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Bring it on!

Trevor Baxter
14/ 8/2008

SALFORD-BASED triple gold medal hope Chris Hoy describes the Olympic experience as ‘a mixture of exhilaration and sheer terror’.

But when the track cycling legend begins his Beijing campaign tomorrow, Friday, August 15, Hoy insists that he will be fully prepared to meet the challenge.

"The Olympics are a special event and the pressures are unique," said the current world keirin and individual sprint champion. "The big test for any athlete is to perform under that pressure, to be able to step up when it counts – no excuses and no second chances.

"Personally, I draw upon my experiences from Athens to give me the confidence. I know that I have dealt with this pressure in the past and I can do it again.

"I have been to two Olympics (Sydney and Athens) and there is a special atmosphere when you walk into the Olympic arena on the day. There is a tension that tells you ‘this is what it is all about’. It’s a mixture of exhilaration and sheer terror."

Hoy won gold in the one kilometre time trial four years ago only to discover that the event was being scrapped for Beijing.

First up for the 32-year-old Scottish-born star is the team sprint. He will then battle for keirin gold this Saturday, August 16, before competing in the individual sprint on the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday providing that he goes all of the way to the final.

Meanwhile, Swinton judo star Michelle Rogers will be making up for lost time in Beijing when she takes part in the one-day women’s half heavyweight event today, Thursday, August 14.

It is 12 years since the 32-year-old former European Championship silver medallist made her Olympic debut in Atlanta. And Beijing has already been a happy hunting ground for the former Moorside High School pupil. She won gold at the 2001 World University Games in the Chinese capital.

Now based in Edinburgh, Rogers lives with her boyfriend and coach Steven Vidler.

Vidler said: "Michelle’s preparation could not have gone much better. Her spirits are good and she is looking at her fittest.

"The Olympics are here for her. It’s no longer a dream but a reality. Mind you, on her first day in the village she just said ‘it is surreal’."

Salford Quays-based rower Olivia Whitlam looks set to add an Olympic medal to last year’s World Under-23s Championship gold in the Beijing pairs final this Saturday, August 16.

She and Londoner Louise Reeve were disappointed not to qualify straight to the final when they finished third in their heat on Saturday.

But the 22-year-old from Daresbury and her fellow Brit finished second behind New Zealand in their repercharge on Tuesday morning.

Whitlam said: "We’ve got a couple of days to sharpen up so there’s more to come."