Sports
FEW things bond a nation like the thrill of triumph at an Olympic Games.
Redgrave’s return in Sydney. Holmes’ double in Athens. Super Saturday in London.
Great Britain has witnessed unforgettable moments which have been a unifier.
Over the next few weeks, 327 Team GB athletes are heading to Paris and dreaming of creating another culturally-resonant chapter.
With the Games starting later this week, BBC Sport has picked out 24 British stars you must set a reminder to watch.
The golden generation
Tom Daley, 30, Diving
Event: Men’s 10m synchro
When: 29 July
From fresh-faced teen to knitting-loving veteran, Daley is the first British diver to compete in five Games.
The previously-elusive gold medal arrived at Tokyo 2020 and, after being encouraged to come out of retirement by his son Robbie, Daley defends his title alongside Noah Williams.
Helen Glover, 38, Rowing
Event: Women’s Four
When: 28 July (heats), 1 August (final)
Things tend to come in threes, they say, and Glover knows that more than most.
The British rowing legend is a mother of three and in her third comeback – having retired after Rio and Tokyo. Now she is chasing her third Olympic gold medal.
Jade Jones, 31, Taekwondo
Event: Women’s -57kg
When: 8 August
Highs of winning back-to-back golds at London 2012 and Rio 2016 were followed by the low of a shock first-round defeat in Tokyo.
There was a chance Jones might not be allowed to compete in Paris. She avoided a ban after a doping violation and bids to become the first fighter to win three taekwondo gold medals.
Andy Murray, 37, Tennis
Event: Men’s singles, men’s doubles
When: Starts 27 July
Among everything he has achieved, and everything he has seen, Murray ranks the Olympics as one of the most special experiences of his enviable career.
Fittingly, the London 2012 and Rio 2016 gold medallist is signing off in Paris before retiring from playing professionally.
Adam Peaty, 29, Swimming
Event: Men’s 100m breaststroke
When: 27 July (heats), 28 July (final)
There was a time when Peaty seemed invincible. Clocking the top 20 times of all-time ensured he dominated his event for nearly a decade.
Injuries and personal issues led to a loss of form and a revaluation of what was important. Having come through a “self-destructive spiral”, Peaty will challenge for a third successive gold medal.
Max Whitlock, 31, Gymnastics
Event: Men’s pommel horse
When: 3 August
Another iconic British Olympian in one final hurrah before retirement. After planning to quit post-Tokyo, three-time gold medallist Whitlock found the fire in the belly still burned.
If he defends the title he won in Tokyo, he will become the first gymnast to win four Olympic medals on the same apparatus.
https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.53.9/iframe.htmlMedia caption,
Paris 2024: Max Whitlock’s amazing Olympic career through art
The next superstars
Dina Asher-Smith, 28, Athletics
Events: 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay
When: 2-3 August (100m), 4-6 August (200m), 8-9 August (relay)
A stacked CV has a glaring omission – Olympic gold.
Asher-Smith comes into the Games in hot form, having won the British 200m title in a championship record 22.18 seconds and a fifth European gold over 100m earlier in June.
She’s not the only in-form Briton. Daryll Neita, who like Asher-Smith ran her fastest times this season at the London Diamond League last weekend, plans to “destroy” her team-mate on the track., external
Sky Brown, 16, Skateboarding
Event: Women’s Park
When: 8 August
Self-taught by watching hours of YouTube videos, 13-year-old Brown won bronze in Tokyo to become Britain’s youngest Olympic medallist.
In her second Games having just turned 16, she planned an ambitious double. But narrowly missing out on the surfing event – taking place 9,500 miles away from Paris in Tahiti – could prove a blessing in disguise.
Emily Campbell, 30, Weightlifting
Event: Women’s +81kg
When: 11 August
A boundary breaker who is equally as happy to inspire as she is win medals.
Five years after picking up a barbell for the first time, Campbell became the first British woman to win an Olympic weightlifting medal with silver in Tokyo and is heavily fancied to go one better.
https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.53.9/iframe.htmlMedia caption,
Paris 2024: Could you lift like British weightlifter Emily Campbell?
Katarina Johnson-Thompson, 31, Athletics
Event: Women’s heptathlon
When: 8-9 August
Similarly to Asher-Smith, KJT is one of the most talented and recognisable athletes of her generation. But the medal which matters most continues to be evasive.
Winning a second world title last year bodes well going into herfourth shot at standing on the Olympic podium.
Keely Hodgkinson, 22, Athletics
Event: Women’s 800m
When: 2-5 August
An Olympic underdog three years ago, Hodgkinson has evolved into a gold medal favourite in Paris.
Breaking Kelly Holmes’ 26-year British record clinched silver in Tokyo and even illness could not stop her winning the European title last month.
Setting a new national record at the Diamond League meet in London at the weekend further underlined her credentials.
Tom Pidcock, 24, Cycling
Events: Mountain Bike, Road Race
When: 29 July, (mountain bike), 3 August (road)
Whether haring down a treacherous Tour de France descent, or bunny hopping up sandy terrain, multi-eventer Pidcock is filling the void left by Britain’s millennial cycling superstars.
Pidcock defends the mountain bike gold he won in Tokyo before switching to the road, where success would make amends for missing this month’s Tour after contracting Covid.
The emerging talents
Molly Caudery, 24, Athletics
Event: Women’s Pole Vault
When: 5-7 August
A sign of how impressive 2024 has been is the huge shift of expectation for Caudery.
In January, she simply wanted to make the Olympics team. Now, having set a new British women’s record last month, and recorded the world’s best height of the year, her eyes are firmly on a medal.
Charlie Dobson, 24, Athletics
Event: Men’s 400m
When: 4-7 August
When asked who could be Team GB’s breakthrough athlete in Paris, hurdles legend Colin Jackson picked Dobson.
High praise indeed. Grabbing silver at the European Championships, for his first major individual medal, has been a tangible marker.
Emma Finucane, 21, Cycling
Events: Women’s individual sprint, team sprint, keirin
When: 5-11 August
The pantheon of British Olympians features several cyclists – including Dame Laura Trott. And she believes Finucane can make history by becoming the first female to win three golds in one Games.
That endorsement came after Finucane dominated the Track Nations Cup in March, when she completed a stunning treble.
Louie Hinchliffe, 21, Athletics
Event: Men’s 100m
When: 3-4 August
Leaving university in the UK for a new life in the US was not greeted warmly by Hinchliffe’s parents. But the move, aimed to prioritise his athletics career and leading to linking up with American Olympic legend Carl Lewis, has been astute.
Clocking 9.95secs landed the US collegiate title, before his sensational breakthrough year continued by winning the UK Athletics Championships last month to qualify for Paris.
Delicious Orie, 27, Boxing
Event: Men’s super-heavyweight
When: 29 July, 2,7 & 10 August
“Some say I’m the new Anthony Joshua, but one day I aim to be even better and dominate.”
Like all boxers, Orie talks the talk. He walked the walk by winning gold as the poster boy of the 2022 Commonwealth Games and plans to do the same in his first Olympics.
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, 19, Diving
Events: Women’s 10m synchro, 10m platform
When: 31 July (synchro), 5-6 August (platform)
Since reaching the Olympic final in Tokyo as a 16-year-old, Spendolini-Sirieix has developed into a world, Commonwealth and European gold medallist.
Even more impressively, the successes came after she considered quitting because of a “fear of diving”., external
https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.53.9/iframe.htmlMedia caption,
Paris 2024: GK Barry meets Team GB diver Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix
The inspiring stories
Georgina Brayshaw, 30, Rowing
Event: Women’s Quadruple Sculls
When: 27 July (heats), 31 July (final)
A first-time Olympian who was left in a coma as a teenager following a horse riding accident.
Brayshaw, who was paralysed down the left side of her body for a year, began rowing in her second year of university. An Olympic medal, which is a strong possibility, would be a remarkable reward for her perseverance after also being overlooked for Tokyo.
Joe Clarke, 31, Canoe Slalom
Events: Men’s kayak single, kayak cross
When: 30 July-1 August (single), 2-5 August (cross)
“Tough times don’t last, tough people do.”
That bullish quote become Clarke’s mantra after the reigning Olympic champion was overlooked for Tokyo 2020, despite being in the form his life.
Having moved on from the controversy, he is eyeing the ultimate redemption story.
Carl Hester, 57, Equestrian
Event: Dressage
When: 3 August (team final), 4 August (individual final)
When Hester competed in his first Olympics – at Barcelona 1992 – a large portion of Team GB were not even born.
But with age comes more pressure, he says. The oldest member of Team GB helped the nation win a historic first equestrian medal in 2012 and is desperate to stretch the success to a fourth Games.
Andy Macdonald, 50, Skateboarding
Event: Men’s Park
When: 7 August
In a sport which developed as a youth subculture, and is fronted by a host of hip youngsters, there is a certain irony that a 50-year-old is part of Team GB.
Macdonald, born in the US and representing Britain through his Luton-born dad, is no ordinary 50-year-old. The ‘Rad Dad’ is great pals with Tony Hawk, fronted a MTV show and skated through the White House.
Amber Rutter, 26, Shooting
Event: Women’s Skeet
When: 2-4 August
Two important dates were circled on Rutter’s 2024 calendar. One was the start of the Paris Games. The other was the due date of her first child.
Rutter gave birth to son Tommy three months ago and is ready to land the Olympic medal which has so far evaded her.
Kimberley Woods, 28, Canoe Slalom
Events: Women’s Kayak Single, Kayak Cross
When: 27-28 July (single), 2-5 August (cross)
Canoeing provided salvation as Woods endured bullying which led to depression and self-harm.
Since coming through therapy between 2016 and 2018, Woods’ career has soared and, having won her first individual world title last year, is a medal hope in the “hectic” cross event which is making its Olympic debut.
BBCSport
A.I
July 24, 2024 @ 06:57 GMT|
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