A new survey has revealed that a quarter of Brits reckon they could qualify for the 2028 Olympics if they start training from now.
The flame may have now gone out on the 2024 Olympics over in Paris, but all eyes are now looking ahead to 2028 when the world’s biggest sporting competition descends on the US city of Los Angeles once again.
And apparently, more than one in four Brits (27%) believe they could be a part of it.
Perhaps the most memorable image to come out of the 2024 Olympics is Turkish shooter, Yusuf Dikeç, who, in contrast to other athletes at the 10m air pistol mixed team event competing in specialised gear, became a viral meme for shooting casually with one hand in his pocket, looking like he’d just wandered in off the street.
Despite him having been competing since 2001, Mr Dikec’s somewhat surprising Olympic silver medal win is likely to answer for the results in this latest YouGov poll , as the 51-year-old appears to be serving as inspiration for a quarter of Brits.
In a bid to find out how many people reckon they could become an ‘everyman Olympian’, YouGov asked the British public whether they thought they could qualify for the 2028 Olympics, in one of 25 listed sports , if they started training from today and committed to giving it all they’ve got.
A new character in Olympics shooting has been unlocked...
First we had South Korea's Kim Yeji, now meet Turkish Olympic shooter Yusuf Dikec.
The results show that more than one in four (27%) think they’re up to the task.
When it comes to the ages of respondents, the results showed that the youngest Brits are by far the most likely to think they’ve got 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, while understandably, the oldest Brits are far less certain.
Although saying that, even still, 15% of the over-65s think they could compete in the games if they put their mind to it.
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.
YouGov says that, while the public may appear overconfident in the survey , this is perhaps more understandable when you realise the two sports they think they could compete in require the least physical activity, as 15% of Brits say they could qualify for the 10m Air Rifle team if they started training today, and a similar 13% believe they could earn a spot on the Team GB Archery team.
So, what’s your thoughts on this then? Which sport do you think you could put four years of hard work in to before the next games?
A Leeds pizza takeaway has received a glowing review from popular review duo.
Edges Pizza opened up their first permanent spot in Leeds back in June this year, after making a name for themselves slinging out pizzas at multiple pop-ups across the city.
Owners Grace and Edge from Harrogate opened Edges Pizza two years ago, taking inspiration from trips to New York over the years.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Their pizzas are a love letter to the class New York slice, think thin and crispy rather than chewy and floppy. But above all else, think absolutely delicious.
And now, they've caught the attention of a major review page, with Bite Twice Food Reviews (a page with almost 300k followers) paying Edges a visit.
The food review duo of Gerry del Guercio and Paul Delany popped up in Holbeck beneath the arches to get their hands on a pizza, and the outcome is brilliant.
In the video, Bite Twice said that the pizza is 'f**cking exceptional' and up there with 'one of the best pizzas in the UK'.
Before even taking a bite, they said: "On aesthetic, I don't think anywhere in the UK is doing pizza like this".
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Then after the first bite, they go on to say: "There are very few pizzas in the UK that create this, I’m a little bit blown away".
As Londoners themselves, they go on to say that Edges is 'easily hitting with the best that we’ve got down south'.
And if that's not high praise enough, they sign off the video saying: "Leeds has got an absolute gem. I give this a stamp so hard my foot went through the pizza. Edges. Don Level."
Yorkshire-set Christmas film by Leeds director starring Richard E. Grant set to hit UK cinemas next month
Clementine Hall
A brand-new Christmas film is hitting cinemas nationwide next month - and it’s a proper Leeds success story.
Jack Spring directed his first feature film at just 19 years old and has spent the last decade carving out a career in independent film, as well as co-founding Leeds-based production company Shush Films.
His first movie, Destination: Dewsbury, was shot just down the road in - you guessed it - Dewsbury. And after moving to Leeds from Grimsby, Jack became determined to build his business from the city, putting down roots and growing his production company here.
Image: Supplied
Now, after years of working on independent projects, Jack has taken his biggest leap yet with a brand-new Christmas film, Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint.
Set in Yorkshire, Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint follows Aubrey Flint, a reclusive model soldier painter with a lifelong hatred of Christmas, who is sentenced to community service at Willow Lodge - a retirement home on the brink of closure.
Roped into helping with a chaotic production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Aubrey clashes with its interesting set of residents...
And the cast is about as star-studded as it gets, featuring Richard E. Grant, John Bradley, Celia Imrie, Adjoa Andoh, Sophia Di Martino, Adrian Rawlins and Kiell Smith-Bynoe.
Image: Supplied
The heartwarming festive comedy will hit cinemas nationwide on Friday 6 November - a huge milestone for a Leeds-based director and production company, taking a homegrown Yorkshire story to audiences across the country.
You just can't beat a proper wholesome British Christmas film, so you can best believe we'll be watching in the cinema, popcorn in hand.
Emily Sergeant -
15th August 2024 
