With just over five months to go until the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Team GB Chef de Mission, Mark England OBE has today announced his Leadership Team for the Games.
Paul Ford MBE, Pete Ambrose and Frankie Carter Kelly will serve as Deputy Chefs de Mission for Team GB. Whilst Doctor Charlotte Cowie and Nicola (Nicki) Combarro have been appointed as Team GB’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Chief Physiotherapist respectively.
Ford, who most recently led Team GB as Chef de Mission at the Krakow 2023 European Games, will once again play a key role in ensuring the team has world-class field of play support, enabling the athletes and sports to deliver optimal performances at the Games across all sports and venues.
Ambrose, who is a Sport Engagement Manager at the BOA, has previously held performance positions at four Olympic Games, including Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022. He will oversee Team GB’s Preparation Camps in Paris and back in the UK. Carter-Kelly, who is seconded to the BOA from Commonwealth Games England and was Deputy Chef de Mission for Team England at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, will head up Team GB’s Performance Lodge.
As Head of Medicine at the Football Association, Cowie is a consultant in Sport and Exercise Medicine with 30 years’ experience working in elite sport and has worked at three Olympic Games. Combarro resumes the role of Chief Physiotherapist having done so at Tokyo 2020 and more recently with England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. She has previously worked with Team GB at four Olympic Games.
Ford said “An Olympic campaign is a long and detailed journey not only for Team GB but for each of our sports and it is a privilege to be part of such an experienced leadership group. I look forward to once again playing a part in ensuring we put in place the best possible support for the athletes and sports to achieve their Olympic dreams.”
Ambrose commented, “Our sport preparation camps at our sites in France and in the UK are such a fundamental element of our athletes’ performance at the Games. It’s a massive privilege to be appointed as deputy Chef de Mission for Team GB and I can’t wait to continue the great work we’ve done with the sports since Tokyo to shape the environment that best supports the Team to focus and prepare in those key weeks leading up to Paris 2024.”
Carter-Kelly added, “I am honoured to be working with Mark once again as one of his deputy Chefs de Mission and I’d like to thank Commonwealth Games England for enabling me to take up this opportunity with Team GB. The Lodge is an established and crucial part of an athlete’s preparation and I look forward to working with the team to ensure that we provide a world class performance centre and supportive Games environment in Paris so that the athletes can deliver their best performances on the field of play.”