0:00:30 > 0:00:33Welcome to the East End of London and another edition
0:00:33 > 0:00:35of World Olympic Dreams,
0:00:35 > 0:00:39featuring Olympic hopefuls from all across the globe.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43Now, in just a year's time, thousands of us will be flooding
0:00:43 > 0:00:47to the Olympic Park to see those records smashed
0:00:47 > 0:00:49and those precious medals won.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53But for the athletes, the Games themselves represent just the last
0:00:53 > 0:00:58tiny step of a journey that they've been on for years.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00WHISTLE BLOWS
0:01:00 > 0:01:02In this programme,
0:01:02 > 0:01:04we meet the sports teacher that set Usain Bolt on track
0:01:04 > 0:01:07to becoming the world's fastest man.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14He tells us how much she means to him.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18She's like a second mum. While I was in high school, she looked after me.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22American gymnast Shawn Johnson brings us along
0:01:22 > 0:01:27on her tour of a major sporting brand's headquarters in the States.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31And we find out why Russian high-jumper Ivan Ukhov
0:01:31 > 0:01:33is praying it won't rain in London in 2012.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Three...
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Hurdler Jehue Gordon tells me about the difficulty
0:01:39 > 0:01:43he and his former school mates had growing up on the island of Trinidad.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47Some have died already. Shoot-outs. Some are in jail...
0:01:50 > 0:01:52And finally Olga Kharlan shows us
0:01:52 > 0:01:56how the sport of fencing has opened the door to a new life.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Oh, my goodness.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Although London will play host to the majority of events,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12the whole of Great Britain can savour the Games.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Sports clubs up and down the country are training up
0:02:15 > 0:02:18the next generation of British hopefuls
0:02:18 > 0:02:22and they may also play host to some of the foreign competitors.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24As I'm about to find out,
0:02:24 > 0:02:29there could be a future Olympic gold medallist coming to a town near you.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Birmingham is just one of the many towns and cities
0:02:53 > 0:02:56throughout the UK that will entertain training camps
0:02:56 > 0:03:00for the world's top athletes in the final weeks before the Olympics.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03This is the University of Birmingham and they will play host
0:03:03 > 0:03:08to one of the fastest teams coming to the Games, that of Jamaica.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11This is the very track where, in the last few days
0:03:11 > 0:03:15before the Games begin, Usain Bolt will hone his technique
0:03:15 > 0:03:20as he prepares to take on his own world records in the 100m and 200m.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27Usain Bolt has been very public
0:03:27 > 0:03:31about his dream to play football for Manchester United.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36He might have been tearing past defences in the Premier League
0:03:36 > 0:03:39if it hadn't been for his first PE teacher,
0:03:39 > 0:03:43who spotted and nurtured his talent.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47Andy Akinwolere has been to Jamaica to meet Usain Bolt
0:03:47 > 0:03:51and the woman who gave us the world's fastest man.
0:03:53 > 0:03:54Rush on...
0:03:54 > 0:03:58'She's the woman behind the fastest man alive.'
0:03:58 > 0:04:00WHISTLE BLOWS
0:04:00 > 0:04:04'Meet Lorna Thorpe, the PE teacher that set Usain Bolt on track
0:04:04 > 0:04:10'to Olympic gold medals and a 100m world record time of 9.58 seconds.'
0:04:14 > 0:04:16CHEERING
0:04:17 > 0:04:20COMMENTARY: Bolt, kicking away from the field.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23It's going to be gold from Jamaica. That is superb.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25It's a new world record!
0:04:26 > 0:04:31He has blown the world away. That was phenomenal.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34How did he do that?
0:04:34 > 0:04:35WHISTLE BLOWS
0:04:35 > 0:04:39'And it all began here, William Knibb School in Falmouth, Jamaica.'
0:04:43 > 0:04:46I actually can't believe this is where Usain Bolt used to train.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49It's not so much an athletics track but just dust.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51In terms of William Knibb as a school,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55the confidence and discipline they're instilling in those children
0:04:55 > 0:04:56is just absolutely phenomenal.
0:04:56 > 0:04:57WHISTLE BLOWS
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Lorna taught Usain at the time he was deciding
0:05:00 > 0:05:03whether to give up cricket and football in favour of athletics.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08She's still there today, inspiring a new generation of track hopefuls.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12She provides for us economically, financially and emotionally
0:05:12 > 0:05:16and makes sure that anything we need, we got it.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20We just love her. We admire her. We adore her.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22She's like our own mother to us.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25How does that make you feel as a person?
0:05:25 > 0:05:31Very good but it's part of my job so I have to just work for them.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34That's what I get paid for. To work with them.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38You are so modest. You guys are making such a massive difference.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Because, I mean, what would they be doing otherwise?
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Out on the street, doing something they shouldn't be doing.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48You say it's a job but I think it's a little more than that
0:05:48 > 0:05:50- from what I see here. - It's a passion.
0:05:50 > 0:05:51- It really is.- It's a passion.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55If you ask Usain, he'll tell you that. If you ask everybody.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58It's just a passion. I have to be there for them.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05'Her star former pupil hasn't forgotten where it all began.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08'Bolt's paid for a new canteen for the school
0:06:08 > 0:06:11'and he's given the athletics team new kit.'
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Nice to meet you, all right...
0:06:13 > 0:06:14'When I caught up with him,
0:06:14 > 0:06:18'it was obvious Lorna Thorpe is still very much in his thoughts.'
0:06:18 > 0:06:20For me, she's like a second mum.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23While I was in high school, she looked after me,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25for anything I wanted.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27She made sure I was in classes.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30She was always on me in school,
0:06:30 > 0:06:33to make sure everything was OK, I was focussed.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36She played a very big part.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42For school kids in Jamaica, the stakes are high.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46Once a year, the top athletes compete here at the boys and girls champs.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51It's not like any school sports day that I ever went to.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56For many here, sport is the one chance
0:06:56 > 0:07:00they have to avoid being pulled into a life of poverty or crime.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Bolt first burst onto the scene here and he's not looked back since.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09His presence is obviously an inspiration to today's generation.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16The fact he's made it to where he is today is what keeps these kids
0:07:16 > 0:07:19pushing ever harder to cross that finish line.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34For a lot of Olympic champions,
0:07:34 > 0:07:38their route to success would have begun at a place like this
0:07:38 > 0:07:42an ordinary club full of people with extraordinary goals.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46It's a privilege on World Olympic Dreams to meet athletes
0:07:46 > 0:07:50in their natural environments and it's also amazing to find them
0:07:50 > 0:07:52in the clubs where they started out.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56This is Bury Gymnastics Club,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00a part of the resurgence in gymnastics in the UK.
0:08:00 > 0:08:0519-year-old US gymnast Shawn Johnson started at her local club,
0:08:05 > 0:08:09a bit like this one, and she went on to win three silvers
0:08:09 > 0:08:12and a gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
0:08:12 > 0:08:17She is now an inspiration to Olympic hopefuls everywhere.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Despite the fact she still trains at that same gym,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Shawn Johnson's career continues to hit new heights.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34She has now signed a sponsorship deal with one
0:08:34 > 0:08:37of the world's largest sportswear brands.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41Tom Burridge joined Shawn in a rare look behind the scenes
0:08:41 > 0:08:44at Nike headquarters in Portland, Oregon.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51An Olympic gold medallist as you've never seen her.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54The dots on the screen are gymnast Shawn Johnson.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58The technology maps her movements as she runs down the mat.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Cameras pick up the reflective nodes
0:09:03 > 0:09:06which are attached to nearly every part of Shawn's body.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09I am out of high school and wanting to go to college
0:09:09 > 0:09:12and wanting to build a foundation for the rest of my life,
0:09:12 > 0:09:16and this really can set me up for good.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Shawn seriously injured her knee last year.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22She isn't even certain she'll compete at London 2012.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29For a big sponsor, there's no guarantee that the deal will pay off.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34There's plenty of evidence that shows having celebrities endorsing products
0:09:34 > 0:09:38not only causes an uplift in sales but allows you to charge a price premium.
0:09:38 > 0:09:45The more difficult thing to prove conclusively
0:09:45 > 0:09:47is the impact it has
0:09:47 > 0:09:52on overall brand image and therefore overall sales.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55Shawn Johnson does have celebrity status.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58She has more than 85,000 followers on Twitter.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02And for her, the deal is part of her future as a business woman
0:10:02 > 0:10:05as well as an athlete.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08I do consider myself a business woman and I'm still learning
0:10:08 > 0:10:12and there's a lot left to learn but I love that part of it,
0:10:12 > 0:10:19because that's the part where people get to know who I am
0:10:19 > 0:10:22and see the real me instead of just the gymnast on the screen.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27For Shawn, a day touring the company's headquarters is a day she isn't training.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Her deal will mean more commitments like this.
0:10:31 > 0:10:37But her hope is that the support of a big sponsor will only increase her chances of gold in London.
0:10:42 > 0:10:48In Cornwall, these schoolchildren have been using the Olympics to connect with the rest of the world.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52The BBC's World Class project has been twinning British schools
0:10:52 > 0:10:54with those of our World Olympic Dreams athletes.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59The school here in Redruth has been twinned with a school in Russia.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02The Olympic Academy, no less.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07Ivan Ukhov, our World Olympic Dreams high-jumper, went to that school.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12Back in 2008, Ivan achieved a huge degree of notoriety
0:11:12 > 0:11:15when he was filmed drunk at a tournament.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Earlier this year, Steven Rosenburg was in Moscow,
0:11:20 > 0:11:24where Ivan has now matured into a potential Olympic champion.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28At the Russian Army's sports club,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31they like to keep the conscripts on their toes.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35These soldiers are unlikely to be Russia's answer to Usain Bolt,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39but you can find one Olympic hopeful here.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42Or rather, down there.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45True, he may not be doing too much at the moment.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48He looks more sleepy than sporty
0:11:48 > 0:11:51and, unlike this lot, he's not a military man.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55But Ivan Ukhov believes he's got what it takes to win the men's high jump
0:11:55 > 0:11:58at the London Games.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Ivan is the current world indoor champion.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03He never set out to be a jumper though.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08TRANSLATION: For many years, I was a basketball player.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12Then I argued with the coach and packed it in. I took up the discus.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15But one day, I saw some guys doing the high jump.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18I asked if I could have a go just for fun.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21They said yes. I jumped so high, I beat them all.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23But Ivan does have a weakness.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27And, curiously, it's all to do with his shoes.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29In the battle for a gold medal,
0:12:29 > 0:12:33perhaps Ivan Ukhov's biggest problem is his footwear.
0:12:33 > 0:12:34Unlike other high-jumpers,
0:12:34 > 0:12:38Ivan doesn't like to wear shoes with spikes in the heel.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41In rainy conditions, that can be a big obstacle,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45and as everybody knows, the sun doesn't always shine in London.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48At this competition in Switzerland,
0:12:48 > 0:12:52it wasn't rain making Ivan Ukhov lose his balance.
0:12:52 > 0:12:53It was alcohol.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56His drunken performance, caught on a mobile phone,
0:12:56 > 0:13:00became an internet sensation but these embarrassing scenes
0:13:00 > 0:13:02nearly ended his career.
0:13:02 > 0:13:07Ivan doesn't like talking about the incident. He's put it behind him.
0:13:07 > 0:13:08He has a family now.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13His wife and daughter have brought stability to his life
0:13:13 > 0:13:17and that means Ivan can focus on his sporting goals.
0:13:17 > 0:13:23TRANSLATION: The most important thing for me, for any sportsman,
0:13:23 > 0:13:27is to set a world record and win an Olympic gold medal.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33Russian athletics meetings aren't quite the same as an Olympic Games.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37But if Ivan Ukhov keeps putting in winning performances like this,
0:13:37 > 0:13:42he'll be off to London and praying for sunny weather.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Sheffield is known as the Steel City,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07but in the lead-up to 2012, it's gold medals they're trying to forge.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11By next year, it's believed approximately one in seven
0:14:11 > 0:14:14members of Team GB could have trained in Sheffield.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Ponds Forge Sports Centre
0:14:26 > 0:14:29is one of the best diving centres in the country.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32These guys train for up to five days a week,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35doing 100 dives in a session.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39It takes huge commitment for them to make it to the Olympics.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42As someone once said, dedication's what you need.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51In China, potential medallists are scouted as early as six
0:14:51 > 0:14:53and put into special schools
0:14:53 > 0:14:56where they only get half a day off in a week.
0:14:58 > 0:15:03Synchronised divers He Zi and Wu Minxia are two such athletes.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Michael Bristow has been to the heart
0:15:07 > 0:15:10of China's medal factory in Beijing to meet them.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17Diving is years of training, distilled into one perfect leap.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22He Zi has been practising the art since she was six.
0:15:22 > 0:15:28Barring injuries, she'll perform at the London Olympics next year.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31This is who she'll be diving with - Wu Minxia.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33She's already won two Olympic gold medals.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37Their coaches watch every dive, offering words of advice
0:15:37 > 0:15:40and criticism.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43The two athletes must be in complete symmetry.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47In London, there'll be no room for error.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54- TRANSLATION:- It's quite tense. The atmosphere makes you very nervous.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01But if you believe in yourself, you can control your performance.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07Both divers are products of China's sports machine,
0:16:07 > 0:16:09that trains children to become winners.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16Scouts search the country for promising youngsters.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Anyone with potential is sent
0:16:18 > 0:16:21to one of hundreds of special sports schools.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25Life for these youngsters is tough.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27They train virtually every day
0:16:27 > 0:16:30and they have to keep up with their school work.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Only a few will fulfil their dreams.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Most will drop out and go home,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39where they'll have to pick up the pieces of their former lives.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45The divers He Zi and Wu Minxia have made it to the top.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47No expense is spared on their training.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50But the pressure to succeed is intense.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53They lead a regimented lifestyle.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58With only half a day off a week,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01there's no time for shopping or eating out.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05After training, it's straight back to the dormitories.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08These athletes live in a bubble.
0:17:08 > 0:17:13The outside world is glimpsed through a bus window.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19Millions of Chinese people survive on less than a dollar a day.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23Not here, though. This is communal dining for the sporting elite.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27But there are sacrifices to be made.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30- What about a boyfriend, do you have one?- No.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37"I just train, eat and sleep," she says.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42The Chinese flag reminds the divers why they're here.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47The country's long seen itself as an under-performer.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Sporting success brings pride to the nation
0:17:50 > 0:17:55and reminds the world that China is now a force to be reckoned with.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Fans of basketball will know all about this man.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls will be one of the major stars in London
0:18:12 > 0:18:14next summer when he plays for Team GB.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19When he's not on court, Luol spends a lot of his time helping
0:18:19 > 0:18:22the country of his birth, the newly independent South Sudan.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27- Thank you!- World Olympic Dreams travelled there with him last year
0:18:27 > 0:18:33to see some of the projects he's involved with. And it's clear the trip had a profound impact on him.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39It was a wake-up call, just realising how lucky we are,
0:18:39 > 0:18:40how blessed we are.
0:18:40 > 0:18:46We get caught up in the life we're living, where everything is so easy.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48Sometimes I lay on the couch at home
0:18:48 > 0:18:51and I don't want to get up to grab a bottle of water.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54And it's already bottled up and it's clean and everything.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59And back over there, you have people walking for miles to get
0:18:59 > 0:19:03the water, heat up the water, clean it up, just to drink it.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08But I try to remember those things that I saw from the trip,
0:19:08 > 0:19:12to kind of use those and be more positive.
0:19:20 > 0:19:26The city of Cardiff is going to host actual sports events during 2012.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29But in the weeks prior to the Olympics, it will also be
0:19:29 > 0:19:34a training base for a few of the nations, like Trinidad and Tobago.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38And at venues like Leckwith Stadium,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42local students will get a very special kind of Olympic experience.
0:19:42 > 0:19:43Hi, Tim.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47'Tim Sharp from Cardiff University tells me how volunteers could get
0:19:47 > 0:19:49'the chance to shadow the coaches
0:19:49 > 0:19:53'and physios of teams like Trinidad and Tobago.'
0:19:53 > 0:19:56OK, and here we have two of our students,
0:19:56 > 0:19:59- Beth and Tessa.- Hi.- Hiya.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01And they'll be working in rooms like this,
0:20:01 > 0:20:06in different places around Cardiff, providing support for the various teams
0:20:06 > 0:20:09that are going to be here, based in Cardiff. Being part of
0:20:09 > 0:20:12the whole Olympic thing, I think that's really nice
0:20:12 > 0:20:14for the students, to feel a part of it,
0:20:14 > 0:20:16even though they're in Cardiff and not in London.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20There's still an awful lot going on down here that they can be part of.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25From your point of view, what does it feel like, what does it mean?
0:20:25 > 0:20:28It's a good opportunity to get involved
0:20:28 > 0:20:32in multi-sport organisations as big as the Olympics.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35And picking up lots of skills to take back into the NHS.
0:20:35 > 0:20:40Looking forward to being a general help and meeting lots of different people.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Cardiff is almost set up for the Games,
0:20:44 > 0:20:49although the city will prove a very different environment for some athletes.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53Trinidad has some of the worst crime rates in the world
0:20:53 > 0:20:56and when I flew out to Port of Spain to meet Jehue Gordon,
0:20:56 > 0:20:59a young Trinidadian hurdler, he told me
0:20:59 > 0:21:05how a few of the people he grew up with are either in prison, or dead.
0:21:05 > 0:21:10Jehue is now a vital role model for the next generation.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15Every morning and every evening from now until London 2012,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18you'll find Jehue Gordon doing this.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Stop.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22Jehue is a 400 metre hurdler,
0:21:22 > 0:21:26one of the best young athletes Trinidad and Tobago has produced.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29And he only has one thing on his mind.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32Just thinking about the Olympics a lot, you know.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34Amazing pictures come to my head.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37I'm not happy with just making the final,
0:21:37 > 0:21:39because I want to get a medal.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41I want to get that gold medal.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46The people who know Jehue Gordon best say he was born special,
0:21:46 > 0:21:50and that's in keeping with how a lot of sports people refer to themselves.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53They'll put a lot of their success down to their genes.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55But if Jehue wins in London 2012,
0:21:55 > 0:21:59it'll have a lot more to do with his own hard work.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03- GUNSHOTS - In recent years,
0:22:03 > 0:22:09Trinidadian society has faced the twin spectres of poverty and crime.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12Scenes like this, a short walk from his training ground,
0:22:12 > 0:22:14are not uncommon.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Many of Jehue's school friends have been caught up in the violence.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20I know a lot, some have died already.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24- In violence, or...?- In crime.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28You know, shoot-outs, some are in jail,
0:22:28 > 0:22:33some have made children, who are even younger than me.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35It is really a sad sight to see.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41Jehue believes that his sport and a strong faith in God offer him
0:22:41 > 0:22:44and his friends an alternative to a life of crime.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50It's a lead that those around Jehue hope others will follow.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54They take that from him, they see that if I want something,
0:22:54 > 0:22:58I have to work hard for it, I can't just get it and it falls in my lap.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00So for the ones who really take it seriously,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04they go to practices, but they also concentrate on the academics.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07That's what Jehue has done for this school, to some extent.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09You don't have to limit yourself
0:23:09 > 0:23:11because of the situation that you're in.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15If you grow up in a ghetto, that doesn't mean you have to be
0:23:15 > 0:23:17doing things like you're from the ghetto.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21Most people who are into sports are actually some that came
0:23:21 > 0:23:25out of the ghetto and they are some of the best people today in society.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30This young man knows that Trinidad could do with some new heroes.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32And he's dedicating every minute
0:23:32 > 0:23:35to making his family and his country proud.
0:23:40 > 0:23:41For the London Olympics,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44I'm going to be fascinated to watch the rowing finals.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48But then, that's obvious - I'm British and I used to be a rower.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51What's been great about World Olympic Dreams
0:23:51 > 0:23:54is seeing it from every other nation's perspective.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Because in each of those countries, there'll be one event
0:23:57 > 0:24:03during the Games that makes the whole nation stand still and watch.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10For Ukraine, that event could be fencing.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13After their success at the Beijing Games,
0:24:13 > 0:24:15the women's sabre team became pin-ups,
0:24:15 > 0:24:17adorning the covers of magazines.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21For one member, Olga Kharlan, fencing has opened new doors
0:24:21 > 0:24:24to a life her parents could only dream of.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26Nicola Pearson caught up with Olga
0:24:26 > 0:24:29in her home town of Mykolaiv, on the Black Sea.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36Olga Kharlan, just 20 years old,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39already a national hero
0:24:39 > 0:24:44and now Ukraine's brightest hope for Olympic glory in London.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50For this Olympian, though, it all started very differently.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54In the shipbuilding city of Mykolaiv, in the south of the country.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57This is where Olga grew up.
0:24:58 > 0:25:04It's a long way from here to getting an Olympic gold medal,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07and probably, even in her wildest dreams,
0:25:07 > 0:25:11she would never have thought that she could achieve that.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15- Hi!- Olga, hi. Nice to meet you.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17'Inside her parents' one-bed apartment,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20'where Olga still lives some of the time,
0:25:20 > 0:25:23'she showed me the souvenirs and trophies of her success.'
0:25:23 > 0:25:28How does it feel to have won all of these medals, these awards?
0:25:30 > 0:25:35- TRANSLATION:- When I lie on my bed and look at all these cups and medals,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38it just makes me want to win more and more.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Olga's silverware isn't just for show.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45Her success also means she can leave her family's small flat behind.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48'Using her winnings, the 20-year-old has been able
0:25:48 > 0:25:53'to build this, a home most Ukrainians could only dream of.'
0:25:53 > 0:25:58- It's big!- Yes. - And all because of fencing.- Yeah!
0:25:58 > 0:26:03'For Olga, this is the house that Beijing built.'
0:26:03 > 0:26:07- TRANSLATION:- I want my children to have a better life than me.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09I had a great childhood, of course,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12but what I want is to improve on that for my children.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18Next morning, at the crack of dawn, it's time to leave home again
0:26:18 > 0:26:20and return to training.
0:26:26 > 0:26:32For Olga, this means a six-hour car journey north
0:26:32 > 0:26:34to the Olympic base in Kiev.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36It's a long way, but she does it in style.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40We're now on our way to Kiev and we've just stopped to get some fuel.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44You can really tell that this is Olga's car, look at this -
0:26:44 > 0:26:47the Olympic rings on the side. Apparently, this car was given to her
0:26:47 > 0:26:51by the President of Fencing in Ukraine.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56After 300 miles, we finally reach the Olympic camp in Kiev.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00Olga's immediately into a training session with her coaches.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05It feels like a long way from the love of family back in Mykolaiv.
0:27:05 > 0:27:10But as Olga knows more than most, only hard work produces medals,
0:27:10 > 0:27:12and medals are changing her life.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22So, with a year to go until the Games, the pressure is building.
0:27:22 > 0:27:28To see how it's affecting all of our athletes, go onto the website:
0:27:32 > 0:27:33Join us next time,
0:27:33 > 0:27:38when we meet the Olympic hopeful without a country to compete for.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Majlinda Kelmendi is from Kosovo, a nation that is yet to be
0:27:41 > 0:27:45formally recognised by the International Olympic Committee.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49Nevertheless, she still dreams of competing at London 2012.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54But until then, from all of us at World Olympic Dreams, it's goodbye.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Subtitles by Red Bee Media
0:28:10 > 0:28:14E-mail - subtitling@bbc.co.uk