The 2024 Paris Olympics are finally here with the opening ceremony due to take place in the French capital later today.
After years of hard work and months of preparation, the athletes will be hoping to rise to the occasion and claim one of those precious gold medals.
Around 10,500 athletes from across the world will compete in the 32 events in the Games, including a few from the north of Scotland.
MEGAN KEITH (Athletics)
10,000m – Friday August 9
The Inverness athlete is competing in the Olympics for the first time. She will run in the 10,000m alongside fellow Scot Eilish McColgan.
Keith won bronze in the European Championship in Rome and the 22-year-old will be hoping for another podium finish.
When she was younger Keith won European and World Youth Championship gold medals in orienteering.
Her big moment in Paris will come on one of the final days of action.
NEAH EVANS (Cycling)
Women’s team pursuit, madison and omnium – Tuesday August 6 to Sunday August 11
The Cuminestown cyclist will compete in several events during the second week of the Games but heads to Paris without the injured Katie Archibald, with whom she won silver in the team pursuit in Tokyo.
Evans is a two-time world champion and six-time European champion and will hope to add at least one more Olympic medal to her silver from Tokyo 2020.
She is the daughter of Ros Evans, who represented Britain at the 1984 Winter Olympics at cross-country skiing.
Evans worked as a vet before moving into cycling full-time at the age of 27 in 2017. She turns 34 next week.
FYNN STERRITT (Sailing)
Men’s 49er – Sunday July 28 to Thursday August 1
The man from Kingussie will team up with James Peters in the 49er event. The 35-year-old put his engineering career on hold to chase his dream of competing at the Olympics.
He joined the British sailing team in 2012 after completing a masters degree in aerospace engineering.
Sterritt and Peters missed out on selection to the Tokyo Games to eventual gold medallists Stu Bithell and Dylan Fletcher.
Sterritt took a break from the sport only to return in late 2021 with the aim of reaching the 2024 Olympics.
He and Peters won European bronze in 2022 and earned their spot at the Olympics by finishing sixth at the World Championships last year.
He’ll be hoping for a podium finish in Marseille.
SEAN VENDY (Badminton)
Men’s doubles – Saturday July 27 to Sunday August 4
Orkney-born Vendy will compete alongside partner Ben Lane.
He first picked up a badminton racquet while living in Kirkwall at the age of five. He moved with his family to Milton Keynes two years later and Vendy went on to represent England as a teenger, winning silver in the doubles at the European Under-19 Championships.
Vendy and Lane, who went out at the group stage at Tokyo 2020, won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022.
The pair won the Swiss Open in March, their first tournament victory on the BWF World Tour.
It’s going to be a year to remember for 28-year-old Vendy whose partner Shannon is pregnant and due to give birth in November.
