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Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Britain sending biggest team for an overseas Games to Japan

  • Britain’s 376 Tokyo-bound athletes include more females than males for the first time in 125-year history
  • ‘2021 is truly the year of the female Olympian,’ says chef de mission ahead of Covid-19-impacted Games

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Players from the Great Britain women’s football team depart from London for the Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo: DPA

Britain will send its largest-ever team for an overseas Olympics to the Tokyo Games, the British Olympic Association (BOA) said, with more female than male athletes for the first time.

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Despite Tokyo organisers announcing on Thursday that the Games will take place mostly without fans due to the continuing Covid-19 restrictions in Tokyo, the BOA said 376 athletes were bound for Japan with a further 22 reserves.

It is second only to the 541 athletes selected for the London Olympics in 2012. Of the athletes chosen, 201 are female and 175 male, with 51 former medallists involved.

“After five years of hard work our team for Tokyo 2020 is now complete,” the British team’s chef de mission Mark England said.

“We have a strong squad of athletes ready to do their country proud and it’s great to welcome our largest travelling British Olympic team ever.

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