Wales will have the most athletes at an Olympic Games in over a century after a record 31 were included in Team GB for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
It will be the largest contingent of Welsh athletes to go to an overseas Games.
Only once have there been more – 32 in London in 1908 – but back then Wales entered its own hockey team (and won bronze).
For 17 of the 31 Welsh athletes in Paris, this summer will bring an Olympic debut.
The youngest – gymnast Ruby Evans – is just 17. Sailor Chris Grube is the oldest at 39 and goes to his third Games.
Hopes are high for two 21-year-olds in swimmer Matt Richards and track cyclist Emma Finucane – who both won individual world titles last year and could light up the Games. Josh Tarling will go for gold in the men’s time trial.
Wales will have a table tennis player at an Olympics for the first time, as 18-year-old Anna Hursey is selected.
The nation’s fastest man of all time, Jeremiah Azu, will become the first Welshman to race the 100m at an Olympics in over half a century.
And Jade Jones will aim to become Wales’ greatest female Olympian with a third gold in taekwondo.
The class of 2024 will be hoping to beat the record 10 Olympic medals won by Welsh athletes at Rio 2016, with four of them gold.
Here is everything you need to know about the Welsh athletes in Paris.
Athletics
Jeremiah Azu
Age: 23
From: Cardiff
Events: men’s 100m; men’s 4x100m relay
Only one Welsh athlete has ever run 100 metres in under 10 seconds, and his name is Jeremiah Azu.
The 23-year-old ran a 9.97 in Germany in May to move joint eighth on the all-time British rankings. He secured his spot at his first Olympics by coming second at the Olympic trials in Manchester in June.
The following morning he was back in Cardiff, taking part in the weekly church service his father Alex leads. Azu says his religious beliefs are driving his achievements in athletics and he is now targeting the Olympic 100m final and a medal in the 4x100m relay.
Key dates: The showpiece event – the men’s 100m – begins at the Stade de France on Saturday, 3 August with morning heats, before the semi-finals and final take place on Sunday, 4 August from 19:00 BST. Azu will then be in action again on Friday, 9 August for the men’s 4x100m relay.
Azu says: “I never want to be in something to just be mediocre – I want to go there and be the best.”
Boxing
Rosie Eccles
Age: 27 (28 on 23rd July)
From: Caldicot
Event: women’s 66kg
This has been a long time coming for Rosie Eccles. Not only has she been dreaming of going to the Olympics since she was eight, but she’s been trying to qualify for six years.
Covid cost her a place at Tokyo. She caught the virus in early 2020 and it attacked her nervous system. It caused so much pain in her neck and right arm that it left her fearing for her boxing career. It contributed to her defeat in the Tokyo Olympic qualifying event but she bounced back with Commonwealth gold for Wales in 2022.
Now she is aiming for Olympic gold, which her former Wales and GB team-mate Lauren Price won in Tokyo.
Key dates: Eccles begins her campaign for gold in the women’s 66kg on Sunday, 28 July. If she goes all the way to the final, she will fight at 21:51 BST on Friday, 9 August at Roland Garros.
Eccles says: “This is my one Olympics. This is my one shot. If I take one fight at a time and bring my best, I can win that gold medal.”
Cycling
Elinor Barker
Age: 29
From: Cardiff
Events: women’s team pursuit; women’s madison
This will be Elinor Barker’s third Olympic Games – but her first since becoming a mum to Nico in 2022. She found out she was pregnant on the day she won Olympic silver in the women’s team pursuit in Tokyo, meaning a cocktail of emotions as she also came to terms with being left out of the GB quartet for their final against Germany.
At that time, she says, Paris was not on her radar. But she has made a remarkable return to the sport after pregnancy. She competed for Wales at the 2022 Commonwealth Games when Nico was just five months old. Then in 2023 she won two world titles in Glasgow – in the team pursuit and madison.
Those events are in Barker’s sights for Paris as she aims to add to her silver from Tokyo and gold from Rio 2016.
Key dates: The women’s team pursuit takes place at the National Velodrome on Tuesday, 6 and Wednesday, 7 August. Barker will then race in the women’s madison at 17:09 BST on Friday, 9 August.
Barker says: “I certainly feel calmer than the previous two Olympics. And a little bit wiser maybe, which probably makes me sound quite old! But I’m still very motivated. I’d be lying if I said I wanted to come away with anything other than two gold medals.”
Emma Finucane
Age: 21
From: Carmarthen
Events: women’s sprint; women’s team sprint; women’s keirin
It is rare for a 21-year-old to be making their Olympic debut with this much expectation on their shoulders. But Emma Finucane is not an ordinary 21-year-old.
The sprint cyclist from Carmarthen is already a world champion (she won Britain’s first individual female sprint world gold in a decade) and European champion (the first British female sprinter to do so). On her day she is the undisputed best and she is in contention to challenge for three golds in Paris. But a lot can happen in track sprinting. Either way it should be box office.
Key dates: The women’s team sprint kicks off the track cycling programme on Monday, 5 August, with the finals taking place from 18:46 BST. If everything goes to plan, Finucane will then hope to have the keirin final on Thursday, 8 August at 18:01 BST before rounding off the Games on the final day with the women’s individual sprint final at 10:22 BST.
Finucane says: “I’ve been training really hard for this. After all the hard work I’ve put in, I want success out of that. I’m driven by being successful and winning Olympic gold medals.”
Ella Maclean-Howell
Age: 19
From: Llantrisant
Event: women’s cross country mountain bike
Ella Maclean-Howell is one of 17 Welsh athletes who will make Olympic debuts in France this summer. And she will make a little bit of history along the way. Maclean-Howell is the first Welsh mountain biker to go to an Olympics and another cyclist on the impressive alumni list of Cardiff club, Maindy Flyers, where Elinor Barker and former Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas started out.
She has earned her spot after some impressive results at under-23 level this season and says the experience in Paris will be invaluable as she already looks ahead to LA 2028.
Key date: Maclean-Howell is racing on day two of the Games – Sunday, 28 July – at 13:10 BST in the women’s cross country MTB at the rather Welsh-sounding Elancourt Hill.
Maclean-Howell says: “It’s going to be completely crazy. It’s a big step up but I’m super excited as it’s what every child dreams of.”
Anna Morris
Age: 29
From: Cardiff
Events: women’s team pursuit; women’s road race
When the last Olympics took place in Tokyo, Anna Morris was in a Gloucestershire hospital training to be a doctor. She had started cycling at university and would fit whatever cycling she could do on the turbo trainer around her shifts. Soon afterwards, she paused her medical career to have a go at making the 2022 Commonwealth Games for Wales. She did it, but did not stop there.
She moved on to the British Cycling programme in Manchester and has become an important part of the women’s endurance squad. She was part of the world championship-winning team pursuit quartet in Glasgow last summer and will aim for the same in Paris. She will also double up on the road too. Her medical career remains on hold.
Key dates: Morris first rides on the road in the women’s road race at 13:00 BST on Sunday, 4 August – finishing in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. She will then switch to the track for the women’s team pursuit on Tuesday, 6 and Wednesday, 7 August.
Morris says: “I’ve watched it growing up on TV and you wonder what it’s like to go to the Games. It wasn’t on my radar a few years ago. But it’s such a special opportunity. It’s a dream come true.”
Jess Roberts
Age: 25
From: Carmarthen
Event: women’s team pursuit
Jess Roberts was always considered a hugely talented young rider but everything went on hold for her in 2021 as she was forced to take time away from the sport to recover from a long-standing back injury.
That issue is long behind her now and, after already going to two Commonwealth Games for Wales, she now gets the chance to race at her first Olympics.
Key dates: Roberts takes to the track on Tuesday, 6 and Wednesday, 7 August in the women’s team pursuit.
Roberts says: “We’re a select number of people who get to do this. It’s pretty surreal. I’m really grateful for this opportunity and excited to get on the start line.”
Josh Tarling
Age: 20
From: Aberaeron
Events: men’s time trial; men’s road race
Josh Tarling may only be 20 years old but he has already established himself as one of the world’s best time triallists. In 2023 he won European gold and took bronze at the World Championships. He has also won the last two British time trial titles.
He has been riding with INEOS since he was 18 and recently signed a new contract to 2027, with the team describing him as one of the most promising talents in world cycling. He has been out to recce the 32.4 kilometre time trial course in Paris to give himself the best possible chance of winning gold on day one of the Games.
Key dates: Tarling could win one of Great Britain’s first golds of the Games as the men’s time trial gets under way at 15:34 BST on Saturday, 27 July. He will be back in action the following Saturday (3 August) in the men’s road race.
Tarling says: “I’m honoured to go, but I want to do well. You can’t waste any opportunities because it’s every four years. I want to try to win and I’ll throw everything at it to win.”
Stevie Williams
Age: 28
From: Aberystwyth
Event: men’s road race
The Israel-Premier Tech rider already has two big wins to his name this year – the Tour Down Under in January and the one-day La Flèche Wallonne in April. And it’s been a big summer for him too. He recently signed a new four-year contract with Israel-Premier Tech and rode his first Tour de France. In August he will make his Olympic debut on the roads of Paris.
Key date: Less than two weeks after completing the Tour de France, Williams will be back on French roads for the men’s road race in Paris at 10:00 BST on Saturday, 3 August.
Gymnastics
Ruby Evans
Age: 17
From: Cardiff
Events: women’s artistic gymnastics
At just 17 years old, Ruby Evans is the youngest Welsh athlete in Team GB at these Olympics. She is also first female artistic gymnast from Wales to go to a Games since Sonia Lawrence way back in 1996.
She started the sport at her local leisure centre in Cardiff when she was five – and just she kept going back. She’s really established herself on the GB women’s artistic team over the past 12 months, with an appearance at a World Championships and at the European Championships in May, where she helped them win silver. But the Olympics will be another level for her.
Key dates: The women’s qualification begins on Sunday, 28 July, with the team final following on Tuesday, 30 July at 17:15 BST.
Evans says: “Hopefully it’ll be one of the best experiences of my life. I’m really excited to get there, be in the village and meet other people from other sports.”
Hockey
Jacob Draper
Age: 25 (26 on 24 July)
From: Cwmbran
Event: men’s hockey
Position: Defender
A total of 138 combined caps for Wales and Great Britain before the age of 26 tells you what you need to know about Jacob Draper. A young man with a first-class degree in economics who becomes a key part of any team he plays in. He celebrated his 23rd birthday on the day of the opening ceremony in Tokyo but after a disappointing quarter-final exit, there will only be celebrations in Paris if he picks up a medal.
Draper says: “My friend had to open the [selection] email for me as I was shaking so much. I can’t describe it. You just get goosebumps as the email comes through and you’re overjoyed. It makes all the tough times worth it.”
Gareth Furlong
Age: 32
From: Cambridge (Welsh mum)
Event: men’s hockey
Position: Defender
Gareth Furlong may have been a late bloomer on the GB programme but he’s long been a legend in Welsh hockey circles – literally in opposition defensive circles, if you’ve seen his drag flicks. His tally of 148 caps for Wales puts him in a very select group of people to represent the nation so often. He scored on his GB debut in June and will now hope to fire them to their first Olympic gold since 1988.
Furlong says: “There are five or six really competitive sides there but we definitely want to be on the podium at the end of the Games. That would be unbelievable.”
Rupert Shipperley
Age: 31
From: Oxford (Welsh dad)
Event: men’s hockey
Position: Forward
In 2020 Rupert Shipperley had quit his job as a geography teacher to train with Great Britain and pursue his dream of going to an Olympics. Within weeks the Tokyo Games had been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Shipperley used the delay to his advantage, establishing himself on the GB programme, and his Olympic dream came true. He can now boast 48 caps for Great Britain and 106 for Wales and will be hoping for some silverware in Paris this summer.
Shipperley says: “I’m incredibly honoured to be selected for my second Olympics. We hope to showcase our sport to the world and, as a team, we have high expectations. I can’t wait to get started.”
Key dates: The GB men’s hockey team get their campaign under way bright and early on day one – 09:00 BST on Saturday, 27 July – in their pool A match against Spain. They will be hoping to get all the way to the final at 18:00 BST on Thursday, 8 August at the Yves-du-Manoir stadium.
Sarah Jones
Age: 34
From: Cardiff
Event: women’s hockey
Position: Midfielder
Sarah Jones was one of GB’s star performers on their way to Olympic bronze in Tokyo. She held her nerve to score a brilliant shootout penalty against Spain in their quarter-final. They went on to beat India in a 4-3 thriller for bronze. Results haven’t been what the team would have wanted since – they finished seventh in the most recent Pro League. But after that historic gold at Rio 2016, the GB women’s team always seem to rise to the biggest occasion.
Jones says: “With Tokyo it was such a different experience, due to Covid, so I’m looking forward to enjoying the atmosphere and buzz of Paris. It’s been an intense few years of training, injury and matches, so to have the chance to help GB women get on the podium for a fourth time in four consecutive Olympics, is beyond exciting.”
Key dates: The GB women get started in pool, also against Spain, at 12:15 BST on Sunday, 28 July. Their potential final is at 19:00 BST on Friday, 9 August.
Rowing
Matt Aldridge
Age: 28
From: Christchurch, Dorset (Welsh grandmother)
Event: men’s four
Anyone who remembers watching Sir Steve Redgrave’s historic fifth Olympic gold at Sydney 2000 will know how iconic the Great Britain men’s four is. Matt Aldridge, 28, is part of the boat in Paris – and they look on course for more history.
Aldridge and team-mates Oli Wilkes, David Ambler and Freddie Davidson are the reigning world champions and finished the 2024 season unbeaten. The GB men’s four boat has won nine of its 11 races since the last Olympics and they look like the ones to beat in Paris.
Key dates: The men’s four heats begin at 11:50 BST on Sunday, 28 July, with the final then taking place at 10:06 BST on Thursday, 1 August.
Aldridge says: “Great Britain know how to make a four go very quickly. I think we make a bigger sum than our parts. We don’t have the ego – we just get it done. I’m really excited and I’m really proud to be representing Britain at the Games.”
Tom Barras
Age: 30
From: Staines (qualified for Wales at university)
Event: men’s quadruple sculls
In an otherwise disappointing Tokyo Games for British Rowing, the men’s quadruple sculls’ silver medal was a standout moment. It was the first time Britain had won a medal in the boat class. Tom Barras was part of the boat back then and returns in Paris – alongside fellow former Wales Home Countries sculling champion Graeme Thomas. Barras credits his desire to challenge for Olympic gold as the main reason he stayed in the boat for another three years.
Key dates: The men’s quad begin on the opening morning, 11:30 BST on Saturday, 27 July, and GB will be hoping to race for gold at 11:02 BST on Wednesday, 31July.
Barras says: “This is a phenomenally powerful boat I’m in. The guys I’m with are so fit and strong – and such good rowers. I want to push the top boats as hard as I can and if we get it right, we can win.”
Harry Brightmore
Age: 30
From: Chester (Welsh grandparents)
Event: men’s eight (cox)
Harry Brightmore started out with oar in hand as he represented Wales a decade ago. These days he’s the man at the back of the boat, coxing Great Britain’s men’s eight to the world title in both 2022 and 2023. He was inspired by watching the men’s eight win gold at Sydney 2000 and, after their bronze in Tokyo, he’ll be hoping to help them to the top step of the podium once again.
Key dates: The men’s eight get under way at 10:40 BST on Monday, 29 July, with their potential final following at 10:10 BST on Saturday, 3 August.
Brightmore says: “It’s like herding cats sometimes! All the guys bring very different experiences and it’s important for me to draw upon them and bring it to a big collective. When we’re all the same page, we’re flying.”
Eve Stewart
Age: 26
From: Amsterdam (Welsh mum)
Event: women’s eight
Eve Stewart was born in the Netherlands to a proud Welsh mum who played netball for her country. But it was the boats and blades which drew Eve’s interest. She rowed for the Netherlands at first, but – after going to university in Iowa – the well-travelled Stewart eventually came to the UK and began rowing for Britain. Stewart’s grandmother was Pat Stewart – one of the ‘Blackpool Belles’ photographed in a spotty dress on Blackpool beachfront in 1951 that became an iconic photo of the time.
Key dates: The women’s eight heats begin at 11:00 BST on Monday, 29 July, with the final taking place at 09:50 BST on Saturday, 3 August.
Stewart says: “Competing at my first Olympics as part of Team GB is a literal dream come true. We’ve done some great training on our pre-Olympic camp and I can’t wait to show the world what we can do.”
Graeme Thomas
Age: 35
From: Preston (Welsh grandfather)
Event: men’s quadruple sculls
Graeme Thomas will be hoping his luck turns as he prepares for his third Olympics. In 2016 he was forced to fly home without competing due to illness. Then in Tokyo – in the men’s double sculls – he finished an agonising fourth alongside John Collins in the final, missing out on a medal by less than three seconds. He moves into the men’s quadruple sculls and says he is hoping for some more ‘Tom Barras magic’ after his compatriot helped the boat to silver in Tokyo.
Key dates: The men’s quad begin on the opening morning, 11:30 BST on Saturday, 27 July, and GB will be hoping to race for gold at 11:02 BST on Wednesday, 31 July.
Thomas says: “If my career’s been a rollercoaster then the last three years certainly have as well. I had an injury last year which took me out of competing. But I won the national trials in December so I’ve shown I’m back at my best.”
Becky Wilde
Age: 26
From: Taunton (Welsh mum)
Event: women’s double sculls
After spending a decade in the water, swimming for Wales, Becky Wilde now rows on it. Alongside Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne, the double sculls duo left it very late to qualify for Paris – doing so at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in May. But it was a build-up affected by injury and disruption. Last year she had surgery for compartment syndrome in both her arms, a condition which causes pressure to build inside the muscles. But now she looks to be hitting form at just the right time.
Key dates: Wilde and Hodgkins-Byrne begin on the opening morning – 11:00 BST on Saturday, 27 July – in the women’s double sculls heats. The final is at 09:30 BST on Thursday, 1 August.
Wilde says: “I’ve dreamed of going to the Olympics since I was six years old, so it means everything to me. The field in the women’s double is very open and we know if we make the final in Paris, it’s all to play for.”
Ollie Wynne-Griffith
Age: 30
From: Guildford (Welsh dad)
Event: men’s pair
Ollie Wynne-Griffith grew up dreaming of playing rugby for Wales but has gone on to become one of Britain’s top rowers instead. He won Olympic bronze in the men’s eight at the last Games before switching to the pair with childhood friend Tom George for this Olympic cycle.
Wynne-Griffith has switched from stroke to bowside but the childhood friends have made quite the pair so far. They have been on the podium at every major championships since Tokyo, won their first major title at the 2024 European Rowing Championships and are unbeaten in 2024 so far.
Key dates: The men’s pair heats start from 10:00 BST on Sunday, 28 July, before the final follows at 09:42 BST on Friday, 2 August.
Wynne-Griffith says: “Going to one Olympic Games is more than I ever could’ve dreamt of growing up. So to be going to my second, if you’d told me 10 years ago I would’ve laughed at you. You see the Team GB kit and it gives you goosebumps.”
Rugby Sevens
Jasmine Joyce
Age: 28
From: St Davids, Pembrokeshire
Event: women’s rugby sevens
Position: Wing
Jasmine Joyce – known as Jaz – will become the first British rugby player to go to three Olympic Games. And she will be hoping to finally come back with a medal. She was part of the GB women’s team to finish fourth in both Rio and Tokyo. With almost 40 caps for Wales, she’s known for her speed on the rugby pitch – something that comes into its own in sevens.
Key dates: The women’s rugby sevens event is held over three days from Sunday, 28, until Tuesday, 30 July at the Stade de France.
Joyce says: “Fourth place is almost the worst position you can come. You’d rather come last. The last two Olympics we’ve expected to medal but now we’re coming in under the radar. There’s a different fight about us.”
Sailing
Micky Beckett
Age: 29
From: Solva, Pembrokeshire
Event: men’s dinghy (ILCA 7)
During the last Olympics, Micky Beckett was working on the TV production of the Games, advising TV directors on race narratives. But since then he’s proved he deserves to compete at that level himself.
The west Walian has won European gold, world silver and bronze, as well as silver at the Paris 2024 test event last year. He has also won the ILCA7 dinghy class at the prestigious Princess Sofia Trophy regatta in Mallorca every year since 2022.
He has a calm, understated presence but he’s determined to succeed and has all the ingredients to do something special in Marseille.
Key dates: The men’s dinghy event takes place in Marseille Marina from Thursday, 1 August, with two races a day until the top 10 boats move into the medal races on Tuesday, 6 August, when double points are on offer.
Beckett says: “The pressure’s there. But I thought, do I want to be an outsider, an underdog – or do I want to go in as favourite? If you go in as favourite, it means you’ve had that winning experience. By winning those medals, that’s got me the winning experience which hopefully will stand me in good stead.”
Chris Grube
Age: 39
From: Chester (Welsh mother)
Event: mixed dinghy (470)
Just like in Tokyo, 39-year-old dad-of-two Chris Grube is the oldest Welsh athlete at the Games. That experience has taken him to the last two Olympic Games, both of which have ended with a fifth place finish. But there’s a new class for Paris 2024 – the mixed dinghy – which sees a man and a woman team up in the boat.
After thinking Tokyo would mark his retirement from Olympic sailing, Grube partnered up with 23-year-old Vita Heathcote late in the Paris cycle and their silver medal at this year’s World Championships will leave him hoping he has left his best Olympic appearance for last.
Key dates: The mixed dinghy event begins in Marseille Marina on Friday, 2 August, with two races a day until the top ten boats move into the medal races on Wednesday, 7 August, when double points are again up for grabs.
Grube says: “Olympic sailing has always been the spark for me. Ever since I was sailing round Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid) at 10 years old. This for me is the main event. Our potential is huge, especially off the back of the World Championships.”
Swimming
Kieran Bird
Age: 24
From: Bicester (Welsh father)
Events: men’s 400m freestyle (plus possible relays)
Kieran Bird swam the race of his life at the 2021 Olympic trials to qualify for his first Games in Tokyo. The event itself did not go as well, but Bird has shown his class this year with a real return to form. He has set personal bests in the 50m, 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle and looks well placed to make a much greater impact at his second Games in Paris.
Key dates: The men’s 400m freestyle all takes place on day one – Saturday, 27 July – at the La Defense Arena.
Bird says: “I’m buzzing. This time I want to go and compete, really give it a go. I feel like I’ve got redemption to do. It’s nice to be back on track with where I want to be.”
Medi Harris
Age: 21
From: Porthmadog
Events: women’s 100m backstroke, women’s 4x200m freestyle relay (plus possible additional relay)
In the three years since Tokyo, Medi Harris has very quickly established herself on the GB swimming team. She won bronze for Team Wales as a teenager at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, before becoming European champion with the GB women’s 4x100m freestyle team later that summer.
The 21-year-old picked up silver and bronze at this year’s World Championships, but soon after her mum, Ellie, sadly passed away. Medi had to complete the Olympic trials within weeks. She did so admirably and her spot at her first Olympics was secured in the most difficult of circumstances
Key dates: Medi’s Olympic debut should come on Monday, 29 July in the women’s 100m backstroke, with relays likely to follow later in that first week – including the women’s 4x200m freestyle.
Harris says: “It feels a bit surreal. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little girl. With each competition and each team I make, I’m just learning more and more. I know my mum was proud of me no matter what I did.”
Daniel Jervis
Age: 28
From: Resolven, Neath
Event: men’s 1500m freestyle
The Paris Games will be a second Olympics for Britain’s undisputed best 1500m swimmer of the last decade. Dan Jervis has won medals for Team Wales at the Commonwealth Games – though was cruelling denied a chance to swim for an elusive gold at Birmingham 2022 after contracting Covid-19 close to the event. He says he struggled with motivation in the aftermath of the event but always felt he had one more Olympics in him. He has been proved right.
Key dates: The men’s 1500m freestyle takes place over the middle weekend, with the final at 17:36 BST on Sunday, 4 August.
Jervis says: “I wasn’t finished after Tokyo. I knew I had this in me. It was a lot harder to get to this Olympics. To get on that podium would be an absolute dream.”
Hector Pardoe
Age: 23
From: Wrexham
Events: men’s marathon swimming
Hector Pardoe has perhaps been more concerned about the water quality of the Seine than most. In August he has to swim 10 kilometres in it. The marathon swimmer is back for his second Games and, if the water quality allows, he will get to take part of what should be an iconic event in the centre of Paris. He goes with high hopes too, after winning bronze at this year’s World Championships.
Last year he set a new world record for the fastest swim across Lake Windermere. But marathon swimming can be a brutal event at times. You may remember the photo of the cut around his eye after being hit with a rogue elbow in Tokyo. It ultimately ended his Olympic experience last time, but don’t rule him out this year if he can stay out of trouble in Paris.
Key date: The men’s marathon swimming event takes place at 06:30 BST on Friday, 9 August.
Pardoe says: “I was hungry as a 20-year-old going into Tokyo. But after receiving that [eye injury] and having that Olympic dream cut short, it’s really pushed me to new levels of motivation and discipline. I think that’s really going to pay off with my performance this summer.”
Matt Richards
Age: 21
From: Worcester (Welsh father)
Events: men’s 50m freestyle, men’s 100m freestyle, men’s 200m freestyle, men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, men’s 4x200m freestyle relay (other possible relay events TBC)
Matt Richards has already written his name into Welsh Olympic history. His gold medal in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay in Tokyo ensured – at 18 years and 223 days old – he became the nation’s youngest Olympic champion.
Alongside Calum Jarvis in that team, it was Wales’ first Olympic swimming gold since Irene Steer in 1912. But after Richards, now 21, became world champion in the 200m freestyle last year, attention turns to what he can achieve in the individual events too.
At the trials he secured his spot in three events – the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyles – with potentially three more relays to come. Bear in mind Wales’s greatest Olympian – swimmer and water polo player Paulo Radmilovic – has four gold medals. This really could be another historic summer for the Welshman.
Key dates: Too many to mention as he could race 15 times in a week. But look out for GB’s defence of the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay on Tuesday, 30 July (2059 BST).
Richards says: “I’m in the shape of my life. Coming off the back of becoming world champion individually last year, that fills me with a lot of confidence. I know I can do it now. But it’s going to be very, very hard. So I will take each race as it comes – and enjoy it.”
Table Tennis
Anna Hursey
Age: 18
From: Carmarthen
Events: women’s singles; mixed doubles
You may have been aware of Anna Hursey for some time. Back in 2018 she made headlines around the world when she was selected by Team Wales for the Commonwealth Games at just 11 years old. She went to the next Commonwealths in Birmingham as a 16-year-old and won an historic bronze medal alongside Charlotte Carey in the women’s doubles. Still only 18, Hursey is used to rewriting the history books and she will do so again this summer as she becomes the first Welsh table tennis player to go to an Olympics.
Key dates: The table tennis competition begins on day one, Saturday, 27 July, when Wales will have an Olympic table tennis player for the first time.
Hursey says: “I’m really excited. I feel this is just the beginning of my career and hopefully I can go to many more Olympics. My target [for Paris] is to be the best I can be.”
Taekwondo
Jade Jones
Age: 31
From: Flint
Events: women’s -57kg
Before Tokyo, everything Jade Jones touched at an Olympics turned to gold. She became Olympic champion as a teenager at London 2012, before winning gold again at Rio 2016.
Gold in Tokyo would have ensured she became Wales’ greatest female Olympian and the most successful Olympic taekwondo athlete in history, so it was a seismic shock when she lost in the first round of competition to Refugee Team competitor Kimia Alizadeh.
There was another shock just weeks before this Olympic Games, as the UK Anti-Doping Agency ruled Jones was clear to compete in Paris after provisionally suspending her failing to provide a urine sample in December 2023. The 31-year-old successfully argued against the ban after presenting confidential medical records which UKAD concluded showed she bore “no fault or negligence”.
Key date: The women’s -57kg category takes place all in one day, as usual, with Jones hoping to reach the final at 20:39 BST on Thursday, 8 August.
Jones says (before the UKAD announcement): “I’ve properly chucked everything into it this time. I’ve moved to Croatia, got a new coach and training partners, I’m leaving no stone unturned. It’s truly made me appreciate and enjoy the journey.”
Travelling Reserves
Lowri Thomas (track cycling)
Lowri Thomas took five years away from competitive cycling after suffering from glandular fever as a teenager. During Covid she was working in a pub. But she never gave up on her dreams of cycling at an elite level – and won bronze for Team Wales (alongside Emma Finucane) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She jokes her role of travelling reserve is “all the kit and none of the pressure” but she will be ready if required.
Megan Barker (track cycling)
Megan Barker has always looked up to her big sister, Elinor, and will now travel to an Olympic Games with her. She describes the feeling of going as travelling reserve as “bittersweet” but is excited for the experience in Paris.
Kayleigh Powell (rugby sevens)
Kayleigh Powell has been capped 16 times for the Wales XVs side and now travels to her first Olympics as a reserve in the women’s sevens.
