Gloucestershire &amp; Worcestershire


<p>Wimbledon and the Euros are officially out the way which can only mean one thing. It’s&nbsp;Olympics&nbsp;time! From the Opening Ceremony on Fri 26 July &#8211; this year set on the Seine and around the city of Paris &#8211; to the Closing Ceremony on Sun 11 Aug 2024, the Games of the 33rd Olympiad aka Paris 2024 are here.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/07/Paris-Photo-30736775-%C2%A9-Luciano-Mortula-Dreamstime.com--1000x667.jpeg" alt="Paris from above Photo 30736775 © Luciano Mortula | Dreamstime.com" class="wp-image-34492" /></figure>



<p>At Muddy, we can’t get enough of it. All those tales of sacrifice, the sobs on the podium, the ‘oh-my-god-we’re-actually-winning medals’ reactions. You can’t beat it. But what we love even more is the new local talent coming through.</p>



<p>This year, Team GB is  made up of of 327 athletes competing across 24 sports. Out of them, 169 are returning Olympians and 74 already have an Olympic medal to their name.</p>



<p>Want to meet the 9 local heros you need to be cheering on? Say hello to your local Team GB stars.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-flora-peel">1) Flora Peel</h2>



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<p>The 28-year-old from Cheltenham is the great-granddaughter (to the power of five) of Robert Peel, the former Prime Minister and founder of the Metropolitan Police service.</p>



<p>A career on the slopes could have been in order for Peel who was British slalom champion aged 12 before swapping the skis for the hockey stick.</p>



<p>Only a few months after first being named in a Great Britain squad, the Cheltenham native contributed to England’s first-ever women’s hockey gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and she will now go to her first Olympic Games as part of Team GB &#8211; her first Olympics ever.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-watch-her-in-action-from-27-july"><strong>Watch her in action:</strong> From 27 July</h2>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-laura-collett">2) Laura Collett</h2>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="&quot;Riding Horses is all I&#039;ve ever wanted&quot; | How Laura Collett came back from a horrific accident" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i2S_s7CwsWk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>Riding London 52, horsewoman Collett joined forces with Tom McEwen and Oliver Townend to claim Olympic gold and she was awarded an MBE in the 2022 New Year Honours. She will ride London 52 once again at her second Olympics in Paris.</p>



<p>Gold in Tokyo capped an incredible journey from hospital bed to top of the Olympic podium &#8211; the eventer suffered a very bad fall in July 2013 that left her in a coma for a week with a punctured lung. She was back on the horse within 11 days and seven weeks later, she entered her first event since the fall and won it.</p>



<p>Collett’s victory at the 2022 Badminton Horse Trials is widely regarded as one of the best three-day eventing performances of the modern era: she won with an all-time record score. She was awarded an&nbsp;MBE in the 2022 New Year Honours following her historic victory at Badminton Horse Trials, where she gained an all-time record score, with a performance regarded as one of the best three-day eventing performances of the modern era.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-watch-her-in-action-from-27-july">Watch her in action: From 27 July</h2>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-alex-cohoon">3) Alex Cohoon</h2>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="Ex Rugby Player turned GB International Swimmer! | Ep.6 Alex Cohoon" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3XpJhGFcP70?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>The Fairford sprinter will be giving it his all in the men’s 4x100m freestyle after setting a personal best in the 100m freestyle final at the GB Aquatics Swimming Championships.</p>



<p>Cohoon spent a couple of years within the Gloucester Rugby Academy before committing to the pool and currently trains at Loughborough University.</p>



<p>The sport and exercise student’s momentous rise culminated in his first call-up to the British squad in August 2023 for the European U23 Swimming Championships in Dublin where he won individual 100m bronze and mixed 4x100m freestyle silver.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-watch-him-in-action-from-1-august">Watch him in action: From 1 August</h2>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-thomas-george">4) Thomas George</h2>



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<p>One of the most powerful rowers in the world, Tom George became the first British rower to break 5 minutes 40 seconds for the 2km erg in 2020.</p>



<p>George, who remains the British record holder, was part of the men’s eight that won Olympic bronze at Tokyo 2020. He has raced in the pair with childhood friend Ollie Wynne-Griffith throughout the Paris Olympiad, reaching the podium at all five major championships.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-watch-him-in-action-from-27-july">Watch him in action: From 27 July</h2>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-representing-worcestershire">Representing Worcestershire..</h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-evie-richards">5) Evie Richards</h2>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="Breaking barriers for women in sport | Meet Evie Richards" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kC4iy4Nu-A8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>Mountain biker Evie learned to cycle under the watchful eye of her grandma at Center Parcs and built on those skills amid the scenic backdrop of her local Malvern Hills in Worcestershire.</p>



<p>A talented all-round sportsperson, Richards came within a whisker of national hockey selection as a teenager before switching her full attention to two wheels.</p>



<p>The 2021 cross-country world champion made her Olympic debut in Tokyo, finishing seventh, and will now return for Paris.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-watch-her-in-action-from-27-july">Watch her in action: From 27 July</h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-also-competing">Also competing:</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-6-matt-richards-swimming">6) Matt Richards &#8211; Swimming</h3>



<p>Richards enters Paris 2024 as one of Team GB&#8217;s hottest prospects. The Droitwich swimmer burst onto the scene in 2021 aged just 18.&nbsp;Alongside Thomas Dean, James Guy and Duncan Scott, Richards won gold in the 4x200m freestyle.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-7-rose-harvey-marathon">7) Rose Harvey &#8211;&nbsp;Marathon</h3>



<p>Evesham&#8217;s Rose was just an amateur runner during the Tokyo Olympics. The 31-year-old joined a running club in 2015 after moving to London, but wouldn&#8217;t get the chance to run much due to her job as a finance lawyer. After being made redundant in 2020 during the pandemic, Harvey would finally get the chance to devote her time to running. See her on Sun Aug 11.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-and-from-bristol-say-hello-to-the-artistic-swimming-team-that-s-synchronized-swimming-to-me-and-you">And from Bristol&#8230;  say hello to the Artistic Swimming Team! (that&#8217;s synchronized swimming to me and you).</h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-8-isabelle-thorpe">8) Isabelle Thorpe</h2>



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<p>Taking encouragement from her synchro swimming mum and speed swimming brother, Thorpe built up a reputation as one of the most promising young artistic swimmers in Britain. National titles followed but it is with Kate Shortman, her best friend of more than a decade, where she has really left her imprint on the sport at both junior and senior level.</p>



<p>In Tokyo, Thorpe and Shortman finished 14th but two years later soared to duet free routine bronze at the 2023 European Games in Poland, their first medal for Team GB. At the 2024 World Championships, the duo made history with Britain&#8217;s first-ever duet World medal, taking silver in the technical routine and bronze in the free routine. Thorpe will return to the pool for her second Olympic Games at Paris 2024.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-9-kate-shortman">9) Kate Shortman</h2>



<p>Kate teamed up with Isabelle Thorpe after meeting as 10-year-olds at Clifton High School. A decade later, the pair made their Olympic debut in the artistic swimming duet event at Tokyo 2020, finishing 14th.</p>



<p>Shortman became the first-ever Brit to win a world medal in artistic swimming with bronze in the women&#8217;s solo free at the 2023 World Championships.</p>



<p>Following on from a historic World Championship silver and bronze in 2024, the duo will now take to the pool in Paris for their second Olympics.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-to-watch-them-from-5-august">Where to watch them: From 5 August</h2>



<p>Good luck to them all!</p>


Meet the Glos & Worcs heroes going for gold at the Olympics

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