by Mick the Ram

Several of the most successful British Olympians in recent times have approached the start of the Paris Games with mixed fortunes and emotions.

Andy Murray has confirmed that the 2024 Paris Olympic Games will bring to a close his outstanding tennis career.

The 37-year-old is planning to compete in both the singles and doubles at what will be his fifth Games, having won at his home Olympics in 2012 and retained his title four years later in Rio.

A third gold is regarded as unlikely, but he has a greater chance than fellow Brit, Charlotte Dujardin, who in a remarkable turn of events, has pulled out of her event at the very last minute, after it emerged she is under investigation from the British Equestrian Federation and British Dressage.

It is a massive shock for the 39-year-old, who is Britain’s joint-most decorated female Olympian, and was expected to end these Games with the outright record, needing just a medal of any colour to pull ahead of now-retired cyclist, Dame Laura Kenny.

Seemingly a video has emerged showing her “making an error of judgement” in her training methods in an incident filmed four years ago

Meanwhile, a third leading British Olympian is making a bid for glory after several difficult years. Adam Peaty is heading for a 100m breaststroke showdown with the new star of the swimming distance, China’s Qin Haiyang.

Peaty is the greatest sprint breaststroker in history and will be chasing his third Olympic Gold.

Murray to bow out

Andy Murray’s first Olympic appearance was in Beijing in 2008, when he lost disappointingly in the first round. However, four years later he famously beat Roger Federer in straight sets in London to claim an emotional gold.

He then became the first male tennis player to win two Olympic singles titles when he beat Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro at Rio, in 2016.

The Scot posted on X that the forthcoming competition would be his last ever and added that competing for Team GB “has been by far the most memorable weeks of my career and I’m extremely proud to get to do it one final time”.

Speaking after his recent appearance at Wimbledon he said he was finding the game “physically too tough” now, so his announcement is not really a surprise.

Chance for record removed

For Dujardin it will be an enormous and humiliating blow. She was expected to win at least one medal in Paris, to take her above Laura Kenny’s six, which she currently shares with the retired cyclist.

She had been set to compete in both the individual dressage and team event, alongside Carl Hester and world champion Lottie Fry.

Charlotte Dujardin forced to withdraw from Olympics

The British team have been thrown into chaos with the development.

“Deeply ashamed”

The six-time dressage medallist confirmed that she was under investigation from the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) and would, as a consequence, “withdraw from all competition while this process takes place”.

She said in a statement that she was “deeply ashamed” and knew that she should have set a better example and had “let everyone down”. She added that “what happened was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils,” but also admitted that there were no excuses.

Harmful video footage

It would appear that the video, which is said to have been filmed four years ago, was submitted directly to the FEI. In it the three-times Olympic Champion is allegedly shown repeatedly striking a horse on the legs in an attempt to get the animal to do a better slow-motion trot.

Seemingly, a whistleblower had hired a Dutch lawyer to bring the case into the public domain and they have waited until this precise moment to leak it, to maximize impact.

With animal welfare likely to be under close scrutiny at the Games, this could have implications on the equestrian world, moving forward.

Potential for classic race

For Peaty, it has been a difficult few years, with the man who swam the 14 fastest times of all time at his specialist distance of 100m breaststroke, and taken gold at the past two Olympics, struggling in his private life.

The Midlands born swimmer seems to have emerged from his problems and it has potentially set up one of the biggest showdown’s at the Games.

Qin Haiyang is the young pretender, having won gold at the World Championships last year and did so in a time that Peaty has not posted since the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.

Nevertheless, if Peaty still possesses that incredible focus and inner-strength that saw him become such a fantastic champion, then many believe he can reach his previous heights.

He will also have the drive of knowing that victory in Paris will see him join Michael Phelps as the only men to have won three consecutive golds in the same event at the Olympics.