Paris Olympics: The Team GB athletes to watch at the summer Games in France
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With less than 100 days until the 2024 Olympics begin, eyes are turning towards Paris – and the athletes who will compete there.
Britain is projected to win 66 medals, including 13 golds, according to a forecast by Nielsen’s Gracenote Sports that puts the US and China as the top medal-winners.
It would be a remarkable achievement – beating the 65 medals in Tokyo at the delayed 2020 Games, and the haul in London in 2012, just behind the 67 in Rio in 2016.
Later, Team GB is due to launch its new Olympic kit in Paris – in the wake of row over the England Men’s Football Kit which sported an altered St George’s Cross and Team GB’s own branded merchandise featuring pink.
Here we look at some of Team GB’s biggest podium contenders at this summer’s worldwide festival of sport.
Sky Brown – skateboarding
Sky Brown became Britain’s youngest Olympic medallist of all time when she took bronze in Tokyo at 13 years and 28 days old.
She became a world champion at 14, and at 15 the skateboarder is again eyeing the podium at the Olympics. She had hoped to compete in two sports, but was unable to qualify for the surfing, at which she also competes at elite level.
Keely Hodgkinson – athletics
At 19, Keely Hodgkinson clocked a British record in the 800m final to win Team GB a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
It will take a Herculean effort to go one better in Paris, but all eyes will be on what should prove one of the most competitive events of the track and field programme.
Kimberley Woods – canoe slalom
Kimberley Woods is reigning world champion in the exhilarating and brand new Olympic discipline of kayak-cross.
A combination of all white water disciplines, it sees four competitors hurtle off a ramp 2m above the water and then down the same course simultaneously.
The 28-year-old also won the overall World Cup title in 2023 and has proved a cut above her closest rivals in the unpredictable sport.
Bradly Sinden – taekwondo
Bradly Sinden was vying for gold in Tokyo but walked away with silver in the men’s 68kg category.
Having vowed to learn from his mistakes – and now with a second world title under his belt – he will return to the Olympics with his sight set on gold.
Bryony Page – trampoline
A surprise silver medallist on the women’s trampoline in Rio, Bryony Page returned to the podium with a bronze medal in Tokyo.
The 33-year-old shunted Olympic champion Zhu Xueying into second place as she took gold at the World Championships in Birmingham in 2023.
Tom Dean – swimming
Double Tokyo gold medallist Tom Dean set his sights on five medals in Paris.
But a setback at the British Championships could have upset that plan as he is likely to be denied the chance to defend his 200m freestyle title.
Still, he remains determined to come home with a clutch of medals as he heads up one of the most promising British swimming squads in decades.
Emma Wilson – windsurfing
Tokyo bronze-winning windsurfer Emma Wilson made a stunning statement at this year’s World Championships, winning 15 of 20 qualifying races before finishing second in the winner-takes-all final race.
Her consistency at the top level makes her well placed to land gold in Marseille.
Emily Campbell – weightlifting
Emily Campbell won silver in weightlifting in Tokyo – the first female Team GB weightlifting medallist in Olympic history.
The trailblazer will be looking to return to the podium after taking home gold from the Commonwealth Games, a string of golds from the European Championships and bronze and silver in the 2021 and 2022 World Championships.
Max Whitlock – gymnastics
Max Whitlock was hailed as Britain’s greatest ever gymnast after winning gold in men’s pommel horse in Tokyo.
He became only the sixth Briton to win at least six Olympic medals and could become the first gymnast to win four Olympic medals on the same apparatus on the pommel horse in Paris.
The three-time Olympic gold medallist has said he will retire from gymnastics after the Paris Games.
Dina Asher-Smith – athletics
Sprint star Dina Asher-Smith has a clutch of gold medals – but Olympic gold is the one that’s missing from her collection, and that’s what she’s aiming for in Paris.
The 28-year-old holds the British record for the 100m and 200m, has a World Championship gold in the 200m and silver in the 100m and won bronze in the 4x100m relay at the Rio and Tokyo Games.
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Tom Daley – diving
Tom Daley will return to the pool in Paris after a two-year absence – after a request by his son.
The 29-year-old looks set to be the favourite to win another Olympic medal in the 10m synchronised diving after teaming up with Noah Williams.
He won gold alongside Matty Lee in the men’s synchronised 10m platform in Tokyo, his third Olympics after his debut as a teenager at Beijing 2008.
Lee will miss this summer’s Games after undergoing spinal surgery.
Beth Shriever – BMX
Beth Shriever made history by winning BMX gold for Team GB in Tokyo.
Since then she has added World and European titles to her collection and will be looking to repeat her Olympic success.
The launch of Team GB’s kit will be covered by Sky News today. Watch live or follow online or on mobile for all the developments.
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