THE wait for the start of the London Olympics is nearly over – and three north Hampshire sportspeople are dreaming of gaining a place in history by winning a gold medal.

Sprinter Robert Tobin, hockey star Alex Danson and footballer Tom Cleverley will all represent Great Britain in the first home Olympics for 64 years.

Basingstoke and Mid Hants athlete Tobin, right, will go to the Games looking to complete his medal collection. The 28-year-old has achieved relay success at world, Commonwealth and European level but has never won an Olympic medal as the British team finished fourth in Beijing four years ago.

He is a member of Britain’s eight-strong 4x400m squad but will have to wait another two weeks to get his Olympic campaign under way.

The heats of the relay take place on the morning of Thursday, August 9, with the final being held the following evening – and the Old Basing sprinter cannot wait to get started.

“There is never going to be a home Olympics again in my lifetime so this is what all the training has been for,” he said.

“I am expecting it to be a phenomenal atmosphere in the stadium when we run and I just can’t wait for the experience.

“My whole season was all about being selected for London 2012.

“We have a strong squad and I can’t see any reason why we can’t win a medal.”

The London Olympics will also be a second Games for British hockey star Danson, who went to Robert May’s School, in Odiham, at the same time as Tobin.

The 27-year-old, who grew up in Odiham, helped Britain to a sixth-place finish in 2008 and will be hoping to score goals to fire her team to a medal this time around.

Danson, a skilful forward, has scored 21 times in 53 appearances for Great Britain and is considered one of the country’s top players.

Britain have been drawn alongside Belgium, China, Japan, Korea and the Netherlands in Group A of the tournament, with their opening game on Sunday, against the Japanese.

Next up is a match against Korea on Tuesday, while they face Belgium on August 2, China on August 4 and the Netherlands on August 6.

The top two from each pool qualify for the semi-finals, which will take place on August 8, with the final and bronze medal matches being played two days later.

Basingstoke-born footballer Cleverley gets his Olympic campaign under way later today as Great Britain face Senegal at Old Trafford (kick-off 8pm).

The Manchester United midfielder played the full 90 minutes in the British team’s only warm-up match, a 2-0 defeat to Brazil last Friday, and will be hoping his side can fare somewhat better in the actual tournament.

The game against Senegal is followed by a match against the United Arab Emirates at Wembley on Sunday, while Britain’s Group A schedule will come to a close next Wednesday, when they face Uruguay in Cardiff. If they are able to finish in the top two of their group, Britain will progress to the quarter-finals, which will take place on August 4. The semi-finals are on August 7, while the gold medal match will be played on August 11, the day before Cleverley’s 23rd birthday.