As we head into the latest chapter of this summer of sporting excitement, the 2024 Paris Olympics is all set to get underway.
As ever with the iconic event, there is much hope, expectation and excitement for all athletes competing, with data boffins Gracenote predicting that Team GB will win 63 medals over the coming weeks.
The likes of Adam Peaty, Keely Hodgkinson, Zharnel Hughes and Josh Kerr are those who are likely to carry much of Britain’s hopes, and they will be backed by a supportive team of coaches, analysts and physios.
But, along with that technical and tactical help, GB’s stars will receive significant emotional support from their husbands, boyfriends, wives and girlfriends this summer.
In light of the Olympic opening ceremony getting underway on Friday, Mail Sport takes a look at the partners behind those Team GB athletes aiming for glory in Paris.
The likes of Adam Peaty (above) and Keely Hodgkinson are backed to win medals for Team GB
Holly Ramsay – Adam Peaty
Adam Peaty is one of GB’s brightest medal hopefuls in Paris, with the swimmer backed to make it three successive Olympic golds.
Peaty is heading across the channel with one of the highest profile wags, with his partner Holly Ramsay the daughter of celebrity chef Gordon.
While Holly, one of five siblings, has grown up with a celebrity parent, she has been a success in her own right.
She is a model and influencer with more than 300,000 followers on Instagram and has previously bravely opened up on her life and struggles with depression.
As part of this, Holly has her own podcast called ’21 & over’ where she has also discussed her sobriety, a move she took to boost her mental health.
The couple went public in June 2023, with their relationship coming after Holly’s younger sister Tilly met Adam when they starred on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021.
Peaty previously had a relationship with Eiri Munroe and has a young son with her.
Double Olympic champion and Team GB swimmer Adam Peaty is dating Holly Ramsay
Holly is one of five of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s children and is an influencer and model
The couple went public in June 2023 and have regularly been snapped at events together
Leah Hickton – Max Whitlock
Max Whitlock is one of the most decorated GB athletes that will be in Paris and like many others, he will be backed by a hugely supportive partner.
Whitlock, 31, first met his wife Leah Hickton at their local gymnastics club at the age of 12.
The childhood sweethearts have been together ever since and got engaged in 2016, before they had a daughter, Willow, who was born in February 2019.
Reflecting on their engagement years later, Leah explained how Whitlock had planned a weekend away to the Lake District which was ‘not like him’, before he popped the question.
Whitlock later admitted his nerves about the moment as he said: ‘(It was) probably more nerve-racking than being in an Olympic Games.’
The pair set up the Max Whitlock Gymnastics Club in 2018 in order to boost the sport in their community, with locations in Colchester and Southend.
If Whitlock adds another gold to his record, you can expect to see Leah and Willow celebrating alongside him.
Max Whitlock is married to his childhood sweetheart Leah, with the couple meeting aged 12
The pair set up the Max Whitlock Gymnastics Club together in 2018 and have one daughter
Shenel Francis – Zharnel Hughes
Zharnel Hughes is another major star in Paris this summer, with the sprinter officially Britain’s fastest man in the 100m and 200m.
He previously dated fellow Team GB athlete Dina Asher-Smith as part of an athletics super-couple, but Hughes has been with current partner Shenel Francis since 2018.
Shenel works as a dental hygienist, while on the side she launched a luxury hand-poured scented candle brand called Esnek.co Candles.
Like several other WAGs, she is also hugely popular on Instagram, with more than 10,000 followers.
British sprinter Zharnel Hughes has been dating dental hygienist Shenel Francis since 2018
Team GB star Hughes has previously hailed the impact and role Francis has had on his career
Despite Shenel and Hughes getting together in 2018, their relationship remained out of the public domain until 2022.
Hughes has regularly opened up on the huge influence Shenel has had on her career, with the sprinter explaining how she ‘keeps me calm’, while he also explained the present she gave him which helped him on his way to success.
‘In 2018, my girlfriend bought me a journal, and I just started writing down my thoughts on training, what I have coming up and how I’m feeling going into competition,’ he told GQ last year.
‘Before going to bed, I’ll reflect on the day I had: what can I work on, what could be better going into the following day or week.
‘Consistency is key to being successful, and writing things down helps me stay on top of things.’
Larimar Rodriguez – Josh Kerr
After taking bronze in Tokyo, Josh Kerr has reached new levels in the past few years, becoming a world champion in the 1500m last year, while he broke the British mile record in May.
Through his success, Kerr has been cheered on by supportive partner Larimar Rodriguez.
After moving to the US at the age of 17 to pursue his athletics dreams, Kerr met Rodriguez in 2017 at the University of New Mexico where they were team-mates in the track and field team.
Since then, the couple have gone from strength-to-strength and got engaged in 2021, with Kerr explaining at the time: ‘I couldn’t wait any longer, I’m so excited for our future.’
World 1500m champion Josh Kerr has been dating Larimar Rodriguez since meeting in 2017
Rodriguez and Kerr got engaged in 2021 and the athlete has hailed her role in his success
Rodriguez now works as a resident doctor at the University of Miami and has been hailed by Kerr for the role she has played in his success.
Speaking after winning gold at last summer’s World Championships, he said: ‘I just couldn’t be prouder to represent the Kerr family name today.
‘I gave it everything for them, myself and my fiancee. This is the life I want to lead for them.
‘They’ve given me so much and it was nice to pay that back a little bit today.’
Andrew Pozzi – Katarina Johnson-Thompson
Olympic glory has so far proved to be elusive for Katarina Johnson-Thompson across three games, but the heptathlete will hope Paris is the time she finally breaks her duck after winning her second world title last summer.
She will be cheered on by many supportive fans and coaches, along with her partner Andrew Pozzi.
Pozzi is a fellow athlete, but sadly missed out on Paris despite previously finishing seventh in the 110m hurdles final in Tokyo.
The couple have been together since 2018 but have had to battle a long-distance relationship due to their training regimes.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson is in a relationship with fellow British athlete Andrew Pozzi
Pozzi competed for Team GB in the 110m hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics but won’t be in Paris
Johnson-Thompson splits her time between Liverpool and France, while Pozzi resides in Italy for training purposes.
Speaking back in 2019 about their long-distance relationship, Johnson-Thompson opened up on the challenges it brings, but insisted they find a way to make it work.
She said: ‘Whenever you live away and you have family, friends, loved ones, or relationships in other countries, it requires a better level of organisation.
‘One of the benefits of what we do is that we end up attending a lot of the same competitions and are in the same place for several days.’
Clare Fleetwood – Tommy Fleetwood
Like Hull, Tommy Fleetwood will head to Paris to compete in golf with hopes and expectations of a medal.
Off the course, he will be backed by his agent, confidante and wife Clare Fleetwood.
The couple met back in 2015 when Fleetwood was in the early stages of his career, with Clare a sports agent who tried to poach the golfer for her company.
They fell in love before marrying in the Bahamas in 2017 and have one son together.
Clare is 22 years older than Fleetwood and also has two sons from a previous relationship, but the three-time Ryder Cup winner insisted questions about the age gap doesn’t bother him.
Tommy Fleetwood is married to golf agent Clare, who is 22 years older than the British star
Fleetwood and Clare have a son together, while she has two sons from a previous relationship
‘Oh, we definitely get comments,’ he told The Times in 2023. ‘But it’s never been a thing to us.
‘Clare actually looks very young for her age and I look old — it’s probably all that sun. She’s incredibly cool and I’m not cool at all, though I am quite mature for my age.
‘We planned to keep our life and our work separate, for me to find another agent. But it became more apparent I wasn’t going to find anybody I’d trust as much because, after all, Clare is a very, very, very good agent by trade; it wasn’t like she was my wife just helping the family out.
‘So in the end we thought, “We’ll just give it a go, but we will never let anything get in the way of our relationship,” and it’s just always worked perfectly.’
Emily Large – Matt Richards
Another all-athlete couple, swimmers Matt Richards and Emily Large have both enjoyed success in recent years.
Richards rose to fame by winning gold in the 4×200 metre freestyle relay in Tokyo and was subsequently awarded an MBE in 2022 for services to swimming, while Large competed at the World Aquatics Championship last year.
Richards, 21, and Large, 23, have trained together for years and are said to swim a combined more than 100km a week.
Richards is a major medal hope again in Paris, although Large didn’t make the games after failing to get through British trials.
British swimmers Matt Richards, 21, and Emily Large, 23, are another all-athlete couple
They will get married on August 22, with several fellow swimmers and GB athletes set to attend
Nevertheless, she will still have plenty to celebrate this summer with the couple planning to get married on August 22, just 11 days after the Olympics finished.
At their wedding, they will be joined by several fellow swimmers and Team GB athletes, with Richards having the potential to make it a hugely memorable summer.
