Four Sussex sporting stars are among the names hoping to bring home an Olympic medal at the Paris games this summer.
The 2024 Olympics will see the county represented in archery, rugby and athletics as four different sportspeople will hope to bring a medal home for Team GB.
Two of the Olympic hopefuls will also be making their debuts at the games while Brighton’s Bryony Pitman and Worthing’s Amy Wilson Hardy will make their return after their last appearances in Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro respectively.
Bryony Pitman
Bryony, 28, previously represented Team GB at the postponed Tokyo 2020 games which were blighted by Covid-19 and happened in 2021.
From Shoreham, Bryony is one of six archers selected to represent Team GB.
She previously finished ninth in the individual and team events in Tokyo.
Bryony said: “I’m really excited about heading to Paris. It’s great that we only qualified a couple of weeks ago as we’re on that high from a good performance and to have everyone qualified is amazing as a Games on your own could be a lonely experience.
“I’m definitely going to take some learnings from Tokyo where I put too much pressure on myself and struggled with the atmosphere which made it difficult for me to feel comfortable.
“It was only in the last couple of individual rounds where I started to enjoy myself, so that’s something I’m going to focus on in Paris.
“I want to enjoy it from the start and make the most of the opportunity and hopefully the performance will follow.
“Ultimately the goal would be a medal, but I’m going to make sure I stick to my process and how I do things so that I can perform to the best of my ability.
“My parents, brother and boyfriend are all going to come and watch which will be brilliant – with no crowds in Tokyo, that’s definitely going to be a plus in Paris.”
Amber Anning
Amber qualified to compete in the 400m for Team GB having most recently raced in the United States.
A former pupil at Bhasvic and Roedean School, she previously ran for Brighton and Hove Athletics Club before heading to the University of Arkansas.
Anning’s personal best time, running the 400m in 49.51 seconds, is just shy of Beijing gold medallist Christine Ohurugu’s British Record.
She has also set notable records, shattering the long-standing British indoor 200m earlier this year at 22.6 seconds.
Amy Wilson-Hardy
Having originally fallen in love with rugby in Worthing, Amy Wilson Hardy has gone on to have a glistening career having played for Wasps and Ealing Trailfinders.
A product of Our Lady of Sion school in Worthing, Amy, 32, made her debut for England in 2013 and was part of the squad for the 2017 World Cup.
In Rugby Sevens, the format in the Olympics, Amy won a bronze medal with England at the 2018 Commonwealth games, also representing Team GB at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
She will now return to the Team GB squad for Paris in search of a medal – the UK’s only hope in the sport after the Men’s team failed to qualify for the Olympics.
Toby Harries
Having started out playing rugby, Toby Harries swapped sports to put his pace to better use as he swapped the pitch for the athletics track.
Since then, the 25-year-old speedster has taken the athletics track by storm, breaking British records and winning gold medals and a national title in 2022.
The Brighton-born track star will take part in the Men’s 4x400m relay and is eligible for the mixed 4x400m relay.
Sussex will be represented across the Olympics as the event kicks off later this month.
The opening ceremony for the games will take place on the River Seine on July 26. The games will last until August 11, followed by the Paralympics.
Amber Anning will kick off her 400m event on August 5, while Tom Harries could feature as early as August 2 in the mixed relay.
He could also feature in the Men’s relay, beginning on August 9.
Bryony Pitman’s first individual round of archery begins on July 25 and she is expected to compete in the team event on July 28.
Amy Wilson-Hardy will also kick off her Olympics on July 28, when Team GB will play against Ireland, Australia and South Africa.
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