Andy Murray had the best reaction to a poll finding 1 in 4 Brits think they could be Olympians in 2028 if they train from now
If you’re one of the people getting up each day feeling like there’s a hole in your life where beach volleyball, artistic gymnastics or synchronised diving ought to be, we get it. The Paris Olympics may be over but we haven’t all come down from the high.
YouGov’s thoughts have already turned to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, and specifically whether the UK public appreciates how difficult it is to become an Olympian. We’re going to go with ‘No’.
27% of Britons reckon that they could qualify for a sport at the 2028 Olympics, if they started training today
% saying they would definitely/probably qualify for…
10m Air Rifle: 15%
Archery: 13%
Badminton: 10%
Table tennis: 9%
Rowing: 7%
100m sprint: 6%
Road race: 6%
100m… pic.twitter.com/I7EMl57SlA— YouGov (@YouGov) August 10, 2024
To put this under the microscope, 6% think they could line up alongside Noah Lyles, 7% would challenge rowing champions Emily Craig and Imogen Grant, and 4% fancy their chances against Alex Yee.
At slightly more than a quarter, that’s at least one in four people just swanning around thinking “I could be an elite athlete but I simply can’t be bothered.” Bold of them.
Here’s how people reacted.
1.
Remember, as you walk down the street today, that out of every 16 people you pass, one apparently seriously believes they could qualify for the 100m sprint at the 2028 Olympics. https://t.co/69fnqIKKBp
— Political Animal (@politic_animal) August 10, 2024
2.
Looking forward to finding out how many will make it to #LA2028 https://t.co/AIs7koHz9a
— Fred Sirieix (@fredsirieix1) August 12, 2024
3.
This is amazing https://t.co/zwOLQwk0dG
— Dom Joly (@domjoly) August 12, 2024
4.
This is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen https://t.co/MFRt6KOVAH
— William Kedjanyi (@KeejayOV3) August 11, 2024
5.
https://t.co/Ml5qvRW7a4 pic.twitter.com/dqsY03YrMt
— David Allsopp (@doublehelix) August 12, 2024
6.
Hilarious that even 1% think they could never mind 27%.
Reminds me of the number of people who think they could’ve been a pro footballer
https://t.co/cSknxwsVuc
— Lucy Ward (@lucyjward_) August 12, 2024
7.
Found my event, being the guy at the front. #Olympics2024Paris https://t.co/nHnIaAjYNZ pic.twitter.com/TfqnfvOAWC
— Mark D (@Atticus_75) August 12, 2024
8.
Only 3 British athletes qualified for badminton this year….and 10% think they could qualify?
— Tiago Silva (@TiagoS2109) August 11, 2024
9.
Most of those deluded fools wouldn't even qualify for the Australian Breakdancing team.
— Human Hatstand (@johnnieego) August 12, 2024
10.
We need to round up those Britons who said they could qualify, set them off on their sport with same funding and coaching as proper athletes and in 4 years we make them compete against our real Olympians and see how they get on. Would be a great documentary. https://t.co/QnrLIDtOUo
— Paul Watson (@paul_c_watson) August 10, 2024
11.
I don’t think people realise just how good these athletes are
The MARATHON world record pace for example, is about the same pace that I run a 1500m race at https://t.co/ABljy9VQLg
— Joe Wren (@JoeHWren) August 10, 2024
12.
Absolutely staggering ♂️
100m Breaststroke QT was 59.49 (Men) and 1:06.79 (Women).
I’d be very surprised if 6% of the population could do this for 50m Breaststroke https://t.co/iC8xbUKBNe
— Andi Manley (@andimanley) August 12, 2024
13.
If alcohol isn't deemed a performance enhancer, I could 100% qualify for breakdancing after a few pints with no training. https://t.co/UVVvUioW6m
— Alistair MacLeòid (@Al_Mc72) August 12, 2024
14.
“I mean, that week we went to Center Parcs, I reckon I was one of the best.” https://t.co/5WLskzIlA2
— Keith Burge (@carryonkeith) August 12, 2024
Andy Murray, who clearly knows how long and how much work it actually takes to become an Olympian, had a penny drop moment.
explains a lot of the posts athletes receive on this platform. https://t.co/Kt9QFZ8ZdT
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) August 11, 2024
One person chanced his arm.
Could you coach me in tennis ? I’m free next week
— terry charleton (@terrycharleton) August 11, 2024
Andy wasn’t the only Olympian to weigh in. Four-time Gold medal-winning sprinter Michael Johnson cut to the heart of it.
Damn! Thats some serious confidence. https://t.co/ET447hwr0p
— Michael Johnson (@MJGold) August 12, 2024
Got to go. Need to learn Badminton ASAP.
READ MORE
The BBC’s magnificent Olympics closing montage had everyone welling up and it’s a proper gold medal winner
Source YouGov Image Screengrab
