The Olympics

By BBC Radio 5 LiveSports

The Olympics episodes

May 11, 2012 Olympians on the new Olympic venues, Alex Partridge, Mhairi Spence and Jonny Brownlee
This week, the Triathlon World Series gets underway in San Diego, 5 Live’s Alistair Bruce-Ball spoke to Jonny Brownlee about his preparations and competing against his brother Alistair for Olympic glory. Pentathletes Mhairi Spence and Freyja Prentice speak about the battle for a Team GB place on the eve of the World Championships in Rome. BBC Berkshire catches up with some Team GB members for their thoughts on Dorney Lake, the Olympic rowing venue while Alex Partridge speaks about opting out of selection for the Team GB 4-men boat. BBC Radio 2 debates the Argentinean television ad that dragged London 2012 into a diplomatic fray. Team GB captain Fran Leighton gives her verdict on the new Olympic waterpolo venue and Chris Moyles and Fearne Cotton provide a unique commentary on the Olympic flame ceremony.
29 min
May 04, 2012 Nathan Robertson, Amanda McGrory and Liam Tancock
This week, the final round of test events have been taking place at the Olympic Park in Stratford. At the Riverside Arena, the Great Britain men and women’s hockey teams have been in action, in a tournament which will determine the final Team GB squads. 5 Live’s Richard Bacon spoke to Olympic hopeful Rob Moore at the event. Olympian Gail Emms speaks to her former mixed doubles partner Nathan Robertson who looks set to miss out on his bid for London 2012. Radio 4’s Peter White follows the success and failures of the teenagers who helped secure London’s bid in 2005. Team GB swimmer and double world champion Liam Tancock tells BBC Leicester about why good coaches are vital to success. US wheelchair racer and 5,000 metres world champion Amanda McGrory on going for gold in the London Paralympics. While comedian Patrick Kielty and former Olympian rower James Cracknell discussed how their plans to run with the Olympic torch are shaping up.
27 min
April 27, 2012 Victor Conte, Natalie Perdue and Gary Lineker
Next week, the British Olympic Association finds out if the World Anti-Doping Agency has succeeded in lifting the lifetime Olympic ban for British drug cheats. Victor Conte, the controversial sports nutritionist behind the Balco doping scandal, tells 5 Live why he thinks athletes such as Dwain Chambers deserve a second chance. BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Mark Cavendish speaks about the challenges of the Olympic cycle route and how his attitude towards winning has changed since becoming a father. Olympic Javelin thrower Steve Backley tells BBC Three Counties Radio why he won’t miss competing at this year’s Games and 5 Live Breakfast reporter Rebekah Erlam joins Olympic hopeful and full-time bin lady Natasha Perdue on her route in Leeds. Plus, Gary Lineker reveals what we can expect from Team GB’s football performance at London 2012 and inspiring words by the iconic British poet Lord Alfred Tennyson on display in the Olympic Village are revealed.
30 min
April 20, 2012 Sir Chris Hoy, Andy Hunt and Charles van Commenee
A look ahead to London 2012 with a selection of Olympic stories from across BBC local, national and World Service Radio.
With the London Olympics less than 100 days away, BBC Sports Editor David Bond travels to hosts of the 1992 Olympic Games Barcelona, to explore their Olympic legacy. BBC World Service reporter Ade Adedoyin visits one of the more unusual London Olympic venues. BOA Chief Executive Andy Hunt reveals some well-known footballers who have been selected for the Team GB short list. Sir Chris Hoy speaks about the ticketing arrangements which have resulted in many athletes and their families being only able to purchase limited tickets to their own events. Boxer Anthony Ogogo speaks about attempting to overcome injury and secure a place at London 2012, and UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee speaks about Team GB’s ambitions and hits back at critics who have called members of his squad "plastic Brits".
29 min
April 13, 2012 Darren Campbell, James Cracknell, Laura Trott and Richard Kruse
In this edition, Olympic gold medallists Darren Campbell and James Cracknell discuss the role of food supplements in athlete's training regimes and the benefits and the risks they offer. Teenage cycling sensation Laura Trott reflects on the two gold medals she brought back from the recent World Track Cycling Championships in Melbourne and looks ahead to this summer's Games in London. Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, journalist and former Olympian Matthew Syed and author Helen Jefferson Lenskyj discuss the ancient Games with Ernie Rea on Radio 4â€™s Beyond Belief and we catch up with fencer Richard Kruse who is set to compete in his third Olympic Games, having just secured his place on team GB for London 2012. Plus the first broadcast interview with talented young sprinter Delano Williams from the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory. Four months ago the 18 year old didn't have a British passport but could be pulling on a GB vest for the London Olympics this summer.
30 min
April 06, 2012 Peter Keen, David Millar and Danny Baker
In this edition, Director of Performance at UK Sport Peter Keen discusses Mission 2012, the traffic light system by which all Olympic sports are judged on their progress. 5 Live’s Jonathan Ledgard gives an update on the British Mens and Women’s Rowing squads for the World Cup which were announced this week and are traditionally a strong indicator of who will be in which boats come London 2012. Scottish cyclist David Millar, who has a lifetime Olympic ban after admitting doping, speaks candidly about the prospect of competing at this summer’s Olympics in advance of the forthcoming ruling on lifetime bans by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. We also find out about the atmosphere in the build up to the 1948 ‘Austerity Games’, the last Olympics to be held in London, and as the finishing touches are being made to the new Olympic Stadium in Stratford, we find out about the Builder’s Olympics from an anonymous caller to the Danny Baker Show.
27 min
March 30, 2012 Luol Deng, Shanaze Reade and Andrew Willis
A look ahead to London 2012 with a selection of Olympic stories from across BBC local, national and World Service Radio.
In this edition, British professional basketball player Luol Deng gives his thoughts on taking part in London 2012 and the British team’s prospects of getting on to the podium and we hear from sprint kayaker Rachel Cawthorn as she trains on the River Thames at the Olympic Course at Dorney Lake. BMX cyclist Shanaze Reade, who was favourite to win Gold at the Beijing Games but ended up crashing at the final turn, talks about how she’s using that experience in her preparation for the London Olympics and she also gives her views on the new Team GB kit. Plus there’s interviews with Olympic hopeful Joseph Hylton who is currently training hard to achieve his goal of a place on Team GB in the 110m hurdles and the fastest 200m breast stroke swimmer in the world at the moment, Andrew Willis, who has already secured his place.
26 min
March 23, 2012 Stella McCartney, Kriss Akabusi & Colin Jackson, Aimee Willmott
A look ahead to London 2012 with a selection of Olympic stories from across BBC local, national and World Service Radio.
In this edition, former track stars Kriss Akabusi & Colin Jackson explain why itâ€™s so important that the British public get behind the London Olympics, and in particular the British competitors and following the announcement of the route for the 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, we find out what it means to the residents of Somerset. Athletics coach Conrad Milton â€“ who has coached Mo Farrah and Hayley Yelling amongst others â€“ shares his views on what makes a good athlete and we catch up with swimmer Aimee Willmott, whose dream of becoming an Olympian is now a reality having recently secured her place on the GB Olympic swimming team with a silver at the British Championships. Plus we hear Stella McCartney discussing her role in designing the new Team GB kit that was unveiled at a special event at The Tower of London.
32 min
March 15, 2012 Matthew Pinsent, Danny Crates and Nicola Adams
A look ahead to London 2012 with a selection of Olympic stories from across BBC local, national and World Service Radio.
In this edition, we hear from teenage boxer Sadaf Rahimi whose dream is to represent Afghanistan at the London Olympics and Britain's most decorated female boxer and current European champion Nicola Adams gives her views on the perceptions of female boxing, overcoming injuries and what first inspired her to take up the sport. There's an interview with Alan Bell, Chief Starter for London 2012 - the eyes of the world will be upon him as the athletes line up for the men's 100 metres final this summer. Plus, four time Olympic gold medallist in rowing Matthew Pinsent travels to the host city for the 2016 Games, Rio de Janeiro, to find out a bit more about the increasing popularity of Rugby and Paralympic Champion Danny Crates looks back at the defining moments of his life and career in his new autobiography 'Danny Boy'.
28 min
March 08, 2012 Steve Cram, Judo star Kate Walker and Phillips Idowu
A look ahead to London 2012 with a selection of Olympic stories from across BBC local, national and World Service Radio.
In this edition, we hear from Judo star Kate Walker and her German coach Juergen Klinger as they train at the GB judo training camp at the University of Bath and Steve Cram gives us his view on the chances of Team GB’s athletes getting onto the podium at London 2012. We hear how British swimmers push their bodies to the limit in the hunt for Olympic glory and there’s an excerpt from Clare Balding’s Radio 4 series ‘Sport and the British’ which looked at how women’s sport in Britain came of age with the Golden Girls of the 1960s. Plus an interview with charismatic triple-jumper, Phillips Idowu, who is dreaming of Gold Medals in London 2012 and in Rio 2016.
25 min