Ten GB stars to watch at Paris 2024
- Published
For a "small" nation of 66 million people, Great Britain are surprisingly good at Olympic sports - like, REALLY good.
We have consistently been in the top 10 on the Olympic medal table for the last 24 years and in 2016, we ranked second overall.
That is even more impressive when you realise the other powerhouses of the Olympic Games are the United States (with a population of over 330 million) and China (population: 1.4 billion).
So, who are the superstar athletes who will be representing Team GB this year at the Paris Olympics? Let's find out.
Sky Brown, skateboarding (park)
She is already a history maker having become Team GB’s youngest ever medallist when she won Park bronze in Tokyo, aged 13 years and 28 days.
Now 16, Sky is back to go for the gold, and she has a great chance to do so, as she is the 2023 World Champion.
Keely Hodgkinson, athletics
Keely Hodgkinson is Britain's best ever female 800m runner and has picked up major gold medals at every athletics competition she has run at this year.
But the 22-year-old just missed out on the top prize at Tokyo in 2021 and again at the World Championships in 2023 and 2022, so she has the gold in her sights.
Jake Jarman, gymnastics
Jake Jarman is a high-risk gymnast and loves pushing the limits of what is possible in his sport. Even gravity doesn't seem to slow him down!
Jake won four gold medals at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022 and is the reigning World and European champion on his favourite apparatus - the vault.
Adam Peaty, swimming
British swimming's poster boy Adam Peaty narrowly missed out in his on the hunt to collect a third successive gold medal in the 100m breaststroke, winning silver.
But he's not finished in the pool yet and has his eyes on a medal in the relay races too.
Adam stepped away from the sport for a short time last year to prioritise his mental and physical health - and even starred on Strictly.
His biggest fan is his nan Mavis, and his girlfriend Holly Ramsay (daughter of TV chef Gordon and sister of Strictly star Tilly) is also expected to be among the crowds in Paris.
Tom Daley, diving
Diver Tom Daley finally got his hands on a gold medal in Tokyo in 2021 and is back defending his title at his fifth Olympic Games.
He will dive from the 10m platform board alongside Noah Williams, who was just eight when he first saw Daley on TV.
The pair, who won the silver medal at the World Championships earlier this year, have tough competition in the form of the duo from China.
Bryony Page, trampolining
If you have a trampoline in your back garden, don't try what Bryony Page does without a lot of training and years of experience.
The 33-year-old is hoping to complete the set of Olympic medals after winning silver at Rio 2016 and bronze at Tokyo 2020.
She has since won two world championships so is a very strong contender.
Alex Yee, triathlon
Alex Yee is already a two-time Olympic medal winner having claimed individual silver and mixed team relay gold in Tokyo.
But the 26-year-old proved he is the man to beat when he blitzed the competition at a Paris test event in August last year.
He may well come home with two more medals to add to his tally.
Dina Asher-Smith, athletics
At the age of 28, Dina Asher-Smith is heading into her third Olympics where she hopes to add to the two bronze medals she has already won.
The 200m specialist recently moved to America to train with some of the best sprinters in the world. She went on to win her second European title earlier this year.
In 2020, Mattel released a Dina Asher-Smith Barbie doll as part of a campaign to empower young girls.
Dina said she “screamed, jumped up and down and ran around the house” when she found out.
Beth Shriever, BMX racing
Just a few weeks after winning a stunning gold at the Tokyo Olympics, Beth Shriever won the world title for the first time.
She then added European gold in the summer of 2022 and became the first BMX cyclist in history to hold Olympic, world and European titles at the same time.
There is also a BMX track in Kent named after her.
Bradly Sinden - taekwondo
Bradly Sinden is hoping he can upgrade his silver medal from Tokyo for a gold in Paris.
The 25-year-old was devastated when his opponent managed to sneak in a vital kick to the head - a huge point scoring move - just eight seconds before the end.
“The last three years, this has been what it’s all about,” says Sinden, referring to these Olympics, where his girlfriend Rebecca McGowan will also compete. “I’ve still got the disappointment, that will always be there – unless I win in Paris.”
Sinden won his second world title last summer and retained his European crown in May.