Olympic medallists Emma Wilson, John Gimson and Anna Burnet among first athletes selected by Team GB for Paris 2024
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Updated 20/03/2024 at 15:54 GMT
Anticipation is growing ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with Olympic medallists Emma Wilson, John Gimson and Anna Burnet among those selected in the Team GB sailing squad. The British Olympic Association confirmed the news in a statement released on Wednesday. Saskia Tidey will be the most experienced member of the crew after appearing in two previous Olympic Games.
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Emma Wilson, John Gimson and Anna Burnet are among the first Team GB athletes to be selected for Paris 2024 after being named in the sailing squad for the Olympic Games.
Wilson is in line to compete in the women’s windsurfing (iQFOiL), while the duo of Gimson and Burnet are taking part in the mixed multi-hull (Nacra 17).
The three Olympic medallists will be joined in the French capital by James Peters and Fynn Sterritt (men’s skiff - 49er), Freya Black and Saskia Tidey (women’s skiff - 49erFX), Sam Sills (men’s windsurfing - iQFOiL), Ellie Aldridge (women’s kite - formula kite), and Michael Beckett (men’s dinghy - ILCA 7).
Team GB’s chef de mission for Paris 2024, said: “It is exciting to announce the sailors that have been selected to compete in Paris. Team GB has fielded sailors at the Games since 1900 and I am delighted to welcome back to Team GB four Tokyo 2020 Olympians, who bring a great mix of proven Olympic success, and six debutants.
"All the sailors selected know what it takes to medal on the world stage, and I look forward to seeing them set sail on the waters of Marseille in just 10 months’ time.”
Mark Robinson, Team GB sailing team leader and RYA performance director, added: “Announcing this amazing group of sailors as the first athletes for Team GB is a real privilege. They are the best of the best and have all rightly earned their spots thanks to some fantastic performances over the past year.
“We have a lot of pressure and expectation on us to maintain our record as the most successful Olympic nation, but I have no doubt that the sailors announced today are the ones who can help us succeed in that challenge in Marseille next summer.”
Gimson and Burnet won silver at Tokyo 2020, and booked a place in Paris after winning bronze in the mixed multi-hull fleet at the Olympic test event in July. They then finished second at the World Championships in August.
Wilson can also look forward to Paris in good form after coming third at the iQFOiL European Championships, and took silver at the test event in Marseille, which will host the Olympic sailing competition next year.
Tidey is the most experienced member of the sailing line-up, having appeared in two previous Olympic Games. She is joined by 22-year-old Black, who is the youngest of the 10 sailors - in the women’s skiff class.
Peters and Sterritt are both making their Olympic debuts, and will hope to emulate the achievements of Tokyo 2020 gold medallists Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell.
Ellis earned his place on the team after victory in the men’s iQFOiL class at the Princess Sofia regatta in Mallorca, and also came fifth at the Sailing World Championships.
Beckett’s aim will be to halt Australia’s three-Games winning streak and he will pick up the mantle in the men’s dinghy division.
Meanwhile, this selection is the latest in a series of high points for Aldridge, whose European title win only a fortnight ago sealed her place in the women’s kite class.
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