Earlier this week the #1YearToGo hashtag began trending for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil and it’s got us excited about Team Great Britain.
Here are six things you definitely want to know about our Olympic team.
More:Stella McCartney & Free People create lines just for kids
1. Bronze medal winner Beth Tweddle is helping out
Beth Tweddle, who won the bronze medal on the uneven bars during 2012’s London Olympics, will be helping out next year’s team — and she’s not the only one. Eight former Olympians have all given their time to support the team of athletes competing next year.
Speaking in an interview with The Guardian, Tweddle said, “We’ll be working with the athletes, working with the fan club, attending roadshows, attending the kitting-out, speaking with the athletes. Between myself and the other seven who are part of the programme, we’ve got 27 Games between us so we’ve lots of experience we can pass on.”
2. Stella McCartney will be designing their team kit
British fashion designer Stella McCartney is set to reprise her role as the creator of Team GB’s official kit. The London-based designer will be collaborating with sportswear brand Adidas and she’s thrilled to be back.
View this post on Instagram
3. There won’t be football teams
Great Britain will not be represented in the football competition at the 2016 Olympics.
More: Here’s what makes the new Special Olympics anthem so special
4. They have an incredibly tough act to follow
Team GB gave its best ever performance at the London 2012 Olympics, taking home 65 medals, 29 of them gold. That is a very tough act to follow and the pressure is on for the new athletes to perform. According to the performance director at UK Sport Simon Timson:
“… We need our big guns, our big multi-medal sports to perform if we are going to deliver 66 Olympic and 121 Paralympic medals. We need rowing, cycling and sailing to come to the table. It has always been a huge challenge but we’ve always felt it is possible given the range of medals that our sports are targeting,” he said, according to The Guardian.
More:Tom Daley dating an Oscar-winner more than twice his age
5. Pro golfer Rory McIlroy will not be part of Team GB
Rory McIlroy has chosen to represent Ireland instead of Great Britain in the 2016 Rio Olympics. McIlroy revealed his decision at a 2014 press conference for the Irish Open in Cork, saying, “I have been thinking about the decision a lot and remembered all the times I represented Ireland as an amateur. I have played for Ireland my whole life and there’s no reason to change that now. It’s just a continuation of what I’ve done.”
6. Your support matters
You can send your messages of encouragement and support to Team GB via the website.
Leave a Comment