​Portraits of Britain’s top sport stars and Olympic powerbrokers, including Plymouth's Tom Daley, were unveiled today along with insights into their key motivations towards success at the London 2012 Games.

Diver Tom, heptathlete Jessica Ennis, Olympic cycle champion Jason Kenny, double Olympic swimming champion Rebecca Adlington and former Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell are among the athletes, politicians and builders who posed for photographers Brian Griffin and Bettina von Zwehl.

For the first time the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) has also included behind-the-scenes video of the modelling sessions which went into the making of the Road To 2012: Setting Out exhibition.

Tom Daley, the 2009 World and 2008 European 10m platform diving champion, was 14 when he was Britain’s youngest competitor at the Beijing Olympics.

The 16-year-old, from Plymouth, said: "There have been lots of inspirational people in my life... people like the Olympic greats like Sir Steve Redgrave, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Olympic heroes."

A total of 100 commissions will go on show, in phases during summer exhibitions, at the NPG in the run-up to 2012.

Sporting aspiration and performance plus the staging and legacy of London 2012 will be the themes of future annual commissions from high-profile and emerging photographers.

The final display in summer 2012 will open with the staging of the Games and will culminate in an exhibition that includes highlights of all the work.

NPG London director Sandy Nairne described it as an “ambitious project”, adding: “It focuses on inspirational figures who have brought the Games to London and are now building the Olympic Park.”

Visitors can also add their photos, on the theme of inspiration, to the website - www.npg.org.uk/roadto2012 – which was launched today.

The London exhibition, backed by BT, runs to September 26.