Female Beach Volleyball - Lucy Boulton, Great Britain Volleyball Player

The 26-year-old from Essex has only been involved with the sport for a few years, having begun playing volleyball at school. She then moved into beach volleyball in 2006, as she felt that there would be better career prospects by choosing that route.

With her England debut aged 17, Boulton went on to have five full seasons playing on the FIVB World Tour alongside playing partner Denise Johns.

She has since continued to travel, her powerful serve with her at all times, as the pair embark on training camps and tournaments across the world.

Due to the nature of the sport, the Exeter University graduate is out of the UK for the majority of the year in warm weather locations. However, when she is back on home ground, she trains at the Centre of Excellence for British Beach Volleyball at the University of Bath.

Crowned British Beach Volleyball champions in 2007, 08 and 09, the pair are well on their way to putting in an impressive performance at Horse Guards Parade this summer.

This sporting improvement was highlighted last year, at the Olympic Test Event. The pair finished fourth and beat the World's No.1 ranked pair en route; an achievement that was almost unthinkable just a few years ago.

With fellow Brits and rivals, Shauna Mullin and Zara Dampney, also fighting for Olympic qualification, it will be a manic build-up to the Games in July.

A hectic and intense schedule is now well underway for Boulton, including events and training in New Zealand, Los Angeles, Rio, China and Russia to name a few; 2012 is already proving to be a mental and physical challenge.

Despite this, the 2012 hopeful is ready for what the year has to offer and is relishing the prospect of competing in front of a local, home crowd.

Female Beach Volleyball - Denise Johns, Great Britain volleyball player

Denise Johns (born December 9, 1978) is a professional beach volleyball player. She was born in Luxembourg, grew up in the USA, but competes for Great Britain.

Born December 9, 1978 in Ettelbruck in Luxembourg, her father Martin Johns is English, and she has one sister. Her family moved from Luxembourg to Ohio when she was 4 years old. She grew up in Copley, Ohio, and started playing volleyball at the age of 10. She attended Copley High School, where she excelled at swimming, track and volleyball.

She obtained a bachelor degree in architecture from University of Cincinnati, where she concentrated on rowing rather than volleyball.

She graduated in 2002, and moved to Atlanta, playing amateur beach volleyball on the east coast of America. After success in those tournaments she moved to San Diego, California where she played on the AVP tour for four years.

Johns lives in a 175-year old cottage in Midsomer Norton, Somerset, with her husband, Jody Gooding, also a member of the Great Britain team. She still does some work as an architect in addition to her volleyball. Johns and Gooding were married on 4 September 2011 in a ceremony held on the beach in Folly Beach, South Carolina.