On Friday, the moment we all have been waiting for finally comes. The Olympic action on track begins.
During the next ten days, 52 athletes from 20 countries, representing our agency, will showcase their abilities in front of the whole world, both at Stade de France and in the streets of Paris. Out of these, 21 will mark their Olympic debut. The youngest of them all is Czech 800m runner Jakub Dudycha, still aged 18, followed by his compatriot Lurdes Gloria Manuel in the 400m. She turned 19 less than a month ago. On the other hand the most experienced is the hammer throw legend, world record holder, Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland who will turn 39 just two days after the hammer final. This is Anita´s fifth Olympics. After fourth place in Beijing, she has a streak of three consecutive golds, which makes her also the most decorated agency athlete.
We have, however, several other madalists, either former, or defending, in the startlists. Miltos Tentoglou of Greece aims for his second olympic title in the men´s long jump. The list of other notable names includes Brendon Rodney, Jerome Blake and Shashalee Forbes in the 4x100m relay, Grenadian hero Kirani James in the 400m and 2016 women´s javelin gold medalist Sara Kolak of Croatia. Beside that, there are many more agency athletes aiming for the highest mark, such as 2023 World Championships medalists, Haruka Kitaguchi, Kristjan Čeh and Bence Halász.
We wish all the athletes best of luck and look forward to the unique moments the Games always deliver.