The British Olympic Association (BOA) has today become the first of the 203 National Olympic Committees to complete their Delegation Registration Meeting with the London Organising Committee (LOCOG) and officially enter Team GB – Our Greatest Team - for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The meeting, which took place this morning at the Olympic Park in Stratford, London, saw the BOA confirm that Team GB will be represented by 542 athletes across all 26 sports on the Olympic Programme.
The BOA team was led at the Delegation Registration Meeting by Team GB Chef de Mission Andy Hunt, Deputy Chefs de Mission Clive Woodward and Mark England, and Villages and Operations Manager Louise Whitehead.
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The Team GB delegation is the largest for over a century, the biggest since London hosted the Games for the first time in 1908, when 676 athletes represented the host nation.
At London 2012, Team GB will include more female athletes than ever before with 262 women (48%) and 280 men (52%) selected to compete for Team GB this summer. The number of women is significantly more than the previous record of 143 who represented Team GB at the last Olympic Games in Beijing.
The Team GB delegation submitted today includes three athletes who will be competing at their sixth Olympic Games this summer – Alison Williamson (Archery), Mary King (Equestrian – Eventing) and Nick Skelton (Equestrian – Jumping). They now form part of a select group of only six athletes ever to achieve this feat, alongside javelin thrower Tessa Sanderson (1976-1996), fencer Bill Hoskyns (1956 to 1976) and biathlete Mike Dixon (Winter Olympics 1984-2002).
Team GB will also include a number of athletes who have achieved Olympic success at previous Olympic Games. Track cyclist Chris Hoy will be looking to add to his four gold and one silver medals in the Velodrome this summer while Ben Ainslie will be aiming to win his fourth consecutive gold medal in the sailing at Weymouth and Portland. In the Aquatics centre Rebecca Adlington will be hoping to build on the outstanding double gold medal performance she delivered at the Beijing Olympics.
For some athletes Team GB will be a family affair. Included in Team GB for London 2012 are siblings Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (Triathlon), Peter and Richard Chambers (Rowing), Jenna and Asha Randall (Synchronised Swimming), and Lucy and Kate MacGregor (Sailing).
The youngest athlete selected to Team GB is 15-year-old artistic gymnast Rebecca Tunney, who is also the shortest member of the team at 4ft 9inches (1.47metres). Basketball player Dan Clark is the tallest at 6ft 11inches (2.12metres). The oldest athlete to compete for Team GB this summer will be 56-year-old dressage rider Richard Davison.
The 542 athletes will be joined by 519 support staff and 300 volunteers to complete a 1,360 strong Team GB delegation.
The first Team GB athletes from across five sport disciplines – diving, equestrian, football, shooting and swimming - will enter the Athletes Village in the Olympic Park when it opens on 16th July. The BOA has already delivered over 10,000 units of equipment including everything from sports equipment to furniture, sun lotion and umbrellas to help create a comfortable home at home for the Team GB delegation.
Team GB Chef de Mission Andy Hunt said:
Team GB Deputy Chef de Mission Mark England said: