ADVENTURE

Renaud Lavillenie
Country France
Sport Pole vault
Age 24
Height 5ft 9in 
Weight 10st 12lb
The story so far Burst onto the scene in 2009 by taking bronze at the World Championships, and the following year he won the European title. This year Lavillenie rocked the Paris Bercy stadium by defending his European indoor title with a vault of 6.03m, breaking the French record.
2012 ambition 'London will be my first Olympics — and I want to win a medal there.'
Main rivals 'Steven Hooker of Australia, Brad Walker of the USA and Malte Mohr of Germany.'
Training regime 'Eight times a week, for up to 18 hours: strength exercises in the morning, vaulting or running in the afternoon.' 
And if you weren't an athlete... 'I would be a sports teacher.'

Roberto Custodio
Country Brazil
Sport Boxing
Age 23
Height 5ft 11in
Weight 10st 1lb
The story so far The leading light of the boxing initiative Fight For Peace set up by Briton Luke Dowdney in the crime-ridden favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Custodio, who has won the Brazilian light welterweight title and is pushing for Olympic honours, was 13 when his father was murdered by drug traffickers. 'I realised over time that building a life for myself was my best revenge,' he said.
2012 ambition 'The goal is gold.'
Main rivals 'The Russians and the Cubans.'
Training regime 'I train for two and a half hours a day, six days a week. It's a mix of sparring, shadow boxing, running and calisthenics, which helps to build up muscle gradually. I avoid fatty foods and eat a diet high in protein.'
And if you weren't a boxer... 'I've never thought about anything other than boxing.'

Anna Meares
Country Australia
Sport Track cycling
Age 27
Height 5ft 5in
Weight 9st 12lb
The story so far Meares broke her neck in an accident at the World Cup in 2008, but recovered to take silver medal in the individual sprint behind her nemesis, Britain's Victoria Pendleton. The girl from Blackwater, Queensland, upped her game this year by reversing that order at the World Championships. It's going to be a big battle in the Velodrome.
2012 ambition 'I have one simple ambition: to surpass my previous Olympic achievements.'
Main rivals 'There will be 18 competitors on the day who have trained for the past two years and they all have a chance at winning a medal. Besides Pendleton, Guo Shuang of China will be hard to beat.'
Training regime 'I do a mixture of track and gym sessions most days. I also do alternate hot and cold sessions — one minute in a sauna, then one minute in an iced bath — it's -8°C!'
And if you weren't an athlete... 'I'd probably be a school teacher in art or sport.'

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