14/01/2012 World Olympic Dreams


14/01/2012

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Welcome to the latest edition of World Olympic Dreams, obviously

:01:20.:01:25.

this time from Africa. We're in Namibia and we've been filming for

:01:25.:01:29.

the last two years with athletes from all round the world. 18 months

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ago, I came here to film with Merlin Diamond, a young sprinter

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who's hoping to qualify for London We'll be seeing more of Merlin and

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more of these guys later in the show. In the programme: I'll find

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out how months at a training camp in Mauritius blunted Merlin's

:01:48.:01:53.

Olympic ambitions. Now she must rebuild her confidence and refocus

:01:53.:01:58.

her mind. Did it feel like your chances of competing in London were

:01:58.:02:03.

slipping away? Yes, it did actually feel as if they were slipping away.

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Also coming up: Nader el Masri, a long distance runner from Gaza,

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explains how politics in the Middle East have endangered his chances of

:02:10.:02:18.

making it to London 2012. freezing right now. A team of

:02:18.:02:20.

sprinters from Belgium endure a punishing team-bonding session that

:02:20.:02:23.

takes them to Iceland, where they must trek 80 kilometres across a

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glacier. And we'll find out how Mongolia's long and proud tradition

:02:32.:02:42.
:02:42.:02:49.

of sport has finally produced a new Nader el Masri is a Palestinian

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5,000 metre runner. He was given a wildcard for the Beijing Olympics

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in 2008, so when we first met him on the dusty streets of the Gaza

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Strip, he was already an Olympian. Even if conditions meant he didn't

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train like one. Everything is difficult here and with four

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children to support on my salary, I can't eat enough of the right

:03:19.:03:28.
:03:29.:03:30.

things. Since Hamas came to power, an Israeli blockade has made it

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difficult for goods to come in and for many of the 1.5 million

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inhabitants to get out. Nader is one of the lucky ones. He is

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occasionally allowed out for international competitions.

:03:44.:03:47.

Facilities are scarce here, yet many young athletes are making the

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most of their situation, as Jon found out. If you're young in Gaza,

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life can be pretty dull. Everywhere you go, you see people with time on

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their hands. The United Nations says around 70% of Gaza's

:04:06.:04:16.
:04:16.:04:20.

population is under 25. Youth unemployment is over 55%. This is

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parkour. Part gymnastics, part breakdance, part rock climbing. And

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for the past five years, these three young men have been throwing

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themselves around the Strip. It's a fast-moving sport, using all your

:04:36.:04:39.

athletic abilities to get from A to B as quickly and smoothly as

:04:39.:04:46.

possible. When Hamas came to power, Israel tightened its blockade of

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this tiny stretch of land. Israel regards Hamas as a terrorist group.

:04:55.:04:57.

But the blockade effectively crushed the sporting ambitions of

:04:57.:05:04.

most young Palestinians, making it very difficult to leave the Strip.

:05:04.:05:07.

Nevertheless, one man is determined not to allow the situation to ruin

:05:07.:05:17.
:05:17.:05:18.

his dream of qualifying for the London 2012 Olympics. Nader el

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Masri. The fastest man in Gaza. But there are few places to train and

:05:24.:05:31.

nobody to train with. I have a coach but there's nobody at my

:05:31.:05:39.

level to run with, so I have to do most of my training on my own.

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Nader has only been able to run one big race in Gaza this year - the

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Strip's first ever marathon. By chance, the tiny Palestinian

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territory is almost exactly 26 miles long, so the runners covered

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it top to bottom. But only a handful of athletes completed the

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course. Nader won at a canter. Not ideal preparation for somebody

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trying to make it to London in the 5,000 metres. As far as training

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facilities go in Gaza, this is about as good as it gets. There

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isn't a single tartan track in the whole of the Gaza Strip and that,

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of course, is what Nader will have to run on if he makes it to London

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2012. All we've got here, well, it's cinder and sand. Now, Nader is

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packing up and getting out of Gaza for a few weeks. Not easy in the

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Hamas-governed territory, which remains under Israeli blockade. For

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most Palestinians, the only way out is south through Egypt. And that's

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where Nader is heading - to Cairo. In terms of inspiration, it doesn't

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get much better than this. But Nader is not here to see the sights.

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He's in Cairo for a week-long training camp and, at last, the

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chance to run on a decent track. a track like this I can see my

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split times for every 100, 400 and 1,000 metres. That means I know

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exactly how I'm doing and what more I need to achieve. It makes such a

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difference. After Cairo, the next stop is Qatar and the Arab Games.

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But Nader needs to think big. He's been told he won't get a wildcard

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place for the Olympics next year, so he has to get the qualifying

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time. That means knocking around 40 seconds off his personal best.

:07:48.:07:58.
:07:58.:08:01.

Nader will need to be inspired if Back in Namibia, I'm preparing to

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meet their best hope for Olympic success - Merlin Diamond. I've

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already met her here once before. In the summer of 2010 she was still

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at school, where she studied all day before heading down to Windhoek

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Stadium for another four hours of training. And last year she visited

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the UK for the first time to see the Olympic stadium. The thrill of

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seeing the track was soon mitigated by the pressing feeling that the

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Olympics were not far away. It's around the corner, it's not far.

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The competition is basically already here, just waiting for us.

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:08:57.:09:00.

I've come back to Namibia to see how she's progressing. Early 2011

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was really positive for Merlin. She was returning to full fitness,

:09:04.:09:07.

starting to run fast and had plans to go to Mauritius, which at the

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outset looked like it could be the camp, the place to catapult her to

:09:11.:09:21.
:09:21.:09:24.

Olympic standard. But it didn't end up being that at all. Merlin was

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sponsored to spend six months on the Indian Ocean island by the

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IOC's development fund, but far from home and suffering from a

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hamstring injury, she fell into a sort of depression that only

:09:32.:09:42.
:09:42.:09:43.

frustrated athletes seem to know. I've been here for at least three

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months, so I'm getting to miss home, people back home, do all my crying

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and then get out there like nothing ever happened. Looking back, she

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realises the camp was not all it was cracked up to be. The medical

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facilities were very poor and the food and all that was really poor.

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It did actually make me very unhappy. I would really get

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depressed. I mostly wanted to be on my own or not be around the other

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athletes. And when you were in Mauritius, did it feel like your

:10:16.:10:19.

chances of competing in London were slipping away? Yes, it did actually

:10:19.:10:26.

feel as if they were slipping away. In the end, the decision was to cut

:10:26.:10:32.

short the Mauritius training camp and come home. I came back. In

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about two weeks or so I started feeling better. It is much more

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comfortable being with people I know and knowing that actually I

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can get what I want here. Back in Namibia, Merlin still faces

:10:43.:10:47.

challenges. She's out of shape, she's struggling to recover from

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injury and she's running nowhere near as fast as she used to or

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needs to for a chance of qualifying. This is the third time I've filmed

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with Merlin and throughout all the time I've known her, she's always

:11:01.:11:04.

been engaging and confident and outgoing and probably never more so

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than on this trip. But it's quite clear that seven month spell in

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Mauritius last year, 2011, has affected her and left a mark, and

:11:16.:11:26.
:11:26.:11:27.

it's not a good mark at all. Herman Davin and his wife have been

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sponsoring Merlin since shortly after a road accident killed their

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two teenage daughters, Suzelle and Janine, themselves once promising

:11:32.:11:42.
:11:42.:11:45.

athletes. For Herman, watching Merlin struggle has been hard.

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picked her up at the airport and she was not a happy chap. She was

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unhappy, unfit, overweight and I think she was also down because she

:11:52.:11:58.

wasn't sure what the next step was going to be. We decided that you

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can only qualify for the Olympics once in four years, so we thought

:12:01.:12:05.

that we will give everything for the next six months and see if she

:12:05.:12:12.

qualifies. Crucial to qualifying will be recovering from injury.

:12:12.:12:19.

Punishing biokinetic sessions aimed to build Merlin's strength. She is

:12:19.:12:22.

still Namibia's strongest hope for an Olympic medal for a long time,

:12:22.:12:24.

certainly since their only ever Olympic medalist, Frankie

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Fredericks, who won four silvers in the 90s. As he sees it, London may

:12:32.:12:38.

end up being a Games too soon. believe that maybe 2012 will be

:12:38.:12:44.

putting a little bit too much pressure on her. I think she has

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about six months to make sure she gets it all together. And we know

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in sprinting that will be very difficult, otherwise she will peak

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and then it will be difficult to peak in London. Despite all her

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setbacks, something continues to drive Merlin Diamond. Sprinting is

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what she does, it's what she is, it's been a huge part of her life

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since she can remember. Merlin Diamond has been on a long journey,

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but now she's facing the prospect of running out of road. The date of

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:13:26.:13:28.

the London 2012 Olympics is moving We'll come back to Merlin's story

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later in the programme. Namibia gets more than 300 days of sunshine

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in any given year, and you can see from this dried-up riverbed, they

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don't get a lot of rain, which means if Merlin does qualify for

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London 2012, she is going to have to acclimatise to the unpredictable

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British weather. That's true for every athlete, but two Belgian

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members of the track and field team are taking it the extra mile. Kevin

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and Jonathan Borlee are identical twins. And as with all siblings,

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they share a healthy rivalry. fact that we are twin brothers

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:14:20.:14:27.

helps us in training every day, because I'm as strong as him.

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both run the 400 metres and are no strangers to intensive training.

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Last winter we caught up with them at a special training camp on the

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island of Lanzarote. Since then, the brothers have made history by

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becoming the first set of identical twins to race in a world athletics

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championship final. Kevin proved to be fastest on the day, taking the

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bronze medal. But their preparation for London 2012 recently took an

:14:55.:15:05.
:15:05.:15:16.

unexpected detour via an Icelandic Langjokull. A landscape carved from

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ice. But these are not Arctic explorers. This is a group of

:15:26.:15:35.

sprinters preparing for the 2012 summer Olympics. On skis, or in

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sledges, in snow bound isolation. Iceland is far removed from what

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these athletes will experience in London.

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I'm freezing right now. You know, we have to give our best, try to

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stay focused, motivated. Iceland's second largest glacier,

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temperatures dip to minus 20. As the group of nine Belgian athletes

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trek from west to east. Among them, twins, Jonathan Borlee

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and his brother Kevin. Recently named Belgium's Sportsman of the

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Year for his bronze at the World Championships.

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:16:26.:16:26.

For five days, the group snake across the snow and ice. The going

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is tough. Monotonous. Arduous. And slow. Physical is the basis, mental

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is what makes the difference between people. When you start, you

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have to go to the other side because there are no other escape

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or ways to go out. Here, the weather can change without warning.

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Forcing the group to hurriedly pitch camp.

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Athletics is an individual sport, but when it comes to the Olympics,

:17:04.:17:08.

individuals compete for their country. For a team. By coming here

:17:08.:17:12.

to Iceland and these harsh, inhospitable conditions, the

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Belgian runners have to work for each other. They hope they'll build

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enough team unity to give them the competitive edge come London 2068.

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-- 2012. It's beautiful for the spirit and for my team. It's very,

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very important that we work for the mind.

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The natural beauty of this environment is tempered by the

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endurance required. Soon, blisters take their toll. If they make

:17:45.:17:55.
:17:55.:17:56.

wrinkles, it's going to kill your foot. It wasn't easy as the last

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five days, but, you know, it was easier with them than only two of

:18:03.:18:08.

us, so it's a really good team, I think we can do some really good

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stuff. It takes spirit and a strong mind

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to compete a trek like this. On such mental fortitude, Olympic

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dreams are made. To read Kieran Fox's journal from

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that glacial trek, log on to the website at www.bbc.co.uk/2012 and

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look out for World Olympic Dreams. Namibia isn't necessarily a country

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you associate with Olympic success and neither is Mongolia. Mongolia

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joined the Olympic Games for the first time in 1964 and they had a

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44-year wait for their first gold medal. But that happened in Beijing

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in 2008 where they won, not just their first, but two Olympic golds.

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One of those was to boxer, Enkbatyn Badar-Uugan. Last time we met him,

:19:08.:19:11.

he was injured and had to content himself with just some light

:19:12.:19:16.

training. He told us just how important the Olympics are to him.

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TRANSLATION: It's only once every four years. You prepare so hard to

:19:21.:19:27.

qualify and then you only get one chance. It's the pinnacle for every

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:19:37.:19:41.

After showing us around the streets, the city that he grew up in, he

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told us how he got into boxing. Transmy father told me, don't fight

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on the street, it's not real fighting. If you are really good at

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it, try to do it in the ring and become a success. But his Olympic

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success has been an inspiration to his country and he's keen that his

:20:00.:20:06.

gold medal leads to many more, but then Mongolia already has a long

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and proud sporting tradition, as our reporter, son geet that Myska,

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found out. -- Sangita Myska found out.

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It's mid summer Mongolia. From across the planes that surround the

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mining city of Erdenet, competitors gather.

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They've come to take part in the ancient sports festival called the

:20:30.:20:34.

Naadam. It's just after 7.30, first day of the Naadam, first event to

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kick things off is this stallion race. All the horses will be ridden

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by children, the youngest of whom is just seven.

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It's a spectacular combination of sight and sound. The pace is

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incredible. Over 25 kilometres we drive at heart-stopping speed just

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to keep up. This race is just one of the three sports that make up

:20:59.:21:04.

the festival. The other events are based at Erdenet Stadium. While the

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archery happens in the grounds outside, most eyes are focused on

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the battles take place within the arena in the wrestling.

:21:15.:21:21.

Naadam is the constant in Mongolian life. For centuries, it's the one

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thing Mongolia, as a whole nation, stops and celebrates every year.

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It's the event which gives this country its legends and heroes. But

:21:30.:21:35.

Mongolia's sporting achievements are no longer stuck in the past.

:21:35.:21:39.

I don't think I've seen anybody this this entire competition put in

:21:39.:21:45.

as clear and as clearly defined body shots as this fellow. In 2008,

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after 44 years of competing, this country finally won its first

:21:49.:21:57.

Olympic gold medals, creating a national hero of the boxer, Mary

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Kom. He explained to my the significance of his victory.

:22:04.:22:09.

TRANSLATION: There were lots of Mongolians in the crowd watching me

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in Beijing. They started counting down for me. With five seconds to

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go, I thought, I am the champion. It was a first for my country and I

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was proud of myself. After Beijing, we felt we had arrived. People

:22:25.:22:29.

started to realise that it was achievable to win golds at the

:22:29.:22:34.

Olympics. Sport is absolutely central to

:22:34.:22:38.

Mongolian culture and time and again people tell me how proud they

:22:38.:22:45.

are of the Olympic success because it's brought this country

:22:45.:22:49.

international attention. Interest has been boosted in games that are

:22:49.:22:59.
:22:59.:23:01.

It's here in this remote Olympic training camp that among ol ya

:23:01.:23:06.

hopes to nurture its future stars - - Mongolia. Wrestlers are in

:23:06.:23:08.

training today, but according to their coach, this generation of

:23:08.:23:12.

athletes are enticed by the possibility of medal success in

:23:12.:23:18.

sports like boxing, that are rltively new in this country. --

:23:18.:23:21.

relatively new. After the 2008 Olympics, a number of people in the

:23:21.:23:24.

sport of wrestling switched to other sports because they thought

:23:24.:23:34.
:23:34.:23:35.

it was easier to win medals. It's big ambitions in almost every walk

:23:35.:23:38.

of life that's changing Mongolia beyond recognition. Society is on

:23:38.:23:43.

the move from the countryside into the capital. Rapid expansion's

:23:43.:23:50.

brought its problems. Shanty suburbs and fractured communities.

:23:50.:23:54.

Munkbat Chimeddorj is using another sport to the country, football to

:23:54.:23:58.

help migrant children stay out of trouble.

:23:58.:24:01.

TRANSLATION: If they were not playing football, I believe they

:24:01.:24:05.

would probably be on the streets, hanging out with the wrong type of

:24:05.:24:10.

people. It's hard to control the kids that move to the city from the

:24:10.:24:13.

countryside. They are used to being out running around, but on the

:24:13.:24:17.

streets of the city, there are many more dangers.

:24:17.:24:22.

Sport has always played a big role in Mongolia's national life, but

:24:22.:24:29.

thanks at least in part to the Olympics, it's reach and impact is

:24:29.:24:36.

greater than ever. More now on the Namibia sprinter Merlin Diamond who

:24:36.:24:40.

grew up here and is trying to qualify for the Olympic Games in

:24:40.:24:46.

London. We heard in the first part of the programme how she went on a

:24:46.:24:49.

frankly pretty disastrous training camp to Mauritius, came back

:24:49.:24:53.

depressed and injured and is running out of time to reach the

:24:53.:24:58.

qualifying standard for the Olympic Games. But if it's one thing I know

:24:58.:25:01.

about athletes and indeed successful Olympic athletes, it's

:25:01.:25:09.

that they never, ever give up. It's Sunday morning in the Namibia

:25:09.:25:13.

capital Windhoek. As far as Merlin is concerned, Sundays are what they

:25:13.:25:19.

were designed for. Rest and church. How important is church for you

:25:19.:25:27.

maybe in life, also in connection with your sport? Church is actually

:25:27.:25:30.

very much important because without God you are not able to reach

:25:30.:25:35.

anywhere because he gives you the strength to do everything that you

:25:35.:25:39.

do in life actually. Do you find yourself in church

:25:39.:25:43.

thinking about the challenge of your sport and your running and

:25:43.:25:49.

asking him for help? Most of the times I ask him for help, pray for

:25:49.:25:56.

more strength. You never pray to win? It's not all about winning.

:25:56.:26:05.

But I do pray for more strength to get to where I want to be. Church

:26:05.:26:09.

in Namibia is a colourful, energetic affair. No matter how

:26:09.:26:15.

eventful her sporting life is, former Lynn, coming here every

:26:15.:26:20.

Sunday remains a constant. Sporting confidence comes from lots of

:26:20.:26:24.

different sources. Some people talk about heart, some people talk about

:26:24.:26:29.

mental hardness, but being here in Namibia with Merlin Diamond, it's

:26:29.:26:33.

really clear that her sporting strength in a big way comes from

:26:33.:26:39.

this church. Merlin has been christened the

:26:39.:26:43.

cheetah of Namibia and I'm determined not to leave the country

:26:43.:26:47.

without seeing the real thing. Have you ever seen animals in the

:26:48.:26:52.

wild before? No. I don't really go close to the

:26:52.:26:56.

wild animals. Never been up close with a cheetah? Usually when you

:26:56.:27:02.

watch TV and so on, you watch cheetahs eating people, so you

:27:02.:27:07.

don't really go close to them. cheetahs we are on the way to see

:27:07.:27:13.

though are different, all orphans rescued by a sanctuary and friendly

:27:13.:27:20.

to humans - apparently. OK Johannes, we are ready.

:27:20.:27:30.
:27:30.:27:30.

So sleek. I can't believe how long they are and how thin. It's like a

:27:30.:27:38.

little engine. Do you think you've got anything in common with these

:27:38.:27:44.

guys? We all go for the speed here. We are all sprinters. You've still

:27:44.:27:47.

got the pictures of the Stratford Stadium on your phone? Yes, I look

:27:47.:27:52.

at it all the time. So how are you feeling generally when you talk

:27:52.:27:57.

about the Olympics? Are you feeling 100% positive? I am 100% positive.

:27:57.:28:01.

You know, it's the first time that I'll be trying to qualify for the

:28:01.:28:06.

Olympics so it's a totally big thing for me. With time, after my

:28:06.:28:10.

recovery, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to make it.

:28:10.:28:14.

Wherever you are in the world, the end of the day, just the last dying

:28:15.:28:19.

light of the day is always a magical moment. You just get these

:28:19.:28:23.

fantastic colours and it gives you a chance to reflect. This is my

:28:23.:28:28.

second trip filming with Merlin Diamond and it just reinforces for

:28:28.:28:34.

me just how mature and generous she is with her time and her family are

:28:34.:28:38.

fantastic. But she is coming to a crunch point now in her sports

:28:38.:28:43.

career. She's got some big ifs: If she can get back to full fitness,

:28:43.:28:47.

if she can run the qualifying time, then all those pieces fall into

:28:47.:28:55.

place and she's going to be coming to London 2012. If, if, if all of

:28:55.:29:03.

that works.... I think Windhoek and Namibia are going to have a new

:29:03.:29:12.

star to look at. Throughout the rest of 2012. That's it from the

:29:12.:29:17.

peace and tranquility of Namibia from Windhoek and this edition of

:29:17.:29:26.

World Olympic Dreams. Coming up next time: They call her

:29:26.:29:32.

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