Geraint Hughes
Sky Sports News
327 athletes are expected to compete for Team GB in Paris this summer, fewer than at the Tokyo Olympics. More women than men will represent Team GB for the second consecutive Games. The Olympics run from 26 July to 11 August.
Last updated: 07/08/24 5:00 p.m.
UK Sport expects Team GB to win at least 50 medals in Paris this summer
UK Sport, the body responsible for distributing public money to Olympic sports and their athletes, has said it expects Team GB to win at least 50 medals at Paris 2024.
However, this is the minimum for the GB athletes. More medals would be welcome and are realistically expected. A medal range of between 50 and 70 has been set, with the expectation that a third of these will be gold.
UK Sport want Team GB to finish in the top five of the medals table, with their own ‘relative table’ currently putting them in fourth place, behind the USA, China and Japan. That would put Team GB ahead of hosts France.
This result is not surprising or overly optimistic given that the GB team has consistently won over 50 medals since the Beijing Games in 2008. In China they won 51. At the London Games in 2012 the GB team won 65 medals, in Rio 2016 they won 67 medals and at the postponed Tokyo Games they won 64 medals and came fourth in the medal table.
Team GB chef de mission Mark England has confirmed that the team for Paris 2024 will consist of 327 athletes, including 174 women and 153 men.
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Team GB Chef de Mission Mark England outlines his goals for this summer’s Paris Olympics, with the aim of finishing as the top medal-winning country in Europe
The GB team will have more women than men for the second successive Olympics, while there are fewer athletes selected overall than in Tokyo due to the failure of a women’s football team and a men’s rugby sevens team to qualify.
England have personally handed out invitations to around 90 per cent of the squad, he wrote to golfers Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood who have been unable to return to the UK since their selection due to their PGA Tour schedules.
Paris team manager England also allayed concerns about the water quality of the River Rover, which could lead to the open water swimming and triathlon events being moved. He said he had recently been informed by Paris 2024 organisers that the water quality was now at or above the minimum safe level.
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Despite his injury problems since becoming world champion in 2022, Jake Wightman remains hopeful of being able to compete in the 800 metres at the next Olympic Games in Paris.
UK Sport is confident that Team GB will succeed in Paris as the squad features 41 current world champions across all Olympic disciplines.
Dame Katherine Grainger, Chair of UK Sport, said: “Paris offers the hugely exciting prospect of seeing our brilliant British athletes competing on our doorstep. These are also the first Games to be held in a European time zone since London 2012, and I am confident the British public will seize the opportunity to unite and cheer our incredible athletes to victory.
“In recent years, we have also seen some of our most successful athletes use their athletic platform to drive societal change on issues ranging from the environment to LGBTQ+ rights, mental health, female body image and more.
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British record holder Molly Caudery is looking forward to her first Olympic Games and hopes to reach the podium in Paris
“Chasing the dream of winning an Olympic or Paralympic title is incredibly difficult, so I am particularly proud of those who decide to go the extra mile and use their sporting success to make a difference in society.”
Dr Kate Baker, UK Sports Performance Director, added:: “We want to continue our run of top-five Olympic medals, but it won’t be easy. However, we have built a world-class system with brilliant people who have been incredibly well supported.
“A compressed three-year cycle also presented many challenges, but the coaches and support staff working in the national governing bodies provided incredible support to their athletes.
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With the quality of the 1,500m field heading into the Olympics, Laura Muir believes it will be an achievement in itself to qualify for the final in Paris.
UK Sport has also set a medal range for the Paralympics. Team GB, who will compete in Paris later this summer, are expected to win a minimum of 100 medals within a range of 100 to 140 medals at the Paralympics.
For the second consecutive Games, UK Sport will not make public the medal targets for each sport. Until Rio 2016, each sport in which Team GB competed had its own medal target, but it was felt that this would put undue pressure on athletes. UK Sport confirmed that privately, each sport had set its own internal targets for Paris 2024.
