Olympic Games

Chloe Reynolds

The 2024 Olympic Games are just around the corner. After the success of the Tokyo Games, let’s look ahead at the athletes to watch out for in Paris.

Tom Daley

Tom Daley is no stranger to the Olympic Games. He started diving at the tender age of seven, before becoming Britain’s youngest-ever Olympian at just 14 when he took part in the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Daley is also the first Team GB diver to win four Olympic medals. He won bronze at London 2012 and in the synchronised event with Dan Goodfellow in 2016. Daley finally won a gold medal in Tokyo 2020 in the 10m synchro with Matty Lee. He also picked up his third bronze in the 10m platform.

After a long break from diving, the 29-year-old announced his plans to return to the diving board, ready for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix

Despite being only 19 years old, Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix has taken the diving world by storm. She memorably won gold at the British Diving Championships in the women’s 10m platform in 2020.

Spendolini-Sirieix went on to earn a place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, after winning two medals at the 2021 European Championships.

At only 16 years old, she reached an Olympic final, finishing in seventh place. Throughout her career, she has won nine gold medals, seven silver medals and five bronze medals. Following her career success thus far, she is hoping for a place on the plane to Paris.

Adam Peaty

Adam Peaty is one of the greatest swimmers in Olympic history. He has won two individual Olympic gold medals and six individual World titles. He has also broken the 50m and 100m breaststroke world records.

Expectations were high ahead of the Rio Olympics. After taking gold in the 50m breaststroke, setting another world record and becoming World Champion, all eyes were on Peaty. He did not disappoint. The swimmer broke his world record in both the 100m breaststroke heats and again in the final.

At the Tokyo Olympics, he won silver for Team GB in the men’s 4×100 medley relay at the Tokyo Olympics. Peaty notably became the first British swimmer to defend an Olympic title, achieving the 20 fastest 100m breaststroke swims in history.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson

Olympic glory has not come easy for heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson. She was the only Brit to have won World titles at senior, under-20 and 18 levels and set a British heptathlon record.

The Liverpudlian finished thirteenth in her first Olympic games in 2012 and sixth in Rio, hoping to make it third time lucky in Tokyo. An Achilles injury disrupted her preparation, resulting in a devastating withdrawal during the 200m.

But a setback of injuries has not stopped the athlete, as she claimed her first World title in four years at the World Athletic Championships in Budapest. She hopes that the Paris Olympics will finally be the Games where she wins her gold medal.

Joe Fraser

Joe Fraser started at the Birmingham Gymnastics Club, with his sporting passion quickly dominating his childhood. Fraser attended the Rio Olympics as part of the British Olympic Association’s Ambition Programme.

“Fraser also become the first Black male to win a gold medal at the competition.”

The gymnast first stepped into the limelight in 2019, when he won Great Britain’s first-ever gold medal on the parallel bars at the World Gymnastics Championships. Fraser also became the first Black male to win a gold medal at the competition.

Eilish McColgan

Eilish McColgan’s Olympic debut happened during London 2012 in the 3000m steeple chase, a competition that she no longer competes in. She went on to reach the final of the 5000m at the Rio Games, where she came thirteenth.

McColgan then competed in the 5000m and the 10,000m in Tokyo, exactly 30 years on from her mother’s World Championship win in the same city. The athlete had a fantastic 2022, winning Commonwealth Gold and breaking her mum’s 10,000m record in Hengelo.

Alex Yee MBE

Making his Olympic Debut in Tokyo 2020, Alex Yee won gold and silver in the triathlon mixed relay and solo race, respectively. Although Yee was hardly inexperienced when it came to competitions, in 2019 he continued his winning streak.

The triathlete won gold at the Accenture World Triathlon mixed relay series, as well as a silver in the World Triathalon Series race. Yee also won a gold medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, before being awarded an MBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours.

The Paris Olympics will last from Friday 26th July 2024 until Sunday 11th August 2024.

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Featured image courtesy of Bryan Turner on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.

Football journalism graduate, currently studying a masters in sports journalism

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