London 2012: Olympic contenders from Wales go for gold

The Welsh contingent of Team GB are gearing up for London 2012 - while their friends and families are getting ready to cheer them onto Olympic glory.

Triathlete <bold>Helen Jenkins</bold> from Bridgend is one of Wales's best prospects for a gold medal. She became world champion for the second time in 2011, having previously taken the title in 2008.

She'll be hoping for better luck than husband and fellow triathlete Mark Jenkins had at the 2004 Games in Athens, when he had to run four miles carrying his broken bike to complete the event.

<bold>Dai Greene</bold>, the world, European and Commonwealth 400m hurdles champion, is looking to complete the set of major honours.

Being captain of the Team GB athletics squad will put an extra onus on him to set the standard.

Greene's family and former school teachers in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, say they're both proud and nervous for him.

The man himself is leaving nothing to chance - even down to fine tuning the choice of music on his training soundtrack.

For <bold>Brett Morse</bold>, from Penarth, London 2012 will be his first Olympic Games.

The 23-year-old discus thrower is the beneficiary of long distance coaching - he has his training sessions filmed and sent to his coach in Sweden.

Morse says he has to stop himself turning round after a throw to get a reaction from a coach who isn't there.

But on the plus side he says it means he has become more self-reliant when he takes part in competitions.

<bold>Vicky Thornley</bold> from Wrexham spent time as a showjumper and catwalk model before being selected to row for Great Britain in the women's eight.

It's a meteoric rise for Thornley, who has gone from beginner to elite athlete in just four and a half years.

Aside from the medal contenders, for some sporting hopefuls simply being selected for the Olympics is a huge achievement.

Wales is providing two of Team GB's five weightlifters - refuse collector <bold>Natasha Perdue</bold> from Swansea and <bold>Gareth Evans</bold>, a painter and decorator from Holyhead.

Natasha's late father Terry Perdue represented Britain at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics, coming tenth both times.

She says she wishes he was alive to see her compete and to offer some tips on how to handle the big occasion.

Perdue says she won't be allowed to bask in any Olympic glory once the games are over.

"My friends and my family will bring me quickly back down to earth by saying 'Tash, get back to work'," she jokes.

Meanwhile Evans says it may be a relief to return to the day job once the Olympics are over.

"To be honest I'm quite looking forward to getting a paint brush back in my hand because the weightlifting bar hurts too much!"