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Geraint Hughes
Sky Sports News
There are 327 athletes set to compete as Team GB in Paris this summer, fewer than at the Tokyo Olympics; more women will be on the GB team for the second successive Games. The Games run from 26 July to 11 August
Last updated: 07/08/24 at 5:03 PM
UK Sport hopes Team GB can win at least 50 medals in Paris this summer
UK Sport, the body responsible for distributing public funds to Olympic sports and their athletes, said it expects Team GB to win at least 50 medals at Paris 2024.
However, this is the bare minimum expected for Team GB athletes. More medals are expected and realistically expected. A medal pool of between 50 and 70 has been set, with a third of those expected to be gold.
UK Sport want Team GB to finish in the top five of the medal table, with their ‘relative table’ currently placing them fourth behind only the USA, China and Japan. That would put Team GB above hosts France.
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This range is neither surprising nor overly optimistic, as Team GB have consistently won more than 50 medals since the 2008 Beijing Games, and in China they won 51. At London 2012 Team GB won 65 medals, at Rio 2016 they won 67 medals and at the postponed Tokyo Games they won 64 medals and finished fourth in the overall medal table.
Mark England, head of the British team, confirmed that the Paris 2024 team will consist of 327 athletes, including 174 women and 153 men.
Team GB’s chief of mission Mark England sets out their goals for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, where they aim to finish as Europe’s top medal-winning nation.
Team GB’s chief of mission Mark England sets out their goals for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, where they aim to finish as Europe’s top medal-winning nation.
There will be more women in the British team than men for the second successive Olympics, while the number of selected athletes is lower than in Tokyo due to the failure to qualify a women’s football team and a men’s rugby sevens team.
England personally delivered invitations to around 90 per cent of the squad, and wrote to golfers Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood, who have been unable to return to the UK since being selected due to their PGA Tour schedule.
England, who are leading the team in Paris, also eased concerns about the water quality of the River Seine, which could lead to the move of open water swimming and triathlon events. He said Paris 2024 organisers had recently told him that water quality was now at minimum safe levels and above.
Despite suffering from injury problems since becoming world champion in 2022, Jake Whiteman still hopes to compete in the 800m at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.
Despite suffering from injury problems since becoming world champion in 2022, Jake Whiteman still hopes to compete in the 800m at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.
UK Sport is confident Team GB will be successful in Paris as the squad includes 41 current world champions in Olympic disciplines.
Dame Catherine Grainger, Head of UK Sport, said: “Paris provides an incredibly exciting opportunity for our fantastic athletes to compete on our doorstep. It is also the first Games to be held in a European time zone since London 2012 and I have no doubt that the British public will embrace this opportunity to come together and cheer on our fantastic athletes to victory.
“In recent years, we’ve also seen some of our most successful athletes use their sporting platform to drive social change on issues ranging from the environment to LGBTQ+ rights, mental health, female body image and more.
British record holder Molly Cowdery can’t wait to compete at her first Olympics and hopes to reach the podium in Paris
British record holder Molly Cowdery can’t wait to compete at her first Olympics and hopes to reach the podium in Paris
“Chasing the dream of winning an Olympic or Paralympic title is very difficult, so I am especially proud of those who decided to go one step further and use their sporting success to make a difference in society.”
Dr Kate Baker, UK Sport Performance Director, added: “We want to continue our run of finishing in the top five of the Olympic medal table, but that won’t be easy. However, we have built a world-class system with fantastic people who are fantastically supported.
“The compressed three-year course also presented many challenges, but the coaches and support staff working in the national sports federations provided incredible support to the athletes.
With the quality of the 1500m field ahead of the Olympics, Laura Muir believes just reaching the final in Paris will be an achievement in itself.
With the quality of the 1500m field ahead of the Olympics, Laura Muir believes just reaching the final in Paris will be an achievement in itself.
UK Sport has also set the medal rankings for the British Paralympians who will compete in Paris later this summer, with the team expected to win at least 100 medals within the 100 to 140 medal range at the Paralympics.
For the second time in a row, UK Sport has not announced individual medal targets for each sport. Up until Rio 2016, each sport in which Team GB competed had its own medal target, but it was felt that doing so would put undue pressure on the athletes. UK Sport confirmed that each sport had set its own internal targets for Paris 2024.
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