Paris Olympics: Team GB’s heroes celebrated in radio documentary

London’s Lola Anderson, who features on the programme, felt the support of her late father when she and her team won gold in the women’s quad sculls rowing competition.

She was 14 when rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning took gold at London 2012.

“I remember watching them win and being hit by this really strong wave of inspiration,” Anderson said.

“I was already late for training by this point, I ran to go and get my mini-diary, pink highlighter and just scribbled in this affirmation, [which] said: ‘My name is Lola Anderson, I think it would be my biggest dream in life to go to the Olympics for Team GB and represent British rowing and, if possible, win a gold medal’.”

After writing it, she said she got very embarrassed and ripped the page out of her diary and threw it away.

What Anderson didn’t know is that her dad Don found that page and six years later, shortly before he died, he returned it to her, telling her to follow her dream.

During a tearful interview with the BBC when she and her team won gold on 31 July, she said her dad would be “so, so proud”.

“I’m thinking a lot about him right now,” she said.