The Olympics will have gender parity for the first time ever. Here are 20 Team GB female athletes to watch out for
For the first time in history, the 2024 Paris Olympics will have an equal number of female athletes and male athletes competing. And errr, about time?
The International Olympics Committee president, Thomas Bach, went as far as saying the competition would be “one of the most important moments in the history of women at the Olympic Games, and in sport overall.”
The games will also provide more coverage of women's and mixed events, ensuring that female athletes get more public recognition, which can have a life-changing impact on their careers, especially in the form of sponsorship deals and funding.
It's important to recognise that the Paralympics has yet to achieve full gender parity. Craig Spence, the Chief Brand & Communications Officer of the International Paralympic Committee, tells GLAMOUR, “It is likely to be 55% male vs. 45% female. Bearing in mind the first Paralympic Games were only in 1960, we are pleased to have reached this level but clearly have some work to do to achieve parity.”
Interest in female sports is rising (and rising), with the Women's England team's 2022 Euro win marking history for the sport. A record-breaking 46.7 million people watched women's sports on television in 2023, and we couldn't be happier that these amazing female athletes will be getting the attention they deserve at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
When and where is the Paris 2024 Olympics?
The Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony is scheduled to take place on the 26th of July, and events will commence from then until the 11th of August. Paris is the main host city, and events will be held in 16 cities across metropolitan France at 35 different venues, including the Château de Versailles, the Stade de France, and the Seine.
How can I watch the Paris 2024 Olympics?
The Paris 2024 Olympics will be available to watch on BBC channels. The BBC is the official Olympic broadcast partner, and the games and ceremonies will be available to watch live and on-demand on BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer; some coverage will also be available on BBC Radio 5 Live.
When are where is the Paris 2024 Paralympics?
The Paris 2024 Paralympics opening ceremony is scheduled to take place on the 28th of August, and events will commence from then until the 8th of September. Just like the Olympics, the Paralympics will also be held in Paris and will share the same venues.
How can I watch the Paris 2024 Paralympics?
The Paris 2024 Paralympics will be available to watch on Channel 4. Channel 4 has been the official Paralympic broadcast partner since the London 2012 games, and the games and ceremonies will be available to watch live and on-demand on Channel 4 and Channel 4's sports channels on YouTube.
Ahead of the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris 2024, we've compiled a list of some of the best and brightest Team GB athletes to watch out for…
Tim Goode - PA ImagesDame Sarah Storey
Mancunian Dame Sarah Storey, 46, started swimming at age 10 while at school but was told by her coach that she had started her training too late to be good at anything. But she proved them wrong. She initially competed at the Paralympics as a swimmer, but moved onto cycling in 2005, and has been breaking records for years.
She won five gold medals at the Paralympics before turning 19 and has gone on to win a whopping total of 28 medals, including 17 gold medals since her Paralympic debut in 1992. Her record-breaking achievements have earned her the title of the most decorated and successful British Paralympian and one of the most decorated Paralympians of all time.
Gary OakleyDina Asher Smith
Dina Asher-Smith, 28, started breaking records at just 13 years old, running a world-best 39.16 seconds in the 300m. In her Olympic debut in Rio 2016, she came fifth in the 200m final and then claimed Bronze in the women's 4x100 relay squad.
In 2017 she broke her foot in a training accident, but that didn't stop her, a mere five months after her accident she went on to win a silver medal as part of the 4x100m relay at the World Championships in London. In 2019, she became the first British woman to win a world title in a sprint event
One of the biggest names in British sprinting, she has even had a Barbie made in her likeness. She recently reclaimed her European 100m crown in Rome in preparation for the Paris Games, where we're sure she'll break even more records.
Toru HanaiHannah Cockroft
After being turned away from sports in primary school, Cockroft competed in swimming, seated discus and wheelchair basketball at secondary school. After attending a Paralympic Association talent day, she was given the opportunity to try elite wheelchair racing, and she has competed in the sport since.
She has won gold medals at every Paralympics since her first in 2012, totaling seven. She has also claimed gold in nearly all of her major championships, with 21 gold medals and 3 silver. She is also a 16-time World Champion.
DeFodi ImagesKatarina Johnson-Thompson
Katarina Johnson-Thompson, 31, is one of Team GB's best heptathletes and indoor pentathletes. She won her first World Championship title in 2019. And has earned multiple titles at countless championships and events since.
However, in 2020, a serious Achilles injury disrupted her training for the Tokyo Games, and she had to withdraw. However, her hard work and perseverance mean that she will be back and better than ever at the games this year, which will be her fourth time representing Team GB at the Olympics.
Her hard work was not left unnoticed, as she was nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2023 after a sensational comeback.
Will Matthews - PA ImagesKadeena Cox
Kadeena Cox, 33, is a multi-parasport athlete competing in athletics and cycling events. She started springing at the age of 15 and competed in many events across the UK before her multiple sclerosis diagnosis.
At her Paralympic debut in 2016 she competed in both athletics and cycling and won a bronze medal in the women's 100m sprint, before winning a gold medal in the women's cycling time trial and another gold in the 400m sprint. These astounding results made her the first British Paralympian to win multiple gold medals in multiple sports at the same game since 1984.
She is now the proud owner of four gold, one silver, and one bronze Paralympic medals and uses her platform to spread awareness about MS.
Nathan Stirk - British AthleticsLina Nielsen and Laviai Nielsen
Lina was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was just 13, a condition that she shares with her twin sister, and revealed her illness publicly in 2022 when she suffered a flare-up before her World Championship debut in Eugene, Oregon.
Laviai was diagnosed weeks before Tokyo but continued training, and her 4x400m squad finished fifth in the games. The pair started running when they were 12 and have competed and trained together since.
The sisters stood on a podium together for the first time earlier this year at the World Indoors in Glasgow in March, where they won bronze medals in the 4x400m relay. The twins, now 28, will be in Paris this summer, where they will achieve their dream of finally being able to race together.
Matthew LewisGemma Collis
Gemma Collis, 31, is a Paralympic wheelchair fencer hailing from Buckinghamshire.
Initially training in figure skating, hockey, the 100m and triple jump when she was younger, Collis hoped to compete in the triple jump at the Olympics. However, her complex regional pain syndrome and subsequent amputation meant that she had to pursue other sports. While at university, she was approached by a GB wheelchair fencing coach asking if she would be interested in the sport, and the rest is history.
She competed in the 2012 games with less than a year's experience in the sport, and she has competed in the games every year since.
David BaloghSky Brown
Brown qualified for the Tokyo Games at age 12 and made history in 2021 when she competed at age 13. But her journey has not been easy.
In 2020, she suffered life-threatening injuries while training, fracturing her skull and breaking her wrist, making her qualification process for the upcoming games uncertain. Brown, now 15, suffered injuries again this year, tearing her medial collateral ligament in May 2024, but powered through with resilience to qualify for the Olympics this year.
Martin Rickett - PA ImagesEllie Challis
Ellie Challis, 20, grew up in Essex. Her father was the first to get her in the water, wanting her to learn how to swim to be safe on holidays.
In 2017, she broke the British 50m Breaststroke record that had stood since 1992 and then went on to become the world record holder in the event two years later. She became the youngest member of Paralympics GB in Tokyo, where she won a silver medal in the 50m backstroke at the age of 17.
She has been passionately outspoken about spreading awareness about meningitis, the condition that led to her disability and not letting her disability limit her. "I want to do things everyone says I can't – just to prove them wrong,"
J Kruger - British AthleticsDaryll Neita
London native and 27-year-old sprinter Neita was inspired to pursue athletics when watching Jamaican athlete Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce win at Beijing 2008.
Neita is a multiple Olympic medallist, winning two bronze medals with her 4x100m relay squad at the Rio 2016 Games and Tokyo Games.
Neita later went on to compete against her inspiration, Fraser-Pryce, in the 2021 games. She will return to the Olympic scene for her third Games in Paris this year, where she will compete in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay.
John Walton - PA ImagesKaré Adenegan
Karé Adenegan, 23, is a wheelchair athlete specialising in sprint distances. Adenegan took up wheelchair racing in 2012 after being inspired by the London Paralympics.
Competing at her first Paralympics in 2016 at the age of 15, she won three medals: a silver in the 100m and two bronzes in the 400m and 800m. Adenegan is also the only athlete to have defeated Hannah Cockroft in a Women's wheelchair race not once but twice: in 2015, aged 14, and again in 2018, aged 17.
She was chosen to represent Team GB again at the Tokyo 2020 games, where she won silver medals in the 100m and 800m competitions, bringing her current Paralympic medal total up to five.
J Kruger - British AthleticsDesirèe Henry
Henry, 28, is one of the best upcoming sprinters for Team GB. Becoming a World Youth Champion in 2011 at 16 years old in the 200m, Henry claimed European gold three years later in the 4x100m relay team.
She was also one of seven to light the Olympic cauldron at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony. At her Olympic debut in 2016, she was joined on the podium by Asha Philip, Dina Asher-Smith, and Daryll Neita after they won bronze.
She is passionate about encouraging young Black athletes and athletes of colour to pursue their dreams and has been vocal about her struggles as a woman in the industry. She will be competing this year again in the 4x100m.
John Walton - PA ImagesEmma Wiggs
Growing up in Harrow, London, Emma Wiggs, 44, is a para canoeist and former sitting volleyball player. She won gold at the 2016 Paralympics and gold and silver at the 2020 games and is a twelve-time world champion.
She took up sitting volleyball in 2010, after wanting to join a team sport, and captained the great British team at the 2010 World Championship, where they won a bronze medal. She switched to para-canoeing after the 2012 Olympics and went on to win gold in 2016 and gold and silver in 2020.
She also gained the title of most successful Female Para Canoest at the 2020 games.
Fran SantiagoEllie Boatman
Boatman, now 27, first started playing rugby aged 4, but dropped out of the sport at 16 and instead focused on horse riding.
She rediscovered her passion for the sport during her university years and became a full-time player within four years.
However, she faced many personal struggles with her mental health. She has been vocal about her struggles overcoming an eating disorder and how pursuing her sport helped her love her body again. She will be part of the Olympic women's rugby team this year.
Srdjan StevanovicLauren Rowles
Rowles, 26, was inspired to take up sport while watching the 2012 Paralympics while receiving treatment for her transverse myelitis, a condition in which the spinal cord becomes inflamed.
Initially, she competed as a wheelchair racer and became the England Under-16s champion at the 100m, 299m and 1500m. But she switched to rowing in 2015.
At her Olympic debut in 2016, she set a world record in the heats with her teammate, and they went on to win gold in the finals. They also won gold in the 2020 games. She and her partner – Jude Hamer, a wheelchair basketball player – are passionate about using their platform to talk about their experiences balancing being athletes with motherhood.
Clive BrunskillAnna Hursey
Hursey started playing table tennis at the age of 5 and is thought to be the youngest person to represent Wales in any sport when she represented them in a European Championship qualifier as a 10-year-old.
In May 2024, she became the first Welsh table tennis player to qualify for the Olympics.
Hursey is also a United Nations Ambassador for climate change in sport and spoke to President Joe Biden in 2021 about halting climate change. At 18, she will make her Olympic debut this year.
Tim Clayton - CorbisRuby Evans
Born in Cardiff, Evans was named the first reserve for the historic Great Britain squad team that won Gold at the 2023 European Championships. She then became the first Welsh gymnast in 17 years to be selected to compete at the Worlds later that year.
Since the start of the year, she has added European Championship silver to her repertoire and will make her Olympic debut at the Paris Games at just 17 years old.
Bradley Collyer - PA ImagesLaura Roper
Roper, 36, is one of Team GB's top hockey players, having won one gold medal and two bronze Olympic medals.
Roper, hailing from Sutton Coldfield, she has won over 350 combined caps for England and Great Britain over her 16-year career.
This year will be her fourth time at the Olympics, where she's bound to smash it again.
Ryan PierseEmily Campbell
Initially training in shot put, discus and hammer, Campbell turned to weightlifting at university. Hailing from Nottinghamshire, she broke into the scene in 2021 at the European weightlifting championships.
Campbell delivered one of Team GB’s greatest moments at the Tokyo games when she lifted 156kg and 161kg and won silver, securing GB's first-ever medal in the sport since 1984.
Now 30, she will be competing in the upcoming Olympic games after winning four European championship titles earlier this year.
Sam MellishImani-Lara Lansiquot
Laniquot, 26 and a Peckham native started running at 15 years old and hasn't stopped since.
She won a Bronze medal in the 2021 games as part of the 4x100m women's quartet. This came after she was struck by COVID-19 in 2020, which left her struggling to breathe “for months” while also losing her taste and smell. But her passion was reignited while cleaning out her garage with her father during lockdown when she found a note she had written at 11 stating, “One day I want to be an Olympic champion, and one day I want to be an author.”
She has done just that, with her 100-metre best of 10.99 secs, which ranks her third on the UK all-time list. She will be competing this year in the 100m and 4x100m.
