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Tom Daley

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

I thought my life wouldn’t get any crazier after I competed at the Beijing Olympics, but I was wrong. Winning the world title in the 10 metres platform competition at the world diving championships has resulted in all kinds of amazing experiences, few of which I’m ever likely to forget.

Before Beijing I was lucky enough to win the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year. After the Olympics I got to meet the Queen and have breakfast at Number 10 Downing Street, as well as introduce George Sampson, the “Britain’s Got Talent” winner on stage at the Royal Variety Performance, and present the BAFTA TV award for sports coverage.

But after becoming world champion at 15 years old it’s taken on an even bigger dimension, capped by an open-top bus parade through the streets of my home city, Plymouth. I was concerned that nobody would turn up but it was sunny day and thousands of people made the effort which was really nice to see.

Other highlights include a photo shoot with George Sampson, getting to know top photographer David Bailey and winning the Sports Hero of the Year award at the BBC Switch awards. It was a little surreal to have hundreds of girls screaming as I went up on stage which was a first for me. I also managed to win the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year award again which, so I’m told, makes me the first person to have won it twice. I’m very happy and honoured to have received the trophy on two occasions. I was also really excited to be named in the short-list of ten for the main award alongside some true greats of British sport. Ryan Giggs, the eventual winner, sat behind me during the ceremony, and I got to talk to Jenson Button, who struck me as a really nice bloke. The BBC’s Blue Peter team also came down to my home in Plymouth to present me with a coveted gold badge and that, believe me, is up there with the world championships diving gold medal.

Recently I’ve filmed a sketch with James Corden for Sport Relief l. I’m a huge fan of “Gavin and Stacey” and I can tell you that James is just as funny in real life as he is on TV. Everything’s a joke with James,! I came across him again when I appeared on Sky 1’s new sports quiz, “A League of Their Own,” which will be aired very soon. I can’t say too much about it except that I was on Jamie Redknapp’s team taking on Freddie Flintoff’s team with James in charge. It was great fun and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the show.

My other highlight outside of the pool was not only getting to meet and be in a photo shoot with Kate Moss, but actually take pictures of her for my photography GCSE.
2010 is the year of GCSE’s for me, although I’ve managed to obtain three A*’s early to ease the pressure. The problem is squeezing in the work and the exam-taking in between competitions. To give you an idea I’m going to the Laureus Sports Awards in Abu Dhabi where I’m up for the Breakthrough of the Year award, then it’s off to compete in China, Mexico, Sheffield, and Canada. I’ll be taking two Spanish exams and my English Literature whilst in China. This means having to go to a Chinese school to sit them, and at the same time as they are taken in England. This means, with the time difference, it could be 9 or 10pm, but it stops someone back home in Plymouth telling me what the questions were before I’ve taken the exams. I’m hoping to study Maths, Psychology, Spanish and Photography at “A” Level, so I’ve just got to ensure that I obtain as high a mark as I can in each of my remaining GCSE’s.

Mind you, that’s not to say my diving’s going to take a back seat. Far from it. I’m introducing two new dives to my repertoire – a back two and half somersault, two and half twist, which I’ve already produced, and an arm stand, back, triple somersault, pike. My age and body had prevented me from taking on the really difficult and highest-marking dives until now, although it didn’t stop me becoming world champion. I’m so excited because if I can perfect the new dives it can hopefully result in better marks. It’s going to take a little time, though, to get it right. It’s like kicking the ball with the other foot.

It was so strange winning that world title. Nobody expected it, including me. All my main competitors train twice a day whilst I, because of my school commitments, can only train once, and all the others could attempt more challenging dives which offer higher marks. I had to go safe, got the points in the bag, then watched as everyone else failed to hit the mark with their harder dives. I guess it will be just as hard now to keep the standard up, which is a new challenge in itself and one I’ll have to deal with at, among other competitions, the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October. I can’t wait for that. I actually qualified for the 2006 Games in Melbourne but was told I was too young, so these will be my first Commonwealths.

All in all 2010 promises to be another big year for me. If I can finish it with the exam results I’m aiming for, and more success at the Commonwealths and elsewhere, then I’ll be happy. After that all eyes will focus on the 2012 London Olympics. I’ll be taking my “A” Levels either well before or afterwards, to ensure that I can devote all my time to the London Games. People think it’s my big chance but I’ll only be 18 and, by my reckoning, will have another three Olympics in me after London, which would make it five in total.
If I can achieve that I might just get another Blue Peter badge!

Kristan Bromley and Shelley Rudman

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Kristan: It's been four long years since the last Winter Olympics in Turin but now, finally, the wait is almost over. The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games are almost upon us, with the Olympic bobsleigh track up in Whistler, which is like staging the football world cup in Brazil. Winter sports are all Canadians care about and going there and winning would be, in our sport, the equivalent of winning the world cup at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Turin seems a lifetime ago and so much has happened since then. Back then, of course, Shelley my partner and now fiancée and mother of our baby daughter, Ella, won the silver medal and collected it while I was finishing fifth. It was a strange mixture of emotions. I was at rock bottom to be out of the medals, especially as I came to the Italian Alps hoping to claim gold. At the same time I was elated for Shelley, who was on cloud nine. Her success definitely helped me overcome my own disappointment. It also highlighted the narrow margins in bob skeleton. I can go to Vancouver and win, or I can finish tenth. We're talking about tiny differences in times here.

Since Turin we've had Ella, of course, and she travels everywhere with us. Some people may think this is a distraction. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ella is our little stress-buster. She gives me a hug and immediately takes away any problems. She can say hello in four different languages, which isn't bad for a toddler aged 2 years and 4 months, and the first time she ever went ice skating the other day she took to it like the proverbial duck to (unfrozen) water. Contrary to popular belief the British government haven't asked us to produce a wonder athlete for the 2030 Winter Olympics, although she's good genes. I've heard Shelley and me described as the "Posh and Becks" of bob skeleton, which always makes me laugh, and now that we have Ella I suppose we're the (very) poor people's version of Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf with their kids. If they don't have the ingredients to become good tennis players, nobody will. Actually I'd prefer Ella to become an ice skater because she looks like she has some talent there and there's more money in it. Still, like me, she's into winter sports at an early age. A few years ago I unearthed a drawing I'd scribbled as a four year old boy back home in Rossendale, Lancashire. It depicted a large bobsleigh with people waving out of its windows. I've no idea how the bob had captured my imagination aged four, but the idea of sliding down ice tracks has stayed with me ever since. Later on in life I gained a Phd in materials engineering after writing a thesis entitled "Factors Affecting the Performance in Skeleton Bobsleigh." When the media found this out I was immediately dubbed "Dr Ice."

We're based in Sheffield now, having moved from Bath after Turin, and Shelley and I have been working hard since 2006 looking to improve all aspects of our performance with the help of my company, Bromley Technologies Ltd.

Becoming world champion and world cup overall champion in 2008 eased the pain of Turin, but not enough to be desperate to give it another good go in Canada. Win, medal or miss out, I know I've done everything possible. This time I'd like both Shelley and me to experience an incredible high of success at the Winter Games. It's certainly a possibility, that's for sure.

Shelley: The first sign that I'd end up doing what I do was when I was aged just five and I went tobogganing with my Dad and my dog on the hills around the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, where I grew up. The dog, incidentally, sat on the sledge, just in case you're thinking we got him to pull us! 22 years' later and I'm just as hooked as ever. The Turin Winter Games was a very strange experience. I came to them knowing I stood a chance of doing something, but only on the basis that anyone in the top ten has that chance. Then it all came together in the practice runs and then for real. I received my silver medal just as Kristan was competing, and so obviously his disappointment was a shared one. I'm really hoping this time we both win medals in Whistler, although anything can happen.

Since then we've both really gone for it. Yes, I've had some extra dimensions to my life, notably Ella. People can't work out how I endanger life and limb hurtling down bobsleigh tracks at 80 mph as a mother, nor how I can focus with Ella around. My reply to this is that bob skeleton is an extreme sport, not a particularly dangerous one, while Ella is a very welcome distraction because it means I can switch off from bob skeleton as well. Not having her around us would be the distraction, believe me. I'd like to think when she's older she'll think it's cool to have two parents who do what we do for a living.
There's been a few other changes, too, as a result of my silver medal. I went to a few functions, like the premiere of Basic Instinct 2, had a few glossy magazine photo shoots and got to wear a few nice dresses. And there's been some much-needed lottery funding that has made our lives a little easier. In Pewsey when I go back I get recognised quite a bit on the basis that there aren't too many girls from the town with an Olympic silver medal, but it's not especially the case elsewhere.

Since Turin, despite becoming parents, Kristan and I have not left a stone unturned in our determination to improve in terms of technology, sports psychology and nutrition. I've had the best year yet as far as preparation and performance goes and I'm going to Whistler confident knowing that I'm in with a shout if I get two good runs under my belt. The track at Whistler is considerably faster and steeper than anywhere else so hold on to your hats - or helmets! At the Olympics Kristan and I will mainly go into "athlete mode." By this I mean we can't be too much of a loving partnership as we both have major goals to aim for. I'd love to have Kristan's world and world cup titles, and he'd love my Olympic medal. But I'm sure at one point up at Whistler one will turn to the other and ask: "Who's got the house keys?"

David Coulthard

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

The past year has flown by since I hung up my drivers' gloves and finally stopped being a Formula One racing driver. In the past 12 months since my final appearance at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix I have become a father, a TV pundit for the BBC and, of course, a serial winner on television programmes such as "Mr and Mrs" and "Family Fortunes," as well as being able to reflect at last on my 15 years in a sport that I would not have swapped for the world.

The TV work has provided some adrenalin for me, but nothing in life will come close to the wide gamut of emotions experienced as a racing driver. Now, when I look at the races from the comfort of the TV studios and paddock, I sometimes wonder whether I'd been totally mad. After all, so many times I found myself in a near suicidal situation, driving at 200 mph in searing rain with visibility virtually zero and with no idea what's in front of you. It was complete lunacy. All you had in your possession was a blind faith that everything would work out OK, that and a modicum of talent, I guess. That is how I see it now but, when you're out there racing, none of these thoughts enter your head. Instead it's close to being the best feeling in the world.

I miss being a driver but I reckon I got my timing to retire spot on. A year before would have been too early. I wasn't ready to give it all up. This year, though, would have been one year too far. I found the sport mentally fatiguing because I never stopped thinking about it, in and out of the car. I won 13 Grands Prix, which couldn't have been an accident, and I can cling to the fact that I won more points than any British driver in F1 history. That's what longevity can do for you, and I fully expect Lewis Hamilton or Jenson Button to overtake this mark at some stage.

I would have loved to have won a world title like Jenson. I could have dined out on it for the rest of my life. I'm not jealous of him for one simple reason. I don't do jealousy. I was jealous once as a young man over a girlfriend and realised the emotion did not agree with me. I have to be honest and also say that I wasn't as good as Michael Schumacher or Mikka Hakkinen when I had my chances to win the title. I had some talent, but not as much as many drivers. What I was able to do was get close to maximising my potential and I'm happy with that.

I'm equally proud of what I felt I achieved with Red Bull. The team have grown from strength to strength and I'd like to feel my input on all matters played its part. Toyota could have had the same opportunity when I left McLaren and Martin Brundle, my manager, went to talk to them. They made it clear they were not interested, which I found strange at the time because of all the experience I could have offered in and out of their car, and now they are out of the sport. Clearly the management made some poor driver decisions and I wonder how long it took the main board in Tokyo to realise when told they had a contract with a Schumacher that they had the wrong one.

 Toyota's departure from F1 was just one of many incidents that made the 2009 season compelling both for negatvie and positive reasons. You had the lying scandal with Lewis and McLaren which led to the departure of Dave Ryan and, more remarkably, Ron Dennis stepping down, the crashing scandal in Singapore with the admission from Nelson Piquet that he had deliberately crashed which resulted in team principal Flavio Briatore being given a lifeling ban with a four year stretch for head of engineering Pat Symonds, but also the amazing emergence of Brawn Racing, Jenson winning the title, the McLaren comeback where Lewis showed his talent in the second half of the season, and the continuing rise of Red Bull.

Next year will be so interesting, especially with Jenson teaming up with Lewis at McLaren. In my opinion Jenson has hung his privates out for us all to see. The easy option would have been to have stayed at Brawn. Instead he's chosen to join a team who has one of the most talented drivers in the world, with a team behind him, and a team not exactly noted for its great relationships with drivers. The question on everyone's lips will be can Jenson get the better of Lewis in the same car? We will have to wait and see but I can tell you one thing: I know racing drivers and while you feel comfortable finishing 10th if your teammate is 11th, you feel awful if you end up 4th and your teammate's in 3rd.  I've swapped the steering wheel for the microphone and I've found it amazing how, as a driver, you could not go anywhere near another team's garage. As soon as anyone saw you the shutters would go down. Now, working in TV on the F1 circuit, I'm welcomed with open arms although I'd like to think having been a driver for so long has something to do with it. Adapting to the new job has been quite nerve-wracking. I'm very used to being interviewed, but that's very different from being a pundit, especially when you have Eddie Jordan alongside you who, as everyone knows, is close to being totally nuts, but good fun.

My other TV appearances in the past few months have caused endless hours of banter, and mostly at my own expense. I used to watch "Mr and Mrs" as a kid up in the Borders so being asked to go on the "All Star" show struck me as a fun idea which would remind me of my childhood. Karen, my partner, needed some convincing, partly because she was concerned about her English. Anyone who has met Karen, who is Belgian, will tell you that she speaks better English than I do. I had it written into my contract that we would win, of course, and that's precisely what we did. The "Mr and Mrs" carriage clock now sits proudly on our mantelpiece.

When it came to "Family Fortunes" I thought it would be a nice day out for the rest of the Coulthard family and give them the chance to go on telly, seeing that they've been so supportive towards me over my career. Again, we managed to win, despite the fact that in the final round when I was asked to name a fruit with a stone I said "grape." To be fair to myself I said "plum" first but that answer had already gone, plus in Monaco, where I spend much of my time with Karen, the grapes have large seeds. Luckily my sister, who was in the final round with me, showed more intelligence.

Any other time I've had has been taken up with young Dayton Coulthard, who has just passed his first birthday. It has been an eye-opening experience, so very tiring, but also so very rewarding. The Christian name comes from the fact that I wanted another "DC," and that the family firm is called Hayton Coulthard after my uncle Hayton. It was just a case of removing the "H" and replacing it with a "D." It is not, as some have assumed, Daytona after the famous race in America, without the "a."

On my last day in F1 in Brazil I filmed everything that happened, including the drivers' parade which I wasn't supposed to do. My take on it was as it was my last race, what exactly were the authorities going to do about it? I wanted Dayton to enjoy his Dad's last day as a Grand Prix driver. I also filmed his birth, although that is definitely not for public consumption. He therefore has a record of his first few seconds of life. If he has half the fun I've had over the past 20 years then I'll be made up for him.
I wish all Sportsvibe readers a Happy Christmas, and here's to what promises to be an awesome 2010.

Jessica Ennis

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

The World Heptathlon Champion, and one of the favourites to be crowned the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year

To be named even in the shortlist of ten for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards is a great honour and something I would not have dreamt was possible this time last year.

I keep reading and hearing how I am one of the favourites to win although, despite being the competitive animal I am, I’d be more than made up to make the top three, I really would. I reckon the likes of Jenson Button and Andrew Strauss, let alone Ryan Giggs, David Haye, my own British athletics teammate and fellow world champion Phillips Idowu and all the others on the list may have a say or two in this. It appears to me to be particularly wide open this year.

It would be the icing on a particularly delicious cake for me, especially as the awards are being staged in my home city of Sheffield. I am a proud Sheffielder – I support the Blades and it’s great to be able to train in such fantastic facilities such as the Don Valley Stadium and the Institute of Sport right on my doorstep – and with the Ponds Forge swimming pool, the Sheffield Arena where the BBC awards will be staged, the Peak District and all the advantages a big city can provide, I have everything I could possibly need right here.

Twelve months ago I was some way into my rehab programme having contracted a stress fracture of my ankle. The injury not only ruled me out of the Beijing Olympics but, for a while, it was even career-threatening. It was, to put it mildly, a very upsetting time for me.

Maybe it put everything into perspective, maybe it made me realise how much I wanted to be a successful athlete because what I love doing the most was taken away from me, or maybe the enforced rest made me fresh for the world championships last August but, whatever the reason, I returned home with the world title and a gold medal and, ever since then, my world’s gone a bit crazy.

I’ll give you some examples. Back in September the city of Sheffield celebrated my achievement in the Peace Gardens. I was really nervous that no-one would turn up, especially as it was lashing down with rain. Fortunately loads came with their flags and banners. I made a small speech on the stage and was given a cutlery set made out of Sheffield’s famous steel. Better still, I also got a Mulberry handbag.

Then it was off to Glasgow to present the best album award at the MOBO’s (Music of Black Origin). Now this was really nerve-wracking, partly because I was way out of my comfort zone, but mainly because as I walked out on to stage in front of thousands of people, there sitting in the front row were Latoya and Jermaine Jackson. Once I’d given out the award, though, I relaxed and had my picture taken with the Jacksons, plus JLS and Lemar. I didn’t expect any of them to know who I was but Lemar, in particular, told me how much he’d enjoyed watching me win the gold medal.

There have been a few TV appearances as well, notably “A Question of Sport” and “Something for the Weekend.” It was the second time I’d done “AQOS” but I was still nervous. Andy, my boyfriend, has Sky Sports News permanently on the TV back at home and he suggested I should study it closely the night before I went on the show, but I’d rather sit and read a good women’s magazine. I was on Matt Dawson’s team and one of my teammates was the cricketer, Graeme Swann, who was hilarious. I managed to get my two “Home” questions right, which were on the heptathlon and the 100 metres, but didn’t contribute much else.

On “Something for the Weekend” I was interviewed about my success but the really enjoyable part was when I was asked to do some cooking. I love to cook and believe I’m good at it. Gordon Ramsay’s one of my heroes and I really like watching all his programmes on TV, especially “The “F” Word.” On the show I rustled up a Blackberry and Apple Pastry, which is one of my specialities. I strongly recommend it.

I’ve also attended a couple of awards functions in which I have been nominated in. The first was The Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year in which I came second to the world triathlon champion, Chrissie Wellington. I know people who don’t win say these things but I was delighted for Chrissie because I admire what she does so much, she is in a sport that does not often get a high profile, and she was welling up as she went up on stage to receive her well-deserved prize.

The second was the Cosmopolitan Ultimate Awards night where I was voted the Ultimate Sportswoman of the Year. I really enjoyed the evening, and not just because I won. I met Vernon Kay – he’s really nice and really tall (or am I short?) – and also Fern Cotton, who was also very pleasant and complimented me on my dress.

The next morning all the winners were invited for breakfast at 10, Downing Street with Sarah Brown. The PM’s wife was really nice, seemed to know all about me, and asked me all questions all about the heptathlon. We also had a tour of the building, taking in the portraits of the Prime Ministers up the staircase and Winston Churchill’s famous armchair, with his scratch marks still clear in the arms. The likes of Danni Minogue and Kimberley Walsh were also there, as was my friend Charlotte, who had the best couple of days she’d had in a long time.

As you can tell it’s all been great fun and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, but I’m back in training and, once the BBC awards are done and dusted with, I’m going to make sure everything calms down and I can focus fully on what I’m best at.

This means training and making sure that this year is only the start, not the end. There’s so much more I want to achieve as an athlete and, although my schedule will not include the Commonwealth Games next year, it definitely does include the European Championships next summer.

I’ll be training on Christmas Eve and on Boxing Day but, you know what? I’ll be taking Christmas Day off like everyone else. It’s my favourite day of the year so, apart from taking my 10-month old Chocolate Labrador, Myla, for a walk, I’ll be putting my feet up and making the most of it. That’s my Christmas present to myself, that and the world heptathlon gold medal!

Sir Steve Redgrave

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

It's been nine years since I last rowed a race in anger, the 2000 Sydney Olympics coxless fours final, and while it's nice that I am remembered for my five gold medals, and the fact that I continue to be busy in a host of projects, I am also aware of speaking at schools where the kids have no idea who the big man standing in front of them is.

Time waits for no-one, which is how it should be, of course. I'm immensely proud of my achievements. When I reflect on them I understand how it all happened but sometimes, even now, I struggle to believe it was me who did it.

But now others are queuing up to match and even surpass what I achieved, notably Sir Chris Hoy who appears to be still on top form and needs one more gold medal in London 2012 to equal my five golds. With the silver he also has that would make him Britain 's most successful Olympian. Good luck to him, although I do feel it is not all about the stats.

For example, I was at the velodrome in Beijing last year watching Bradley Wiggins lead the team pursuit and I was blown away by the performance. I tried to keep a low profile and hid myself in the corner but the media spotted me and, understandably, wanted to know my opinion of what had just taken place. Bradley took two golds in China , which means three golds in total and six Olympic medals over three Games, which is outstanding.

For me the other major star British performer is Ben Ainslie whose achievements, in my opinion, have been overshadowed. I think this is tough because Ben has won a silver medal and then three consecutive golds in four Games, and could well win again in London . Longevity, as I well know, tests an athlete to the core, and that is why Ben Ainslie is up there with the true greats of British sport.

Studying other sports stars is something I've been doing a lot of recently whilst writing a book called "Inspired," which has just been published. In it I get to talk to some of the true greats in global sport over the past few decades and attempt to make connections and comparisons between them in analysing why and how they achieved.

So, for example, Sir Bobby Charlton, whom I've got to know well on the golf circuit, talks about how he was born lucky due to the genes in his family that meant his uncle was the famous Newcastle footballer, Jackie Milburn. Seb Coe explains how he got his big chance on a BBC televised race back in the late 1970's only because someone dropped out of a race at the eleventh hour. He went on to win the race, of course, and that put him in the limelight which, in turn, presented him with more opportunities to shine.

When it comes to self-belief no two are better examples than Muhammad Ali and Brian Clough. I was there in Atlanta in 1996 when Ali was asked to light the Olympic flame in the stadium and, like everyone else, I was concerned about his health as he climbed the steps holding the lit torch. True to form he managed it with aplomb and remains arguably the greatest sportsman of the last century. Clough, of course, was not everyone's cup of tea, but few in football don't believe he was one of the finest managers of all time, and the best manager England never had.

Preparation's an interesting area, too. Tiger Woods' father, Earl, used to make noises behind him while Tiger was swinging his club which is one of the reasons why Tiger is so unflappable now. John Naber is a particularly good example, someone you may not have heard of, but an Olympic legend. The American swimmer took four golds at the 1976 Montreal Games, but only after failing four years earlier in Munich . After the 1972 Games he predicted he would need to improve in the 100 metres backstroke by a massive four seconds to become Olympic champion four years' later. This is precisely what happened, in exactly the time he had visualised.

The more I delved into great sportsmen the more I felt put in my place. I was a good rower, but I didn't have anything named after me like Dick Fosbury, the American high jumper. And yes, I had a few medical problems along the way which hindered me a little. Obviously it wasn't to my advantage being diabetic, or suffering from Ulcerative Colitis as I did before Barcelona in 1992. But then you talk to Lance Armstrong and when it sinks in that he was given a 4% chance of survival after being ravaged by cancer, then you wonder why you were moaning at all about your lot.

It's been an interesting experience researching and indeed writing the book and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Participation is now a thing of the past. I rowed in some vets competitions two years ago and although I realised I hadn't missed the racing I was surprised how much fun I had in terms of the camaraderie and banter.

I may have rowed again this year but I broke my leg earlier in the year when I slipped down a three foot grassy bank at the London Golf Club in Kent . My right ankle was in plaster for six weeks and it's only been this week that the swelling has finally disappeared. As a result I put on a fair bit of weight. My fighting weight was always 17 and a half stone when I was rowing but I shot up to 20 stone and have so far lost a stone.

It doesn't seem to have impacted on my golf, though. I played at the Alfred Dunhill Links the other week alongside a young pro on the European Tour called Chris Wood who, the last time I looked, was ranked 38^th. I played some of the best shots of my life both on the Old Course at St Andrews , and at Kingsbarns, although my old rowing partner Matt Pinsent did better as a team, just missing the cut. There's still a competitive edge there between us both, believe me.

Elsewhere I'm involved in a number of projects, notably Comic Relief, of which I am a trustee. I helped set up Sport Relief and I've been on a couple of trips recently to South Africa and Zambia , hit hard by aids and very humbling to witness. I've also seen some of the projects we're involved with in the UK, such as the Bridge Project in London , which provides safehouses for victims of bullying.

On top of this I'm an ambassador for a number of other projects, such as the My Place Scheme in which kids are encouraged and funded by Government to have their say and even give presentations in terms of the design and structure of facilities, the VISA mentoring programme for 2012 athletes, and a role looking at the legacy of 2012. Then there's my own clothing brand, "FiveG," in which items of clothing are made with fair-trade cotton and sold in Debenhams. With all this, plus my motivational speaking and my TV punditry role with the BBC, life remains incredibly fulfilling.

So much so, in fact, that I can make you a promise I once broke, but never will again. You won't be seeing me back in a boat, so there's no need to shoot me!

"Inspired" is out now, published by Headline.

Lawrence Dallaglio

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

So, where on earth do I start? It's been sixteen months since I last played a competitive game of rugby, the Premiership final in which Wasps beat Leicester and, apart from the "Help for Heroes" match at Twickenham, I've not stepped on a rugby pitch since. People may wonder if there is life after rugby. Well, I don't think I've ever been busier and although nothing will ever replace the buzz of waking up in the morning knowing you will be playing the great game that day, my life is packed with a wealth of opportunities impossible to forge whilst playing.

My mother, Eileen, passed away last December after a courageous battle with cancer. Thankfully I was able to spend a great deal of time with her in the last few months with my playing days behind me and losing such a powerful part of my life has inspired me in so many ways to get on and do things.

First and foremost is the creation of the Dallaglio Foundation which aims to raise as much funding as possible in conjunction with Cancer Research UK for its new Clinical Fellows programme at Centres of Excellence across the UK. There is an exclusive party on November 8th called "8Rocks" for this purpose held in Battersea Park where the guests will be royally entertained by some top bands and entertainers.

Then, in February, the Dallaglio Slam bike ride takes place, in which Ian Botham and myself, with many others, will ride bikes from Rome to Nice, to Paris, to Twickenham, to Cardiff, Dublin and finally Edinburgh to coincide with England's Six Nations rugby internationals, where we hope to raise at least £1 million. We have teamed up with the BBC's Sport Relief for this and all monies will be split equally between the Foundation, which will be making donations to Help for Heroes, Debra, Leukaemia and the PRA/RFU Benevolent Fund, and Sport Relief. It should be interesting and probably challenging to be riding beside Mr I. T. Botham each day. We bumped into each other on the first day of the Lords Ashes test and, over a couple of bottles of wine, we came up with this idea. What he has achieved for Leukaemia is nothing short of a miracle and if the Dallaglio Foundation can achieve anything like Ian has I'd be delighted.
I'd like to add at this juncture that Prince Harry has emerged as a true friend and supporter. He gets a terribly bad press but I discovered that he took it upon himself to visit my mother towards the end of her life and spent two hours sitting alone by her bedside. I knew nothing about this until long after he had gone.

I'm happy to say that the Dallagio Foundation is the official charity for London Wasps for the next two years and it is promoted on the backs of every jersey worn by the players. I'm copping a bit of stick for this as the players are trying to see the back of me but these days it's the only chance I've got of seeing the name on a Wasps jersey! My mother was a well-known character, shall we say, at Wasps games, and this is entirely fitting.
I'm a board member at the club I played rugby for 20 years at and my role is to help get things right off the pitch. Don't worry, I'm letting the boys get on with playing the game and, even though one day I do see myself becoming some kind of coach, for the time being I'm happy taking a breather from the game.
I've shrunk a little since my fighting days, and it's a pleasure not to be carrying so many aches and pains every weekend any more. I'm keeping the fitness up, especially when it comes to cycling, but as you are discovering, I don't appear to have much time.

And that's not even the half of it. My day job is working with The Listening Company, the UK's leading outsource call centre company, which I enjoy immensely. I was also involved in the successful 2015 Rugby World Cup bid which, of course, will now be staged in England. I can't tell you how proud I am about that. Likewise the RFU task force set up in the wake of the drugs and blood scandals over the summer that didn't do the great game any favours. After a month's investigations and deliberation we discovered that the game really is in good shape and that 99.9% of players and figures in rugby are proud custodians of the game. I'm an ambassador for Greene King and Emirates too, both having a rich relationship with rugby.
Away from rugby I was asked to join the Board of Commonwealth Games, England, by Sir Andrew Foster and my role here, alongside Dame Kelly Holmes, is to create a commercial vehicle for athletes support and help re-brand the Commonwealth Games for England for both the Delhi Games next year and Glasgow in 2014. Again, I'm really proud to be doing this because, as everyone knows, I'm a passionate Englishman and it's an honour to be asked to play a part in helping to achieve English success at the Commonwealth Games.
As everyone also knows, however, I'm also half-Italian, and this brings me on to what many may see as an unlikely venture from a rugby player, but one that is very natural from the Dallaglio family, and that is the creation, in conjunction with my father, Vincenzo, and the Italian food company Sacla, of the Dallaglio range of pasta sauces.
During my mother's illness, and then in the aftermath of her death, it brought myself and my Dad closer together. We've always been close, of course, but I had some proper time to spend with a man who lost someone he was married to for 40 years.

I was always brought up in an English household with English values. That came from my mother. But when it came to culture and food my Dad was boss and I recall many nights spent around the dinner table as a family, especially when my sister was alive. So I'm really proud to have been able to create a Dallaglio food brand, and I can tell you my Dad is even prouder. As for my Mum, she would have thought her face should have been on the jar, not ours, but she'd be very happy for her two boys, for sure. I don't know whether people will be cynical about this or not but I can tell you that my Dad comes from Asti in Piedmont, very close to where Sacla are, and he's been banging on to me for years to tour Italy and write a cook book. Instead we've created some sauces and in doing so we've realised a dream.

I have written a book, though, although it's not the cook book my Dad wanted. Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay can rest easy! Instead it's a book called "Rugby Tales" and it covers many of the great stories and anecdotes that were prevalent in rugby when I first started playing the game, the kind of incidents that are long gone from the professional, polished diamond that the game has become today. Players today are good guys and they have some fun, but it's different. I've very lucky to have played when I did, sampling both the amateur and professional aspects of the game. I got many players to provide stories for me and for each story a donation has been made to the PRA, which is why the PRA's Chairman and old Wasps teammate of mine, Damien Hopley, has helped me write the book, alongside the former Bath and England player, David Trick.

It was Mr Trick, for example, who took a few puffs from a cigarette during a Bath game. Imagine that now? There are too many stories to relate, but I'll finish with a couple. When the Lions were playing the New Zealand Maoris in 1989 captain Gavin Hastings told a predominantly English pack that they would stick the haka up the Maoris backsides. After 15 minutes the Lions assembled under the posts 20-0 down and Gavin asked if anyone had anything to say. Mike Teague, slightly detached from the rest, and in his thick west country burr, replied: "I've got something to say. When exactly are we going to stick the haka up their arses, then?" The Lions went on to win and as they scored the winning try someone threw a four-pack of beer on to the pitch. Brian Moore picked up a can, ripped open the tab and necked the whole lot down his throat before throwing the empty can back into the crowd who nearly rioted! Again, can you imagine any of that happening today?
Happy days then, and indeed happy, if busy, days now.

www.dallagliofoundation.com
"Rugby Tales" is published by Headline.
Dallaglio Pasta Sauces by Sacla.

Watch Lawrence's video shout to Sportsvibe here.

Billy Bowden

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

First things first. My real name is Brent but at school I was known as Billy, as in Billy the Kid or Billy Bunter, the latter because I was always eating and am lucky to be the sort of person who can eat like a horse and stay slim. The nickname stuck although my wife Jenny tends to call me Brent at home, especially if I go that one step too far!
Secondly, I had aspirations to go all the way as a player. I was holding a cricket bat at five years of age and dreamt of wearing the silver fern. By the age of 23 I had made it to Auckland's first team squad as a middle order batsman and off-spinner, a genuine all-rounder. But then arthritis struck, and my whole life changed.

It came out of nowhere. Literally, within days of having an aching body, it was attacking my left wrist, my elbows, one hand and my fingers. Arthritis is not a death sentence, but it is a life-term. I'm a million miles better than I was during the worst period, some five years between 1986 and 1991 when I was taking so many pain-killing drugs, but it is still there, and it still causes me pain.

When I was first diagnosed it was a terrible shock. You don’t expect to contract arthritis at that age. My reaction was positive, though. Aided by my Christian faith I knew I had to get up from the floor and deal with it. I had rheumatoid-osteoarthritis and that meant I had a lot of hard yards ahead of me. I lost most of my ability as a cricketer and when I knew I wouldn't be able to give 100% I had to give it up. But I remained passionate about the sport, and I knew New Zealand cricket at that time was looking for young umpires. As one door shut, another door opened.

In 1989-1990 I started umpiring. Six years later I officiated in my first ODI and then, three years after that, in 2000, my first test match, which was Australia v New Zealand. People always want to know where my rather unique signals derived from. The answer is a mixture of circumstance and my affliction. I'd been asked to umpire a game of "Max" cricket between New Zealand and England in 1997 at the Mount Smart stadium in Auckland. This was the fore-runner to Twenty-20 and Martin Crowe, the former Kiwi player who had put it all together, asked me to my let hair down in keeping with the atmosphere of the game. I hadn't rehearsed or thought up any of my signs. They just came to me on the night. And so that's where my signal for "6" was born. The crooked finger, delivered when I'm giving someone out, was the result of the arthritis. I can partially straighten it out now, but everyone's got used to the crooked finger, so I've kept it.

The point is, some people think I'm a show pony, or "Bozo the Clown," but those who know me realise I take the game seriously but also that I have a passion for life and live it to the full. Getting arthritis at 23 probably had something to do with that. I love cricket and I deeply respect the role of the umpire, but if I can bring a smile to anyone watching a game as well then that's fine by me. It's a tough job, as the players appreciate, and you do as much as you can in terms of preparation to always get it right. But somewhere, in some match, the ball's got your name on it and there's nothing you can do. Players may not be happy at the time if an error is made, but they respect the umpires all the same, and that's how it should be. By the way, I'm never happy when I get it wrong, either. All I can do is to be the best I can be, try hard to ensure it is a rare occurrence.

If anything, the players tend to make a joke out of it. I remember standing at square leg and being hit hard by a pull shot from Geraint Jones in early 2007 during the Ashes series. I pride myself on not being hit but my problem is I can't fall on my hands because my left wrist is locked straight from arthritis. Instead I try and roll on my shoulders. With this shot the ball just followed me and I knew, moments before impact, I had no chance. The fact that the ball hit my walkie-talkie strapped to my hip saved me. Four out of the eleven Aussie players came over to see how I was, which out of 11 players wasn't bad for a Kiwi umpire. When I saw Shane Warne, who was bowling, I told him I'd just saved him three runs. Shane replied: "Don't worry about the three runs, what about the 30 wickets you owe me."

Of course, when you are out in the middle you concentrate fully on your job. You may allow yourself a second to appreciate a great shot or catch, or a massive moment in the game which swings it one way or the other, but it is later that you take it all in. I can say it has been an honour and a privilege to have the best seat in the house and watch the likes of Warne and McGrath, Lara and Tendulkar, and all the modern greats go to work. As a former player you know a good shot when you see one, or a magnificent ball to remove a batsman.

I've been lucky to umpire in so many great occasions, but there are a few boxes left to tick. I've been fourth umpire for both the world cup finals, and the world Twenty20 final, so these are two games I'd be delighted to officiate from the middle in. I'll be umpiring back in New Zealand over our summer and your winter, as well as assessing and observing up-and-coming Kiwi umpires back home.

I'll be watching my beloved All Blacks on TV when they play the Northern Hemisphere nations in November as well and hoping that in this current four-year cycle in between world rugby cups, they don't achieve what they always have for over 20 years, namely be the best team in the world except for three weeks every four years when the world cup is staged. Of course, in 2011 the world cup is being held in my own country, so if we don't win this time it will be pretty disastrous. Or maybe it won't. It is, after all, only a game and if life has taught me anything, it is to always keep a perspective on everything.

Some people will feel I've been very unlucky in life. I couldn't agree less. Arthritis has been the making of me. I'll never know if I would have made it as a professional cricketer. But I do know that arthritis has not only made me the person that I am, but allowed me the privilege to be travelling the world to this day, long after my playing days would be over, and playing a small part in a sport I love so much. Arthritis has been good for me. It really has. And I never would have thought I'd be saying this 23 years ago when I realised my life would change forever.

Billy Bowden is a member of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and Match Referees, sponsored by Emirates Airlines – an official ICC Partner.

Ben Ainslie

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Ben Ainslie, CBE: Three-time Olympic gold medallist and captain of Team Origin, Britain’s America’s Cup boat.

I’ve been on a bit of a book launch tour over the past couple of weeks which has thrown up all kinds of surprises. The thing is, I’m so busy either preparing or competing for Olympics, or America’s Cup, or other off-shore races, that it’s rare for me ever to venture far from a boat, but the need to talk about my autobiography has meant a fortnight on land.

The tour took me to the launch in Falmouth, which is where it all began for me. The very first book I signed in the High Street booksellers was for a nine year old boy mad keen on sailing. He reminded me of myself when I was his age 23 years ago back in the same Cornish town. I hope he can go on to enjoy the sport, and be as successful, as I have managed to be.

I then took a sleeper train for the first time in my life from Truro to London. It seemed a good idea at the time, and I did have a nice compartment for myself, but I wouldn’t say it was the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had. Having been at another book signing in Canary Wharf I then pitched up for the Chris Evans show on Radio 2. If I’m honest I was a little nervous because I thought he’d take the mickey out of me and sailing but he was very nice, and appeared genuinely interested in what I’ve done, and in the forthcoming 2012 London Olympics. Other appearances included the Simon Mayo radio programme and a session at the Southampton Boat Show, which went very well. I wasn’t sure whether people would be interested in reading my story so far, so I was relieved and pleasantly surprised to see so many attending the various launches and signings.

I guess it’s an indication of how far my sport has come. Maybe even ten years ago people thought sailors were one of two kinds: the pipe-smoking, bearded, rum-swilling pirate type on the high seas, or the blazered, cravatte-wearing Henry sipping his gin on the Mediterranean or at Cowes. Now, thanks to the exploits of both the offshore sailors – Ellen Macarthur, Pete Goss, Alex Thomson, Mike Golding, Sam Davies, Dee Caffari and others – and the many Olympic medallists the public recognise it’s a serious sport played by serious people.

Talking of which I’ll be with Team Origin for the Louis Vuitton Series which starts next month in Nice where we should be racing against many of our America’s Cup rivals. Whether it ends up being 2011 or 2013, we’ll be ready and competitive for the America’s Cup. I’ve also enjoyed some other off-shore races this year, including winning the LA to Hawaii Transpac 09 in a 100-foot long Super Maxi and breaking the time record by over a day when we reached the island in just over five days. We then went on to win the Copa del Rey in a 72-foot Mini Maxi too.

It hasn’t been all sailing, though. It takes a lot, for example, for me to miss my Monday afternoon session of five-a-side football each week near my home in Lymington in the New Forest. I tend to play midfield which means that I struggle to get into the right places to score but, when I do, I tend to find the target. I never wear my favourite Chelsea shirt, complete with the name “Ainslie” on its back, though, because I’d be putting myself up for a fall. Fortunately, I have conscientious playing mates who have told me none of them want to be the one who breaks my leg and puts me out of the America’s Cup or trying to defend my Olympic title in Weymouth, in 2012.

Weymouth, incidentally, is very impressive as an Olympic site, and it’s also going to be vital for the re-generation of an area that needs a pick-me-up. One of the main remits for staging the Games is its legacy and while the Olympic Park in Stratford will do wonders for East London so, too, will be the sailing site for Weymouth and Portland Bill.
If I were to win my fourth gold medal I’d allow myself the time to do many of the things I’ve had to turn down since Beijing, like appearing on TV’s “Celebrity Mastermind.” I would have loved to have given it a go, with the life and times of JFK being my “specialist subject,” after I produced a history project on him and the Cuban missile crisis at college in Winchester.

I’d also go to more Formula One Grands Prix having been to the British GP last year at Silverstone, and the European GP in Valencia this year. Ironically I was chatting to Flavio Briatore in Valencia, trying to tempt him into getting into sailing. His response was that he felt he was already blowing too much of his money in Formula One. I guess now, after the Renault scandal and his dismissal, he may want to distance himself from sport a little.

Still, if the F1 teams had any sense, they should be queuing up to invite me. Last year I was a guest of McLaren-Mercedes as their driver, Lewis Hamilton, won in the rain. This time I was Brawn GP’s guest as their driver, Rubens Barrichello, also won. Jenson Button came 6th and came across as a really nice guy. I hope he manages to get over the line and become world champion in the next race or two.

Jenson and Rubens, and Lewis Hamilton, whom I got to know last year when he went sailing with me in Cowes, share a love of speed with me, only theirs is considerably quicker than mine and a lot drier too!

“Close to the Wind,” Ben Ainslie’s autobiography, is published by Yellow Jersey Press.

Marco Pierre White

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

If my first love is gastronomy, then a close second is sport, and by sport I mean just about every sport. I am a big football fan, I love my golf, my rugby, my athletics and, one way or another, I have been associated with all of them.

Up until the age of ten I was a Leeds United fan during the time when Leeds under Don Revie were arguably the greatest team in the country. Then, in December 1971, my Dad bought us a Subbuteo set and my brother said that he would be Leeds. When I asked my Dad who were the next best team in the country he answered Arsenal, and so I played as Arsenal. From that day on I’ve been a huge Gunners follower, although Leeds have always remained my “other” team.

When I was 13 years old I was looking for lost golf balls by the first tee at Sandmoor Golf Club in Leeds as a pair of lady players walked by. One of them asked if I would caddy for her and, at the end of the round, she asked me if I’d like to caddy for her husband that Sunday. On returning to the course on the Sunday, the same woman arrived with Don Revie beside her. She turned out to be Elsie Revie, Don’s wife. Now Revie in those days was a God in Leeds and I would end up caddying for him for quite a few rounds in exchange for some pocket money. I only spoke when spoken to, of course, but he was always very pleasant to me.

Elsie Revie’s playing friend, a Mrs Walker, asked me then if I’d go and caddy at Alwoodley Golf Club in Leeds, a beautiful course designed by the great course designer, Alistair MacKenzie. The club pro there was called Mr Duncan and, one day over a cup of tea in the shop, he told me his Dad invented the Ryder Cup. He made out that his father did not have much money so he met Samuel Ryder who sponsored the competition and put his name to the trophy. I didn’t really believe him but, only five years’ ago, I came across a “George Duncan” while trawling through a computer and he was Britain and Ireland’s first captain in the inaugural Ryder Cup.

You used to see all the great Leeds players around all the time in those days. Every Wednesday night, without fail, I’d bump into Eddie Gray in the chip shop with his missus. His brother Frank went out with a girl who lived opposite me. I’d go round to knock on the front doors of Peter Lorimer and Mick Jones to get their autographs. Imagine doing that now!

At around the same time I was being taught Geography and sport at school by my form tutor. His name was Ian McGeechan. That’s right, the man they call “Mr Lions” for his incredible record playing and coaching the British & Irish Lions rugby team. Of course we were all in awe of him at school, especially as, at the same time as he was teaching us, he was playing union for Headingley, Scotland and the Lions. I’d like to say I have fond memories of the man but, you know how it is when you look back at teachers at school. My main recollection of Mr McGeechan was of him whacking my backside with a slipper if I’d been naughty. It was really painful, too. Corporal punishment was accepted in those days at school. I’d be appalled if a teacher did that to my son but we’ve all moved on, thankfully, from those days. It was a long time ago but I’ve never forgotten it.

I had a pretty tough childhood because I was a young boy when my mother died and I was brought up on a council estate being teased for being half Italian. Luckily I was in the school football, rugby and cross country teams, and that seemed to halt the mocking somewhat. I have to thank sport for that. Incidentally, although I’m technically half-Italian, I always describe myself as an Englishman with an Italian mother. When England play Italy in football I’m right behind England.

My other sporting link as a child was the great friendship my father had with the famous northern jockey, Johnny Seagrave. Now I’m not massively into the horses, mainly because I’m not a gambler, so it’s ironic that my best sporting friend is Frankie Dettori, who co-owns our chain of restaurants called “Frankie’s” dotted around London. I go to the races to support Frankie who Lester Piggott described as the greatest flat racing jockey of all time. Mind you, the Gods were smiling down on our Frankie that day he won all seven races at Royal Ascot.

Through my cooking and my various restaurants over the years I’ve been privileged to meet a great many leading figures in sport. I met George Best a number of times. He was always shy, unassuming and charming. I shook hands with Bobby Moore, greeted Alan Ball, and got to know Mike Summerbee well. With a “Frankie’s” restaurant now at Stamford Bridge I know one or two Chelsea players, especially Frank Lampard who is a lovely man. Frank Warren’s another friend, a very protective promoter for his boxers, and a gentleman. I did an “Evening with Harry Redknapp” the other night for paying punters and Harry is a man I’d class as a true football man. I liked him very much, too. Soon I’m off to do a charity “Cook-Off” with some of the Liverpool players at Anfield. The only two sportsmen I haven’t met who I’d dearly love to are Muhammad Ali – the greatest sportsman of all time – and Pele, the second greatest.

Still, not even they can say they can match my sporting achievement from six years ago. I caught the biggest pike of the year in Britain for that year, a 31-pounder in a private estate in Oxfordshire. I’ve actually caught four pike over 30lbs, with my biggest weighing in at 32lbs in another year when someone else caught an even bigger one in Britain. Most people are happy if they catch a 20-pounder, so I consider myself very lucky to have caught so many monsters, just as I am to have had so many sporting experiences over the years with people I admire so very much.

“Frankie’s”: 3, Yeoman’s Row; Knightsbridge; London; SW3 2AL. 020 7590 9999.

Watch Marco's video shout to Sportsvibe here.

Alastair Cook

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0000

I had to sit out the world Twenty20 Cup in readiness for the Ashes series because, apparently, I don’t score quickly enough in this aspect of the game of cricket. That’s news to me, considering I hit an 80 off 50-odd balls for Essex the other week, an innings which included my first six in front of square for six years.

True, I struck a six in the West Indies in February, but that was of an off-spinner. This time it was off a seamer and James Foster, my county wicketkeeper who played for England in the Twenty20, reckons one every six years is not a bad ratio. Watch out for my next one – I’ll be 30 years old when it happens.

That six in the West Indies was reported to be my first ever test six, but that wasn’t true, either. I’d hit one in New Zealand the year before, although it was a top edge off Chris Martin that flew over the third man boundary. I was a little disappointed, to be honest, because I’d reached 2,500 runs in test and one day international cricket without striking a maximum, and I only had another thousand runs to score to break the all-time record.

The bottom line is that both and Andrew Strauss and I, who open the innings for England in test matches, are seen as the “Plinkers.” We have plenty of flash boys who like to give the ball a smack, like Ravi Bopara, Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood, but Straussy and I like to take the shine off the new ball for them, and “plink” the ball behind square as much as possible.

My nickname within the England team is “Chef,” which for those who are particularly slow, derives from my surname. I can state quite categorically that I am the best darts player in the team, with Jimmy Anderson second and Steve Harmison, when he’s in the team, third. Jimmy will refute this but he’s very hot and cold and when we had a darts premier league in India last year I topped the table. In one game I checked out with a 148, so there’s no real debate.

Although Graham Gooch, the former Essex and England batsman, is my all-time sporting hero and mentor, I’d like to add Terry “The Bull” Jenkins to that list, and also Colin Lloyd, a darts star born in Chelmsford. I’ve been to the Ally Pally a couple of times to watch the world championships, and also to a couple of Premier League matches and absolutely love the sport and the atmosphere it generates. I got to play against Lloyd in my local pub and took a leg off him a 117 check-out. After that, though, he destroyed me.

I hope I can play as well in the Ashes. My “blip” of getting out in the 30’s to 60’s seems to be over after I scored 160 in the second test against the West Indies in Durham. As blips go it wasn’t the worst blip in history, but it was still very frustrating having done all the hard work to get to that point, only to then repeatedly get out. I didn’t want to admit it at the time, but it became a mental issue for me. You can’t change a game with a 50, but you can with a 150.

I managed to score a double hundred against the Aussies when they were last over here in 2005 and I was playing for Essex. I was 19 at the time, and I passed the 200 mark just after tea on the first day. If that sounds good Mattie Hayden, who said the pitch was like surfing in a swimming pool, then went on to hit 150 before lunch.

Still, it’s a happy memory to take into the Ashes series, especially as I was involved in the 5-0 Ashes defeat two years ago down under. That taught me how they never let up, were totally ruthless in the way they played, and could win tests, as they did in Adelaide, from impossible positions.

This time it’s going to be a lot closer. There’s no such thing as a bad Australian cricket team, but this one comes to England without Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Hayden, Justin Langer and Adam Gilchrist, and they’ll take some replacing. It’s going to be a fantastic summer and I’d swap everything I’ve ever achieved in cricket just to hold that urn once.

If that happens there’s no danger of it all going to my head. There are aspects of my life that force my feet to stay on the ground. My girlfriend, for example, is a farmer, and the morning after that 2^nd test win over the Windies in Durham in which I scored that big hundred, I was down on the farm early helping out with the calves.

One of them decided to poo all down my leg. As I stood there, with the contents of a calf’s bowel all over my trousers, I realised that lifting my bat in recognition of passing first 100, and then 150, may have been just a couple of days before, but down on the farm it was a lifetime away. I’ll happily take more crap from a cow if it means I score more tons in the Ashes.

Alastair Cook was supporting the Standard Chartered Great City Race on July 16^th in London.

Rolf Harris

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0000

I have just been very honoured to be commissioned by HSBC to paint a unique canvas showcasing ten of Wimbledon ’s greatest champions in their prime. As a painter this represented an interesting challenge to me as it was done from photographs only.

In the past I have painted a number of famous sports people, including Nick Faldo and Greg Norman, although my most high-profile portrait was that of Her Majesty the Queen. This took place in Buckingham Palace and I must say the Queen put everyone at ease by chatting away as if we’d been friends for a century. After we met, I used photographs I took on the day to refer to as I painted, and my own notes and sketches.

This time, however, I was asked to paint Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Rod Laver, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Venus Williams, Billie Jean King, Steffi Graf and Suzanne Lenglen and each and every one of them proved to be unique because they all had different bodies or tennis strokes, from the sweet touches of Laver and King, to the coolness of Borg and Navratilova, and to the sheer muscle of Sampras and Williams.

I particularly enjoyed painting Suzanne Lenglen because it was taken from a sepia photograph, with her long white stockings and big white dress flowing in the air. Behind her, at courtside, stood the paparazzi of the day, in their suits and hats, and they all looked about 5 foot 1. Venus was fun, too, because from top to toe she is so full of muscles, especially in her legs and arms. She really is an impressive athlete.

My painting is a lot better than my tennis. I once played in a charity match with Sir Cliff and was completely appalling. The same can be said about my cricket, too, I’m afraid. I have played one game in my whole life, which may sound strange coming from an Aussie. It was at Bray Cricket Club in Berkshire and I agreed to play for Michael Parkinson’s team in a charity match.

When I came out to bat I discovered I was facing an English county fast bowler. I told him to go easy on me as I’d never played cricket before, but he just laughed at me and said: “Oh yes, an Australian who’s never played cricket?” He thought I was joking, and proceeded to send balls down at me at 180 mph. I never saw the balls as they rocketed past me, only heard the thud of each ball hitting the wicketkeeper’s gloves. With his sixth ball the bowler sent my centre stump flying and I cannot stress how relieved I was to be able to walk back to the pavilion uninjured and still in one piece. Needless to say, I shall be watching the Ashes with great interest this summer, and I hope that the best team wins. As long as it is played in the right way, in good spirit, then I will be happy.

Just in case you have decided I know nothing about sport, and should stick to my painting and music, I was fairly handy at swimming. In fact, back in 1946, I was the Australian backstroke junior champion, as well as the Western Australian State champion in both the backstroke and freestyle for many years over various distances. It was easy for me because I lived right next to the Swan River near Perth and spent every available minute swimming in my very own, local “pool.”

So why didn’t I carry it on? Why didn’t I try for 1948 Olympics in London , or the 1952 Games in Helsinki ? Well, I wasn’t committed enough to make a living out of swimming so I went on to do other things in life. Would I swap my wobble board, or my hit singles, or my paintings for a gold medal? Definitely not. I have absolutely no regrets at all, although, with half a swimmer’s eye, I have admired the likes of Mark Spitz, Ian Thorpe and Michael Phelps since.

Maybe they can be my next portraits. Mind you, they’ll have to be out of the pool. Water and chlorine do not mix well on a canvas!
Enjoy your sport.

Rolf Harris has produced a painting, commissioned by HSBC, celebrating some of the greatest Wimbledon champions. Vote for your greatest of all time at the HSBC Champions of Wimbledon website, www.wimbledon.org/hsbcchampions

Watch Rolf's video shout to Sportsvibe here.

Phil 'The Power' Taylor

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Last December everyone was saying I was all washed up and that I'd never become world champion ever again. I'd won the title 13 times, but not for the past three years but there was a reason for this. I was trying a new stance, new flights, new darts, and just about anything else new to improve myself as a darts player. But I was also fed up with all the pressure of always being expected to win. Losing any final was always seen as a major shock. At Christmas I thought all those who had written me off were a bunch of w***ers. Winning the world title for a 14th time, and getting back to being number one, was as sweet as the first time. And the good news is, I reckon I'm better now than ever.

Before I made the changes I was averageing 102 but now it's more like 115. People always ask me where I get my hunger from to keep on winning but to me it's a daft question. Any multiple winners in any sport think the same way. It's about being the best today, not yesterday, and I plan to remain the best for at least another five years. I think it all goes back to how I started out in the Potteries. In my early twenties I was working in a ceramics factory from 7.30 to 4.00, then dashing home, changing into overalls, and becoming a car mechanic, and every Thursday to Sunday night I'd also work behind a pub bar. I knew I possessed a natural talent at darts and so, in 1990, I gave up all the jobs and concentrated full-time on becoming a professional darts player.

That was the same year I became world champion for the first time. For the first four years I was known simply as "Phil Taylor from The Potteries," but the floor manager from Sky TV, Peter Judge, decided one day I needed a nickname. He was mulling over a few ideas when he trod on a CD on the floor and broke it. When he picked it up he saw it was a song called "The Power" by a band called Snap. "That's it," he shouted. "From now on you're "The Power." I told him to bog off but I warmed to it over the years and now almost everyone calls me by my nickname rather than by my real name, except for my mother who refers to me as "Philip" when I've done something wrong. There's not a day that passes when I don't remember my roots. In some respects I've been very lucky. When I started out as a professional darts player I had no idea that the sport would become as big as it has today. I hoped I'd make a living out of it. In 1990, for example, I won £24K for winning the world title. In fact, out of 50 tournaments I entered, I won 48 of them and my total prize winnings for the year was £76K which, of course, was a very decent salary for me, but nothing like it is today.

I'm very lucky in that I seemed to have maintained my popularity, which is unusual in Britain because everyone loves the underdog. I remember Steve Davis being the most unpopular sportsman in the country when he was winning the snooker world championship every year. As soon as he started to lose everyone loved him. He's decided to continue playing the game, even though he is not getting close to winning titles any more. I could not do that. When I quit - and I'll wake up one morning and just know it is time - I want to stop at the top. Peter Williams, Robbie's Dad, has told me that. He spent much of his life touring the country as a singer and entertainer, but one day he just knew the time had come.

Peter's like a second Dad to me, and Robbie's become one of my best mates, and not just because we're both Port Vale supporters, which hasn't been easy with Stoke doing so well in the Premiership. To be fair, I don't mind Stoke. In fact, went to the Britannia Stadium about ten times last season, where it is always a fantastic atmosphere. Their star striker, Ricardo Fuller, lives virtually next door to me, and the manager, Tony Pulis, lives just down the road.

My dream would be to see a Potteries Premiership derby between Stoke and Vale but both Robbie and I know it will never happen. You can forget about the rubbish you read in the newspapers about Rob. He's one of the most down to earth people you'll ever meet. He's desperate to beat me at darts, but it hasn't happened yet, and I don't think it ever will. He's not a bad player, but as I'll never throw a game just so that he can win, he knows it's very unlikely it's ever going to happen. I console him by telling him I'm a terrible singer! Robbie is up on me when it comes to Rage Buggy Racing, which we both love to do at his home near Swindon, where he has a track in the woods on his grounds. A Rage Buggy is like a go-kart with a metal frame and so far he and his mate Jonathan Wilkes are around six seconds faster than me on a circuit, which takes him around 2 minutes, 28 seconds. At the moment he has the advantage over me, especially at the corners, but I'm a fast learner and I believe that the next time we'll race I'll beat him. Rob won't be happy about that because, like me, he's very competitive, so he may have to find something else to challenge me at if I'm on top at darts and rage buggying. There's always karaoke. Now, if he can't beat me at that, then he's got real problems!

PDC World Championship Darts 2009 is available now on both Nintendo Wii and DS formats from all good game retailers.

Oscar 'Blade Runner' Pistorius

Mon, 18 May 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Having half killed myself a couple of months ago I must say it’s very nice to be alive and well and about to compete in the BT Paralympic World Cup in Manchester. I’ve just recovered from crashing my 23-foot speedboat into a pier hidden by a high river caused my heavy rain, the result being some broken ribs, having my jaw wired up and some titanium placed in my battered left eye socket.

To be honest the titanium is not all bad news. I am forever being stopped at airports when my prosthetic legs send the alarms off as I go through security. In fact, two years’ ago, I’d been shooting with some friends and then went to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam not knowing that there was some gun residue on my legs. That caused me to spend a couple of hours in a holding cell after the metal detectors went nuts. So, at least my eye might force the alarms to go off this time, and not my legs. It was getting so boring.

Like all good captains, I went down with my ship, and now that it has been repaired I’ve re-named it The Titanic, but I might be taking it a bit easier next time I decide to speed along swollen rivers.

Mind you, it’s going to be a while now as I have arrived in Europe for a summer of Paralympic and able-bodied competition, starting with the World Cup in Manchester, a fitting place to begin as it is the home of my beloved Manchester United. I got to know some of the players when they came down to South Africa for a pre-season tournament last year, especially Wayne Rooney who, despite what some people may think by his playing persona, is really a very nice and knowledgeable guy. Before you ask, I have been to Old Trafford on a few occasions as well, so I haven’t just jumped on their bandwagon. I’m also a big Lazio supporter, am a club member, have been to the Stadio Olympic a few times to see them play, and am good friends with Mark Fish, the South African football star who played in Rome for a while. It causes problems with my main sponsor, though. Mr Troncetti is the owner of both Pirelli and Inter Milan and he always gives me grief when we meet over my allegiance to Lazio.

I’ll be watching a lot of football next year back in South Africa when we host the World Cup. I’ve taken a look at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg and the Green Point stadium in Cape Town, both newly-built for the tournament, and they are looking magnificent. It is such an exciting time for South African sports fans, what with the IPL cricket taking place right now, the Confederations Cup next month and, best of all, the Springboks versus the British & Irish Lions. I’m going to be in Italy during the test series but there is a South African rugby pub in Milan and, trust me, I will be glue to the screen watching what I expect will be a very tight series of test matches.

Of course, I also have the small matter of competition myself. Most of last year was taken up with court cases and proving that my blades provide no advantage at all, and that my achievements are down to sheer hard work. I’m glad it happened because it ends the debate once and for all but it made it a tough time, especially with Beijing as well.

This year it is too much to expect to qualify for the able-bodied World Championships in Berlin, but I hope to make it into the 400 metres for next year’s Commonwealth Games in Delhi and then, of course, the London 2012 Games. I need to post a time of 45.95 seconds to make both the Commonwealths and the Olympics and, seeing that I was 0.27 seconds out last year, I’m very hopeful.

All I want to do now is to be seen as an athlete, and not a disabled athlete. I look back on my disability and realise that the challenges it has thrown up have helped to make me the person that I am, and I often wonder whether I would have achieved half of what I have had I not had my legs amputated. If someone offered me the chance now to have a pair of normal legs I really don’t think I’d take them. I am what I am, and I’m very happy about that.

I’m also happy that the next Olympics are in London. I’ve always felt very comfortable whenever I’m over in the UK and made to feel more than welcome. It’s fair to say that no country in the world has come close to supporting Paralympic sport compared to the UK and I and my fellow athletes are extremely grateful.

I have another link to the UK, though, and it comes in the form of my grandmother, who was born and bred in London. We have the most amazing electrical storms in South Africa and each time they strike you can always find my grandmother hiding under a blanket because it reminds her of the London blitz during the war. She is so cool.

Hopefully she won’t be hiding herself away when, rather than if, I run in 2012 in London. It will be a day I have spent all my life working towards.

Oscar is a BT Ambassador. Oscar will compete in the BT Paralympic World Cup on May 24 in Manchester. BT has become the title sponsor of the event for the next four years, demonstrating its long-term commitment to disability sport. Visit www.btparalympicworldcup.com

Watch Oscar's video shout to Sportsvibe here.

Tim Brabants: Olympic Kayak Gold and Bronze medallist from Beijing.

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

It’s been an interesting time since I won gold and bronze at the Olympic kayak events in Beijing, ranging from smart functions and TV appearances, to being asked probing questions by kids, receiving an MBE and getting my hands dirty working as a senior house officer in the accident and emergency department at the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham.

While most of my fellow Olympic medallists from last summer have enjoyed a prolonged spell of celebrity, or are back in training as part of their full-time commitment to their sport, I’m back doing the day job, which is just about everything imaginable at the second busiest A&E department in Europe. Strangely, Frankfurt is the busiest! I’ve been dealing with heart attacks and strokes, to sports injuries, and the odd few alcohol-related mishaps. It’s enjoyable because of the teamwork. Winning the K1 1000 metres gold in Beijing was obviously special, but it was only me out on the water. When you help a patient survive a near-death experience it is the result of some fantastic teamwork from the moment he or she arrives by ambulance and is rushed to resuscitation. It’s nothing like ER, or Holby City, which I occasionally watch. I wish it was a bit more like Scrubs, though, which I am addicted to. I’d love to be the equivalent of Dr Cox at the QMC, calling every male intern a girl’s name and having the time to be both conscientious and withering, but the reality is a quick transfer from one patient to the next.

The only real similarity is the humour which, in a hospitable environment, can sometimes seem dark, but is necessary as a protective blanket. My medical career has stuttered along for many years due to my sport, which has meant dropping my medical studies for training and competing many times. Without my career I believe I might have won an Olympic gold medal before Beijing, but I’d also have no career now and for when I finish after the London Olympics in 2012. It all means that the post-Beijing mayhem is now at an end, although it was fun while it lasted.

I appeared on The Jonathan Ross show and on A Question of Sport where, somehow, I managed to get a home question on canoeing wrong. Luckily my team of Matt Dawson and Sarah Webb, the Olympic gold medal-winning sailor, still managed to win, but it was of little thanks to me. I also kept myself competitive because I returned home from China in the best shape of my life and I didn’t want to throw away the opportunity. I learnt to row with Alan Campbell, the Northern Irish single sculler, and I’ll be competing in the Sark to Jersey race in July. I also entered two sprint triathlons and won, and came 10th in the Kingston Breakfast 8-mile run out of 400. During this time I visited a number of schools to give talks. Kids are always the best and worst interviewers because they’ll come out with anything. Some of the questions I had to field included: am I a millionaire (the answer is no, unfortunately), am I friends with Chris Hoy, what have I actually done, and do I know Rebecca Adlington? I certainly know Rebecca because I came second to her in both the East Midlands and Nottinghamshire sports personality of the year awards recently. I have no complaints because what she achieved in Beijing was phenomenal, but it comes to something when I win an Olympic gold medal and I can’t even win best sportsperson in my own county!

The other major event in my life post-Beijing was receiving an MBE from the Queen last week at Buckingham Palace. I was, it is fair to say, as nervous waiting to be greeted by Her Majesty, as I was sitting on the start line of the Olympic final. I suppose my biggest fear was doing a Mr Bean and accidentally head-butting her, but when I arrived at the Palace I soon realised this would be impossible as you stand six feet away and bow, before then moving towards her. Lewis Hamilton was there that day with me collecting an MBE for himself. I was very impressed with Lewis because he was not only very gracious in signing autographs for anyone who asked, but also took it upon himself to help a frail old lady around the rooms by latching her arm on to his. This was away from the cameras, and away from all his agents, advisors and entourage. It was just Lewis doing the decent thing. When your name is called you walk a few metres, then turn, face the Queen and bow using just your head, not your body. Then you advance towards her, stopping a foot away below a step that she stands on above you. You’ve already had a hook pinned on to your jacket so all she has to do is latch the medal on to it. An aide has whispered in her ear while you stand six feet away, so by the time you are face to face with her she is well-researched.

The Queen asked me if I had come to the Team GB post-Games function at the Palace. I told her this was the fourth visit since Beijing for various functions, but refrained from suggesting I should have spare room due to the frequency of my visits. The Queen then inquired if I was training or working. After I answered I shuffled backwards, bowed again and left the Palace to seek out a tapas bar in Mayfair to reflect on an extraordinary day and eat with my family. I’ve been to a couple of other functions, too, which were far more corporate and required an Olympic gold medallist to speak. One was with Weetabix, which resulted in me receiving 24 boxes of the breakfast cereal at my home. Another was with Cadbury’s. The result? Two big boxes of Wispa bars. If anyone knows of a Ferrari function I can speak at, please get in touch with me. You’ll find me at A&E at the QMC in Nottingham. Just ask for the Dr Cox wannabe! Thanks to Matrix Fitness Equipment and Gatorade Sports Drinks.

Lewis ‘Mad-Dog’ Moody

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Breaking my ankle last month was a massive blow after spending ten months out of rugby with a hip injury previously. I’d been playing well and was looking forward to having what I hoped would be a big role in the current Six Nations championships.
I was so upset about it that, momentarily, I even thought about quitting the sport. Luckily, there’s been a lot happening in the past few weeks off the field that have occupied my mind, some of which not exactly planned.
For a start my baby son, Dylan, who is fast approaching his first birthday, has had conjunctivitis, gastro-enteritis and tonsillitis in the past three weeks, and kindly handed on the conjunctivitis to me, and the tonsillitis to my wife, Annie, who was already looking after him and a husband who couldn’t do a thing for the first fortnight after the injury.

I’ve been able to do a few things playing rugby would normally prevent me from doing. I appeared on Soccer AM, for example, on Sky Sports, alongside my fellow injured openside flanker, Tom Rees, former football legend John Barnes, newsreader Dermot Murnaghan and the band, The View. I introduced myself to Dermot and he replied: “I know who you are, big man,” which is not the usual way people introduce themselves!

When I sat on the studio sofa Helen Chamberlain, the presenter, announced that Austin Healey had contacted the programme to warn them that I swear a lot. As it turned out the lead singer from The View used the “F” word in his first few words, made worse because in an otherwise indecipherable sentence due to his strong Scottish accent, the “F” word was the only one we all understood. I also got to take a penalty outside the studio which was not a bad effort considering I shot using my wrong, left foot, and did it whilst balancing on crutches. I’m not sure I could have fared any better with a mended right foot.

Danny Hipkiss, my fellow Leicester Tiger and England teammate, volunteered to be my chauffeur during the first two weeks of my injury but this did not exactly work out. Like everywhere else in the country south Leicestershire was hit by heavy snow and when Danny left his house to fetch me he managed to make 100 metres before becoming stuck in the snow. His car would be abandoned for the next two days.
During this period of recuperation I’ve been working on my testimonial year I share with Leicester and Ireland’s Geordan Murphy. We’ll be auctioning a meal, for example, cooked personally by Jean-Christophe Novelli, and we’ve also got a concert at Kilworth House where Lucie Silvas and Judy Tzuke (“Stay With Me Till Dawn”) will be performing. You may wonder how we managed to get two such accomplished and successful female singers, but it helps when the former is married to Geordan, and the latter is Annie’s step-mother.

Talking of concerts Red Bull, who sponsor me, took me to see Coldplay at The O2 Arena, which was brilliant. In fact, in the past nine months, I’ve also been a guest at the Red Bull Air Race in London, and at the British Grand Prix, where I watched the team race from the garage and the pits.

I’ve also been working with one of my chosen charities, Hope HIV, having had an eye-opening experience last year when I visited Kenya and met many HIV orphans. Closer to home I’ve been helping out at my old school, Oakham, with their Social Entrepreneurs Project.

I’ve let my hair down once since injury, and it led to an embarrassing conclusion which Annie reminds me on a daily basis. I’ve been a big fan of American Football for as long as I can remember, and was very excited to be hosting a small Superbowl Party last month at my house. Leon Lloyd, the former Leicester and England centre came along, as did Mr Hipkiss and Mitch Read, who used to play on the wing for the Tigers. Mitch and Leon turned up in full American football gear, helmets included, and produced a “play” on the street outside my front door. We had nachos and dips and hot dogs and Budweiser and started drinking games at certain points of the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals.
The next thing we knew it was morning. Leon, Danny and Mitch had passed out on beds upstairs, and I woke to find myself on the sofa. None of us had any idea who’d won, let alone witnessed the most exciting finale to a Superbowl ever.
We were, it is fair to say, feeling rather small as Annie rolled about laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation and Leon, Mitch and Danny sloped off home. After that episode I reckon it’s going to be a good thing to get back to playing rugby, and not just from a sporting point of view.

Watch Lewis' video shout to Sportsvibe here.