The best quotes of Paris 2024: "The Olympics? Yeah, I completed it mate"

Paris 2024 21 Aug 24

As the world descended on Paris this summer, athletes went in front of cameras and microphones to tell their stories.

Whether it was about aptly-named horses or wanting to inspire the next generation, our Team GB athletes dropped some of the greatest one-liners and expressive moments of Paris 2024.

Here is our pick of the best quotes of Paris 2024:

Georgia Bell - athletics, women's 1500m bronze

"At the start line I was telling myself I was born for this, because I was born in Paris 30 years ago. I just felt like I had nothing to lose, there was no pressure on me, training was going well and it was so unlikely I would be here in the first place, so I just had to go for it and see what happens."

Kate Shortman - artistic swimming, duet silver

“We just hope we can inspire young girls and boys to join the sport. It's always been our goal to expand the sport. It's so fun, it's so dynamic and obviously it's a creative sport so we just hope that this has inspired people and hopefully young athletes will be inspired as well.”

Lewis Richardson - Boxing, 71kg bronze

“I’m looking forward to eating some cake now. There’s been some chocolate muffins in the Village that have gone viral so I really want to tuck into one of those."

Joe Clarke - canoe slalom, kayak cross silver

"I'm just getting started. I obviously missed out on Tokyo which was a big blow but we've bounced back from that and I've got a silver medal round my neck. There's definitely more to come and the enjoyment factor is still there. When that goes then I'll stop but right now I'm loving life."

Kieran Reilly - BMX Freestyle, silver

"We’re here to grow the sport and I hope this [silver medal] shows kids that you don’t have to be from somewhere with the best skatepark in the world. You can make it work. The hard work will pay off, and if you’re someone who loves riding their bike, that's not hard work."

Emma Finucane - track cycling, team sprint gold, individual sprint bronze, kierin bronze

“I’ve learned that emotions aren’t a negative and they mean you’re not weak. I’ve cried a lot this week and it just shows that I’m strong enough to get it out and reset. For me to cry and get back on the track I think is really important. It’s a long week and my mind has been on a mad one so I’ve learned a lot about myself."

Becky Moody - equestrian, dressage team bronze

"I didn’t quite think [my horse Jaegerbomb] would have the qualities to be a top-class horse but luckily I failed to sell him when he was young. I bred him 10 years ago and at that point in my life I might have been partial to a Jagerbomb. The name suits him."

Imogen Grant - rowing, lightweight double sculls gold

"There was a certain inevitability about it this morning, we just woke and looked at each other. I think we both knew that we had it in us today to win. I think the tears were just an outpouring of every early night, every hard training session, every wedding and party that we've missed, every time stressing over a bad session, every selection pressure, every early morning, every horrendous crosswind. Just all of it, all coming out at once."

Amber Rutter - shooting, women's skeet silver

"Being part of the club of being an Olympic medallist and a mum at the same time, it’s something that feels so inspirational. I hope we can share the message to other mums that your life doesn’t stop after having a baby."

Andy MacDonald - skateboarding, men's park

"Do you need 55-year-olds at the Olympics? Let’s go! LA is right up the road from me, I live in San Diego. My mate Tony Hawk was up watching in Paris, I was skating with him yesterday and he’s got five years on me. Tony Alva is in his late 60s and is still doing frontsiders, he is the inventor of the aerial on a skateboard, and he still skateboards. So, a few of us are still going."

Toby Roberts - sport climbing, boulder and lead gold

"I always just liked to climb stuff. When I was younger, climbing trees, climbing up my cot when I was a baby. I’ve always had a natural urge to climb."

Adam Peaty - swimming, men's 100m breaststroke silver

“I’m not crying because I’ve come second. I’m crying because it took so much to get here. To get a silver, I feel like I have won and it’s the one that means the most. My heart is so happy because I can theoretically lose and feel like I have won."

Emily Campbell - weightlifting, women's +81kg bronze

"This road has been really long, in Tokyo I was new to the sport, I was enjoying things and everything was great. It was a bonus medal. But this one really came from the heart. We’ve had a tough year building up, it took 18 months really, but we pulled it out at the right time. I could not be more elated with my performance. It was actually a PB performance, so you can’t really complain when you do that."

Bryony Page - trampolining - women's individual gold

"The Olympics? Yeah, I completed it mate."

Sportsbeat 2024

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