Going for gold
- 23 Aug 06, 03:03 PM
鈥淵ou can taste blood in your mouth, your lungs are burning, your legs are screaming at you. If you don鈥檛 believe in yourself you are not going to get there鈥.
Sounds like fun doesn鈥檛 it? It鈥檚 what one of Britain鈥檚 most promising young rowers, eighteen year old Mohamed Sbihi, says it takes to win a world class race.
He鈥檚 not someone who鈥檇 ever considered rowing until a team from GB Rowing turned up at his urban comprehensive armed with measuring tapes and strength testing machines. To Mo鈥檚 surprise they told him he was one of the estimated one in 10,000 of us who have what it takes to make it to the very top of world sport.
We feature Mo and his partner Charles Cousins in a report on tonight鈥檚 programme about how UK Sport is searching for the next generation of sporting superstars to compete at the run up to London 2012. The body has been given almost 拢600 million in total to develop top talent, now it needs to find the athletes to spend it on鈥.and UK Sport has asked Newsnight to help.
You can read more of the story .
If you think you or someone you know has what it takes to make it all the way to an Olympic podium UK Sport wants to hear from you.
But first, a word to the wise. Olympic sport is - it should go without saying - elitist. The Olympics are about finding the very best athletes in the world. So it shouldn鈥檛 be any surprise that UK Sport has a couple of guidelines for all you embryo Olympians out there.
•1. You must be between 15 and 25 years old
•2. You must have a background in competitive sport to a minimum of county standard.
They are particularly interested to hear from people who鈥檝e played 鈥渄ynamic team ball sports鈥 to a competitive level, but feel they may not quite meet the final pinnacle as an international player, and could transfer across to another 2012 team sport.
They are also keen to hear from people who are at a high level in one sport, and who would like to test their skills and abilities in another related sport 鈥 where the route to the top may be faster, and where greater opportunities for medal availability exist.
If that sounds like you then send them an email to: talent@uksport.gov.uk.
If you are good then Newsnight would like to follow your progress. But be warned, GB Rowing reckons it takes 10,000 hours of training to shape a promising athlete into an Olympian and even then there鈥檚 no guarantee you鈥檒l win.
In the meantime tell us what you think about the efforts to boost Britain鈥檚 sporting performance. Is it money well spent or is UK Sport on a hiding to nothing?
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You need to find real tough kids, I'd say from working class background and then you have to give them that self belief that deserts the England football team on the international stage. The question is how?
People have been talking about the lack of tennis talent for years but unless your really world class whats the point? When you do find the talent you have to go all out to develop and support. Murray should not have been coachless at Wimbledon. His talent deserved the best and years ago not at age 19
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Singapore doesn't have that many good sportpersons but our country has resorted to foreign talent, particularly from China. Although this may be a sound action for the government, i think it just proves how incapacitated and uncreative our society is. If building new industries and keeping up with latest economic developments is possible, why not training in sports? It just reflects the country's priority, nothing else.Even if we win gold medals at the Asean games, there is no true sense of victory.
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Excellent Sports article.
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UK atheletes WILL do well at the the 2012 Olympics!lets not even consider otherwise!...more worringly are we pushing all the right buttons for the highlighted infrastructure to be ready on time?...6YEARS to GO!!. alas,Wembley Stadium does not inspire confidence!!
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I did something like it in 1952 - it was called National Service. We should reintroduce it in place of the boring obsession with sport, which generally produces the wrong role models for today's young folk. Also recommended for those claiming to be the new Brits; they could then demonstrate some loyalty to this country.
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Its pity that UK Sport and the 主播大秀 choose to forget many of the sports played in this country. I represented Great Britain at my sport's World Championship but struggled to gain any sponsorship or funding to help me train. When the Manchester Commonwealth Games were shown on the 主播大秀 two of my team mates won bronze medals at 13 years old but not a word about their success was broadcast and so it goes on.
And what sport do I compete in you ask? I shoot... at pieces of paper.
I have the misfortune to have a talent in a sport I am forced to hide, where you are treated like a criminal despite being a member of one of the most law abiding groups in society. How many other sports require physical and mental dicipline, teach youngsters respect for each other and the weapons they handle, and promote tolerence?
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I am really excited about 2012 as I have a daughter who is now part of British Swimmings English Talent programme (disability) and her dream is to represent her country in London.Its not going to be easy, at the moment she is is training 5 times a week with an average of 20,000 meters a week and still trying to keep up with her school work at 12 this is a challange.So for her to reach her dream would be quite an achievement.At this level we get no financial support and need to call on our local community for this, of which we a truly greatful as it puts a strain on a family with two other children about to go to university.If we lived in Australia or the States would this be different?
I feel strongly that UK sport and the media need to allow all our athletes to be seen together and not show the Paralympics weeks after the olyimpics. Our Paralympians work just as hard to achieve their goals and NEED to be heard and seen our Swimmers brought home 16 Golds 20 Silver 16 bronze at Athens. The GB team finished second to China with a total of 94 medals 35 of them being Gold. Does the nation know this?
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Does anyone know why I would not have recieved a reply from this talent@uksport.gov.uk? I've emailed them twice, telling them I am interested, and dont even know whether my message has been received.
I'm not trying to sound stuck up or pushy at all, I just want to be noticed. Its my dream to play basketball for my country in the olympics in 2012, but I have no idea how i can get people from England Basketball or the Olympics to notice me.
Are there scouts at university games etc, becuase i will be choosing a uni soon and want to make the best choice to enhance by basketball career.
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i think that this new olyimpic sign is not very good umm i think it should show stuff about england and what we are about not just some odd lines
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