Athletes Inspired by Britain's Olympic Ambition 2012 Programme
22 Aug 2008
Beijing 2008 has provided Team GB with its most successful Olympic Games since London was host 100 years ago with the medal count at mid-afternoon in Beijing on Friday (August 22) standing at 18 gold, 12 silver and 11 bronze.
In little more than two days the Olympic flame will pass to London and preparations will begin in earnest for the 2012 Games.
Behind the scenes those preparations have already been underway for some time, not least at the British Olympic Association (BOA), where a unique scheme called the British Olympic Ambition 2012 Programme is busy grooming coaches and young athletes to help them realise their potential in four years’ time and beyond.
A group of 152 of those coaches and athletes have attended both Team GB’s preparation camp in Macau and the Beijing Olympic Games as observers, following research that suggests athletes are more likely to reach the medal podium if they have been to a Games before.
“Following the announcement that London had won the right to host the Olympic Games in 2012, the BOA launched this unique initiative to try and give some additional athletes and coaches an experience of what they are going to see in London in 2012,” explained project manager Craig Hunter.
“We’ve brought out about 150 athletes and coaches across 33 of the 38 sport disciplines to try and give them a sense of how an Olympic preparation camp is run and also to experience the Olympic Village and some of the competition phases.
“One of the greatest experiences we could give them was a trip into the Olympic Village. With 16,500 people living in there and a dining room that seats 5,000 it can be a fairly distracting and mind-blowing experience for a lot of young athletes.
“We think it’s a superb opportunity and will enhance our medal potential in 2012.”
Several Olympians have been enlisted as ‘mentors’ for the scheme, including heptathlon gold and bronze medallist Denise Lewis (bronze Atlanta 1996, gold Sydney 2000), and rowers Ed Coode (gold, Athens 2004) and Alison Mowbray (silver, Athens 2004).
Lewis, who attended her first Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996, said: “I became involved because of my own Olympic experience. I remember what it was like for my first Olympics – I was completely terrified and quite overwhelmed by the whole situation.
“Luckily I came out on top at that time, in Atlanta, but if I can impart some of my knowledge and experience, offer any advice and help going forward as part of their preparation for 2012, then I think it’s a job well done.
“It’s important that you almost demystify the Olympic Games for a lot of athletes. In some ways you need to treat it as just another competition.
“These guys are good enough to qualify, there are some athletes here (on the Ambition Programme) who were painfully close to being at these Games.
“If you can give them the confidence and allow them to see what it’s like so they are not completely blown away by the experience then hopefully they’ll do their best and be the best prepared athletes going into the London Games.
“Team GB has competed and performed above and beyond all of our expectations. It’s been a privilege and an honour to watch their success.
“Let’s use swimming as an example. There’s mass participation back home and people might be thinking ‘Can we get there? Can we challenge the Americans and the Australians in the pool?’. The answer is yes.
“We can take on the rest of the world. We have the confidence to do that and win. I think (Team GB’s performance in Beijing) sends a strong message throughout all the sports that we are one of the best countries in the world. It’s taken a long time to prove that.
This whole BOA experience is about preparation – about giving the athletes the best preparation they can get. I think it can only get better going onto 2012. I’ve seen the changes down the years and there is so much more attention to detail now – the sports science, the nutrition, location – it’s all moving in the right direction.
“You’ve got to keep pushing the boundaries to keep striving for excellence, that’s the only way forward.
Six participants in the British Olympic Ambition Programme – five athletes and a coach – have been speaking about their experiences. Here are their thoughts:
DANIEL FOGG (open water swimmer, age 20)
“Despite sitting in the rain for two hours (at Thursday’s men’s open water 10km marathon swim) I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else. It was brilliant to watch the best athletes in the world and it just filled me with a load of emotions that I want to be there next time.
“What I’ve learned here is how important the support staff are and how much they can help us, so not to be afraid to ask for anything.”
MHAIRI SPENCE (modern pentathlete, age 22)
“The spirit that our team have shown, and I am sure lots of other sports have shown, is going to drive me further forward.
“It’s been interesting. When I sat and watched the guys competing I realised that it’s just another competition. Yes, we’ll be at the London Games, but when you are out there doing it, it’s the same athletes you’re competing against.”
JORDON GAYLE (taekwondo, age 16)
“The Olympic Village is so big, I didn’t expect it. Just walking around I saw Asafa Powell, it was amazing. You see so many different people. You don’t realise it when you’re sat at home thinking “I could be there”. But now I’ve been there and experienced it, next time in four years I won’t be distracted by it.
“I was in the stadium yesterday watching the taekwondo and before I was thinking it’s not going to be the same as normal, it’s the Olympics, it’s going to be so different. But when I got there, it’s the same tournament, the same ring that we fight in. It doesn’t change how you fight. So long as you go out and fight your best that’s all you can do.”
HANNAH ENGLAND (1500m runner, age 21)
“It was really cool to see how much effort the BOA had put into preparing the environment (at the training camp in Macau), just to get the athletes really ready. I didn’t realise how much effort they put in and how at home you can feel even though you’re on the other side of the world.
“My biggest memory from the trip will be the stadium last night (Thursday). It was so nice seeing how big a complex it is and how much money and effort had gone into creating such a nice arena, but it was good to get inside and see it was just a 400m track. And everyone competes the same as they do in every other race.”
STEVE HARRIS (canoe-flatwater coach)
“I wasn’t lucky enough to go to an Olympic Games myself. I anticipate going to the Games in 2012, so to gain experience of what happens behind the scenes, how to manage the athletes and that sort of thing, is invaluable. From a coaching perspective it’s been a fantastic experience, something money can’t buy.”
ASHA PHILIP (100m runner, age 17)
“We spent a couple of days in Macau at the preparation camp and then came to Beijing. We went to the Olympic Village to see how it works and to see the athletes wandering around. It was amazing, but it’s easy to see how you could get distracted by all the stuff going on.
“The crowd was absolutely amazing at the stadium last night and now I want to hear them calling my name in London.
“We came here two years ago for the world juniors, so we’ve experienced the transformation of being in a preparation camp and then moving to the Village, getting used to the food, the atmosphere, all that sort of stuff. It’s all the little things that mean a lot.
“I want to be there. The saying here is ‘one world, one dream’ but I want to make it ‘my world, my dream’.
“Denise (Lewis) has been like a mother to us all, she’s wonderful. I’m too young to remember watching her compete, but my sister watched her and we talk about her a lot.
“So I’ve got people like her, Jeanette Kwakye and Christine Ohuruogu to look up to and try to emulate. I train at the same track as them and they ask how I am doing, help me with my diet and that sort of thing.
“Jeanette has been there and done it now and she tells us: ‘I’ve done it, so can you’. In 2012 we all can be there.”
Go to www.teamgb.com and click on 'Results' to view all the latest Team GB results. Click on 'Team GB' to view profiles of all Team GB athletes.
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