Episode 1
Peter White follows those who helped secure the Olympics for London and are now playing a key role in the Games, from the dancer opening the event to the swimmer competing in it.
Peter White follows those who helped secure the Olympics for London and are now playing a key role in the games - from the swimmer with her hopes set on a gold medal and the discuss thrower who only took up the sport two years ago, to the torchbearer who started the flame's journey from Athens to London and the dancer performing at the opening ceremony.
The thirty youngsters who helped secure London's bid for the Games by appearing alongside Sebastian Coe in Singapore in 2005 have seen great changes in their lives. Since then Peter White has been following them, their families and those who live and train alongside them. Each fifteen minute programme focuses on one extraordinary story:
Danielle was chosen for the Singapore because of her dancing and she's underlined her passion for the Games by getting selected to perform in the opening ceremony. The Olympics has transformed the East End area she grew up in, but so has time itself - with her Mum and Dad now living under the same roof again after a fifteen year separation Danielle has just been selected as a finalist for the Miss England competition and is hoping that 2012 will prove a key year in many ways.
Ashley is the youth ambassador for his borough and is working to ensure a legacy from 2012 for those coming up behind him. His dreams of competing were put on hold through injury and after the Singapore trip he changed focus, immersing himself in politics and campaigning. He is joined in this programme by Alex, who capped his role in securing the 2012 Olympics with the honour of being the second person to carry the Olympic torch at the start of its journey from Athens to London.
Ellie was the face of the Olympic bid - the thirteen year old swimmer in a silver suit poised to dive from the Thames barrier. Now she's within reach of her target - an Olympic medal. She's just been selected for team GB and will be racing in the 100 and 200m butterfly - hoping that the huge home crowds will spur her on to victory. Her experiences in the Olympic village are mirrored by another Olympic swimmer, Mbeh, the London youngster picked to represent his home country, Cameroon.
Amber presented London's bid plans to the International Olympic Committee all those years ago. Since then her talent as a sportswoman has taken her to America on a scholarship. She now lives in Tennessee but hopes to be selected for team GB and has put her many other dreams - from modelling to motherhood - on hold. She is joined in this programme by Thomas, the talented Paralympic hopeful whose Olympic dreams fell by the wayside but who still hopes to find some role to fulfil in 2012.
Laurence has played a prominent role in sport across the capital but had thought it would be his rugby skills which would take him to international level. Two years ago he took up the discuss and so talented was he that he's on the brink of Olympic selection. According to his coach his physic is near perfect - at 6ft 6 he weighs close to 23 stone and the main thing standing in his way is how well he copes with the psychological pressures as this top sporting event approaches.
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Clip
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βI was lost for wordsβ β torch-bearer Alex Loukos
Duration: 02:35
Broadcast
- Mon 30 Jul 2012 13:45ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4