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The Olympics: Training for Tokyo

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Factual: Life Stories

Sport: Olympics

Following six Welsh athletes on the journey to the Tokyo Olympics.

The Olympics: Training for Tokyo: The Road to Tokyo (Part 1)

The Road to Tokyo (Part 1)

BBC Radio Wales - The Olympics: Training for Tokyo, The Road to Tokyo (Part 1)

Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson meets athletes from Wales who've been training for Tokyo.

A new series in which multi-gold-medal-winning Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson charts the road to the Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo for a variety of athletes from Wales.

In this two-part series multi-gold-medal-winning Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson charts the road to the Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo for a variety of athletes from Wales. 

From archery to rowing, wheelchair rugby to boxing, across the series Tanni chats to some of Wales’s top talent about how they’ve reached this point in their careers - and what their hopes and dreams are for what is likely to be a rather unusual Games as the world slowly recovers from the worst pandemic in just over 100 years.

We hear some of our stars in action as they train while Tanni talks to them about their inspiration and motivation for their different sports.

Tanni attended multiple Games and clinched 11 golds, four silvers and a bronze over her career. She was made a Dame in 2005. In 2010 she became a member of the House of Lords.

Among the athletes, Tanni catches up with:

Former footballer turned middleweight boxer Lauren Price who became the first Welsh woman to win a Commonwealth Games medal in 2014. The top seed tells Tanni how she really wants to come away with Gold in Tokyo.

Rower Ben Pritchard also chats to Tanni. The former cyclist and triathlete talks to Tanni about his journey to becoming a rower after he was paralysed from the waist down in a cycling crash in 2016. This is Ben's first Paralympics. 

Swimmer Harriet Jones from Cardiff is heading for Tokyo after success in trials in April. Harriet tells Tanni about training in lockdown and what she's expecting from her first Olympic Games. 

Dave Phillips explains his sport of archery to Tanni and we hear him being coached ahead of his trip to Tokyo. This isn't the first time Dave has been to the Paralympics, but he knows it's going to be very different. He spent much of 2020 shielding at his home in Cwmbran which meant he couldn't train with his team mates at the National Sports Centre at Lilleshall.

Among other athletes chatting to Tanni - Wheelchair rugby comes under the spotlight as Tanni meets 33 year old James Roberts from Welshpool in Mid Wales, while table tennis ace Tom Matthews tells Tanni about his hopes for Tokyo.

Producers: Ashley Byrne and Iain Mackness
An MIM Production for BBC Radio Wales

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