Going for gold! Mail Sport writers pick Team GB’s top medal hopes for the Paris Olympics and give their favourite memories from past Games
The Paris Olympics have officially begun and Team GB are hoping to win a host of medals in the coming weeks.
The opening ceremony took place on Friday evening along the Seine. It will be an unforgettable experience.
There is a lot of action on the program on Saturday: dressage, hockey, gymnastics, swimming, cycling and much more.
Athletes like Keely Hodgkinson, Adam Peaty, Matthew Hudson-Smith and others are hoping to win a gold medal in their respective events.
Our team in Paris is looking forward to a sporting celebration and is choosing their top medal candidates.
Keely Hodgkinson is one of Team GB’s leading medal contenders for the Paris Olympics
Olivier Holt
Chief Sports Journalist
Most people are looking forward to it
Seeing Andy Murray play for the last time. It’s something to mourn, but also something to enjoy.
Top 5 Gold Medal Contenders
Adam Peaty (100m breaststroke), Keely Hodgkinson (800m), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Josh Kerr (1500m), Imogen Grant and Emily Craig (lightweight double sculls).
Strongest outsider
Tom Daley (diving).
Elite performance
I am looking forward to Simone Biles, artistic gymnastics. If she wins multiple gold medals after her problems in Tokyo, it will be one of the great redemption stories.
Favorite Olympic memory
Cathy Freeman wins the women’s 400m at the 2000 Sydney run. The atmosphere was great.
Andy Murray will play for the last time after an incredible career
David Coverdale
Most people are looking forward to it
Adam Peaty was expected to win in 2016 and 2021. After everything he’s been through, no one knows which Peaty will emerge here.
Five Best Chances for a Gold Medal
Keely Hodgkinson, Bryony Page (trampoline), Tom Pidcock (mountain bike), Joe Clarke (canoe slalom, kayak cross), Emily Craig and Imogen Grant.
Strongest outsider
Josh Tarling (time trial cycling).
Elite performance
I’m looking forward to most of Noah Lyles going for his first gold. He’s the best thing to happen to track and field since Usain Bolt.
Favorite Olympic memory
Waking up to see Steve Redgrave win his fifth consecutive Games in Sydney 2000.
Adam Peaty hopes to add to his swimming medal collection in Paris
Jonathan McEvoy
Most people are looking forward to it
Keely Hodgkinson. She has the potential to be the supreme British star of these Games.
Five Best Chances for a Gold Medal
Adam Peaty, Tom Daley and Noah Williams, Alex Yee (triathlon), Emma Finucane (cycling), Delicious Orie (boxing).
Strongest outsider
Tom Pidcock (road cyclist and mountain biker).
Elite performance
I’m most looking forward to Noah Lyles in the 100m.
Favorite Olympic memory
Seb Coe and Daley Thompson from a young age. Heroes and friends. And then staying up to watch Steve Redgrave in Sydney. Getting older, suffering from colitis and diabetes, and still winning that fifth gold medal.
Riath Al-Samarrai
Most people are looking forward to it
Keely Hodgkinson has yet to win gold at world level. On the biggest stage, that looks likely to change here.
Five Best Chances for a Gold Medal
Keely Hodgkinson, Emma Finucane, Emily Craig and Imogen Grant, Alex Yee, Bradly Sinden (taekwondo).
Strongest outsider
Phoebe Gill (800m). A stunning talent who can win a medal at the age of 17.
Elite performance
I’m most looking forward to Sha’Carri Richardson. The fastest woman alive and can be even faster with a fiery remark.
Favorite Olympic memory
Derek Redmond, the hamstring, the tears, the father. The images from 1992 never get old.
Phoebe Gill is a medal contender at 17 years old as she competes in the 800m
Nik Simon
Most people are looking forward to it
Matthew Hudson-Smith, who impressed just a week ago by setting a European record in the 400 metres.
Five Best Chances for a Gold Medal
Matthew Hudson-Smith (400m), Max Whitlock (pommel horse), Keely Hodgkinson, Emma Finucane, Josh Kerr.
Strongest outsider
Dina Asher-Smith, Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Amy Hunt and Daryll Neita in the 4x100m relay.
Elite performance
I’m looking forward to it the most. If Antoine Dupont wins gold tonight, he might be the best rugby player of all time.
Favorite Olympic memory
Be there to see Jess Ennis, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford during that golden hour at London 2012.
Matthew Hudson-Smith sets European record in 400m for Paris Olympics
Ian Herbert
Most people are looking forward to it
Watch sports in the most incredible places. From beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower, fencing at the Grand Palais, dressage at the Chateau de Versailles.
Five Best Chances for a Gold Medal
Bryony Page, Alex Yee, Delicious Orie, Keely Hodgkinson, Bethany Shriever (BMX)
Strongest outsider
Phoebe Gill, our 17 year old 800m runner and Britain’s youngest Olympic athlete in 40 years.
Bryony Page is seen by several of our writers as one of the main contenders for a medal for Team GB
Elite performance
I’m most looking forward to Leon Marchand, the best French contender for a gold medal in the pool.
Favorite Olympic memory
Allan Wells won gold in the 100 metres in Moscow in 1980, the year he also won silver in the 200 metres.