With less than 300 days to go until the Paris 2024 Games (D-288 on Thursday 12 October), Great Britain is refining its medal hopes. And it is making no secret of its ambition to once again beat France, despite the home advantage that the host country has. Mark England, Team GB’s Chef de Mission for the forthcoming Olympic Games, explained this on Wednesday 11 October at the presentation of the first British squad in London: “We’re very confident about our chances of finishing in the top five. And we want to remain Europe’s leading nation.” At the Tokyo 2020 Games, Great Britain finished fourth in the medals table, with 22 Olympic titles, behind the United States, China and Japan, compared with 10 for the Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy. Asked about a possible rivalry with France for the title of best European nation, Mark England said he was expecting a historic collective performance from the host country. “To be honest and sincere, France didn’t have a great Games in Tokyo, admitted the Briton. But we can already see, through a number of sports, that the French are on a serious, serious rise.”
