Meet Yorkshire's Olympians going for gold in Paris

Jacob Fincham-Dukes was scouted by a prestigious American college in a Birmingham car park

The Olympic Games kicked off in Paris on Friday with a spectacular opening ceremony along the River Seine.

In attendance were over 320 Team GB athletes, including a Yorkshire contingent representing sports from climbing to athletics.

A Yorkshireman is even competing in one of the most watched events of the whole games - the men's 100m sprint.

Previous Olympic champions from the county include Jessica Ennis-Hill, Ed Clancy and the Brownlee brothers - but a new generation of elite athletes is hoping to bring home Olympic Gold medals in 2024. Here are just some of them:

Jacob Fincham-Dukes

Harrogate's Jacob Fincham-Dukes is part of Team GB's track and field team and will compete in the long jump.

He won the under-20 National Championship when he was just 17 and he said that was when his athletics career "kicked off" and he started being scouted by American colleges.

The 27-year-old ended up attending Oklahoma State after a coach turned up in a Birmingham car park after a local meet to woo him.

He added: "This is the year of my life and I know I can be very competitive in Paris."

The long jump qualifier will take place on 4 August and the final on 6 August.

Bradley Sinden

Bradley Sinden said being an Olympic champion is his "only goal" now

Hailing from Doncaster in South Yorkshire, Bradley Sinden will represent Team GB in taekwondo.

He became the first British male to win the World Taekwondo Championships in 2019 and went on to win Silver at the 2020 Games in Tokyo - missing the Gold by the "narrowest of margins".

Sinden, 25, said that result just further fuelled his desire to be the best.

He told the BBC: "Being an Olympic champion is my only goal now."

Doncaster is world-famous for taekwondo after Korea sent various masters to the UK in the 1950s and 60s to promote the sport and one settled in the city.

The taekwondo competition will take place between 7 and 10 August.

Yasmin Harper

Sheffield's Yasmin Harper always makes sure her nails are done before a dive, she says

Sheffield's Yasmin Harper is a champion springboard diver and is set to make her Olympic debut

As part of Aquatics GB, the 23-year-old won first place in the women's 1m and 3m finals in the 2022 British Diving Championships and will compete in the 3m solo and 3m synchronised springboard event at the Olympics.

Harper started out as a gymnast but after spotting her around the pool age 14, her coach Tom Owens said he knew she had a real talent for diving.

She trains for 10 sessions over six days every week, but said one of the secrets to her success is always having her nails done.

If Harper and her partner Scarlett Mew Jensen, 22, place, they will bring home Team GB's first aquatic medal of 2024 - and Mr Owens said he "knows they have the calibre".

The diving starts later and finishes on 10 August.

Hamish McArthur

Hamish McArthur has been described as a "climbing prodigy"

Described as a child prodigy, Hamish McArthur became the youngest ever member of the GB climbing squad at the age of 12.

By the age of 19 he was third on the world stage.

The York native said his passion for "vertical exploration" stemmed from climbing trees at primary school and he said that from a young age he had an "obsession with climbing up stuff".

As one of the first male climbers representing Team GB, Hamish, 23, said he wanted to share his passion for climbing with the world.

He told the BBC he wants to "keep the fun" in climbing, though, and not become too obsessed with winning.

The three climbing formats will take place between 5 and 10 August.

Lucy Hall

Lucy Hall is carrying on her family tradition of shooting, she says

Lucy Hall started shooting at the age of10, following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather.

She says she always knew she wanted an Olympic Gold medal and wrote herself a letter at the age of 11, promising to herself that she would compete in the prestigious games.

Her height gave her an advantage as a child, she said, as she could take the weight of an adult gun.

Hall, from Malton in North Yorkshire, set her sights on trap shooting - shooting a target launched from a single "trap" - or machine - and went on to win silver at the 2022 European Shooting Championships.

She told the BBC: "Shooting is a mental sport, more than being physically tasking."

And her lucky charm? Her Union Jack ear defenders, she says.

Olympic shooting started on Friday and continues until 5 August.

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