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A bustling, multicultural city with top class sporting facilities and home to some of the finest Olympic stars of the past, present and future. Don鈥檛 worry; you haven鈥檛 been accidentally redirected to the 大象传媒 London page. As I have discovered over the course of my summer here at 大象传媒 Coventry & Warwickshire, our local area has a prestigious Olympic history, and with the next Games after Beijing coming to London it has the chance to build upon that history and firmly cement it鈥檚 place as a breeding ground for sporting talent.

David in his running days

The list of Olympians who have come from Coventry and Warwickshire is endless; Basil Heatley, Angela Bailey, Neil Adams to name a few. I spoke to a local former athlete who can be considered an Olympic veteran having been to three Games in his career. David Moorcroft spoke proudly of his belief in the talent of his local area: 鈥淲e have the facilities, and we certainly have the talent, but what we need is the desire.鈥�

To hear what David and the rest of the interviewees had to say about the part Coventry and Warwickshire could play in London 2012, click on the audio link.

The desire that David mentioned was certainly not lacking at Athens 2004 in Coventry鈥檚 most successful Olympian at the Games, Marlon Devonish, who was part of the Great Britain 4x100 metres relay team that won the gold medal. Although Marlon will also be participating in Beijing, he is not the only athlete who will be representing Coventry and Warwickshire in China鈥檚 capital city.

Paralympic judo hopeful Sam Ingram, who is partially-sighted, has secured his place on the plane to Beijing, and believes that Rugby-born Neil Adams is a great role model to have as someone locally who has won a medal in judo at the Games: 鈥淣eil has definitely been an inspiration to me, even though I鈥檝e only met him a few times.鈥�

Kelly Sibley, local 2012 hopeful

Sam may be going to his first Paralympics next year, but already has his sights set firmly on 2012: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 my ultimate goal 鈥� London 2012 is where I want to be dominating my sport and winning my gold.鈥�

Hoping to follow in Marlon and Sam鈥檚 footsteps is Kelly Sibley. The number one women鈥檚 table-tennis player in the country honed her skills in Leamington and is currently engaged in an intense training regime to become the world鈥檚 number one player come 2012. Kelly told me of how the thought of her ultimate goal reinvigorates her during the tougher times: 鈥淭here are days when I might not be feeling 100 percent, but I just think of the Olympics coming to London and that keeps me going.鈥�

And finally, though she may only be 14 years old, Coventry鈥檚 Rowena Cole is aiming to fast-track her way to success in order to compete at London 2012. The fleet-footed young runner just missed out on a medal in the girl鈥檚 800m race at the recent UK School Games that were held in Rowena鈥檚 home city, but did play a crucial role in the West Midlands team winning the 4x300m silver medal. To get a flavour of what the UK School Games was like, plus some footage of Rowena in action and the London 2012 road show, click on the video link.

The success of the UK School Games鈥� has certainly thrust Coventry into the sporting limelight once again, with the city putting on an event that the youngsters participating in it will never forget. Meanwhile, with Sam, Kelly and Rowena carrying the torch (pun intended) for our local area in the future this will hopefully not be the last time Coventry and Warwickshire will be seen as a place where sport is at the forefront of the community.