BBC Breakfast host Luxmy Gopal couldn’t help but repeatedly apologise to GB Racer and Paralympian Hannah Cockroft after making a blunder during their interview on this morning’s episode (August 25).
Hannah dialled in for a live chat with Luxmy and co-presenter Ben Boulos about the high stakes of the upcoming games, starting Wednesday, August 28. The interview started well, with Luxmy asking: “Not long to go, how are you feeling? How are preparations going?”.
Hannah responded: “Yeah you got my heart beating a little bit when you said that”, adding: “Preparations are going really well though, I’ve had a pretty good year, I became world champion again this year which is a great place to start.
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“I think at the moment like you say, we’re in Paris in preparation camp and the atmosphere feels really relaxed, it’s nice to be around the team and we’re just having a great time. I think when we move into the village, those nerves might start to kick in a bit more.”
But it was when Luxmy delved into Hannah’s staggering undefeated streak since London 2012, asking how she juggled that immense pressure, that an apology spree kicked off.
“Nerves and also the pressure, because you are unbeaten still at a Paralympic Games since first competing at London 2012. How do you cope with that level of pressure?” asked BBC host Luxmy.
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Hannah fired back with: “Well I try not to think about it until you bring it up -“, and chuckled, sparking Luxmy’s repeated apology. “Sorry, sorry, I haven’t helped,” she said. “Sorry Hannah!”.
The 32-year-old athlete made light of the situation before speaking candidly about the pressure she faces, saying that feeling pressure is actually a “privilege”. “It means that people believe in you, it means people know that you work hard and go out and do well and I think I can do that too,” she continued.
“So I want to do myself proud, I want to do everyone who has supported me over the last three years, over my whole career, proud.”
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Pondering the significant milestones in her career, she noted: “This is the first time I’ll have heats at the 100m since London 2012 so it’s incredible to see the numbers from my class creeping back up and see more girls getting the opportunity to try my sport.”
She expressed hope that her efforts may have inspired this positive change: “And hopefully some small part of that is down to me and the races that they can see on their screens.”
“So it is pressure but you’ve just got to get out there and do your job and hopefully I’m still alright at it.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
