The Olympic flame in Paris was extinguished just two weeks ago and all eyes are now on Los Angeles in four years.
A new campaign launched by UK Sport this week, Find Your Greatness, aims to uncover hidden Olympic talent, putting people on the path to the podium through a simple online fitness test.
All “active and sporty” UK citizens aged 16 to 24 are being encouraged to take part in the trials, via findyourgreatness.co.uk, in the hope that they could win a medal in an Olympic or Paralympic sport in California in 2028, or even Brisbane in 2032.
From zero to hero in four years? UK Sport has devised a performance test to encourage potential Olympians to try new activities, with the aim of getting them on the podium at Los Angeles 2028 (pictured: Dr. Dre performing on Venice Beach at the Paris 2024 closing ceremony)
Could you be as good as Keely? The test for future Olympians, which is open to 16- to 24-year-olds and involves recording scores after a series of simple activities and then uploading them online, is designed to help find a new generation of talent (pictured: Team GB’s Keely Hodgkinson winning the 800m final in Paris this summer)
MailOnline’s Poppy Gibson took the test in her local park… with surprising results
There is a wide range of disciplines in the pipeline, from BMX freestyle to weightlifting and shooting, and all the Paralympic sports, and if you manage to pass the initial test with flying colours, the regional trials will be held in October.
Former Team GB rower Dame Katherine Grainger, chair of UK Sport, said the idea behind Find Your Greatness is to tap into untapped potential.
She said: ‘I can’t wait to see the talent we’ll discover throughout this campaign and follow them on their journey to greatness.
“There is a lot of potential out there, we hope people have the drive and confidence to come forward and see how far they can go.”
How do you get tested? There’s a downloadable sheet that walks you through each activity, along with a basic equipment list, including things like a stopwatch (smartphones have them), a measuring tape (or a measuring app), and some equipment, including tennis balls, bean bags, and a hula hoop.
Following a warm-up, activities include standing long jump, plank, 1km time trial, 20m sprint, ball collection and throwing, and target shooting; the results are then scored.
After registering your progress, you can enter them online before October 14th and wait for that phone call (or not) to move on to the regional rounds.
So how did our writer, 24-year-old Poppy Atkinson Gibson, fare when she took on the first stage of the Olympic fitness test? Should Keely Hodgkinson be worried? We sent her out to a local park in the necessary gear to find out…
THE 20 METER RACE
POPPY’S TIME: 4.5 seconds
How hard can it be? 20 meters at full speed, the first challenge we faced, was surprisingly difficult, said Poppy.
Usain Bolt still holds the world record for the 100 metres, which he set at 9.58 seconds in 2009.
“I thought it couldn’t be that difficult, it’s only 20 metres and Usain Bolt had to run 100 metres, right? I was actually quite surprised by the effort required to run such a short distance, I think because I don’t do fast sprints regularly.
‘It was a good start, it released endorphins and I really enjoyed it. I clocked a time of 4.5 seconds, which I was quite impressed with, and then I remembered that Bolt’s world record for the 100m is 9.58 seconds, set in 2009 and still standing, which puts things into perspective a little.
“Would it have been faster with the professional starting blocks? I’m sure… but I enjoyed it and was very impressed with my time.”
THE LONG JUMP
POPPY DISTANCE: 1.7 meters (Grade 1)
‘Next up was the long jump. I did it from a standing start, but I felt like I was flying through the air when I jumped and I had high hopes. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed with the distance I covered – 1.7 metres doesn’t seem like much on a measuring tape!
‘I would definitely have preferred to do it the way the Olympians do and have some momentum beforehand; it seemed like a bigger challenge without that momentum.
THE TENNIS BALL THROW
POPPY DISTANCE: 1.1 meters
Poppy imagined throwing a tennis ball as far as she could; the trials are designed to get athletes to consider trying to excel in events they might not have been involved in before.
‘Another event I ended up feeling disappointed with! I wasn’t a great shot putter at school, but when I saw the distance I ran I was quite surprised.
“I think when you have a tape measure and you’re not just messing around with friends or family, you take it a lot more seriously and it seemed a lot harder.”
SHOOTING PRACTICE
POPPY’S RESULT: 9/10
Shooting practice turned out to be one of our MailOnline writers’ top achievements, with 9/10
‘The target – a patch of grass – was only three metres away, but I was impressed with how well I managed to perform this activity.
“I used the exact same throw I had made in the previous event, but this time I managed to get much further and to the target. This time it lifted my spirits and left me with the feeling that maybe I can reach a higher position.”
THE 1KM RACE
POPPY’S TIME: 7m 40 (Grade 1)
‘On paper, this looked really easy and I thought I could do it in a couple of minutes, not taking into account what a normal time would be. It ended up being one of the toughest challenges. I’m not someone who runs regularly, I don’t run 5km or anything like that, and I had forgotten how much 1km is.
“Watching the metres go by so slowly was demoralising, but when I got to the finish line, I felt a runner’s euphoria and that I had achieved something. It made me think that I could run faster and that, as a result, I might take running more seriously. (Ultimately) I enjoyed this challenge.”
THE BOARD
POPPY’S WAITING TIME: 1m 19 (Grade 4)
Steely: Poppy photographed herself holding the plank, later saying she was amazed at how long, over a minute, she managed to hold the position.
No pain, no gain: Although the tests left her a little sore afterwards
‘This is the test of strength and I exceeded my own expectations. I was able to hold on for 1 minute and 19 seconds. I definitely felt it afterwards – my torso and ribs were sore.
‘I had no idea I could do that before and will probably incorporate it into my workout regimen in the future.
POPPY’S VERDICT: I’m not going to LA in 2028… but I had a lot of fun doing it!
Endorphins, a place in Los Angeles 2028? Less likely, but Poppy said the tests were a lot of fun and could motivate those who score well to compete for gold.
‘I think taking the Find Your Greatness test made me realize that with practice I could definitely get better at all of these things; it also pushed me out of my comfort zone.
‘Even though it was fun overall, I felt silly doing it, but not in a conscious way. Even though I wasn’t very good at it, measuring it made me feel more competitive. It made me want to try it again, but with different techniques.
‘If you’re already an athlete, I can see where it would put you on the path of wanting to be competitive and branch out to try things you wouldn’t normally do.
The hope is that these trials will find potential Olympians. I don’t think I’ll be on the podium in Los Angeles 2028… but I got a huge endorphin rush from doing them, and trying more diverse activities will make my own training more satisfying.
