BBC Wales at the Olympics

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At just 17 years -old, Ruby Evans is the youngest Welsh athlete in Team GB at this summer's Olympics.

She is also the first female artistic gymnast from Wales to go to a Games since Sonia Lawrence back in 1996.

She started the sport at her local leisure centre in Cardiff when she was five - and kept going back.

Evans has established herself on the GB women's artistic team over the past 12 months, but the Olympics will be another level for her.

"Hopefully it'll be one of the best experiences of my life," she said. "I'm really excited to get there, be in the village and meet other people from other sports."

Women's qualification begins on Sunday, 28 July, with the team final following on Tuesday, 30 July at 17:15 BST.

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Israel-Premier Tech rider Stevie Williams already has two big wins to his name this year - the Tour Down Under in January and the one-day La Flèche Wallonne in April.

And it's already been a big summer for him too.

He recently signed a new four-year contract with Israel-Premier Tech and rode his first Tour de France.

Now Williams is preparing for his Olympic debut, as he returns to the French roads for the men's road race in Paris at 10:00 BST on Saturday, 3 August.

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Josh Tarling may only be 20 years-old but has already established himself as one of the world's best time triallists.

In 2023 he won European gold and took bronze at the World Championships, while he has also won the last two British time trial titles.

He has been riding with INEOS since he was 18 and recently signed a new contract, with the team describing him as one of the most promising talents in world cycling.

Tarling could win one of Great Britain's first golds of the Games, as the men's time trial gets under way at 15:34 BST on Saturday, 27 July. He will be back in action the following Saturday in the men's road race.

"I'm honoured to go, but I want to do well." Tarling said. "I want to try to win and I'll throw everything at it to win."

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Jess Roberts was always considered a hugely talented young rider but everything went on hold for her in 2021 as she was forced to take time away from cycling to recover from a long-standing back injury.

That issue is behind her now and, after two Commonwealth Games appearances for Wales, she gets the chance to race at her first Olympics.

"We're a select number of people who get to do this. It's pretty surreal," Roberts said.

"I'm really grateful for this opportunity and excited to get on the start line."

Roberts takes to the track on Tuesday, 6 and Wednesday, 7 August in the women's team pursuit.

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When the last Olympics took place in Tokyo, Anna Morris was in a Gloucestershire hospital training to be a doctor.

She had started cycling at university and would fit training around her shifts.

Morris paused her medical career to try - successfully - to make the 2022 Commonwealth Games for Wales, and did not stop there.

She moved on to the British Cycling programme in Manchester and has become an important part of the women's endurance squad.

She was part of the world championship-winning team pursuit quartet in Glasgow last summer and will aim for the same in Paris. She will also double up on the road, with her medical career still on hold.

"I've watched it growing up on TV and you wonder what it's like to go to the Games," Morris said.

"It wasn't on my radar a few years ago, but it's such a special opportunity."

Morris first rides in the women's road race on Sunday, 4 August.

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Ella Maclean-Howell is one of the 17 Welsh athletes who will make Olympic debuts this summer - and she will make a little bit of history along the way.

Maclean-Howell is the first Welsh mountain biker to go to an Olympics and another cyclist on the impressive alumni list of Cardiff club, Maindy Flyers, where Elinor Barker and former Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas started out.

She has earned her spot after some impressive results at under-23 level this season and says the experience in Paris will be invaluable as she already looks ahead to LA 2028.

"It's going to be completely crazy. It's a big step up but I'm super excited as it's what every child dreams of," she said.

Maclean-Howell races on Sunday, 28 July.

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It is rare for a 21-year-old to be making their Olympic debut with the weight of expectation on their shoulders, but Emma Finucane is no ordinary 21-year-old.

The sprint cyclist from Carmarthen is already a world champion and European champion and on her day is the undisputed best.

She is in contention to challenge for three golds in Paris, though a lot can happen in track sprinting. Either way, it should be box office.

"I'm driven by being successful and winning Olympic gold medals," Finucane said.

Finucane's schedule begins with the women's team sprint, which kicks off the track cycling programme on Monday, 5 August.

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This will be Elinor Barker's third Olympic Games - but her first since becoming a mum to Nico in 2022.

She found out she was pregnant on the day she won Olympic silver in the women's team pursuit in Tokyo, meaning a cocktail of emotions as she also came to terms with being left out of the GB quartet for their final against Germany.

At that time, Barker says, Paris was not on her radar - but she has made a remarkable return to the sport after pregnancy. She competed for Wales at the 2022 Commonwealth Games when Nico was just five months old, then won two world titles in the team pursuit and madison in 2023.

Those events are in Barker's sights for Paris as she aims to add to her silver from Tokyo and gold from Rio 2016, with the women's team pursuit first up on Tuesday, 6 and Wednesday, 7 August.

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Rosie Eccles has been dreaming of going to the Olympics since she was eight - and she has been trying to qualify for six years.

Covid cost her a place at the last Games after she caught the virus in early 2020. It attacked her nervous system, causing so much pain in her neck and right arm that it left her fearing for her boxing career.

But having bounced back with Commonwealth gold for Wales in 2022, Eccles is aiming for Olympic gold, which her former Wales and GB team-mate Lauren Price won in Tokyo.

"This is my one Olympics. This is my one shot. If I take one fight at a time and bring my best, I can win that gold medal," she said.

Eccles begins her bid for glory in the women's 66kg on Sunday, 28 July. If she goes all the way to the final, she will fight at 21:51 BST on Friday, 9 August at Roland Garros.

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Olympic debutant Jeremiah Azu will fly the flag for Wales in the showpiece event, the men's 100m.

Azu is the only Welsh athlete who has run 100 metres in less than 10 seconds, running 9.97 in Germany in May to move into the top 10 times on the all-time 100m British rankings.

The 23-year-old says his religious beliefs are driving his achievements in athletics and he is now targeting the Olympic 100m final, as well as a medal in the 4x100m relay.

Azu will begin competing on Saturday, 3 August.

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This is the place to keep up to date with all the news from Wales’ representatives at the Olympic Games.

Team GB includes 31 Welsh athletes, the highest number at a Games since 32 were involved at London 1908, when numbers were greater because Wales entered its own hockey team.

Of this summer’s 31, 17 will make Olympic debuts in France.

There are numerous medal hopes, with the class of 2024 aiming to beat the record 10 Olympic medals – four of which were gold - won by Welsh athletes at Rio 2016.

BBC Sport will be there every step of the way, bringing you all the latest from the Welsh contingent in Paris.