite, please go to our website.

You heard earlier on that Lee McConnell has retired.

She was our most successful female sprinter -

14 years at the top, and we wish her well.

Bye-bye.

MUSIC: "Trembling Hands" by The Temper Trap

# Somebody out there, help me

# I'm on my own

# I'm on my own

# Throw me a line

# Afraid that I have come here

# To win you again

# With trembling hands

# There goes the ending

# It left me in the war

# But I tried everything, dear

# I am done with my part. #

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