Winter Olympics 2010: Sebastian Coe warns 2012 athletes to accept extra pressure

By Simon Hart in Vancouver Published: 7:37PM GMT twenty-seven February 2010

Lighting the way: Seb Coe carries the flame at the Winter Olympic Games and warms to the charge of 2012 Photo: GETTY IMAGES

The issue of contestant vigour has dominated the Olympic bulletin in Vancouver after a little Canadian competitors complained that the country"s "Own the Podium" programme, that set a aim of in between twenty-eight and 34 home medals, had influenced their performances by over-burdening them with expectation.

Last week, Andy Hunt, the British Olympic Association arch executive, betrothed to sense the doctrine from Canada and strengthen British athletes in the run-up to 2012, citing the e.g. of Canadian Mellisa Hollingsworth crumpling underneath vigour in the structure of the body event. The World Cup hold up and strenuous bullion award prime accomplished a weeping fifth.

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"We"ve got to equivocate over-profiling athletes who are never going to win a award and we"ve got to strengthen athletes and get them to assimilate how to conflict underneath heated pressure," pronounced Hunt.

But Coe, the London 2012 chairman, shielded the meditative at the behind of the "Own the Podium" plan and insisted that vigour on home athletes, either in Vancouver or in London, was destined and unavoidable.

"Canada had never won a bullion award on made at home dirt so of march they"re going to wish to have certain that they have got a little critical home-town performances," he said.

"I"ve listened people contend that this has put the athletes underneath pressure. Let"s get genuine here. If you are competing in a Games in your own behind yard, you are not going to shun the pressure.

"It doesn"t make a difference either you have an "Own the Podium" programme or you censor your athletes afar in holding camps, there is an combined pressure.

"As far as 2012 goes, I think intelligent athletes, intelligent coaches and intelligent ruling bodies will be scheming right right away for that additional grade of expectation." Coe believes the vigour of competing at home will be homogeneous by the value of being means to live and sight in informed environments right up to the begin of the Games.

But he refuses to fool around down the turn of expectancy that will be roving on Team GB competitors. On the contrary, he insists British athletes contingency accept their shortcoming and broach on the hundreds of millions of pounds value of open investment that has been pumped in to their 2012 preparations.

As in Canada, where the country"s largest ever bullion award transport has sparked a call of patriotism, Coe wants to see big British performances in London galvanize the open and enthuse the subsequent generation.

"I don"t think we should be decorous about this," he said. "What do we want? We wish big British moments that inspire kids to take up those sports. If you don"t get medals and you don"t get purpose models, it"s a less impactful process.

"I"m flattering ease about this. I recognize we have an organising cabinet that will land this as a project, an Olympic Delivery Authority that will renovate a large piece of easterly London and make use of competition as the ignition but I"m additionally secular sufficient to know that a large cube of determination at the finish of this is going to be, how well did British performers do?

"For me, it"s not about first, fourth or eighth in the medals table, it"s about the capability to modify everybody one of those medals in to thousands some-more kids receiving up that sport.

"That"s the genuine plea and that"s because the capability to get those big British moments, the homogeneous of Kelly Holmes or Chris Hoy, is so important."

Britain"s hopes of adding to their award total finished in beating when short-track speed skater Jon Eley, the European china medallist, unsuccessful to reach the last of the 500m sprint. The 24-year-old out in the semis in fourth place.

To devalue an additional gloomy day for Britain, the four-man bobsleigh organisation crossed the finish line inverted after crashing on their second run.