The Daily Telegraph - 24.07.2019

2 *** Wednesday 24 July 2019 The Daily Telegraph

My first memory of

the Olympics was as

a seven-year-old

watching Kelly

Holmes winning the

800m and 1500m

double in Athens.

That was when I

decided I wanted to

be an Olympian.

Seeing her win and

what it meant to

everyone, it just felt

like such a big deal.

Actually even

before that, pretty

much from the

moment I was born,

my dad was like:

“Morgan will be an

Olympian.” He was

proved right in Rio,

and what an

experience that was.

Even just the kitting

MORGAN LAKE

High jump 22

out was probably

one of the best days

of my life. Receiving

the briefings, seeing

the rings, all the

freebies – it was all

so exciting.

Once there,

everything lived up

to expectations. We

had bikes to go

around the Olympic

Village, Nike had a

big house about half

an hour away, and

there was a massive

golf course.

Tokyo will be

incredible and I

definitely want to be

a part of it. Because I

want it so badly, it’s

always on my mind.

It’s the pinnacle for

any athlete.

The Olympics have

been amazing for

British boxing –

success has been

institutionalised by

winning medals.

Since 2008 the

programme has

gone from strength

to strength and I’ve

seen some unbeliev-

able fighters come

through those doors

• Nicola Adams,
  Anthony Joshua,
  Luke Campbell,
  Anthony Ogogo,
  people like that. And
  there are a lot of
  great fighters who
  didn’t even medal.
  To go to Tokyo
  with the squad
  we’ve got is exciting.
  I’ve been with three

FRAZER CLARKE

Boxing 27

different squads and

I’d say this one is

the best.

Going to the

Games is big in

terms of responsibil-

ity. If we don’t do

well, the next group

won’t get the

funding. I thank

Joshua Buatsi, Joe

Joyce and Nicola

Adams, who got the

medals in Rio.

Without them we’d

be nowhere.

We’ve been to

Australia and all the

training camps.

We’ve had all the

funding. We have

the best people, the

best sparring, the

best doctors. Now

it’s down to us.

I’m a former Royal

Marine and lost both

my legs in an

explosion in

Afghanistan in 2008.

Before becoming a

paratriathlete I

didn’t have a clue

what it meant to be

competing at the

Olympics, even less

so the Paralympics.

I didn’t have a

clue of the standards

or what the men and

women were doing

to get to that level. I

didn’t even have any

concept of disability.

But it’s amazing

when you find

yourself in that

situation how

quickly you learn.

Getting to Rio in

JOE TOWNSEND

Paratriathlon 31

2016 was a dream, a

goal I’d set myself

early on after my

injury, before my

triathlon career had

taken off. I liked the

idea of being

surrounded by

athletes who are

the masters of what

they do.

To see the scale of

it – the sheer

numbers of athletes,

the infrastructure of

a Paralympic Games

• is pretty phenom-
  enal and a surreal
  place to be.
  You’re in the most
  inspirational and
  motivational place


• trying to keep tabs
  on your excitement
  is pretty tough.

I want to be in the

Olympics because I

want to show kids,

especially girls, that

they can pursue

their dreams. If I’m

the youngest person

to have competed

for Team GB in an

Olympic Games,

doing these crazy

tricks on a skate-

board, they will

think they can do

anything too. It

doesn’t have to be

skateboarding, it can

be any sport they

want to do.

You just need to

believe you can do it,

work hard and, most

important, have fun

while you do it.

The Olympics are

SKY BROWN

Skateboarding Age 11

definitely the

biggest, most

important sports

event of them all, so

just to be part of it

would be amazing

and that is what I’m

trying so hard to do.

I don’t know too

much about the

Olympic Village, but

it sounds fantastic,

to be with all those

amazing athletes in

my own apartment

with my family. I

will be so proud if I

can do that.

And to know I am

representing all of

Great Britain and

that there are so

many people

wishing me to do

well is really special.

Tokyo 2020 One Year To Go

EIGHT STARS –

ONE GOLDEN

GOAL

Joe Townsend

Over the next year, The Telegraph will

track the progress of our Tokyo Eight –

athletes with a vast range of backgrounds

and ages, but united by the dream of glory

in Japan. Here, they reveal what inspired

them on their sporting journeypgj y

Joe Townsend

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Frazer Clarke

Sky Brown

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