Is London still calling for our 12 Olympic hopefuls for 2012?

Tom Daley 15 Diving 2005 Became youngest under-18 platform champion and youngest national 3m champion 2006 Second in 10m platform at British Senior Championships, aged 12 2007 Became youngest national 10m platform champion 2008 Became Britain's second youngest male Olympian in Beijing Daley's best year so far. He claimed Britain's first individual gold medal at the diving World Championships, winning the 10m platform category with his final dive to beat the Chinese favourite Qiu Bo. His success in the pool has made him a household name – winning BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year for a second time and voted sixth in the senior award. The teenager from Plymouth was chosen as the face for the successful bid to make Plymouth a 2018 World Cup city and he also roped Kate Moss into posing for his GCSE photography project. Alex Nelson 21 Athletics 2005 Equalled UK under-18 100m record of 10.31sec. Won silver at World Youth Championships 2006 Won 200m bronze in Beijing Junior World Championships 2007 Won European junior gold at 200m and silver in 4x100m relay 2008 Injured six days before Olympic heats in Beijing The young sprinter who so impressed on the international stage as a junior was forced to spend a season on the sidelines after tearing a tendon behind his hamstring in May. "I maybe could have competed at the end of the year but on advice of the doctors decided it wasn't worth the risk. It was an unusual injury because of the way it tore, we trawled the internet to find a specialist who could help. Ironically the only one in the world was a guy just down the road in Stoke!" Nelson is no longer on lottery funding as a result and is having to pay for his own physio treatment. "My aim for this year is the European Championships." Dylan Fletcher 21 Sailing 49er class 2005 Finished as leading under-18 sailor in San Francisco World Championships in 29er class and third at European Championships in Copenhagen 2006 Became Youth world champion in 29er class 2007 Moved into 49er class 2008 49er class silver at the national championships in August After bursting on to the scene two years ago Fletcher had to prove in 2009 he could make the transition from over-achieving new boy to solid performer, and he did just that. "Dylan's had a fantastic year," says the head coach, Harvey Hillary. "It was really important that he made a step forward, so we did a lot of work on pressure training – trying to close the gap between performance in training and performance at regattas." The hard work paid off as Fletcher finished 13th at the world championships – "an exceptional result", says Hillary – cemented by consistent performances all year finishing in the top 10 of two major regattas. Is he all set for 2012? "Realistically it's eight years in sailing before you're in a position to consistently medal in major events, so 2016 is more likely. Being in contention for the Olympic trials in 2011 would be a good result." Gavin Evans 16 Table tennis 2005 Became European under-12 champion and European under-18 team champion 2006 Coached by Carl Prean, former British No1 2007 Won gold at European Youth Olympics 2008 Gold at European Youth Championships in Italy After winning pretty much everything going at cadet level in Europe Evans had a difficult transitional first year to junior level. Having grown 10-15cm in height, he experienced problems with his coordination and his coach Linus Mernsten decided to introduce karate lessons. "That has helped him a lot," says Steen Hansen, performance director, "because he's a monster of a boy now and table tennis is difficult when you're very tall. He has every reason to be proud of himself, though, because he has won everything he could in European cadets. I'm still confident he's going the right way and he will have a very good 2010. We have big hopes that our junior boys can compete for medals at the European Youth Championships in July and the junior worlds in December." Rajiv Ouseph 23 Badminton 2005 Became first English player for 20 years to win the European junior title 2006 Rose to No2 in the national rankings, world No62 and made England debut 2007 Reached semi-finals at English championships 2008 Won English National Badminton Championships Ouseph had a very successful year, climbing 16 places in the world rankings since December 2008 to become Britain's highest-ranked singles player at No24 in the world. He started the year by winning the English National Championships and then impressed on the big stage winning the European Circuit finals in June – a masters event to which only the top eight European players were invited, as well as the Canadian Open Grand Prix, another highly rated competition. His first event of 2010 is the Korean Open in Seoul this month. Francesca Halsall 19 Swimming 2005 European junior gold and silver medallist; 50m freestyle British champion 2006 Double relay silver medallist at Commonwealth Games, Melbourne; won team bronze in 4x50m relay at European Short Course Championships 2007 Twice broke British 100m freestyle record; set 50m butterfly record 2008 Eighth in Olympic 100m freestyle and won four medals at the World Short Course Championships in Manchester The teenager from Southport had a great year, winning the most impressive medal of her career as she took silver in the 100m freestyle at the World Championships in Rome. Last month she looked in similarly good shape at the Duel in the Pool competition – USA versus Europe. Against an outstanding US team she won her core events in the 50m and 100m freestyle and went on to claim the 100m butterfly too. She also set a new British record in the 200m freestyle, finishing third behind Allison Schmitt. Ellen Whitaker 23 Equestrianism 2005 Finished sixth at Olympia's Links of London GP 2006 Secured second and third-placed finishes at Olympia 2007 Involved in team that finished third at European Championships 2008 Won Accenture Stakes at London International Horse Show at Olympia After a disappointing 2008 – when an injury to her horse, Locarno, forced her to pull out of the Beijing Olympic Games – the niece of British Olympians John and Michael Whitaker has worked hard to live up to the family's reputation for showjumping excellence. She had a spectacular week at the Horse of the Year Show where she won Leading Show Jumper of the Year, Speed Horse of the Year and the puissance with horses Kanselier and Ladina B. Whitaker received the Sir Michael Parkinson Sports Journalists' Association award for her achievements in 2009. Olly Freeman 23 Triathlon 2005 European junior champion and London Triathlon champion 2006 Won silver medal at European Under-23 Championships 2007 Finished 14th at senior European Championships after breaking foot in running 2008 Third in World Cup in Hamburg and Olympic reserve After a positive 2008 Freeman suffered fitness problems in 2009 – struck down with chronic fatigue syndrome for most of the year. "It wasn't the easiest year," he said. "At the start of the year I was in the shape of my life, I did a half Ironman in the US – double my usual distance – but came down with a stomach bug before the first world series event of the year in South Korea. A few days after I got back I was riding my bike on the road and a motorist started shouting at me. Instead of ignoring him I answered back, he punched me and knocked me out cold in front of traffic. I really badly bruised my rib and pulled my hip awkwardly. All the little things spiralled and I got to the second super series race very tired. By my third race I was barely able to cycle. That was it for my season. In a funny way it's the best time it could have happened, in the first year of an Olympic cycle. I'm back training hard now to regain my fitness." Despite the disappointments and injuries Freeman has been included as one of six triathletes on the World Class Performance Programme. Nathan Stephens 21 Paralympian, Throws 2005 Ranked world No2 in discus, javelin and shot 2006 GB Junior Athlete of the Year 2007 Won shot, discus and javelin at DSE (Disability Sport Events) championships 2008 Competed in same three sports at the Paralympics Stephens, who narrowly missed out on a medal at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, went from strength to strength, ranked world No1 in the javelin, and winning gold medals at the Junior World Championships in the shot and the javelin. Stephens is now aiming for a gold medal at London 2012 and a world record as well. "He tried all year to break the record but it just didn't happen for him," says his coach, Anthony Hughes. "But he's still only 21 and there's two more years to go before 2012. Until then all we think about is that gold medal. We're not thinking silver, we're not thinking bronze, it's gold all the way – and a world record to boot." Graeme Dyce 20 Tennis 2005 Planned move to Nick Bollettieri's Florida academy with LTA funding 2006 Continued at Bollettieri's 2007 Won Australian Open boys doubles title; reached third round of Wimbledon boys singles 2008 Begins studies at University of Kentucky Dyce remains off the professional tennis tour, continuing his studies at the University of Kentucky. He plays for the university's tennis team in singles and, alongside his fellow Briton Eric Quigley, in doubles but did not compete in any LTA-sanctioned events in 2009. Edinburgh-born Dyce, who won the 2007 boys' doubles at the Australian Open with Finland's Harri Heliovaara, is not the first British player to have taken a break from tennis to focus on education before coming back into the game. Colin Fleming, who partners Ken Skupski in doubles, together winning two ATP titles in 2009, similarly took time out from the pro circuit while he was at university. Likewise Sarah Borwell, the British No1 doubles player, attended a US college and has rejoined the tour. . . . and the ones who have got away Thomas Aindow 20 Rowing 2005 Turns down career in the Navy to pursue rowing 2006 Wins junior title at National Indoor Rowing Championships 2007 Finishes ninth in an under-23 time trial aged 18 2008 Leaves World Class Start programme by mutual consent Sandeep Rai 22 Wrestling 2005 British junior champion 2006 Sustained injury 2007 Quits sport