Add
Private Notes
Britain's rowers are fighting for a seat in the top boat, Paralympian Dressage rider Lee Pearson faces a major crisis, and teenage cyclist Ben Swift risks being dumped from the Olympic academy.
Britain's top rider, Lee Pearson, struggles to find and train a horse in time for the World Para Dressage Championships, and the men's rowing coach has a suprise in store for the elite four.
Britain's top athlete Jess Ennis must improve her throwing, Britain's young table tennis elite take on the best in the world and rowing's top boat is a man down.
11 year old diver Tom Daley takes on the adults at the British Nationals, a British table tennis hopeful drops out of an Asian tour and heptathlete Jess Ennis is having a crisis of confidence.
In the last of the series we join Britain's youngest Olympic hopefuls all at crucial moments on their road to 2012.
The Olympic countdown has started and Britain's young hopefuls are dreaming of that elusive gold medal. This first of a four part series takes a look at what it takes to succeed in the cruel world of elite sport. 14 year old high board diving prodigy Thomas Daley, 11 year old Welsh gymnast Venus Romaeo and 18 year judo fighter Ashley McKenzie are all at crucial stages in their young careers and have all been tipped to win gold at the London 2012 Olympics. But how much have they and those around them had to sacrifice for their sporting success?
As the Olympic countdown continues, we find out what winning Olympic gold means for athletes who have more to prove than sporting ability. Paralympic dressage rider Lee Pearson is one of the most successful Paralympians ever, but is struggling to keep going in his sport due to lack of sponsorship. BMX is a first-time Olympic sport in Beijing and for BMX prodigy Shanaze Reade it's the chance to show the world that BMX is more than kids doing tricks. Rowers Annie Vernon and Elise Laverick are hoping that women's rowing can finally break out of the shadow of the men and win gold for Britain for the first time in history.
The 18 players of the GB wheelchair rugby squad are engaged in a desperate battle to be one of the 12 selected for the Beijing Olympics. Their fate lies in the hands of two men: their coaches. Unfortunately the two men tasked with bringing home a gold medal have very different coaching styles and trouble is brewing in the camp. This film follows the conflicts, drama and sacrifices of the players and coaches involved in the difficult and emotional Olympic selection process. The coaches of the GB table tennis squad face a very different challenge. Their hopes of overturning years of Chinese domination in the sport and bringing home an elusive Olympic medal lies in their ability to tame Paul Drinkhall and Darius Knight, two highly talented but unpredictable teenagers.
Fourteen-year old diving prodigy Tom Daley, heptathlete Jess Ennis and the crew of British rowing's flagship boat, the men's coxless four, give personal insights into their lives as they fight to make it to the Beijing Olympics. As the games approach, the intensity of their training increases and, as they push their bodies to the limit, they face a growing risk of injury. Will they make it, or will they push themselves too hard?
With just two years to go before the Olympic Games hit London, this series follows some of Britain's brightest hopes as they sacrifice everything in the hope of getting a place on the Olympic podium in front of a home crowd. Can boy diver Tom Daley and World Champion heptathlete Jess Ennis hold their nerve and live up to the nation's expectations? And can student nurse and part-time athlete Shaunna Thompson and little-known Judo star Ashley McKenzie break through and become national heroes?
In 2012 the Olympic games will be coming to London, and Britain's top contenders are getting ready. This film follows athletes in three sports - rowing, weightlifting and synchronised swimming - who are training to be the very best for the one moment that could change their lives. But what happens when their best is not enough? What happens when they fail on an international stage? What happens when you have given up everything for a goal that suddenly seems out of reach?
Jonathan Park and Gail Emms - who was British badminton silver medallist in the 2004 Olympics - follow the dreams of the Olympic hopefuls from the East of England. Gail joins the wheelchair basketball squad for one of their pre-selection training weekends to discover what is required to be picked for the Paralypmic team. Jonathan is with Beijing bronze medal-winning gymnast Louis Smith as he finds out if he'll qualify for London. We find out how the flattest region in the UK became the home of Olympic mountain biking, and we see the region's other Olympic venue - the canoe slalom course at the white water centre in Hertfordshire. Plus a round-up of the region's athletes to watch in London 2012.
Kay Adlington relives the emotion of seeing her daughter win two golds at the Beijing Olympics and talks about the pressure on Rebecca to perform in London. We meet Britain's blade runner Richard Whitehead. The double leg amputee has gold in his sight despite having to switch from marathon running to sprinting. Colin Hazelden has the East Midlands athletes to watch in London and goes on a tour of the Olympic Dream Factory.
With the Olympic and Paralympic Games just six months away, London Olympic Dreams gets under the skin of some of those who who will be going for gold this summer. High Jumper Martyn Bernard swaps jobs for the day with DJ Spoony. Reporter Paul Carter looks at the new technology being used to power our Paralympic hopefuls to glory. Olympic Gold medal rower Mark Hunter reveals why his event will be a family affair. And Sara Orchard finds out why the volleyball at Horse Guards Parade will be one of the hottest tickets in town.
With just months to go, Jeff Brown and Katie Gornall meet the northern athletes hoping for Olympic and Paralympic success this summer. Long jumper Chris Tomlinson keeps his own video diary as he struggles to overcome injury. Boxer Amanda Coulson fights for her place in the Games, and we look back to hear from some of the northerners who made Olympic history - including the diver who trained by jumping off a board into a pond outside a County Durham colliery.
Olympic swimmer Steve Parry introduces a special programme looking at the North West sports stars hoping to make an impact at London 2012. There's a look inside the Liverpool Gymnastics Club where young hopefuls learn from the brilliant Beth Tweddle, triple world champion and Britain's best ever gymnast. Stuart Pollitt meets the youngster who's taking on five different disciplines in the Modern Pentathlon. There's a report on the husband and wife team looking to repeat their achievements at the Paralympics in Beijing where they each won double cycling gold. Jacey Normand turns guinea pig to test the facilities offered by the region's sports scientists and we meet the young woman from Toxteth hoping to make boxing history.
British Olympic and Paralympic competitors are making their final preparations for their most important Games. Tony Husband profiles six people from the South preparing for London, including diver Pete Waterfield and Oxford's 1500m runner Hannah England. Also featured are Dorset windsurfer Nick Dempsey, Paralympic basketball player Claire Strange and Surrey kayaker Rachel Cawthorn. Meanwhile what sort of pressures do people like men's hockey coach Jason Lee face picking a squad?
The South East's Olympic Dream programme takes us across Kent and Sussex discovering the many and varied challenges our athletes face as they pursue their goal to take part, and win a medal in, London 2012. From Sophia Warner's battle to juggle family life, disability and a tough training schedule, to how shooter Charlotte Kerwood found the money to keep training when her backers deserted her, we learn that becoming a top-class athlete is just one of the goals that must be achieved if you want to fulfil your dream. Throughout the half-hour we'll find out if former Olympic medallist Steve Backley can offer Olympic hopeful Martin Brockman any tips on how to master his weak javelin event in the decathlon, and discover the challenges equestrian Guy Williams faces when Olympic success rests not just on himself, but also on an animal.
Natalie Cornah tracks the progress of the South West's Olympic hopefuls.
Alistair Durden and Olympic silver medallist Heather Fell go behind the scenes to track the progress of athletes from the West of England hoping to compete in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Features include a day in the life of rower Pete Reed, a video diary from trampolinist Laura Gallagher, Heather Fell's guide to the modern pentathlon and a profile of Paralympic sprinter Ben Rushgrove. There's also a report on how footballer Martin Sinclair hopes to emulate the success of his younger brother Scott Sinclair who plays in the premier league for Swansea City. Martin hopes to be in Great Britain's seven-a-side football team for the Paralympic Games.
Olympic boxer Richie Woodhall discovers which 2012 West Midlands athletes are the ones to watch in this year's London Olympics and Paralympics.
Tanya Arnold presents a special programme looking at the Yorkshire athletes going for gold at London 2012. Tanya gains exclusive access to pentathlon star Jessica Ennis's training camp and also finds out how Tae Kwon Do champion Sarah Stevenson is coping with training in a year that she has lost both her parents. Tanya also tries to keep up with Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee in training as the Leeds brothers prepare to compete against each other in the triathlon.
John Inverdale goes back to his sporting roots to meet the region's brightest hopefuls for the London Games, all training hard to achieve their Olympic Dreams.
