It is to create the best Games the world has ever seen by unlocking the UK's unrivalled passion for sport, by delivering the best Games for athletes to compete in, by showcasing London's unmatched cultural wealth and diversity and by creating a real and lasting legacy.

I believed that we had to answer the question: Why are we doing this? And it wasn’t until we started to articulate, internally as an organisation, that it was about using the Games to inspire young people to participate in sports that we each understood what we had to do.

World records are only borrowed.

We need to be confident. We need not to blink.

If you lived in Sheffield and were called Sebastian, you had to learn to run fast at a very early stage.

I might have to consider coaching- I'm getting too old to be a world class runner and my mind isn't gone enough to become an official.

The London Games will be designed for the athletes and we will provide them with the very best venues and the very best conditions to pursue their sporting dreams in London.