"I kept myself awake yesterday because I didn't want to wake up and it not be true," he says. "It's so, so surreal."

There'll be plenty of stories of triumph over adversity at London 2012, but I'm prepared to bet that there won't be many more inspiring.

When Behan was just 10, a non-cancerous tumour was discovered in his left leg. The operation to remove it went wrong and he was left in a wheelchair with severe nerve damage. His parents were told he might never walk again, let alone do gymnastics.

Kieran Behan overcame head injuries and defied the odds to make it into the London 2012 Olympic Games. Photo: Getty

Amazingly, he did both, but 15 months later, a fall in training put him back into the wheelchair.

"I was on the high bar, and it was a freak accident really - I slipped and landed the back of my head on the bar.

"I damaged something called the vestibular canal in my inner ear; basically it's the organ which controls balance, telling me whether I'm going left or right, up or down. I had to learn how to sit up in the hospital bed properly."

Back at home in Surrey with his Irish-born parents, Kieran, 22, began the long road to recovery yet again.

"My mum used to wheel me to the kitchen window and we'd sit watching traffic go past so I could get my head moving.

"We'd throw a ball against the wall to try to focus my eyes, and it took a long, long time. I was out of gymnastics for about three years."

You might have thought that the mental scars of his accident might have put Behan off such a precarious sport for life. Did he ever have flashbacks while balancing on the pommel horse, for example?

"I definitely don't like pommel horse, that's my weakest event! But it was a freak accident. The body is more capable than anyone knows, but your mind is the most powerful thing.

There's no point in being scared, because I love gymnastics - it's probably made me the person I am. If I didn't do gymnastics, maybe I'd still be in a wheelchair now."

The path to the Olympics still wasn't straightforward for Kieran. Anterior cruciate ligament damage to both his knees in the space of a year meant his first full season as a senior gymnast was 2011 - a season in which he was crowned World Cup Series floor champion, and in which he won the chance to qualify for London 2012 at the O2.

When the news came through that he'd done it, his mum was the first person he called.

"I was with my coach, and we put her on speakerphone, and we were all just giggling and shouting and crying. And it means so much to everyone back in Ireland, too."

It's a remarkable tale for a gymnast who, up to now, has been entirely self-funded. His club, Tolworth in Surrey, has sold cakes and bacon butties to their members in support of Behan, who's also worked for them as a cleaner, and for his dad as a building labourer to raise cash for his trips to competitions abroad.

But as 2012 gets underway, Kieran Behan feels the time has come for a change in his fortunes. His aspirations for the Olympics are simple: "To stay injury free! And just get there and enjoy it, it may never come round again. Just to have got there shows that miracles do happen. I've definitely got a bit of the luck of the Irish now!"

The words of Clive Wheldon, father of IndyCar driver Dan, who died last month at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Dan Wheldon was just 33 years old.

But they could equally have been spoken about Marco Simoncelli, who died a week later at the Sepang MotoGP. Or Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, killed over one terrible weekend in San Marino in 1994.

Or Nodar Kumaritashvili, who lost his life in a training run for the luge competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

To reach the top at your sport demands incredible dedication and sacrifice - but should that sacrifice involve your own life?

Before my trip to Vancouver last year, I had the privilege of a bobsleigh run at Igls in Austria, piloted by top Team GB driver John Jackson.

During the summer, I was taken on a hair-raising drive around the TT course on the Isle of Man, in a car, happily for my nerves, rather than on the back of a bike, but still at speeds reaching 150 miles an hour.

The buzz on both occasions was incredible, but I was quite relieved when they were over.

For some special individuals, that buzz is like an addiction. For a BBC Radio 5 live sport special, we've spoken to some of those who've spent their lives close to the sporting edge.

When Sir Jackie Stewart was driving in Formula 1, between 1965-73, the chances of a racer who competed for five years being killed in a crash were two in three.

He lost many friends on the track, and he echoed the words of Clive Wheldon when he told me: "His father said, 'I know that Dan knew the risks and if he were to die, he said he would be dying in the circumstances that he most wanted to be part of, and that was driving a racing car. That's the excuse we all make to our families and to our close friends."

Professor Sid Watkins was a close friend of Ayrton Senna, and one of the first men on the scene after his fatal crash 17 years ago. That experience haunts him still.

"It was one of the worst weekends of my professional life. Niki Lauda said that God took his hand off Formula 1 that weekend."

Sir Jackie and Professor Watkins were both very active in campaigning for Formula 1 to be made safer, and no F1 driver has died racing since those black days in San Marino.

Safety was also hugely improved in the boxing ring following the terrible head injuries sustained by Michael Watson in his fight with Chris Eubank twenty years ago. But again, no sport which inflicts repeated blows to the head can be totally risk-free.

In 1994, Bradley Stone died despite walking away, seemingly unaffected, from a bout against Richie Wenton. A few hours later he was in a coma from which he never emerged. Wenton told me he will never escape the sense of responsibility for Stone's death.

"It's something that you've done, not anyone else, not the referee, not the corner men, not the trainers," he said.

"It was a complete and utter accident, but it never goes away - that cloud is always there. Even on my death bed that cloud will still be there."

Five-time Olympian Mary King broke her neck in 2001 while exercising horses at her home but less than a year later, she was back competing at the top in three-day eventing.

The statistics in the sport look terrifying - according to one report, between 1997 and 2008, 37 riders died as a result of injuries sustained in the cross-country phase, covering all levels of the sport from grass-roots upwards.

But for King, the love of what she does outweighs the risks, and she told me she'd be delighted if her 15-year-old daughter Emily, already a promising eventer, emulates her achievements in the future.

Emily has already had her fair share of injuries, fracturing her pelvis in a fall in May last year.

It's an intriguing question whether women - and particularly mothers - are judged differently for pursuing risky sports.

After the death of Kumaratishvili in Whistler last year, British skeleton silver medalist Shelley Rudman was asked whether her attitude to her event had changed since the birth of her daughter, Ella. She was quick to point out that no-one had asked similar questions to her partner, fellow GB slider (and Ella's father) Kristan Bromley.

So is it acceptable for athletes to put their lives at risk in the name of sport - and for the entertainment of the rest of us? If you remove the danger, do you also remove the excitement?

In these days when money often seems to be the main motivating force in professional sport and loyalty is in short supply, it's rare to come across a story like that of Pat Tillman. But then Pat Tillman was no ordinary sports star.

This is a man who turned his back on a multi-million dollar contract in one of the richest sports in the world to serve his country - and paid the ultimate price.

I travelled to Tillman's home city, San Jose in Southern California, to meet members of his family, friends and close colleagues, and came away with one regret - that I never had the chance to meet the man himself.

Pat Tillman bears down on an opponent during his NFL career. Photo: Getty

Ten years ago, Pat Tillman was playing safety for the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL - not the tallest, at 5ft 11in, but one of the most dynamic defensive players in the league. Watch video footage of him in action and you'll see him flying into tackles with no sense of fear, or charging downfield with his mane of blond hair flopping underneath his helmet.

He was a star of his college football team at Arizona State University when Frank Bauer, who would become his agent, first met him.

Bauer told me he'd never met anyone quite like Pat. "Here's this kid in shorts and flip flops, with long blond hair - the kind of person you think will become a doctor rather than a football player," said Bauer. "When I met him, he showed up on a bicycle. Most players show up in a brand new car, thinking they're going to make it in the NFL. But not Pat."

It was touch and go whether Tillman made it as a pro footballer at all - he was one of the last players to be picked in the 1998 NFL draft, by the Cardinals, and he remained loyal to them throughout his career, at one point turning down a contract from the St Louis Rams which would have nearly quadrupled his annual salary.

But the life of Pat Tillman and his family changed for ever on 11 September 2001. Watching the shocking pictures from New York and Washington, Tillman was deeply affected. A day later, he gave a TV interview:

"My great-grandfather was at Pearl Harbour and a lot of my family have gone and fought in wars. I really haven't done a damn thing as far as laying myself on the line is concerned. So I have a great deal of respect for those who have and for what the flag stands for."

It was to be the last interview he would ever give.

At the end of the 2001 season, Tillman turned down a hugely improved contract from the Cardinals. The following June, a month after marrying his high school sweetheart Marie, he and his brother Kevin enlisted in the US Army.

Typically of Tillman, he didn't go for the easy option. He joined the elite Army Rangers. As a number of people told me, they wouldn't have been surprised to hear that Tillman had single-handedly tracked down and captured Osama Bin Laden himself.

And Pat certainly wasn't doing it as an ego trip. Numerous requests for media appearances were turned down by his agent.

"We had everybody contact us - Oprah, Larry King, Good Morning America - wanting Pat to be on the show," Bauer says. "He would call back and say - 'Frank, you need to handle this. There are thousands of men and women in armed service - what makes me so special?' Then I had a call from the Pentagon. They said, this is a great thing that Pat Tillman has done. We want to keep him out of harm's way. We'd like to have him travel throughout Europe and the Middle East and encourage our armed forces. Pat said, 'I'm not doing that, I don't want to prostitute myself!'"

There was no question of Pat Tillman being turned into a poster boy for the Pentagon, and he was reportedly unhappy to be sent to Iraq in 2003 - this wasn't the war he had signed up for. When he returned from Iraq, he was given the chance to leave his army contract early, having served in a war zone. But again Tillman turned his back on the prosperity and comfort of a football career, and in 2004 he was finally deployed to Afghanistan.

On 22 April 2004, his family received the news they'd dreaded. At the age of 27, Pat Tillman was dead.

Pat's platoon had been travelling through the mountainous Khost province, near the border with Pakistan. Following orders from above, the unit was split into two, with Pat in the forward party and his brother Kevin in the second group, a few minutes behind. As the second group moved through a canyon, they were ambushed from above. Pat and two other soldiers left their vehicles and doubled back onto the hillside to defend their comrades, but as the besieged convoy emerged into daylight, Pat and his men came under heavy fire, and he was shot three times in the head.

In the days which followed, the Army rushed to grant posthumous decorations. The citation which accompanied the Silver Star approved by Lt Gen Stanley McChrystal included the phrase "in the line of devastating enemy fire".

Back in San Jose, a memorial service was held in the Municipal Rose Garden, attended by luminaries from the NFL and with speakers including future presidential candidate Senator John McCain and the then wife of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver.

There was a stark contrast between the words of those who knew Pat personally and of those who didn't. Before he spoke, his brother-in-law and close friend Alex Garwood poured a pint of Guinness and placed it on the lectern. Younger brother Richard thanked those who'd spoken but said: "Pat would want me to say this, he's not with God, he's dead. He's not religious."

Less than a month later came the news that would devastate his family for a second time. The bullets that had killed Pat Tillman came not from a Taliban fighter, but, in the panic and confusion of the ambush, from one of his own men.

Gradually, as Mary pushed for the truth of what had happened to her son, more details emerged. It became clear that Tillman's death had become the subject of a major cover up. She discovered that the autopsy following his death hadn't been properly carried out, and that his body armour and his diary had been burnt before his body was repatriated, all against Army protocol.

In 2008, a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform report stated that its "investigation was frustrated by near universal lack of recall" among "senior officials at the White House" and the military. "It is clear that the Defense Department did not meet its most basic obligations in sharing accurate information with the families and with the American public".

That same year, Mary Tillman wrote a book about the devastating experience of hearing of her son's death, and she's been reluctant to be interviewed since then. It's not hard to imagine the pain she went through at that time. But she did agree to talk to us about his life and her attempts to find out the truth about how he died.

She said: "The hardest part is knowing he was trying to do the right thing, and that he was used...that was really hurtful. I hurt for him. And even the fact that he was turned into some kind of icon. Pat had so many good qualities, but he was a human being, and that was stripped from him."

The Pat Tillman Foundation was set up shortly after his death by his family, providing support and education for veterans and active servicemen and women. But his lasting legacy comes from the memories of those who knew and loved him best, including brother-in-law Alex Garwood, who said: "I love his thirst and desire to learn, to improve himself, to ask questions. The world was a better place with him in it - but particularly with him in it in your presence. He is one of the best people I've ever met. And he still is."

Some are predicted - hyped, even; others take you completely by surprise. They can be moments when everything goes perfectly right, or moments when everything goes horribly wrong.

As the one year countdown to London 2012 begins on 5 Live Sport this week, we've picked out eight of them to feature in a special programme.

We're calling it, "Moments Which Stopped the Nation".

Kelly Holmes wins double Olympic gold in Athens in 2004 Photo: Getty

Of course, there's Steve Redgrave in Sydney in 2000. As viewers and listeners at home cowered under their duvets and prayed, the man hailed in many quarters as Britain's greatest ever Olympian defied his ageing body and the fast-finishing Italians to secure his fifth title, 16 years after his first.

In Athens four years later, it was Kelly Holmes's last chance to fulfill her destiny. After so many near misses, she was actually fully fit at last - and fulfill it she did, not once, but twice. But as she cruised to victory in the 1500ms, four more proud Brits were oblivious.

The men's 4x100m relay squad were in the warm up room preparing for their final. As you'll hear from Darren Campbell on Tuesday night, the only thing on their mind was beating the mighty USA team. It turned into not just a moment, but a whole evening which stopped the nation.

When Mary Peters won her pentathlon gold in Munich in 1972, she not only stopped a nation, but united it. Protestants and Catholics in conflict-torn Northern Ireland came together to celebrate as she brought her medal home to Belfast.

We've moments of triumph then, but also of despair.

I remember on a warm evening in Athens waiting with a bunch of 5 Live colleagues in the Panathinaikon stadium for Paula Radcliffe. She was overwhelming favourite for the women's marathon - but she never got to the finish. Her friend Allison Curbishley will join us in the studio to tell us what went so wrong for Paula that day.

In 1992, Derek Redmond and his father Jim produced one of the most iconic images of the modern Olympics. Derek's hamstring popped half way through the 400m semi-final, and Jim's comforting paternal arm as he helped his stricken son to cross the finish line in front of the packed Barcelona crowd has become an illustration of the Olympic spirit, cited by Barack Obama in a speech endorsing Chicago's bid for the 2016 Games.

I visited the Redmonds in Northampton a couple of weeks ago and I also went to chat to Kay and Steve Adlington. They told me all about their double celebration - in Mansfield and Beijing - as their teenage daughter Rebecca became a national heroine, the most successful British swimmer in a century.

And we'll recall two great track and field rivallries, through the eyes of two people who shared the track on two memorable nights.

When Seb Coe and Steve Ovett staged the first of their epic battles in the 1980 Olympics, in the 800m, the other British runner in the race was Dave Warren. You'll hear how Ovett won the psychological battle in the warm-up room, as well as the physical battle on the track.

And when the eyes of the world focussed on two women, Zola Budd and Mary Decker, in the 3,000m at the LA Olympics, few were taking much notice of another British runner, Wendy Sly. Yet she was the one who would go on to take a silver medal in that race. She's been giving me her perspective on a confrontation which still causes controversy, and recalling her own Olympic triumph.

So we'll be remembering eight very special sporting moments which captivated the watching and listening public.

We'd love to know how you remember them - where were you, and what were you doing as history was being made?

And of course, in a two hour programme we won't have time to nominate every single stand-out point in our collective Olympic memories. So feel free to tell us which ones we've missed.

Moments Which Stopped the Nation is on 5Live Sport from 1900 BST on 26 July

Joy at the prospect of the greatest sporting show on earth being held in the UK? Concern at how much it was all going to cost? Or simply, as Paris was also in the running for the Games: "We beat the French!"?

For some, thoughts turned to the opening ceremony and the iconic moment when the cauldron is set ablaze.

And now that London 2012 is just over a year away, we can begin to ask: "Who should light the Olympic flame?"

Muhammad Ali prepares to light the Olympic flame at Atlanta in 1996. Photo: Getty Images

Some of the great and the good of sport have had this honour bestowed upon them over the years. Helsinki, in 1952, was the first to select a well-known athlete to light the cauldron - nine-time Olympic champion Paavo Nurmi.

Muhammad Ali in Atlanta, 44 years later, continued the tradition of famous Olympians bearing the torch on its final leg.

And who can forget the way Chinese gymnast Li Ning - the winner of six Olympic medals - 'ran' the torch to the top of the stadium in Beijing?

If sporting achievement is the criterion, there's only one candidate for 2012: Britain's five-time Olympic champion, Sir Steve Redgrave.

But Olympic success is only part of the history of lighting the flame.

Take Tokyo in 1964 - Yoshinori Sakai lit the cauldron that Games. Why? Because Sakai was born on the same day that the atom bomb exploded over his native Hiroshima.

And in Montreal in 1976, Stephane Prefontaine and Sandra Henderson were given the honour. Not household names, but two teenagers representing English and French Canada.

By that rationale, perhaps Daley Thompson is the right man for this job. For one thing, he is considered by many to be Britain's greatest-ever athlete, having won two decathlon golds, in 1980 and 1984.

But more than that, it is what Thompson represents to this multi-cultural nation that could make him the ideal candidate. Born to a Nigerian father and Scottish mother, he was raised in London - and couldn't you see him whistling along to the national anthem, as the flames rise high in the cauldron?

Then again, are Daley and Sir Steve still relevant to today's younger generation? At the Millennium Games in Sydney, in a tactical masterstroke, 400 metres runner Cathy Freeman was specifically chosen, so she could get used to being inside the Olympic Stadium. Freeman went from a hopeful to a hero just 10 days later, when, in a flash of green lycra, she became a champion. She remains the only person ever to light the cauldron and win a gold medal in the same Games.

So how about giving a helping hand to some of our current crop of would-be Freemans? Jessica Ennis, Christine Ohuruogu, Rebecca Adlington, Sir Chris Hoy or Tom Daley would all deserve the honour of providing the big moment at the opening ceremony.

Alternatively, what greater seal of approval is there to any Games than that of a Royal? Princess Anne participated in 1976 and she has always been a huge supporter of our Olympians. HRH was a part of the presentation that helped win the bid. And royals have previous form; Crown Prince Haakon of Norway opened the winter version in Lillehammer 17 years ago.

However, does the Princess Royal have that wow factor?

If it is an iconic sportsman you are after, look no further than David Beckham.

Becks appeared alongside Leona Lewis in Beijing, as the Olympic baton was passed from China to Britain, kicking footballs into the crowd. Plus, he has done this sort of this before - he accompanied six-year-old Kirsty Howard on the final leg of the Queen's baton relay at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester nine years ago.

But does Beckham - a footballer - really represent the Olympics?

As the song goes, there is nothing like a Dame - and Kelly Holmes embodies everything the Olympics is about. What more do you need on your CV than two golds at the same Games? In Athens, she was at the peak of physical prowess, but combined a steely determination to finally triumph after many years of adversity - isn't that the Olympic spirit in a nutshell?

Then again, perhaps it does not need to be an Olympian at all.

In Rome, 1960, organisers decided that the last torchbearer would be the winner of a junior cross country race. Giancarlo Peris - ironically an athlete of Greek descent - was the winner of that race and got his place in history.

Channelling the spirit of Peris - if you were watching the coverage of the historic day in Singapore when London won the bid, you will probably recall Amber Charles. She was the 14-year-old basketball player from Newham, who was the face of the bid. If London's Games are truly about youth and legacy, then maybe it should go to her?

However, if Barcelona is anything to go by, it does not necessarily matter who lights the flame, it is the manner in which it is done that is important. Antonio Rebollo was a Paralympic archer who had achieved moderate success over three Games, but once he shot that flaming arrow high into the Spanish sky in 1992, he became an icon.

Using that same idea, what greater way to say "thank you" for all that they do for our country, than to select a representative from the Armed Forces?

Finally, for what the Games could mean to this nation, maybe it should simply be the man who brought the Olympics to the capital? Lord Coe - or just plain old Seb, as he was when he won gold in Moscow and LA - lives and breathes 2012 and few could argue with his relevance.

Organisers face a difficult decision over the coming months. But on London Calling on BBC Radio 5 live Sport on 12 July, we are going to try to help them out a bit. We will attempt to come up with a shortlist of candidates who could light the flame. But we need your help...

Let us have your suggestions below and tune in on 12 July at 2000 BST to hear how your selection gets on.

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UPDATE Wed 13 July, 1245 BST:

Thanks for all your responses about who you think should light the Olympic flame in 2012 - on this blog, on twitter and by texting into 5 live sport's London Calling programme.

After getting hundreds of suggestions, our panel of Barry Davis, Matthew Syed, Boyd Hilton and Trevor Nelson managed to draw up a shortlist of six:

David Beckham, Dame Kelly Holmes, Sir Chris Hoy, Tom Daley, Sir Steve Redgrave, Daley Thompson

Now we want you to vote for who you think it should be.

For full details about how you can cast your vote and for full terms and conditions, go to the 5 live website.

Remember, this is just a bit of fun and may have no bearing on who eventually lights the flame - but Lord Coe did say he was listening to the show, so you never know!

Your choice will be announced on 5 live on 27 July, as Britain celebrates one year to go until the start of the London Olympics.

In my five summer Games so far, I've managed to glean at least a working knowledge of judo, shooting, fencing, gymnastics and modern pentathlon (to name just a few).

Clearly I'm never going to become an expert, but my aim is always to try and make unfamiliar sports accessible to an audience who only watches them once every four years, while at the same time not infuriating the cognoscenti who've devoted their lives to those sports, often without any recognition.

So for me, the road to 2012 began in earnest at the weekend, at Ponds Forge in Sheffield.

Synchronised Swimming. It's one of those sports which attracts a predictable response.
"What's with the nose-clips? And the lipstick? And the fixed smiles? It's an entertainment, not a sport, surely?"

All I can say, after my two days of watching some of the world's finest synchro swimmers, is that these are athletes who should be taken very seriously indeed.

As Britain's Commonwealth silver medallist Jenna Randall put it: "It's like running the 400 metres while holding your breath, and smiling at the same time."

Imagine floating upside down in the deep end of your local pool, for something like 40 seconds at a time. You're surrounded by seven other people, and you're having to scull with your hands and arms to stay in the same position. Now propel yourself upwards in the water, so your legs rise above the surface in a perfect extension. Your team-mates are doing exactly the same moves at the same time. Then spin downwards so your feet disappear under the water in perfect synchronisation.

It's just one of the many sequences which the top teams perform as a matter of course. When the swimmers surface, they may have just a few seconds to grab a breath, before plunging down again, and maybe using the remaining power in their legs to push a team-mate above the water to do a perfect back-flip.

They can't touch the bottom of the pool at any time and they have to keep their eyes open so they can stay synchronised with the others (no goggles allowed in the performance). Team routines last for around four minutes - and it has to look effortless (hence the smiling).

And if you're still questioning the nose-clips, just imagine doing all that with a load of chlorinated water sloshing around your sinuses.

The skill, stamina and grace of the top synchro swimmers speaks for itself. Sheffield was lucky at the weekend to host the top two nations in the world at the moment, Russia and Spain. Their dedication to the sport is astounding - the Spanish train for 12 hours a day, every day, and if their coaches feel their standards are slipping, they can end up repeating their gruelling four-minute team performance up to 14 times in a row.

It's hard to compete with such commitment, but Britain's synchro team are making huge strides. Based at the Army barracks at Aldershot, under National Performance Director Biz Price, and helped by funding from the Lottery and British Swimming's sponsors British Gas, Randall and duet partner Olivia Allison clinched silver in last year's Commonwealth Games.

The weekend in Sheffield brought fifth placed finishes for Team GB in the duet and team events, against their top European rivals. And Sunday was rounded off by bronze in the team combination, not an Olympic discipline, but cause for celebration nonetheless.

Canada, China and Japan will be the major nations added to the mix for London 2012, but a top-six finish is a realistic target - a huge improvement on 14th in Beijing.

There will always be some who will argue that any event which includes artistic impression in its scoring is not a real sport, but I would defy anyone to watch these dynamic, dedicated athletes in action and dare to claim they are anything other than real sportswomen.

Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Athens and Beijing have all given me memories I will treasure for ever, but, if I've got one tiny regret about my times there, it's this.

I wasn't at home to share them with everyone in the UK.

When friends talk about waiting up till the early hours of the morning to watch Steve Redgrave (now Sir Steve) win his fifth gold on BBC TV (while listening to BBC Radio 5 live's commentary, of course), I actually envy them. I was in Sydney, in a half-empty cafe close to Bondi Beach, but it was mid-morning and the few Aussies around me were bemused by the lone Brit leaping around on her own.

I can only imagine the joy back at home when Kelly Holmes won her second gold in Athens. The Greek taverna where I was having my tenth souvlaki of the week was distinctly underwhelmed.

The organisers of London 2012 want to send out a message that these are Games for the whole of the UK.

Some are sporting, some are cultural. The vast majority are in London of course, centred on the Olympic Park. Then there are the main venues away from the capital, Weymouth and Portland for the sailing, Eton Dorney for the rowing, the mountain bike course at Hadleigh Park in Essex, the Lee Valley White Water Centre, and the football grounds - Hampden Park, Old Trafford, the Millennium Stadium, St James' Park and the City of Coventry Stadium.

But look further afield and you'll find street football in Daventry, a celebration of Olympic and Paralympic sports in Fazakerley in Liverpool, and news that the Malawi Olympic team will have their training base at the University of Gloucestershire.

This Thursday we'll be taking our regular 5 live London Calling programme on the road, to see whether sports fans in the north west are buying into the Olympic spirit, with fewer than 500 days to go.

Joining me at the Epstein Theatre in Liverpool will be Olympic bronze medal-winning high jumper Steve Smith, Michael Rimmer, who won European silver in the 800 metres last year, and young track cyclist Becky James, a double Commonwealth medallist from Delhi.

Steve and Michael will be sharing their experiences of Atlanta and Beijing, and Michael and Becky will fill us in on their preparations for next year in London.

Southport-born Michael Rimmer will carry some local Merseyside hopes for 2012. Picture: Getty Images

We'll be hearing about the Olympic stars and great moments which have inspired them in the past. And Rob Young, who's the London 2012 co-ordinator for the north west, will be telling us about the local companies who've won contracts linked to the Games.

We'll also find out why one of the most star-studded Olympic teams, the Australian swimmers, have chosen to base themselves in Manchester before competition begins.

It's a week when the eyes of Liverpool turn to Aintree and one of the highlights of the year, the Grand National. Scousers are as passionate about their sport as anyone in the country and I'm looking forward to hearing what London 2012 means to them - and whether they'll be throwing extra support behind Liverpool's Olympic stars, like Michael Rimmer, gymnast Beth Tweddle and boxer Natasha Jones.

But I'm sure our guests will have to win over some sceptics, too.

Whenever we do a phone in on 5 live about the Olympics, there are a few callers who'll tell us that they're indifferent, or even angry, about the Games coming to Britain.

They claim that it's yet another example of London getting everything, that their part of the country will receive no benefit from the Games, and that they've no intention of paying out for travel, tickets and hotel rooms.

But I hope there'll be plenty in the audience who'll be planning to be part of what, for most of us, is a once in a lifetime experience.

Wherever I've been on my Olympic travels - Beijing, Sydney, Atlanta - I've seen Brits wandering around draped in the Union flag.

I believe that in this country, and all over the country, we celebrate sport better than anywhere else in the world. And that's one of the reasons why I can't wait for the Olympics to come home.

Eleanor and her guests will be broadcasting live from the Epstein Theatre in Liverpool from 1900-2100 BST on Thursday on BBC Radio 5 live. Details are how to get tickets can be found at https://nontonwae.pages.dev/5live/liverpool/

During his years as one of the most respected players in world rugby union, his towering frame and ferocious frown were enough to strike fear into opponents, team-mates who stepped out of line, and hapless journalists.

The full force of the famous eyebrows can wither at 20 paces.

The man who won a stack of silverware for Leicester Tigers and the beautiful golden William Webb Ellis trophy for England was a formidable captain and, after two and a half years in the job, is establishing himself as a successful national manager.

But I have to confess I was feeling a little nervous as I sat down with him to reflect on his coaching career so far, at the start of a momentous year.

Martin Johnson leads England to World Cup victory in 2003. Photo: AP

The good news was that he'd given us an hour of his undivided attention. No coach or captain is ever at his most chirpy when he's having to work his way through a string of TV crews, radio interviewers and newspaper journalists, all asking variations on the same unoriginal questions.

I'd taken even more care than usual to come up with subjects that might engage his interest.

But within minutes of sitting down in a studio on the top floor of Broadcasting House, I realised I needn't have worried.

As the studio manager checked the recording levels, he chatted away about how almost no-one he knows calls him Martin. It's Johnno to everyone, apparently, even his wife, Kay.

And after we'd talked for a while about his approach to bringing on young Test players (he's more tolerant of those who wear white boots and spike their hair than you might expect), and whether they'd feel able to confide in him if they had a problem ("I do sometimes feel like a headmaster", he told me), I felt brave enough to ask him the burning question.

Do you think some people, er, might perhaps, maybe, find you just a little bit, y'know...intimidating?

"Yes, of course - I'm 6 foot 7 and I look how I look," he smiled. "People see you on the field and they think you're like that all the time, which of course you're not. But when you've got your game face on, you've got to be ready to play.

"When you're playing against similar sorts of animals, you've got to physically dominate the opposition. You can talk about rugby skills, but a lot of that is physicality. You need all sorts in the game."

It's perhaps an indication of Johnson's strength of character that he was prepared to take on the England manager's job, with no previous coaching experience, and at a time when the team was in the throes of an extended post-World Cup rebuilding period. It's been a learning process, and he's keen to take on board examples of great leadership from inside and outside rugby union.

"I love the Liverpool boot-room thing. You hear stories about Bob Paisley walking around in slippers and a cardigan - but he was the great tactician. And Bill Shankly was the great motivator. Mind you, it worked then - but would it work now?"

Times have changed in the world of rugby union, too. When Johnson started playing for Leicester, he was a bank clerk in Market Harborough, and relied on his manager to allow him time off to travel to games - even, eventually, to tour with the British and Irish Lions.
He still banks at the same branch, by the way - a loyalty which seems completely typical of the man.

And after Tigers home games, the players would take turns serving behind the bar at Welford Road.

Johnson wants to make sure his current crop of stars appreciate what professional rugby union has done for them.

"We were in camp in August, and I said to the players - don't talk to me about sacrifice, you get well paid to do this. You might be away from your loved ones when you're on tour, and that can be difficult. But the England women's rugby team gave up their jobs to play in the World Cup - that's a sacrifice. You're professional sportsmen, and privileged to do it."

There've been some remarkable highs and some distinct lows in the Johnson era so far. He relishes the victories over Australia, in Sydney in June and at Twickenham in November - although he confessed that, as Chris Ashton began celebrating his epic try with 22m still to run, he was internally shouting, "get it down!"

"I'm always saying, get it down - because it's not a try till you do!"

In contrast, there was the frustration of defeat in Dublin in the Six Nations two years ago, when his fury at Danny Care's sin-binning was captured by the TV cameras.

But Johnson is a devoted father, and should the strains of preparing England for the World Cup in New Zealand become excessive, he'll take consolation in his kids.

"My daughter is seven, and she understands winning and losing, but she moves on very quickly and that helps to take your mind off it. My little boy just wants to play with a ball - doesn't matter whether it's a rugby ball or a football."

So does he play with them in the back garden?

"Of course, yes."

And does he always let them win?

That famous face cracks into a huge grin.

"Not always, no! Because you've got to learn to lose as well. My little girl is competitive in everything. She doesn't like to lose."

I wonder where she can possibly get that from.

You can hear the full interview with Martin Johnson in Thursday's 5 Live Sport at 2200 GMT.

Anyone who has been lucky enough to go to an Olympic Games will know exactly how the siren call of the Olympic Store works.

At first, you walk serenely past, untempted by the range of branded leisurewear and collectibles. By the end of week one, you might have fingered the odd t-shirt and considered whether your mum might like a tasteful porcelain breakfast set.

As the closing ceremony approaches, you are in a state of panic, grabbing armfuls of cuddly mascots and key rings from the rapidly emptying shelves, even (in extreme cases) contemplating buying the CD of the official Olympic song, which you had so derided during the opening ceremony.

I have been rather hoping that the souvenirs they will get from London 2012 will prove a little more durable.

Since London won the bid on that memorable day in July 2005, there has been much talk of the Olympic legacy. Part of that, of course, is making sure that the venues and stadia being built for the Games will be put to good use afterwards and that we're not left with a herd of white elephants, as previous hosts have been.

But another part is ensuring that our children are inspired to make sport part of their lives, for the rest of their lives. Not every girl is going to have the talent and dedication to be the next Rebecca Adlington or Jessica Ennis, but if she wants to be able to go and swim or run, she should be able to find somewhere to do it, and someone to teach her.

But how do we deliver that legacy? At the moment, no-one seems entirely sure. It seems logical to assume schools should play a central part in helping our children to get active.

When Education Secretary Michael Gove announced last autumn he was scrapping ring-fenced funding for School Sports Partnerships (SSPs), the howls of protest were deafening.

The 450 partnerships allow schools across the country to combine resources to provide a wide range of sporting activities, in PE lessons and after school clubs, for secondary, primary and special school pupils.

Sport has always been a key ingredient in school life. Photo: Getty

They have helped to deliver the last government's promised minimum of two hours PE per week to more than 90% of students.

It is all very different to how things were in my day - thank goodness.

Back at my secondary school, if you did not like - and, crucially, were not much good at - hockey and netball in the winter or tennis and athletics in the summer, you did everything you could to drop out. No-one tried that hard to stop you either. I did exactly that, regretting my move ever since.

Now, it is not an option to be a school sports refusenik.

This week, for 5 live Sport, I am visiting a school in Worcestershire to find out how a thriving SSP actually works.

Caroline Siddell was named PE teacher of the year in 2009 by the Sunday Times newspaper. She is passionate about finding a sport for every student.

South Bromsgrove High offers the usual range of team games - rugby, football, netball, lacrosse among others - but also roller hockey, cheerleading and ultimate frisbee.

She has about 100 pupils in her cheerleading class, which operates every lunchtime. Traditionalists might throw up their hands in horror but there are also opportunities to compete against other schools in the Partnership in team sports like basketball, rugby or football - provided you make the team, which I never did.

Siddell reckons that perhaps 50 out of 1,500 pupils will regularly participate in competitive team sports - but there are enough other options to make sure that even those seriously challenged in the ball skills department find something to do.

Clearly something good has happened in our school PE departments since I left. And the outcry created by the threat to disband the SSPs was a clear indication of how highly they are valued.

Student Debbie Foote, 17, from Lincolnshire took a petition to Downing Street, signed by more than half a million students, parents and teachers, while more than 70 Olympians and Paralympians, including Olympic champions Darren Campbell and Denise Lewis, signed a letter to the Prime Minister, organised by badminton silver medallist Gail Emms.

And in December, the Department for Education announced that the SSP programme will continue unchanged until the end of this school year, then on a reduced scale until the summer of 2013.

A partial triumph, then, for the protestors.

Emms will be part of our distinguished panel at South Bromsgrove this week as we discuss the importance of school sport, with only 18 months to go before London 2012.

We will be joined by an audience of students, teachers, parents and representatives of local sports groups to focus on how the Olympic legacy can still be delivered to our children, in a climate of nationwide financial restraint.

You will be able to hear our debate in 5 live Sport on Thursday from 2000 GMT. You can have your say on the telephones after 2100 GMT.

It is a sound that former Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke would have heard on 10 November, 2009 as he stood at the graveside of his daughter Lara, who died at the age of two in 2006 of a rare heart condition.

He had gone there to say goodbye. Turning away at last, he returned to his car, drove up the road, parked by the railway line and stepped in front of one of the trains.

The news shocked the football community across Europe. Enke was 32-years-old, a husband and father, at the peak of his career with Bundesliga side Hannover 96 and virtually a certainty to be wearing the gloves for Germany at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

Enke earned eight senior caps with Germany. Photo: AFP

So why did he choose to end his own life on that late autumn day a year ago?

To try to answer that question, I went to Germany last week to speak to those who knew and loved Robert.

In many ways, the answer is a simple one but, at the time, only those closest to him knew it. Enke was suffering from, and for some years had been treated for, a serious illness - depression.

He wanted to keep his condition a secret for a number of reasons. Young, fit and dynamic sportsmen are not supposed to have days when they can barely get out of bed in the morning, let alone go to training, play a match, banter with their team-mates.

Least of all, those entrusted with the number one shirt, the last line of defence, the reliable, rock solid presence in goal. Think of the towering personalities of Oliver Kahn and Jens Lehmann, Enke's predecessors in the German national team.

Enke feared for his career if he went public with his depression but also for the future of his family.

After Lara's tragic death, Enke and his wife Teresa adopted a baby girl, Leila. Seemingly without justification, Robert believed that Leila would be taken away from them if the authorities knew of his mental health problems.

Speaking the day after her husband died, Teresa told a news conference that Lara's death had brought her and Enke closer together and that they had believed that, with love, they could get through anything. Sadly, she had found, that was not the case.

A year on, Enke's widow has chosen to grieve in private despite the renewed press attention brought on by the anniversary of her husband's suicide. But we were able to speak to some of those who knew him best.

Enke's friend, journalist Ronald Reng, has written a biography, based on the goalkeeper's diaries. Reng told me they had originally planned for it to be an autobiography, to be published when he retired from football.

We went to the Cologne offices of Enke's agent, Joerg Neblung, who was very close to the family. It was almost unbearable to hear him describe how he had been on the phone to Teresa at the moment she discovered her husband's suicide letter.

And we travelled to Hannover, to visit the club where, after ill-fated spells at Barcelona and Fenerbahce, Enke seemed to have found career satisfaction.

As captain of Hannover 96, he was loved by the fans equally for his outstanding goalkeeping skills as for his warm and thoughtful personality. Those at the club were delighted that, after years of underachievement in the Bundesliga, things were going well on the field and proud that one of their number had been called up to represent his country.

In the days after his death, the AWD Arena became the focus of the city's grief, in a manner never before seen in Germany.

Thirty-five thousand fans staged an impromptu march from the city centre to the stadium to light candles and sign a book of condolence. More filled the stands for his funeral service on 15 November, exactly a week after he had played in goal for the final time, in a league game against Hamburg.

'Robert, we will never forget you', Germany v Ivory Coast, 18 Novermber 2009. Photo: AFP

To those of us in Britain, it does not seem strange that a football ground would become a place of pilgrimage at such a traumatic time. We have become sadly accustomed to such occasions. In the last couple of years, I've been at memorials at Old Trafford on the 50th anniversary of the 1958 Munich air crash, and at Anfield for the 20th anniversary of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

But the events of that week took Hannover 96 by surprise. Club president Martin Kind told me that there was no rulebook for such an occasion and the already grief stricken staff had worked long hours to allow the fans to congregate and come together to mourn.

As the club's press officer described the scene, it was like London in the days after Princess Diana died in 1997.

A year on, Hannover's supporters are planning to repeat the march to the stadium to honour Enke's memory. The city has announced it will rename one of the roads close to the ground after him. The club wants his legacy to be the Robert Enke Foundation, set up to increase understanding about depression among sportsmen and women, and to help them find treatment.

But another German international goalkeeper believes football still has a long way to go.

Bayer Leverkusen's Rene Adler claimed this week that the sport still puts intolerable pressure on its players. He told a German website that the fans who pay good money to come to games expect to see commitment and passion but not any weaknesses.

"Someone may be the Messiah one day and then three days later they are seen as a failure," Adler stated.

On the anniversary of Enke's death, representatives from the German Football Federation, the German national team and Hannover 96 will lay wreaths at his grave. They will see the tributes, poems, toys and flowers left there by fans over the past year - and his name, now engraved below Lara's on the stone cross.

And perhaps they will consider whether they still have lessons to learn from the tragic tale of Enke.

You can hear a special programme about Robert Enke, "A Life Too Short", on 5 Live Sport this Thursday night from 7pm.

Will it be spending on hospitals and schools, plans for fixing the economy, or attitudes to the environment which will persuade you where to put your cross?

Or maybe you're interested in what part sport will play in the respective manifestos of Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats?

We're standing at the start of a decade which should see sport placed at the heart of national life as never before.

There's the Olympics in 2012, of course, the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, World Cups in rugby league in 2013, rugby union in 2015, and cricket in 2019 - and possibly even football in 2018, all to be staged in the UK.

So how do the politicians plan to maximise the opportunities offered by all these great events taking place on home soil? Will we be a healthier nation as a result?

It's one of the questions we'll be asking of the three men who are hoping to hold the portfolio of Minister for Sport when the new government is elected.

Current incumbent Gerry Sutcliffe, Conservative spokesman Hugh Robertson and Don Foster of the Liberal Democrats will be joining me in front of an invited audience this Thursday.

We'll be at a location redolent with English football history - Wembley Football Club is just round the corner from the national stadium, and Sir Alf Ramsey's team trained on the pitch there during the 1966 World Cup.

No doubt football will be high on the agenda for our debate, but we'd like you to help us set it, too.

Should we have an independent regulator, appointed by the government, to control who owns our football clubs? How do we get our kids off their computer games and out kicking a ball around? Where should we spend more money - on the World Cup bid, or on grassroots sport?

Maybe you'd like to hear the politicians' views on whether the Ashes should be available on free-to-air TV - or whether there's enough PE available in schools.

Post your thoughts here, and we'll try and put as many as possible to the panel on Thursday; and you can hear the debate as part of Five Live Sport from 7pm.

Near the Big Brother house for Torvill and Dean. In a café slap bang in the centre of Whistler for Chemmy Alcott. And just the other day, we had a British gold medallist sitting on our sofa - Amy Williams popped in to talk to 5 live Sport's Mark Pougatch down the line from the house I'm sharing with BBC TV's Clare Balding.

And for World Champions Nicola Minichiello and Gillian Cooke, Team GB's great hopes in the women's bobsleigh?

Inside the media tent, there was a thunderous air conditioning system which no-one could switch off. Just outside it, the lorries which carry the sliders and their sleds to the top of the course rumbled deafeningly past at regular intervals.

Not ideal for a radio chat. But it was quiet by the loos, and Nicola and Gillian were undaunted by the insalubrious surroundings I'd taken them to.

They've faced much worse challenges this season, after all.

Back in November in Italy, driver Nicola realised that she was losing the sight in one eye. She was suffering from a condition called central serous retinopathy, which leaks fluid into the retina and causes blurred vision.

The pair had to miss two World Cup races this season. But after three courses of laser surgery, Minichiello's feeling great and is ready to race.

"My vision is right back and actually better than most people have. To be honest, you're going so fast on this track you can't see at the bottom of the course anyway."

It was a bit of an unnerving experience for Gillian, too, to realise that the person responsible for getting her down safely suddenly couldn't see very well.

"I noticed a few more bumps than usual in Cesena!", she laughs. "But we had to pull together as a team - it was just a curve ball we'd been thrown. So we came back to the UK and it gave us a little bit of extra time to do some physical training over the Christmas period which other teams didn't have - you've got to look at the positives."

Gillian's had to develop a wry sense of humour over the last couple of months, after the notorious splitting race suit which turned her into a YouTube superstar. But she'd talked about it so much - including to us on more than one occasion - I thought I'd spare her the ordeal of having to run through the whole tale again.

After all, these are serious athletes going about the serious business of winning an Olympic medal.

And after the euphoria of Amy Williams' gold medal in the skeleton on Friday, the British focus in week two will be very much on Minichiello and Cooke and their bid for gold. The first of the competition's heats gets underway at 0100 GMT on Wednesday.

"This has been a four year build up to these two days and four runs," says Nicola. "I'm really confident it's going to come together."

From my conversations over the last week with lugers and skeleton sliders, I've worked out that this is a track you either love or hate.

So much has been written about the tragedy which overshadowed the start of the games. No-one who spent any time at the sliding centre during the past couple of weeks will forget Nodar Kumaritashvili.

But then the skeleton competition passed off without serious mishap, and even after they crashed during the first run of the two man bobsleigh, Britain's sledders were quick to point out that it was just one of those things that happens in the sport.

As Dan Money put it, "This is bobsleigh, not ballet dancing."

And Nicola is relishing the prospect of taking it on.

"It's a fantastic track - the fastest in the world. It has high G's, it really is going to tell who is the ultimate slider - my favourite track, absolutely."

Minichiello and Cooke were there on Friday night to hug Amy Williams after her skeleton success, and perhaps some of that golden gloss could rub off on them.

The track designer at Whistler also created the course where they won their World title last year, Lake Placid. Nicola believes the omens are good.

"They're the two most similar tracks on the circuit, and we've just been to a holding camp at Lake Placid. We were as fast there as we were going into the World Championships. We know everything is coming together - we can't wait to put it into practice here."

Listen to Eleanor's interview with Nicola Minichiello and Gillian Cooke from Monday's 5 live Sport on iPlayer.

Well, you sit around in a nice café in the resort and chill out over a coffee or two. Even if you're Britain's top skier, Chemmy Alcott.

Day five of the Winter Olympics, and only one event has been completed in the Alpine skiing here in Whistler - the men's downhill.

Warm temperatures and slushy snow held everything up at the start of the games, and overnight it snowed hard again at the top of the mountain, so on Tuesday the men's super combined was postponed and the last chance of a training run in the women's downhill was cancelled.

So, I joined Chemmy and her family for a cappuccino in the centre of Whistler village.

Chemmy enjoys a break with her two-year-old niece Rebecca in Whistler

She's supported out here by her New York-based brother Alex, his wife Heather, their two-year-old daughter Rebecca, and Heather's mum Rosemary. Also her other brother Rufus, wife Alex and two-year-old son Bodeun. And cousins Kristina and Annika. And friends Pauline and Jon (don't think I've forgotten anybody....)

Little Rebecca is as cute as anything in her pink ski suit, and is becoming an expert in puddle jumping - plenty of them around in warm Whistler. With a bit of prompting I got her to give me a rousing rendition of "Go Chemmy!"

She'll be with the rest of Team Alcott at Whistler Creekside for the downhill on Wednesday, and for as many events as they can squeeze in over the next 10 days.

Chemmy will go into the first big event having only skied the course once - and even that nearly didn't happen.

Her Olympic journey was in danger of ending at the start gate even before it began.

"I was putting my ski on for the training run and my back binding broke, so with 20 seconds to go I had one ski on in the start, and if you don't do a training run you can't actually race in the Olympics," she said.

"I had amazing support staff up there and they managed to change a binding in 30 seconds, something which usually takes about 15 minutes."

Even with such minimal preparation time, Alcott is remarkably relaxed about the prospect of tackling Franz's Run - the Creekside course which sounds, frankly, terrifying.

"In the Olympics they're supposed to put out the toughest course you've ever had, and they definitely nailed it this time. There were girls up there crying in the finish area, they were just so scared.

"It's kind of like having an ocean of waves that have frozen and you've got to go at 80 miles an hour on them. Usually our pistes are like baby's bottoms, smooth and perfect.

"But this is the way I like it. It's really challenging, but it's going to be a really good race."

And clearly Team Alcott are a useful distraction as she waits for the big day to dawn.

"If you have these days off you can't get frustrated, you can't sit there on your own," she said. "I get to spend time with these guys and I don't see them much, so it's been really nice."

"Walk up the road and turn left at the Big Brother House. You'll see Bobby Davro's cabin on the right, and the entrance is just ahead of you."

The venue is Elstree studios, home to ITV's Dancing on Ice. The sports stars in question are the one and only pair of Torvill and Dean.

I'd gone to talk to them about their glorious career, of course, but also about the only serious blip on their otherwise stellar record.

The last time I came to a Winter Olympics was in 1994, when the golden couple of British ice dancing were making a big comeback. Ten years on from Bolero, they'd decided to step away from the pro circuit for a glorious return to the Olympic arena.

They'd swept all before them at the British Championships, taken the European title in Copenhagen a month before, and there was a general expectation among many in Lillehammer that they only had to turn up to be crowned Olympic champions for a second time.

It didn't quite turn out that way, though. A string of late changes to their free dance routine - to Irving Berlin's Let's Face the Music and Dance - meant it wasn't as perfect as we'd come to expect from the legends of the rink. An overhead lift at the end was ruled to be illegal, and marked down accordingly.

Naturally, their legions of fans were outraged. It had to be a conspiracy, a judging scandal. "Gold Robbery!" screamed the headlines at home.

Look at the routine on YouTube now, and the comments posted tell you there's still a sense of injustice, 16 years on.

"Cheated... stitched up... biased judges," just a few of the more repeatable remarks.

When I brought the subject up with Jayne, her slight wince made me realise the subject was still raw for her, too.

But did they regret putting their reputation on the line by coming back to Olympic competition?

"We knew we would have regretted not doing it if we hadn't," was Jayne's response. "The aim was to get another gold medal, but we had to be big enough to fail. And the fact that we didn't win was an even bigger story than if we had won."

I remember the flowers cascading down onto the Hamar rink, and Chris telling me at the time that they'd loved the fact that they'd clearly been the people's champions, if not the judges'. That was a feeling reflected on a tour they did later that year.

"I can't tell you how many little gold medals and trophies were presented to us by children who had made them in school - it was really sweet."

After the disappointments of Lillehammer, it was back to touring for Torvill and Dean, and in 1998 they said goodbye to the skating audience - for good, or so they thought.

Jayne expected that when she hung up her skates and retired to a life of full-time motherhood with her family in Sussex, she'd never take to the ice again as one half of that iconic partnership.

But then someone suggested they might try passing on their skills to a bunch of willing celebrities - and back they came, yet again. Now the success of Dancing on Ice is inspiring a new generation to skate.

Here in Vancouver, Scotland's brother-and-sister pairing - John and Sinead Kerr - are already closer than anyone in the last 16 years to the success enjoyed by Torvill and Dean.

Successors to Torvill and Dean's throne? John and Sinead Kerr, GB's highly-rated Vancouver entrants

They're trained, ironically, by the male half of the couple who so controversially (or so loyalists will claim) snatched the gold in Lillehammer - Evgeny Platov.

So could they make the podium?

"For sure they'll be in the top 10," is Chris's verdict. "Will they get in the top five? They might. Will they get a medal? They might. If everything lines up, there is a chance."

It's 26 years since Bolero changed the face of ice skating for ever and, watching the routine back as I prepared for the interview, I have to confess I cried. It's still fresh and dazzlingly innovative, probably the most beautiful performance ever seen in a sporting context. (Unless you know differently, of course...)

So do Torvill and Dean, stars of one of the most popular light entertainment celeb-based talent shows currently on TV, still think of themselves as Olympians?

Suddenly, both had faraway looks in their eyes.

"It seems like a long time ago," began Jayne, as Chris added: "But when you talk about it, it feels like yesterday.

"I still remember going to the rink for the final practice session with nobody else watching, then the medal ceremony, the flowers, Princess Anne... and you think, 25 years since then - but it's still vivid."

Listen to Eleanor Oldroyd with Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean in a special Winter Olympics preview show live from Vancouver as part of 5 Live Sport, on Thursday 11 February from 1900 GMT.

How did he get away with it for so long? Has his reputation been damaged beyond repair? What kind of Christmas will he, Elin and the kids be having?

In recent weeks, that most secretive of sports stars has had to deal with the intimate details of his private life being bared to the world.

Does Tiger have the right to keep his private life private?

Or do sportspeople lose their right to privacy when they cross the white line?

It's a question we're asking on the latest edition of A Sporting Moral Maze on 5 Live Sport tonight - and I'd love to hear your views.

Since he won his first major tournament in 1997, the year he turned pro, Tiger Woods has become a role model, as a staggeringly successful golfer, but also crucially as a successful black golfer.

Does Tiger have the right to keep his private life private?

But does that mean he has to operate to a higher standard of behaviour than the rest of us?

After all, he's not a politician, a minister of religion who can set down moral guidelines for his or her flock, or even a children's TV presenter - the kind of person who we expect to be generally clean living.

We'll be talking tonight to former FIA boss Max Mosley, who last summer successfully sued the News of the World over claims that he had taken part in an orgy with Nazi overtones.

He was awarded substantial damages for invasion of privacy, claiming that what went on in his private life had no bearing on the way he did his job.

After the ruling, the editor of the News of the World questioned whether the press in this country was truly free.

But when it comes to sports stars - where do you draw the line between salacious gossip and stories which are actually in the public interest?

We'll be asking whether sportspeople have a responsibility to their fans to behave themselves away from the golf course, the football stadium or tennis arena - or, just as pertinently, to the companies they take money from in sponsorship?

While management consultancy firm Accenture have dropped Tiger, saying he's "no longer the right representative", his main sponsor Nike have offered him their "full support".

So should we ignore the transgressions in his personal life and just focus on what a great golfer he is?

Apart from Max Mosley - who should have some fascinating insights into the whole subject - we'll hear from a newspaper man and from a lawyer who specialises in "protecting the reputations of high profile individuals".

Let me know your thoughts too, here before the programme, and while we're on air from 8-9, then back here afterwards.