Six reigning Paralympic champions are among the first group of 12 athletes selected to represent ParalympicsGB at the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games this summer.

Hollie Arnold, Jo Butterfield, Hannah Cockroft, Aled Davies, Sophie Hahn and Richard Whitehead all won gold at Rio 2016 and are part of a stellar group of athletes who are announced today in the first wave of Para athletics selections.

Karé Adenegan

Five-time Paralympic champion Cockroft, who lowered her own world records in the women’s T34 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m in Switzerland last month, is joined by fellow T34 wheelchair racer and Rio 2016 silver and bronze medallist, Karé Adenegan in the women’s T34 100m and 800m.

For Whitehead and Davies, Tokyo 2020 will be their third summer Games – both claimed gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016. Whitehead has been selected to race in the T61 200m, while Welshman Davies will compete in the F63 shot put.

Hollie Arnold will be looking to defend the title she won five years ago in the women’s F46 javelin, while reigning world champion Jonathan Broom-Edwards – a silver medallist at Rio 2016 – is selected in the T64 high jump. Sabrina Fortune, who won her first world title in 2019 to add to the Paralympic bronze she won in Rio, will line up in the women’s F20 shot put.

Reigning Paralympic, world, European and Commonwealth champion, Sophie Hahn will head to Japan aiming for her second consecutive T38 100m Paralympic title, while Rio 2016 bronze medallist Andrew Small has sealed his place in the men’s T33 100m.

Maria Lyle

Scottish sprinter Maria Lyle, who won three Paralympic medals in Brazil five years ago, was in terrific form at the recent European Championships, claiming two golds to take her tally of European titles to eight since making her debut in 2014. The 21-year-old will compete in the T35 100m and 200m in Tokyo.

Lyle’s compatriot and defending Paralympic F51 club throw champion, Jo Butterfield completes the duo of Tokyo-bound Scots in this first wave of selected athletes.

20-year-old Thomas Young makes his Paralympic debut after impressive performances on the European and world stage in recent years, including T38 100m gold the European Para Athletics Championships earlier this month.

Great Britain and Northern Ireland finished third in the Para athletics medals table at Rio 2016, behind China and USA.

British Athletics’ Paralympic Head Coach Paula Dunn said: “I am very pleased to confirm our first wave of athletes for this summer’s Paralympic Games. It has been a long wait for these athletes, but this is a significant milestone in their career, so I hope they savour this moment and reflect on their achievement so far and use it to fuel them in the final few weeks of preparation for the Games.

“I am proud of how these athletes have conducted themselves over the last year or so under very challenging circumstances. They have kept their focus on their goals in a year like no other, and I wish them all the best over these final few weeks of preparation prior to the Games. I am looking forward to seeing how they all perform out in Tokyo.”

ParalympicsGB Chef de Mission Penny Briscoe said: “It’s a great pleasure to welcome such talented athletes to the ParalympicsGB team with just over 60 days to go before the Games get underway in Tokyo.

“This tremendous group of athletes from both track and field has already shown great ability on the global stage, including gold and silver medal-winning performances at the last World Championships. I am in no doubt that their talent and experience will stand them in great stead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and I look forward to joining them on that journey.”

The remaining members of the Para athletics team will be announced on Wednesday 21 July 2021.

Athletes selected for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games:

Kare Adenegan – Women’s T34 100m and 800m
Hollie Arnold – Women’s F46 Javelin
Jonathan Broom-Edwards – Men’s T64 High Jump
Jo Butterfield – Women’s F51 Club Throw
Hannah Cockroft – Women’s T34 100m and 800m
Aled Davies – Men’s F63 Shot Put
Sabrina Fortune – Women’s F20 Shot Put
Sophie Hahn – Women’s T38 100m
Maria Lyle – Women’s T35 100m and 200m
Andrew Small – Men’s T33 100m
Richard Whitehead – Men’s T61 200m
Thomas Young – Men’s T38 100m

Courtesy of ParalympicsGB

Six shooting Para sport athletes will take aim in Tokyo having been selected to represent ParalympicsGB at the rescheduled Games this summer.

Paralympic medallists Matt Skelhon and James Bevis, alongside fellow rifle shooters Tim Jeffery, Ryan Cockbill, Lorraine Lambert and pistol shooter Issy Bailey are the first confirmed members of an anticipated ParalympicsGB team of around 240 athletes from 19 sports that will compete in Tokyo.

Tokyo 2020 Chef de Mission Penny Briscoe said: “Today’s announcement is a memorable moment for ParalympicsGB on our journey to Tokyo as we welcome the first members of the team.

“We recognise these are incredibly challenging times for all of us and athlete health and wellbeing has been at the heart of all our preparation and planning. We are heartened by the confidence shown by the Tokyo 2020 organising committee and the International Paralympic Committee that the Games will take place safely and securely this summer.

“In securing their places, all six athletes have demonstrated they have what it takes to compete on the biggest stage of all and I look forward to closely following their progress both in the coming months and in Tokyo.”

All six athletes have Paralympic Games experience under their belts – for Skelhon and Bevis, Tokyo 2020 will be their fourth Games and another opportunity to add to their medal collection.

Reigning double world champion Skelhon won gold on his Games debut at Beijing 2008, followed by a silver and bronze at London 2012, while Bevis won bronze in front of the home crowds in London.

Skelhon said: “In such tough times, the Games are a massive thing to look forward to. I feel extremely privileged to be part of such an amazing team. We are so lucky to have a strong support team behind us that have worked very hard to give us the opportunity to continue to train and prepare safely and securely.

“I feel very proud and excited to be selected to represent ParalympicsGB at my fourth Games.”

Cockbill made his Paralympic Games debut in London, while for Jeffery, Lambert and Bailey, Tokyo 2020 will be their second Games after competing at Rio 2016.

Duncan Tunbridge, British Shooting’s Paralympic Team Leader, said: “Being the first athletes selected to ParalympicsGB gives this experienced group time to prepare fully for the Games in Tokyo.

“The athletes and staff have shown incredible resilience over the past year as competitions have been cancelled and they have spent considerable time training in their home environments. I am confident that the hard work they have continued to put in under such difficult circumstances will stand them in good stead for Tokyo.

“I’m also very proud that ParalympicsGB and Team GB have come together to jointly announce the selected athletes – the first time this has happened since London 2012. This truly underlines our mantra of ‘One British Shooting’.”

ParalympicsGB captured the imagination of the British public at London 2012 winning 120 medals in front of sell-out crowds with countless memorable performances.

The team eclipsed that performance at Rio 2016 winning an outstanding 147 medals including 64 golds to finish second in the overall medal table. The rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will be staged from 24^th August to 5^th September.

Courtesy of ParalympicsGB

Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre (Photo: Lloyd Images/RYA)

The 2020 470 World Championships, which kicks off on Monday March 16, will be one of the last opportunities for Mills and McIntyre to test themselves against their rivals before the Olympics.

The pair rounded off an impressive 2019 with world championship victory on the Olympic waters of Enoshima, Japan (pictured below).

Since then there have been some crucial changes. First Mills and McIntyre were announced among the first athletes on the Team GB teamsheet for Tokyo 2020, and then they joined forces with Joe Glanfield, the coach that took Mills to gold at Rio 2016.

Now all eyes turn to Palma, Mallorca, as Mills and McIntyre attempt to strike another blow to the international fleet at this most vital point of the Olympic cycle.

But while winning the world title for a second time in a row would be a huge confidence boost as the clock counts down to Tokyo, it isn’t the ultimate goal.

“We’re really excited,” said Mills, 32, from Cardiff, Wales. “We know the waters well, the competition is going to be as tough as it’s ever been, and we’re looking forward to seeing where we line up.

“I don’t think going into the regatta as defending champions changes too much – we still have to do to everything that we’d normally do, and do it better than anyone else.

“Ultimately, whether we win, finish on the podium or even have a complete disaster, this event is about reviewing our performance, learning from our mistakes and taking that to Tokyo this summer.”

McIntyre, 25, from Hayling Island, Hants, added: “The best in the world will be there and it’s going to be an amazing event. It’s a good benchmark going into Tokyo but more than that it’s a great chance to perform at a major regatta one last time before the Games.

“Everyone always wants to be world champion, it doesn’t matter if it’s three years or three weeks before the Games. But these worlds are all about preparation and performance for us. We’re working with Joe Glanfield for the first time this cycle and we’re just really excited to see where we can take this team.”

Team GB’s Tokyo 2020 men’s 470 representatives Luke Patience and Chris Grube (above) will be looking to make their mark on the men’s fleet as they charge towards Tokyo 2020.

The duo will try to capitalise on a strong start to 2020 which saw them win the North American title followed by a ninth at the World Cup Series Miami round.

And for the first time ever, mixed crews will compete for a world title in recognition of the changes being brought in for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The British Sailing Team will field five mixed crews. Among them will be Amy Seabright and James Taylor (below), who have spent the winter training alongside Mills/McIntyre and Patience/Grube, as well as 420 world champion Vita Heathcote and recent MedSailing 2020 Trophy winner Freya Black.

Follow the action from Palma at britishsailingteam.com or on their social media channels.

Elite sailor Elliot Hanson will make his Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games representing Team GB in the Laser dinghy class, the British Olympic Association (BOA) announced today.

Hanson’s selection comes after he finished fifth at the recent Laser World Championships, missing bronze by just two points.

The 25-year-old from Macclesfield, Cheshire, is the 15th and final sailor to be chosen for Team GB’s sailing team at Tokyo 2020.

He joins a stellar line-up of Britain’s best dinghy and multihull racers including reigning Olympic champions Giles Scott and Hannah Mills, plus recently-crowned Nacra 17 world champions John Gimson and Anna Burnet.

Of the 15 sailors picked to represent Team GB, nine have previously competed at an Olympics Games.

Hanson joins women’s 470 crew Eilidh McIntyre, windsurfers Emma Wilson and Tom Squires and Nacra 17 pair Gimson and Burnet as debutants.

“It’s a huge honour to be chosen for Team GB, and I’m sure it hasn’t quite sunk in yet,” said Hanson.

“I always felt proud to represent the British Sailing Team in its own right, but the Olympics with Team GB is a whole new level. The sense of being part of a greater team with the whole nation behind you is incredibly exciting.”

Hanson’s journey to selection has been far from easy. His Team GB call-up comes after a long selection battle with three others including two-time world champion and Rio 2016 athlete Nick Thompson – testament to the strength within the British Olympic Laser squad.

He won the 2018 World Cup Series in the Olympic venue of Enoshima, but came a disappointing 22nd at the Ready Steady Tokyo 2020 test event in 2019.

However, a fifth at the recent World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, was enough to secure a place on the plane to Tokyo this summer.

“When I got the call to say I’d been chosen, my first reaction was relief. I felt like I’d let the first opportunity for selection slip during the test event last summer, blowing the whole trials wide open again. It was a bitter pill to swallow at the time, but ultimately I felt I came back stronger.

“Following that I called my parents. Both of them have been there unconditionally since day one and made huge sacrifices. I think I woke them up because of the time difference but I’m sure they didn’t mind!”

Hanson will look to emulate his hero Ben Ainslie, the greatest Olympic sailor of all time, when he takes to the waters of Enoshima on July 26.

Ainslie won silver in the Laser class at Atlanta 1996 and gold in Sydney four years later. Like Ainslie, Hanson has his sights on the top spot.

“The Laser class is possibly in the strongest place it’s ever been with a realistic eight nations capable of winning gold, and more who could medal,” he said. “That said, I certainly won’t shy away from the fact I’m going with every intention of trying to win.”

Team GB Chef de Mission Mark England said: “Elliot completes a strong sailing line-up for the Tokyo 2020 team, full of experience and promising talent and we’re very excited to see them compete in Enoshima in July.”

Team GB’s Tokyo 2020 sailors:

Giles Scott: Finn (Men’s One Person Dinghy Heavy)

Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre: 470 Women (Women’s Two Person Dinghy)

Luke Patience and Chris Grube: 470 Men (Men’s Two Person Dinghy)

Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey: 49erFX (Women’s Skiff)

Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell: 49er (Men’s Skiff)

Alison Young: Laser Radial (Women’s One Person Dinghy)

Emma Wilson: RS:X Women (Women’s Windsurfer)

Tom Squires: RS:X Men (Men’s Windsurfer)

John Gimson and Anna Burnet: Nacra 17 (Mixed Multihull)

Elliot Hanson: Laser (Men’s One Person Dinghy)

Pictured above Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre, women’s 470

Courtesy of Team GB

GB v Germany – Sunday 26 July – 1:30am BST
South Africa v GB – Monday 27 July – 10:30am BST
GB v India – Wednesday 29 July – 2am BST
GB v Netherlands – Thursday 30 July – 11am BST
Ireland v GB – Saturday 1 August – 12:45pm BST
Quarter-finals – Monday 3 August – 1:30am BST, 4am BST, 10:30am BST, 1pm BST
Semi-finals – Wednesday 5 August – 2:30am BST, 11am BST
Bronze medal match – Friday 7 August – 2:30am BST
Final – Friday 7 August – 11am BST

Great Britain’s men and women prepare for Tokyo with a series of home games in London in the FIH Pro League, including another trip to the Twickenham Stoop, home of Harlequins Rugby Club. More details here.

Courtesy of England Hockey 

The Rio 2016 gold medallists are joined by a host of elite sailors representing eight of the 10 Olympic sailing classes, as the team is announced at Haven Holiday Park, Rockley Park in Poole.

A Tokyo 2020 medal for Mills would make her the most successful female Olympic sailor of all time. She will look to defend her crown in the 470 Women’s event alongside crew Eilidh McIntyre, who makes her Olympic debut 32 years after her dad Mike won gold for GB in the Star class.

Mills and McIntyre have rarely been off the podium since teaming up in 2017, with their success culminating in victory at the 2019 World Championships and silver at the Ready Steady Tokyo test event this summer.

Scott has also enjoyed a run of success in 2019, claiming his third Finn class European title and a bronze at Ready Steady Tokyo.

Returning for another tilt at Olympic glory are London 2012 silver medallists Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell.

Patience, sailing in his third Olympics, will compete in the 470 Men class alongside Rio 2016 crew Chris Grube, while Bithell will fly the flag for Britain in the 49er class with Rio Olympian Dylan Fletcher.

Olympian Charlotte Dobson returns in the 49erFX, joined by Saskia Tidey who represented Ireland at Rio 2016 before joining the British team in 2017.

Both representatives in the RS:X windsurfer class are newcomers to the Olympics: Tom Squires and Emma Wilson, who at 20 years old is the youngest athlete announced.

Squires takes up the mantle from veteran Olympian Nick Dempsey, the most successful Olympic windsurfer of all time with four Games and three medals to his name.

Wilson, the daughter of 1988 and 1992 Olympic windsurfer Penny Way, will look to win Britain’s first Olympic medal in women’s windsurfing since Bryony Shaw’s bronze at Beijing 2008.

Alison Young, the 2015 Laser Radial World Champion, earns her third Team GB call-up to round off the first wave of sailing selections for Tokyo 2020.

Britain has a rich history of excellence in Olympic competition, having won 58 medals – including 28 golds – since sailing made its debut at Paris 1900. Team GB currently tops the overall Olympic sailing medal table.

The selected sailors are:

Giles Scott: Finn (Men’s One Person Dinghy Heavy)
Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre: 470 Women (Women’s Two Person Dinghy)
Luke Patience and Chris Grube: 470 Men (Men’s Two Person Dinghy)
Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey: 49erFX (Women’s Skiff)
Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell: 49er (Men’s Skiff)
Alison Young: Laser Radial (Women’s One Person Dinghy)
Emma Wilson: RS:X Women (Women’s Windsurfer)
Tom Squires: RS:X Men (Men’s Windsurfer)

Mark England, Team GB’s Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020, said: “We are delighted to announce the first 12 athletes who have been selected to Team GB for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“Sailing made its debut at the Paris 1900 Games and British athletes have excelled on the Olympic stage ever since. The sailors we have announced today have a wealth of experience, including reigning Olympic Champions Hannah Mills and Giles Scott and I look forward to seeing what they can do in Enoshima next summer.”

Mark Robinson, Team GB Sailing Team Leader and RYA Olympic Performance Manager, said: “We’re thrilled to be announcing the first sailing members of Team GB today. These athletes have all proven themselves in their class and every single one of them is capable of returning from Tokyo 2020 with a medal in their hands. There is great experience within the sailing team, from our Rio 2016 gold medallists back to defend their crowns to experienced Olympians who know what it will take to taste victory in Tokyo.

“We are also delighted to welcome new talent who have immense potential towards achieving Team GB’s objectives in this cycle and beyond. Selection at this point of the cycle will allow these athletes to have maximum preparation time in the run-up to Tokyo 2020, putting Team GB in the best possible position to rule the waves.”

Giles Scott, 32, from Huntingdon, Cambs, now living Portsmouth, Hants said: “Selection for Team GB is a massive deal. It’s what we all strive towards as athletes. To be one of the first team members to be named is cool – it’s the start of getting the nation excited about the Games. What I noticed last time around was when you turn up ready to go to the Games, you don’t really know each other and other athletes from the other sports but you are part of this big thing and all aiming towards the same goal of getting medals. It’s a really special thing.

“It’s certainly been different for me this cycle as there was an added expectation that I would qualify as I’m the reigning Olympic champion. The hard thing is trying not to get caught up in that hype and realise things aren’t that different. It doesn’t matter what has happened in the past, you have to prove now you are the best person to go and do it.”

Hannah Mills, 31, from Cardiff, Wales, now living Poole, Dorset: “Selection is amazing and it’s a big part of the Olympic journey. Whether it’s been a tight decision or not it’s always a big step and to get selected with Eilidh who hasn’t been to an Olympic Games before makes it a really exciting part of the journey.

“Everything this year has been about qualifying and getting that spot for the Olympic Games. Being in Japan this summer was partly about that but also partly about how we can perform in the venue at the right time of year. We learned so much this summer and did enough to get selected but it also gave us a lot of areas of focus for this winter and going in to the Games next year.

“Saskia [Clark, Mills’ London 2012 and Rio 2016 crew] and I had an amazing time together we achieved so much and had an incredible time doing it. But equally I have loved every minute sailing with Eilidh and it has been a different kind of challenge. We bounce off each other in a different way and I have learned so much more about myself – my strengths and weaknesses, Eilidh’s also. It’s just such a special thing to campaign for a gold medal with someone as you create such a bond with that person.”

Eilidh McIntyre, 25, from Hayling Island, Hants, now living Portland, Dorset: “It feels quite surreal to finally be selected – it hasn’t really hit me yet. It is my dream to go to an Olympic Games but more than that it is my dream to win gold. It feels like the hard work is about to start.

“Getting that phone call, it took a while for it to sink in. Winning the worlds and winning a silver at the test event you kind of hope that it’s coming but I don’t think it was really until I phoned my family that me and everyone burst in to tears. That’s when I got that ‘I’m going’ moment. Now we can say that two members of the family have been to an Olympic Games and there’s not many families that can say that.

“It’s been unreal this year. I really thought that this time cycle it was my time and my time to push it and we have been in with a shot of a medal in every regatta we have been at, so it has felt like we have made massive strides to winning a gold medal next year.”

Luke Patience, 33, from Rhu, Scotland, now living Southampton, Hants said: “It’s an emotional rollercoaster waiting for that call. You know there are meetings being held and you are just waiting for news one way or the other. That’s the third call I’ve had with that news in my life and you still never get used to it. You never expect to be on the Olympic start line but when it is confirmed it’s one of those little moments in life that doesn’t get any better – to be at the greatest show on Earth.

“Getting the call early really gives you a boost. The crucial thing it gives you is more time. By that confirmation they are saying ‘here is more time’. So instead of being in a process and thinking about something different like winning a trials or selection you are now gifted extra months – that’s a massive mindset change for an athlete. You aren’t distracted and are given a ticket to focus on the one regatta you want to focus on for four years.

“I feel like I have everything to prove. I’m content with my abilities. I’m aware if I get things right I can be the best in the world in this sport. But, ultimately, I want a gold medal. London for me is a wonderful memory, but now I am hell bent on getting a gold in Tokyo.”

Chris Grube, 34, from Chester, Cheshire, now living Hamble, Hants said: “This selection is three years of hard work coming to its conclusion. Luke and I got together just before Rio and about a year after the Games we said we would team up again and go for Tokyo. This is just the culmination of all that time and effort we have put in, so I’m really pleased to be going. It’s not the end of the hard work, we realise the mountain we have to climb, but we are going to give it everything.

“When we got the call for Rio we were ecstatic and this time we were a little more reserved. We’ve been there and got the t-shirt but this time it’s more about going to get a medal. We are pleased to be on the start line and are going to give it everything.

“Last time was a whirlwind coming in to the Games. This time again we have changed a few things and had some ups and downs like any journey. We haven’t achieved exactly what we wanted to and got the results we wanted, but this summer has shown us we are hanging in there and we can take everything we have learned and put it in to a good performance next year.”

Charlotte Dobson, 33, from Rhu, Scotland, now living Portland, Dorset, said: “It’s amazing to be part of Team GB again in what will be my second Games. It’s just brilliant to have a long run in to the Olympic Games so I’m delighted.

“This time around the announcement feels more like an attack on the podium. Last time out it kind of felt like it was all about the experience and what it would be like at an Olympic Games. Although that was never what the goal was, that’s how it actually felt at the time, whereas this time it feels like a stepping stone to a bigger goal next year. It’s good to have a long preparation but it is also the time for us to really get our heads down and work.

“When we get given that Team GB kit I know I’m just going to be so excited to know that me and Saskia will be wearing it together and that it marks the beginning of the last push in to the Games for us. It comes with a little bit of trepidation because we know how much work there is still left to do but it will be a really proud moment for our team to be wearing that kit together and to start to feel part of something bigger.”

Saskia Tidey, 25, from Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, now living Portland, Dorset, said: “Selection for Tokyo 2020 is a massive milestone in our campaign. It seems like a long journey to get to this point but it’s flown by. It was a challenging winter getting things right before heading into trials so it is so satisfying to see that the hard work has paid off. I’m so excited for the next stage of the journey, and so proud of Charlotte and myself that we stuck to our plan and now have the chance to go for gold at Tokyo 2020. It is a dream come true.

“I’ve got goosebumps just thinking about pulling on a Team GB tracksuit. It’s been such an epic journey to get to this point – it hasn’t been easy and we’ve been challenged every single part of the way, but that has just made us even stronger and put us in the best place going forward. I could not be more proud to be representing Team GB, and to do it with Charlotte at the helm.”

Dylan Fletcher, 31, from Thames Ditton, Surrey, now living Portland Dorset, said: “This will be both mine and Stu’s second Olympic Games and nothing can really prepare you for that first Olympic experience. I went to Rio with Alain (Sign) so this time around it will be a bit different and now we go with one thing in mind – to get a medal, and preferably a gold one. It’s almost a bit of a relief that this first stage is done.

“It’s massive to just get the spot – it’s such a competitive class and we were pushed hard. We were happy that when the pressure was on we could produce the results we needed to. We are proud of how we handled that pressure and that will help us with the immense pressure of the Games.

“There’s no doubt that on the plane home from Rio with the rest of Team GB I was so bitterly disappointed that it gave me this fire in my belly – more than I had ever had before to come back and campaign harder to right the wrong I felt I had in the last cycle. We wanted to show we could fight for a medal and be proud to represent our country again, and now we’ve got that chance. When we got the call we gave each other a hug – it was a big weight off our shoulders. It’s hard to put into words what it feels like to be going to a second Olympic Games, and our first together, representing Team GB and that British flag. It’s a special event and a special feeling.”

Stuart Bithell, 33, from Rochdale, Manchester, now living Portland, Dorset, said: “The call to say you’ve been picked for Team GB was the second best phone call I’ve had in my life. The first was back in the winter of 2011 when I got the same type of call to tell me I’d been selected for London 2012.

“Obviously this time it was amazing. We have been working really hard to get the job done early because we believe that would give us the best chance of a gold medal in 2020. We worked and got the results we said we wanted to get to be selected so we are chuffed to achieve that and now we look forward to the year ahead to the real thing.

“When Dylan and myself got together the goal was a gold medal – full stop. We want to be the best in the world and we have extreme competition in the 49er, especially with the Kiwis who have been totally dominant in the class for the past six years. If we give our best performance we will be in there fighting for a gold medal, and if we do that and don’t win we can still say we did our best. It’s going to be my last Olympic Games and it’s just rounding off that Olympic journey for me so it’s a bit emotional.”

Tom Squires, 26, from Kingston Bagpuize, Oxfordshire, now living Portland, Dorset: “I’m very excited – I’m the first British male windsurfer whose name isn’t Nick Dempsey to represent Team GB at an Olympic Games since 1996! I actually didn’t have such a great time this year and there were times when I felt I didn’t perform well, but this summer I got some great training in and really came on in the areas I was struggling in. There were even times where I thought about giving it all up and getting an adult job, but I managed to pull through in the end and qualify for a Games.

“I’m just super happy all my training has paid off. Now I’ve qualified of course I am going for a medal. If you had asked me this time last year I would have said I wouldn’t be in with a shout of a medal. But my winter training, with some of the best guys in the world, really made me think I can hang with them and get a medal now. Early selection means I can look at how people react and handle the pressure of big events in the knowledge they are still fighting for places and I have mine. I can really concentrate and watch how they perform.

“I don’t feel pressure following on from Nick, all the pressure I feel is just what I put on myself every day. When you are selected early like we are you have to try and rise to the occasion, grit your teeth and work hard, and because of that you don’t really feel pressure because you are just training so hard.”

Emma Wilson, 20, from Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, now living Weymouth, Dorset: “I’m really happy. It feels a bit surreal – going to the Olympic Games is a dream I’ve had since I was a kid. I was always in to sport in school, I tried to do as many sports as I possibly could, and I saw Kelly Holmes win her gold medal on the TV and just thought – ‘I want to be like her.’

“I didn’t think I would be selected to be honest. I was just sitting in Japan the day after the Test Event medal race and Ian Walker came and told me he wanted a chat – luckily that chat was a good one and I was so happy. It was a nice moment in the end.

“I think my mum is pretty proud of me. She is a part of it as well though. She, my dad, my brother, they are all a part of this journey and help me so much. And now I have this relief that I can go to an Olympic Games after everyone’s hard work.”

Alison Young, 32, from Wolverhampton, West Midlands, now living Portland, Dorset, said: “It’s a huge privilege to be able to go to a third Games as part of a fantastic team. Each Games has been different and I’m sure Tokyo will be different again. There is a new group of people and a different environment, so it presents different challenges but it’s always exciting to be representing your country.

“I am one of the older guys in the team this time around – not really sure how that happened – but there is a good mix of people. Some have had more experience, some have medalled at a Games before and we have a couple of young sailors so there is always an opportunity to learn off everyone else in that environment.

“There has definitely been some learnings from the last two Games, and over the cycles as well, but in a way it’s been less of an emphasis about winning an Olympic medal and just trying to find my potential and execute the best performance I can come Games time.”

Courtesy of Team GB

Head of England Sevens Simon Amor will take the position of head coach for the men’s programme while Scotland Women’s Sevens head coach Scott Forrest will lead the women’s set-up.

Amor, who has overseen England’s men’s and women’s programmes for the last two seasons, led Great Britain Men’s Sevens to a silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

This summer, England secured qualification as the nominated nation on behalf of Team GB at their Olympic qualifying events. Amor was at the helm as the men were victorious in Colomiers while the women, then coached by James Bailey, secured a win in Kazan.

Forrest, meanwhile, has 11 years of playing and coaching experience at international sevens level and is currently Scottish Rugby’s High Performance Manager for Women and Girls.

His Scotland women’s sevens group secured third place finishes at the 2018 Rugby Europe Sevens as well as this year’s World Series qualifier in Hong Kong and World Series in Biarritz.

Both coaches are in the process of finalising their respective coaching teams and will be able to select players from England, Wales and Scotland.

Amor said: “It’s an honour to lead the men’s team again.

“The experience in Rio was undoubtedly the best coaching experience of my life.

“Working with a special group of people and being part of Team GB and everything that it stands for, as well as being able to contribute to the incredible record medal haul was brilliant.

“The opportunity to go again with our aim of going one step better and becoming Olympic champions is a huge privilege.”

Forrest said: “I am incredibly honoured and privileged to be appointed as head coach of the GB Women’s Sevens team. Everyone’s ambition as a sports person is to be involved in an Olympic Games and I’m excited about the challenge that lies ahead.

“Having been involved coaching Scotland Women’s Sevens since 2012, and having the experience of coaching the Men’s Sevens on last season’s World Series, I am looking forward to developing my coaching practice further over the next year. I am looking forward to working with players and staff from across the three unions to get the team ready to be successful in Tokyo next year.”

Team GB Chef de Mission Mark England commented: “We are delighted to see Simon Amor at the helm of the men’s GB Rugby Sevens programme for Tokyo. Simon did a great job with the men’s team for Rio 2016, which resulted in the team’s silver medal.

“It is also fantastic to have Scott leading the women’s team. Scott has experience as an athlete of competing at a multi-sport Games having represented Scotland at the Delhi Commonwealth Games and has also been part of the Scottish women’s programme for seven years.

“We are looking forward to working with them both to support and fine tune preparations for Tokyo 2020.”

Training camps will take place throughout the season with the GB Sevens programme starting at the climax of the World Series in June 2020.

Courtesy of the RFU

An estimated 378 athletes are expected to be selected for Team GB and the unique position it has as a sporting entity, uniting the nation, celebrating diversity and believing in everyday people achieving extraordinary feats will be brought to the fore across this campaign.

Team GB is proud of the athletes’ stories of overcoming the odds, courage, diversity and success that creates the one team ethos and believe these stories are the perfect reflection of British society as a whole – different cultures, backgrounds and pride that make this country what it is.

Kate Richardson-Walsh, who made her own history as part of the women’s hockey team that kept the nation on the edge of their seat at Rio 2016, narrates a short film featuring the likes of Chris Hoy, Nicola Adams, Laura Kenny and Mo Farah, which encapsulates the message of ‘This Is What Makes Us’ and highlights the support, sacrifices and dedication from athletes, coaches and families alike on their journey to an Olympic Games.

‘This Is What Makes Us’ is a timely reminder that everyone has a part to play and that we’re stronger together than we are divided and the amazing things that can be achieved at Tokyo 2020 as one team, both in Japan but at home as well.

Team GB Chef de Mission for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Mark England, said: “Time and again we see the incredible support and feelings of positivity and good will towards Olympic sport in this country and as we look ahead to what will undoubtedly be an incredible Games in Tokyo next year, it feels right that we celebrate the array of inspiring stories of the athletes who sacrifice so much in pursuit of their dream of representing Team GB at an Olympic Games and share their stories with the fans whose support we, as a team, cannot do without.”

Olympic gold medallist, Kate Richardson-Walsh, said: “As athletes, the journey for us begins as children hoping to fulfil a dream. Without the support of friends, family, coaches and fans, this dream would never become a reality.

“Of the athletes that will compete in Tokyo, not one single story will be the same. They will have faced ecstatic highs and devastating lows, all with the hope of one day putting on the Team GB kit, competing on the greatest sporting stage and doing the nation proud – ‘This Is What Makes Us’ tells that story in the most perfect way.”

The campaign was developed alongside the Sports and Partnership Marketing team at Hill + Knowlton Strategies, one of the UK’s leading Public Relations Agencies and communications partner of Team GB.

Josh Connell, Head of Content Publishing, Sports, at Hill + Knowlton said of the campaign: “There isn’t a brand more capable of uniting us than Team GB. At a time when Britain feels more divided than ever, ‘This Is What Makes Us’ is a reminder of our similarities, and a celebration of our differences. In the run-up to Tokyo, we’ll give the British public the best news they’ve heard in ages – the Olympics is less than a year away.”

Team GB’s campaign to bring the nation together in unity and pride ahead of Tokyo 2020 will run through the next year as teams continue to get announced and the Games draw closer.

Courtesy of Team GB

Team GB’s ‘(Only) One Year to Go’ campaign launched as Olympians Greg Rutherford and Beth Tweddle delighted commuters on the tram from Manchester Piccadilly to Media City, handing out Team GB papers filled with inspiring messages of unity and national pride, highlighting recent research confirming Team GB as still being the UK’s most loved sports team.

In a week that Team GB confirmed that it is on the cusp of securing more women than men in the British Olympic team for the first time ever, with a projected team size of 378, there was much to be excited about with preparations for Tokyo 2020 well on track.

The people in the main piazza at Media City were treated to an awe-inspiring Team GB highlights showreel taking people back to those iconic moments at London 2012 and Rio 2016. Fans were even able to stop at a special Team GB café to grab a free coffee and properly soak up those golden British Olympic moments.

Tokyo 2020 will welcome five new sports to the Games – baseball (men)/softball (women), karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing – and British skateboarder Alex Decunha was able to showcase what his sport will bring next summer, whilst Shauna Coxsey revealed the intricacies of sport climbing. In addition, BMX rider Charlotte Worthington took part in this unique showcase and fans even got the chance to try the discipline for themselves.

Not to be outdone, shoppers at Westfield London received Team GB newspapers with a rallying cry of ‘(Only) One Year to Go’ until Tokyo 2020 and sites across the country saw messages of unity and pride displayed across prominent locations in major British cities courtesy of Team GB partner, Ocean Outdoor.

After an incredible summer of sport, Team GB is hoping to continue the excitement by starting the countdown to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and once again highlighting why Team GB is the team that makes the UK most proud and unites and inspires the nation*.

In an exciting few weeks for Team GB, it was confirmed a women’s football team will compete in Tokyo while both men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams qualified for 2020. In Gwangju, South Korea some impressive performances from Britain’s divers, including Jack Laugher and Tom Daley among others, ensured seven spots for Team GB too. Swimming takes centre stage this week, most notably with Adam Peaty already breaking the 57 second barrier on the way to world 100m breaststroke gold, more quota places are likely to be secured. In total, Team GB has achieved 86** quota places across archery, diving, equestrian, football, modern pentathlon, rugby sevens, sailing, shooting and swimming.

Speaking about his memories of Team GB and what it meant to represent his country, Greg Rutherford remembered with warmth what it meant to have the nation behind him: “Having competed at London 2012, feeling the surge of support from the entire nation in the lead-up to the Games is so special and inspiring. I’m thrilled to be helping Team GB spread Olympic fever and get the nation behind the athletes once more as we head towards Tokyo 2020.”

Team GB Chairman Sir Hugh Robertson, added: “At both London 2012 and Rio 2016 I saw first-hand the inspirational impact Britain’s athletes had on the country. Olympic sport is something at which we are genuinely world class and Team GB want to use Tokyo 2020 to bring the country together and make it proud of its athletes once again.”

With qualification spots being secured by the day, Team GB’s Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020, Mark England, was in confident mood one year out: “One year to go always brings the Games into focus but the hard work from athletes and sports has been going for some time. With over 85 quota places confirmed and a target team size of around 380, it is something that will undoubtedly excite and inspire the nation. Tokyo 2020 will be an incredible Games and Team GB will once again take an extremely talented and diverse group of individuals, which the country should rightly feel proud of.”

Team GB’s campaign to bring the nation together in excitement, unity and pride ahead of Tokyo 2020 will run through the next year with further activations as teams and athletes get announced and the Games draw ever closer.

Courtesy of Team GB

Head Coach Juergen Klinger travelled to the host city of Tokyo with Rio 2016 Olympian Ben Fletcher, an ambassador for Team Bath partners MJ Church, Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games champion Megan Fletcher, Gregg Varey, Rhys Thompson and King Sporting Scholar Prica Awiti-Alcaraz, who graduated from the University of Bath in Sports Performance this summer.

They spent time at three universities in the Tokyo area – Tsukuba, Kokushikan and Tokai – and got to spar against some of the world’s leading judoka as they focused on technique.

The Fletchers had previously spent three weeks at the US Olympic Training Centre in Colorado Springs as part of their preparations for September’s World Championships in Azerbaijan.

However, the focus of the camps has also been on Tokyo 2020, with the two-year qualifying period for the Olympic Games having already begun.

Judo is just one of many sports that athletes training at the University of Bath will be bidding to compete in at the Tokyo Olympic Games, which will officially begin on July 24, 2020.

The Journey to Japan will pass directly through the University next summer when the 2019 Modern Pentathlon European Championships – a qualifying event for Tokyo 2020 – will be staged at the Sports Training Village, home of Pentathlon GB’s National Training Centre.

For more information, visit www.teambath.com/tokyo2020.

Courtesy of the Team Bath Press Office at Matchtight Ltd.