Today the British Olympic Association (BOA) announced the athletes and coaches invited to take part in “Britain’s Olympic Ambition 2012” programme.
The programme, designed to enhance athlete medal success at the London 2012 Olympic Games by providing talented potential team members with an opportunity to experience the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, will see athletes from 33 disciplines spend seven days in Macau and Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games.
Whilst there, athletes will visit the Team GB preparation camp in Macau, the Olympic Village and the Athletes’ Lodge. They will also have a press conference fronted by their mentors, Olympians like Denise Lewis, Ed Coode and Alison Mowbray. In addition participants will be given the opportunity to watch two competition sessions for their specific discipline.
This programme’s focus is based around providing sports specific event exposure and to replicate, as closely as possible, an athlete’s overall Olympic experience.
Commenting on their involvement:
Said Simon Clegg, Team GB Chef de Mission for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games:
“This programme is unique worldwide and is expected to provide a real competitive edge to the participants. With the BOA’s aspirational target to finish fourth in the overall medal table in 2012, and research showing that a significantly high percentage of medallists at any Olympic Games have attended previous Olympic Games, this experience can form a vital part of the athletes preparation for Olympic success.”
Ed Coode, Britain’s Olympic Ambition 2012 Mentor, said:
“As a rower I found the first Olympics that I went to in Sydney 2000 to be totally different to anything I had experienced before as a sportsman - even though I had raced at three world Championships prior to this. Although the race and competition are essentially the same, the time spent building up to and at the Olympics is unlike anything an athlete would have experienced before. At the same time the scale of the hype and the press interest only fuels the novice competitor’s fears that he or she has to do something different at the Olympics. I think this certainly contributed to me underperforming in the Coxless Pairs event in Sydney 2000.
What I hope to achieve through the Britain’s Olympic Ambition 2012 programme is that the young, novice, athletes of 2012 actually achieve 100% of what they are capable of at the London 2012 Olympic Games and their performances do not suffer simply because it is their first games. The only way of helping them prepare for the Games is to let them experience it first hand.”
Gabriella Whelan (Football) said:
“I was made up when I heard! I’m just really excited to go out there and get a feel for it all. London 2012 is a big target of mine and I hope that it will make me work even harder towards my goal.”
Brian Eastick (Football Coach) said:
“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to see the standard of all of the other teams. It’s not often you get a chance to experience the Olympics and I’m delighted that some of our athletes will be able to do so prior to 2012.”
Frances Peters (Sailing)
“When I found out I’d been selected to take part I was really shocked. I just thought ‘wow’, and what an amazing experience it would be. How many people get the opportunity to have such an insight into the Olympic Games?
“I’ve really no idea what to expect from being in China, but I’m sure I will learn so much from it and that the experience will be really inspirational.”
Dave Evans (Sailing)
“It’s pretty exciting – I’ve been out to China before with the Optimist squad when I was a junior, but everyone’s said it’s so different out there now.
“I’m sailing with [double Olympic medallist] Simon Hiscocks at the moment and he’s taught me that the single most important thing in an Olympic campaign is experience. If you can’t be there competing then the next best thing is to be able to observe, so I hope that the experience of being out there with the team will help me take that extra step forward and be ready for 2012.”
Steve Lovegrove (Sailing Coach)
“We know that athletes are far more likely to succeed at an Olympic Games if they’ve experienced one previously, so this is a unique opportunity for the sailors and myself to get the inside track and find out how the team focuses on maximising its winning chances at the world’s biggest sporting event.”
Kirsty McWilliam (Triathlon) said:
“I am extremely excited to be part of this programme. To be able to experience the Olympics first hand is something that not many people get to do and I feel very lucky to have been selected to go. Obviously in 2012 I hope to be competing and not just watching!
I think it will be a great opportunity to see what happens at the Olympics and will hopefully prepare me better for when I may be going to the London 2012 Olympics myself.
I also think going to Beijing will motivate me even more to reach the London 2012 Olympics because I'm sure it will be a great experience and I hate just watching and not competing in races.”
Mhairi Spence (Modern Pentathlon) said:
“It’s a very exciting opportunity to be a part of the Britain’s Olympic Ambition programme. It’s a really good idea to give future athletes the chance to go into an Olympic environment and see for themselves how things work. It will also be a valuable opportunity to meet and mix with athletes from a wide range of different sports, and to make some new friends.”
Sally Conway (Judo) said:
“It will be a fantastic experience to be in Beijing and to be around Olympic athletes. The programme will give us all such an amazing insight and help us to understand what the Olympics are all about, which will help me prepare for 2012.
It will be a hard four years leading up to London but years I am looking forward to it.”
The athletes and coaches are:
(athletes and coaches from track and field will be announced at a later date)
Archery Coach Margaret Squires
Archery Athlete Thomas Barber
Archery Athlete Edward Spouge
Archery Athlete Sarah Smith
Basketball Coach Simon Turner
Basketball Coach Sergio Lara Bercial
Basketball Athlete Azania Stewart
Basketball Athlete Kristy Lavin
Basketball Athlete Lauren Thomas-Johnson
Weightlifting Coach Fiona Lothian
Weightlifting Athlete Helen Jewell
Weightlifting Athlete Zoe Smith
Weightlifting Athlete Jack Oliver
Handball Coach William Baillie
Handball Athlete Sebsatian Prieto
Handball Athlete Jesper Parker
Handball Coach Melanie Chowns
Handball Athlete Lynn McCafferty
Handball Athlete Laura Innes
Volleyball Coach Andrew Pink
Volleyball Athlete Benjamin Pipes
Volleyball Athlete Joel Banks
Volleyball Coach Maria Bertelli
Volleyball Athlete Grace Carter
Volleyball Athlete Audrey Cooper
Judo Coach David Somerville
Judo Athlete Sally Conway
Judo Athlete Sarah Adlington
Judo Athlete Thomas Reed
Shooting Coach Donald McIntosh
Shooting Athlete Peter Wilson
Shooting Athlete Kenneth Parr
Shooting Athlete Neil Stirton
Canoe Slalom Coach Paul Ratcliffe
Canoe Slalom Athlete Elizabeth Neave
Canoe Slalom Athlete Robert Neave
Canoe Slalom Athlete Mark Proctor
Fencing Coach Maiciej Wojtkowiak
Fencing Athlete Chrystall Nicoll
Fencing Athlete Laurence Halsted
Fencing Athlete Thomas Bennett
Equestrian Eventing Coach Peter Murphy
Equestrian Eventing Athlete Christopher King
Equestrian Eventing Athlete Francis Whittington
Equestrian Eventing Athlete Laura Collett
Badminton Coach Joanne Goode
Badminton Athlete Christopher Adcock
Badminton Athlete Gabrielle White
Badminton Athlete Imogen Bankier
Equestrian Dressage Coach Jane Bartle-Wilson
Equestrian Dressage Athlete Charlotte Dujardin
Equestrian Dressage Athlete Darryl Thickitt
Equestrian Dressage Athlete Sarah Millis
Hockey Coach Andrew Halliday
Hockey Athlete Nicholas Catlin
Hockey Athlete Adamson Harper
Hockey Coach Hilary Rose
Hockey Athlete Susannah Gilbert
Hockey Athlete Samantha Quek
Rowing Coach Richard Boulton
Rowing Athlete George Nash
Rowing Athlete Matthew Rossiter
Rowing Athlete Sarah Cowburn
Swimming Coach Robert Greenwood
Swimming Athlete Marco Loughran
Swimming Athlete Jessica Dickons
Swimming Athlete Anne Bochmann
Swimming Coach Marc Spackman
Table Tennis Coach Jia Yi Liu
Table Tennis Athlete Kelly Sibley
Table Tennis Athlete Joanna Parker
Table Tennis Athlete Paul Drinkhall
Trampoline Coach William Leach
Trampoline Athlete Katherine Driscoll
Trampoline Coach Jay Scouler
Trampoline Athlete Emma Smith
Water Polo Coach Jerome Read
Water Polo Athlete Craig Figes
Water Polo Athlete Thomas Curwen
Water Polo Coach Szilveszter Fekete
Water Polo Athlete Fiona McCann
Water Polo Athlete Francis Leighton
Boxing Coach James Davison
Boxing Athlete Martin Ward
Boxing Athlete Robert Wright
Boxing Athlete Freddie Evans
Diving Coach Edwin Jongejans
Diving Athlete Christopher Mears
Diving Athlete Megan Sylvester
Diving Athlete Katherine Hamilton
Equestrian Show Jumping Coach Christina Goosen
Equestrian Show Jumping Athlete Daniel Neilson
Equestrian Show Jumping Athlete William Whitaker
Equestrian Show Jumping Athlete Charlotte Platt
Gymnastics Artistic Coach Andrei Popov
Gymnastics Artistic Athlete Sam Oldham
Gymnastics Artistic Athlete Daniel Purvis
Gymnastics Artistic Coach Rachel Levick
Gymnastics Artistic Athlete Jennifer Pinches
Gymnastics Artistic Athlete Kathleen Moffat
Sailing Coach Steven Lovegrove
Sailing Athlete Eifion Mon
Sailing Athlete David Evans
Sailing Athlete Frances Peters
Synchronised Swimming Coach Loredana Montico
Synchronised Swimming Athlete Cherrry Wilson
Synchronised Swimming Athlete Asha Randall
Synchronised Swimming Athlete Katrina Dawkins
Synchronised Swimming Athlete Helen Morris
Triathlon Coach John Maitland
Triathlon Athlete Kirsty McWilliam
Triathlon Athlete Jonathan Brownlee
Wrestling Freestyle Coach Shaun Morley
Wrestling Freestyle Athlete Leon Rattigan
Wrestling Freestyle Athlete Phillip Roberts
Wrestling Freestyle Athlete Jatinder Singh Rakhra
Beach Volleyball Coach Matthew Grinlaubs
Beach Volleyball Athlete Lucy Boulton
Beach Volleyball Athlete Denise Johns
Beach Volleyball Coach Steven Grotowski
Beach Volleyball Coach Simon Middlemas
Beach Volleyball Athlete Gregg Weaver
Canoe Flatwater Coach Stephen Harris
Canoe Flatwater Athlete Rachel Cawthorn
Canoe Flatwater Athlete Benjamin Brown
Canoe Flatwater Athlete Jonathan Schofield
Football Coach Maureen Marley
Football Coach Brian Eastick
Football Athlete Gabriella Whelan
Football Athlete Sophie Bradley
Modern Pentathlon Coach Stuart Mason
Modern Pentathlon Athlete Mhairi Spence
Modern Pentathlon Athlete Katy Burke
Modern Pentathlon Athlete James Cook
Swimming Open Water Coach Stewart Clamp
Swimming Open Water Athlete Alice McCall
Swimming Open Water Athlete Charlotte Woolliscroft
Swimming Open Water Athlete Daniel Fogg
Taekwondo Coach Paul Green
Taekwondo Athlete Tyrone Robinson
Taekwondo Athlete Jordon Gayle
Taekwondo Athlete Bianca Walkden
Taekwondo Athlete Louise Mair
Notes to Editors
Team GB is expected to consist of approximately 300 athletes and a further 200 officials. Team GB could be competing in up to 20 sports.
The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will take place from 8th to 24th August 2008.
The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its role is to prepare our nation’s finest athletes for and lead them at the summer, winter and youth Olympic Games. The BOA delivers extensive elite level support services to Britain’s Olympic athletes and their National Governing Bodies throughout each Olympic cycle and in the UK is responsible for the development and protection of the Olympic Movement.
For more information please contact Miriam Wilkens in the BOA Communications Department on 07768 775762.
For interview requests with athletes or coaches please contact Lauren Sanderson in the BOA Communications Department on 020 88712677 ext 227.