Ten Olympians going again at Paris 2024

Paris 2024 08 Jul 24

Competing in one Olympic Games is impressive enough so doing it multiple times marks an incredible achievement.

Team GB travel to Paris 2024 boasting a squad brimming with already-established Olympic icons.

Demonstrating incredible commitment and longevity to continue operating at the peak of their powers, here are 10 returning Team GB Olympians to look out for in Paris this summer.

Carl Hester

Dressage star Carl Hester will make history in Paris as he becomes only the second Brit ever to appear at seven Olympic Games.

The 57-year-old has done everything there is to do in the sport, with his crowning achievement coming at London 2012, where he bagged gold in front of a jubilant home crowd.

He has medalled at every Games he has participated in since then, winning silver in Rio before securing bronze at Tokyo 2020.

Hester was Team GB's youngest-ever rider when he made his debut at Barcelona 1992, but he will still be a year younger than Great Britain's oldest Olympic medallist Nick Skelton if he is to make it onto the podium in Paris.

Tom Daley

It is hard to remember a time when Tom Daley was not the poster boy for British diving.

He first represented Team GB at the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the age of just 14 - the youngest Brit to make the trip to China.

He then won a famous bronze in the men’s 10m platform at London 2012 before securing another bronze in the men’s synchronised 10m platform with Daniel Goodfellow.

Over a decade on from first winning the hearts of the nation, he finally reached the mountain top at Tokyo 2020, bagging gold in the men’s synchronised 10m platform alongside Matty Lee, also winning bronze in the individual.

Jade Jones

Hailing from the small Welsh town of Flint, Jade Jones was Team GB’s first-ever taekwondo Olympic champion.

Jones has been killing it on the mat since her debut at London 2012, where she secured a famous gold at just 19 years of age.

She successfully defended her crown in Rio four years later, with 'the Headhunter' beating Spain's Eva Calvo by 16-7 in the final.

While Tokyo 2020 is a blip on her record as she suffered a first-round exit, but now she is back and raring to reclaim her Olympic crown in Paris.

Bryony Page 

Bryony Page put illness and injury behind her to make her Games debut at Rio 2016 and became Team GB’s first-ever trampolining medallist in the process. 

Silver in Brazil was followed by bronze in Tokyo as Page made more history as the first British gymnast to win medals at multiple Games. 

She could further add to her legacy with another medal at her third Games in Paris, while an Olympic gold would complete the collection of top major honours. 

The Cheshire native is the reigning world and European champion in the women’s individual, also winning European synchronised gold alongside Izzy Songhurst, who is making her Games debut in Paris. 

Holly Bradshaw

With a fourth Olympic appearance beckoning, pole vault star Holly Bradshaw has become a staple of Team GB’s track and field team.

Possessing a never-say-die attitude, Bradshaw made it her mission to bag a medal at the Games having reached the final at London 2012 and Rio 2016.

Avenging the heartbreak of previous years, she finally found her place on the podium in Tokyo, securing bronze to claim Britain's first-ever Olympic medal in the discipline.

Now, having overcome several fitness setbacks in typical Bradshaw fashion, she sets her sights on going better than three years prior at Paris 2024.

Katy Marchant

Previously a heptathlete, Katy Marchant made the somewhat late switch to cycling at 19. It is safe to say she has not looked back.

Just three years on from changing sports, she was an Olympic medallist, bagging individual sprint bronze in her Games debut at Rio 2016.

Marchant is now preparing to compete in her third Olympic Games at Paris 2024, travelling to the French capital as the most experienced women’s track sprinter in the squad.

In Tokyo, she was the sole female sprint representative but is now part of a team of three and she'll even have an extra fan in the crowd after giving birth to her son Arthur in June 2022.

Liam Pitchford

Liam Pitchford is preparing to make history at Paris 2024 as the first-ever table tennis player to represent Team GB at four Olympic Games.

After making his debut as a fresh-faced 19-year-old at London 2012, Pitchford’s Olympic career highlight to date came in Rio, playing his part in a men’s team victory over France.

He now sits as one of the best singles players on the planet, reaching a high of 12th in the world rankings in 2019.

And will hope to produce a strong performance at his fourth Games in Paris.

Kirsty Gilmour 

Set to appear at her third Olympic Games, Kirsty Gilmour has become a stalwart of Team GB’s badminton squad. 

The Scot made her debut at Rio 2016 but was hampered by a cartilage injury in the build-up to the Games. 

Gilmour has rarely been out of the top 30 in women’s singles over the last decade and has flown the Union Jack solo in the discipline for each of her Games appearances. 

Another flag she proudly waves is that of the Pride flag as the Bellshill native is one of only two athletes in badminton’s top 100 to be openly LGBTQ+. 

Chris Grube

Having first joined the British Sailing Team in 2004, dad-of-two Chris Grube was not ready to hang up his wetsuit and is coming out of retirement to compete at Paris 2024.

It’ll be his third Olympic Games for Team GB, having recorded a commendable fifth-place finish in the 470 class at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

After just missing out on selection for London 2012 alongside double Olympic medallist Nick Rogers, Grube will be eager to experience the feeling of a partisan crowd, with many expecting a strong British contingent to make the trip to Marseille this summer.

He will be sure to impart wisdom on partner and Olympic debutant Vita Heathcote, who was only three years old when Grube made his international arrival two decades ago.

Jasmine Joyce 

The only British player to have been selected for all three of rugby sevens’ appearances at an Olympics, Jasmine Joyce has become a star of the sport. 

The speedy back has represented Great Britain at Rio 2016 where sevens made its debut and Tokyo 2020, with only Meg Jones having also been at both Games, acting as a reserve in Rio. 

Both times, Joyce has helped Team GB to fourth-place finishes and has scored nine tries across both Games. 

Away from sevens, Joyce has also established herself as a full-back for Wales’ 15-a-side team in between Olympics. 

Tags