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Moreover, it gave young British athletes a huge incentive to strive to make it to those games and stand atop the podium in front of their home crowd.

One such athlete with those Olympic hopes is sixteen year-old Roberto Pavoni, from Shenfield.

The sacrifices that sportsmen and women have to make are huge and swimming is no exception. Roberto trains ten times a week, spending 18 hours in the pool and one hour in gym.

Until recently, he's had to juggle his school work demands with his swimming demands, getting up at five o'clock in the morning every day, going to school, doing his homework before more training in the evening.

So why does Roberto do it?

"The first question I always get asked is 'How do you manage to get up in the morning?'" He says.

Roberto is one of Britain's best young s

"The answer is really I don't know - I get on with it because I enjoy the rewards."

All that hard work is starting to pay off. Later this month, Roberto will be competing in his first international competition, at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Belgrade.

In the new year, he'll be heading to Brisbane, Australia, to spend two and a half years at a special British Swimming boarding school, where he'll be able to devote his time to developing his talent.

We've been talking to Roberto about his career so far and his hopes for the future. Click on the link below to hear more.

We'll be following Roberto's progress over the next five years and hopefully to the top step of that Olympic podium. Watch this space!