UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer backs Team GB for top three medal table finish at Paris 2024
Updated 27/07/2024 at 16:45 GMT+1
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is hopeful of a top-three finish in the medal table for Team GB, hailing the team's hard work, but has acknowledged the "really tough" task ahead of them. Starmer, who is an involved sports fan, said the country is "absolutely rooting" for Team GB, adding that the team is deservedly punching above its weight.
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Sir Keir Starmer has hailed the "incredible" work Team GB have put into their Olympic Games preparations and is hopeful of securing a top-three finish in the medal table.
Prime Minister Starmer was speaking with Eurosport and discovery+ presenter Laura Woods, and acknowledged the "really tough" task ahead of the British athletes in Paris, but displayed his admiration for the team.
Asked whether he believes Team GB can clinch a top-three finish in the medal table, Starmer said: "I really hope so, we’ve got a great team, so I think so.
"There’s a sense of knowing they’ve done the work they know they have to get into that special place, they know the whole of country is watching and absolutely rooting for them so they’ll have all that, but it’s tough, it’s really tough.
"We punch well above our weight at Team GB and there’s a reason for that – it’s because of the hard work that’s gone in and just the feeling here of performance and it’s brilliant."
British diving duo Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen posted an early bronze medal for Team GB on Saturday morning in the women's synchronised 3m springboard.
The team of 327 are being backed to have a successful Games in the French capital, with Olympic stalwarts such as Max Whitlock and Tom Daley competing alongside exciting youthful talent like Keely Hodgkinson and Sky Brown.
Starmer took time to meet with British athletes in Paris on Saturday, and the Prime Minister described the mental aspect of the athletes' preparation ahead of the competition as "incredible".
"There’s a boxer called Delicious who is fantastic," he said. "My son is very much into boxing so that was really special to talk to him. Obviously with athletes it’s all about the physical side the exercise and training, but now it’s about the calmness and confidence of going into competition, it’s incredible, it really is."
Woods cast Starmer's mind back to the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and when asked about his favourite event, he responded: "When we were at London the one that we loved was the diving. I’ve watched it many times on the television, but to watch it live and see the technique was extraordinary.
"But being honest I will watch any sport, which is why the biggest thing for me is the Olympics. Like the whole country, I’ll be like, I’m just going to watch five minutes because one of our athletes is performing and then an hour later, I’ve been drawn into it."
A big sports fan and supporter of Premier League club Arsenal, Starmer is also a keen footballer. While he admits his sporting days may be behind him, Olympics fever had the Prime Minister drawing on memories of running the 1500m as a youngster.
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Asked what his preferred event would be if he were to compete, Starmer said: "I’ve just seen the judo, it’s not going to be that, I’ll stay well clear of that. I used to run the 1500m for county and for the school. I don’t run now, I play football still, but not running.
"I used to run the 1500m, three and three quarter laps. The psychology of when to break, hearing the bell and then leaving until those last 200m and then opening it up. I can still do it in my head, but I certainly couldn’t do it on the track."
Starmer has spoken numerous times in public about his adoration for Arsenal and while his love for the Gunners still burns bright, he reluctantly said success for Team GB would trump a title-winning campaign for Mikel Arteta's side.
"You can’t do this to me," Starmer said when asked to choose between Team GB topping the medal table and Arsenal winning the Premier League.
"This is a really really difficult one, but I’m going to go for Team GB because the whole country is rooting for them."
Woods' interview with Starmer will be aired on Eurosport 1 and discovery+ in tonight's Bonsoir Paris show at 21:00 BST / 22:00 CET.
discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer
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