大象传媒

At least two of Britain's gold medal hopes for Beijing started out in completely different sports and you could follow their path to glory in 2012!

Of course it's not as easy as that but the UK's sporting authorities are keen to open up a new route to the top of the Olympic podium.

Fresh on the heels of and comes Girls4Gold, a mass recruitment drive for young women as another plank in Team GB's aim to finish fourth in the medal table in London in four years' time.

This isn't about finding people who are good at their chosen sport and pushing them to the top. It's about finding people who are already good at one sport but might be better at another.

Rebecca Romero won Olympic silver as a rower in Athens (and, word has it, wasn't the best cyclist among the rowing squad in training) but moved to track cycling aged 26 after suffering a back injury and became a .

Annie Vernon started rowing at the age of 20 as part of the a similar talent identification programme - - and now has a seat in Romero's old boat the quadruple scull. (There is no word on her cycling ability but her Cornish pasties are apparently also of world class).

Over the last decade, Lottery funding and more integrated planning has made Britain far more successful in what my colleague Matt Slater calls the "sitting down sports" - cycling, canoeing, rowing and sailing.

But cyclist - one of the famous faces at the launch of Girls4Gold - told me why the programmes are still needed despite Britain's recent success.

"There's still not as much strength in depth in cycling - let alone other sports - that we would like," she said.

"Obviously Great Britain would like to head into 2012 with the strongest team they've ever had, and the most medal opportunities.

"We're looking for regional and county-level athletes in any sport - people who enjoy sport, are competitive, powerful and looking for a challenge."

Bob skeleton - the Winter Olympic event which (a former hurdler) two years ago - and modern pentathlon are also in the sights of Girls4Gold.

Any idea where your is? And how confident would you feel strolling into your and asking the bloke in the blazer if you can give it a go?

How much easier is it to and attend a talent assessment day?

"I'm fortunate because my father was a cyclist," said Pendleton.

"But had he not been I'm not sure if I would have been a cyclist, let alone a track cyclist, and definitely not an elite-level athlete.

"People are aware of the sports but perhaps they don't know how to get involved or have the opportunity to get involved."

Approach this next question carefully, especially when putting it to an Olympic track cyclist with thighs like pistons, even over the phone.

If it's so, erm, easy to get involved in these sports and be successful, does that, erm, mean that competitors don't have to be very skilful?

"They will require skill but fortunately the facilities was have and the expertise mean we can really fast-track athletes into learning the skills and give them the best equipment," Pendleton replied, settling my nerves.

If you've ever seen rowers having a kick-about with a football, you will know the less diplomatic answer.