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UK Sport Performance Director Dr Kate Baker and Team GB Chef de Mission Mark England are optimistic of breaking medal tally records at the Paris Olympics
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, that is the minimum return for Team GB’s athletes. More medals would be welcome and realistically are expected. A medal range of between 50 to 70 medals has been set, with an expectation that a third of those will be gold.
UK Sport wants Team GB to finish in the top five in the medal table with their own ‘relative table’ currently placing them as finishing fourth only behind the USA, China and Japan. That finish would place Team GB above hosts France.
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The range isn’t a surprise or over-optimistic as Team GB have consistently won in excess of 50 medals since the Beijing Games of 2008. In China, they won 51 medals. At London 2012 Team GB won 65 medals, in 2016 at Rio the team won 67 medals and at the delayed Tokyo Games won 64 medals and came fourth in the overall medal table.
Team GB Chef d’Mission Mark England confirmed that the Team for Paris 2024 will comprise of 327 athletes, of which 174 will be female and 153 male.
The British team will have more women than men for the second successive Olympic Games, while there are fewer athletes in total selected than at Tokyo due to the failure to qualify a women’s football team and a men’s rugby sevens team.
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Chair of UK Sport Katherine Grainger believes Team GB’s target of at least 50 medals is certainly achievable at the upcoming Paris Olympics
England has personally handed invitations to approximately 90 per cent of the team, he’s written to golfers Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood who haven’t been able to return to the UK since their selection due to their PGA Tour schedule.
England, who is the Head of the Team in Paris, has also allayed fears of water quality in the Rover Seine which could result in the Open Water swimming and Triathlon events being moved. He said he had been privy to recent updates from Paris 2024 organisers that the quality of the water was now at and above minimum safety levels.
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Despite having had injury issues since becoming world champion in 2022, Jake Wightman remains hopeful he can be competitive in the 800 metres at the upcoming Paris Olympics
UK Sport is confident that Team GB will succeed in Paris as the Team boasts 41 current World Champions across Olympic disciplines.
Dame Katherine Grainger UK Sport Chair said: “Paris offers the hugely exciting prospect of our brilliant British athletes competing on our doorstep. It’s also the first Games on a European time zone since London 2012, and I have no doubt that the British public will seize the moment to unite and cheer our incredible athletes to victory.
“In recent years we’ve also seen some of our most successful athletes utilise their sporting platform to drive societal change on issues ranging from the environment to LGBTQ+ rights to mental health, to female body image, and so much more.
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British record holder Molly Caudery can’t wait to perform at her first Olympics and is hopeful she can get onto the podium in Paris
“Chasing the dream of winning an Olympic or Paralympic title is incredibly tough, so I’m especially proud of those who decide to go a step further and use their sporting success to make a difference in society.”
Dr Kate Baker, UK Sport Director of Performance added: “We want to continue our streak of top five Olympic medal table finishes, but that won’t be easy. However, we’ve built a world-class system with brilliant people which has been fantastically well supported.
“A compressed three-year cycle has also presented plenty of challenges but the coaches and support staff working in the National Governing Bodies have wrapped incredible support around their athletes.
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With the quality of the 1500 metres field going into the Olympics, Laura Muir believes it will be an achievement in itself just to make the final in Paris
UK Sport also set Medal Ranges for Paralympics GB who will compete in Paris later this summer, the team is expected to win a minimum of 100 medals within a range of 100 to 140 medals at the Paralympics.
For the second Games running, UK Sport is not making public medal target for each individual sport. Up to Rio 2016 every sport that Team GB competed in was set its own medal target, but it’s felt that doing so would place undue pressure on the athletes. UK Sport did confirm that privately each sport has set its own internal targets for Paris 2024.
