The Daily Telegraph - 24.07.2019

The Daily Telegraph Wednesday 24 July 2019 *** 3

The Olympics is the

pinnacle of sport for

most people. But for

me it still feels weird

talking about the

possibility of Tokyo

because it’s only in

the last 12 months or

so that I’ve broken

through and now

I’ve got an opportu-

nity to go and win

medals.

There’s a film of

me on holiday when

I was around five

and I’m having fun

running around the

Panathenaic

Stadium in Athens,

which was used

during the early

Olympics. But I also

clearly remember

Beijing 2008,

It was actually my

babysitter’s parents

who suggested me

and my brother join

a swimming club at

the age of 10 or 11.

And then a couple of

years later I was

racing, and it

snowballed and I

ended up in Rio at 17.

Looking back, I

was in awe all trip,

and the medals were

just a bonus. It was

quite overwhelming

• nothing can
  prepare you for it.
  I remember in
  school, in year five
  maybe, Darren
  Campbell came in
  and he had won
  Olympic gold in the
  relay in athletics. I

A year to go – what a

thought. The thing

is, I’m trying not to

think about it too

much. My focus is on

qualification because

if I don’t qualify

there’s no Olympics.

This will be the

first time climbing

has featured on the

Olympic programme.

I’ve noticed our

sport has been

growing for a while,

with more and more

people participating.

The hope is the

Olympics is going to

have a big impact.

But I have to get

there first. There will

only be 20 spaces

available for women

and 20 for men. Two

I started gymnastics

when I was four. I

would climb on

everything and had

loads of energy, but I

was clumsy and used

to crack my head

open all the time. So

my parents got me

into the sport to

teach me how to stay

on my feet. As a kid,

all I thought about

was gymnastics and

all I did was gymnas-

tics. I remember

watching Alexei

Nemov’s high-bar

routine in Athens

and thinking: “Wow,

that’s what I want to

do.”

I started doing

YouTube videos of

my gymnastics when

ETHAN HAYTER

Cycling 20

ALICE TAI

Paraswimming 20

SHAUNA COXSEY

Climbing 26

NILE WILSON

Gymnastics 23

watching on TV with

my grandad and

seeing the British

cyclists doing well. I

got into cycling late

but started doing

well as a junior and

when I got on to the

British programme I

realised I could be

working towards the

Olympics.

This is my first

Olympic cycle but

you can definitely

notice changes now.

It’s not that the

pressure is building

but everyone is

getting more

focused. We’ve got a

plan for the next 12

months – that’s

exciting, but also

daunting.

was going crazy,

saying: “He’s so cool,

he’s got an Olympic

medal.” Now, having

the ability to go back

to schools – even my

old junior school –

and to be able to say

I was sat in that hall

at their age, that

some of their

teachers literally

taught me, it makes

it relatable.

After competi-

tions I get messages

from random people

saying they’ve

watched me swim,

that I inspired their

son or daughter. If

even one of those

kids acts to me like I

did to Campbell,

that’s crazy.

is the maximum

number of competi-

tors per country. So

it is going to be the

most difficult

selection process.

The top seven will

qualify from a

competition which

will be held in

August, then six

more in November,

the rest next year. My

aim is to have done it

by November. But it

is a brutal format, a

combined event

tagged on to the end

of our individual

world championship.

Still, it’s the same

for everybody. And

the prize of getting to

Tokyo will be more

than worth the pain.

I was 10 or 11 with

just a backflip on the

trampoline. I

documented my

journey to Rio and

got a buzz from

inspiring people to

get active and it has

just snowballed.

Today I have got

1.2 million subscrib-

ers.

This year I

underwent spinal

surgery. It was

daunting and could

have ended my

career. I experienced

some dark times and

it put things in huge

perspective. Now

there is light at the

end of the tunnel

and training is going

brilliantly.

In association withIn association with

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Ethan Hayter

Alice Tai

Shauna Coxsey

Nile Wilson

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