The public are most likely to fancy their odds at shooting sports
Perhaps the most memorable image to come out of the Paris 2024 Olympics has been that of Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec. In contrast to other athletes at the 10m air pistol mixed team event, who competed bedecked in specialised gear like visors, blinders and ear defenders, Dikec became a viral meme for shooting casually without any gear, in baggy clothing, and with one hand in his pocket, looking for all the world like he had just wandered in off the street.
While Yusuf Dikec may have looked like some random guy, he is a sport shooting world record holder, having been competing since 2001, and now holds an Olympic silver medal alongside a host of other awards.
But how many Britons think they could be what Dikec appears to be – an everyman Olympian? Across 25 different sports, we asked the British public whether they thought they could qualify for the 2028 Olympics if they started training today.
The results show that more than one in four Britons (27%) reckon they could become an Olympic-level athlete in at least one of those sports in that time.
The youngest Britons are by far the most likely to think they have what it takes to compete on the world stage, with 39% of 18-24 year olds saying so, alongside 34% of 25-49 year olds. Understandably the oldest Britons are far less certain, although even still 15% of the over-65s think they could compete at an Olympic level in four years’ time if they put their mind to it. This is not necessarily out of the question: the oldest athlete at this year’s games has been 65 year old Spaniard Juan Antonio Jimenez Cobo, an equestrian competitor.
The results also show that men are slightly more likely than women (30% vs 25%) to think they could make the Olympic team in 2028.
While the public may appear overconfident, their thoughts are perhaps more understandable when you realise that the two sports they are most likely to think they could compete in require some of the least physical activity.
At 15%, Britons are most likely to reckon they could definitely or probably qualify for the 10m Air Rifle team if they started training today. A similar 13% believe that they have a good chance of making the Olympic archery team if they set foot in a range for four years of practice beginning today.
Third comes badminton, which 10% of Britons think they stand a chance of making the grade on if they trained for the next four years, followed by table tennis (9%) and rowing (7%).
At the bottom of the scale, only 3% of Britons think they could qualify in rhythmic gymnastics, artistic gymnastics, diving, rugby sevens, or skateboarding.
Young Britons, who are most confident of their sporting potential overall, are most likely to think they could be a competitor in archery, table tennis and the 100m sprint, with 17% saying so for each sport. On this latter sport in particular they are far more confident than other age groups – only 2-7% of the over-25s think they stand a chance in the 100m dash.
For the three older age groups, each are most likely to think they stand a chance in the shooting first and the archery second.
With male confidence well-documented over the years, it might be a surprise to see that men are not that much more likely than women to believe they could compete in the Olympics in 2028.
The event on which the genders differ most is shooting, which men are almost twice as likely to think they could compete in than women, at 19% vs 10%. Men are also noticeably more likely than women to think they could qualify for the football (8% vs 2%) – on this they may have a point, as Team GB has not put up a men’s Olympic football team since 1960 (except for London 2012).
The only sport listed that women are noticeably more likely to think they could compete to an Olympic standard than men is the 100m breaststroke, which 9% of women believe they stand a chance of qualifying for compared to 4% of men. This makes it the sport women are third most likely to think they could qualify for (after shooting and archery).
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Photo: Getty
