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• Daley and Glover confirmed as Team GB flagbearers at Paris Olympics

  Tom Daley and Helen Glover have been confirmed as Team GB's flagbearers for Friday's opening ceremony at the Paris Olympics. 

  Daley is set to become the first British diver to compete in five Games, having come out of retirement to compete in Tokyo three years ago.

  The four-time Olympic medallist is the defending champion in the men’s 10-metre synchronised diving event and will defend his title alongside team-mate Noah Williams. 

  Glover won the coxless pairs gold in both London and Rio and has come out of retirement at 38 to compete in her fourth Olympic Games.

  “My dad would not have ever believed I would be a flag bearer one day,” Daley said.

  “He always considered flag bearers to be Olympic icons and legends. I think he would be so incredibly proud of me being a flag bearer of Team GB.”

  An Olympian at the age of 14 in Beijing, Daley won gold alongside Matty Lee in Tokyo to add to three bronze medals he has achieved in individual and synchronised 10-metre events.

  “This Olympics is something I would consider to be a bonus Olympics," said Daley. 

  "This Olympics has been about enjoying it, embracing every moment and taking everything in as much as I can. To be flagbearer too is just the icing on the cake."

  Glover will compete in Paris as part of the women’s four.

  She became the first mother to row for Great Britain at the Olympics when she finished fourth alongside Polly Swann in the women's pairs in Tokyo four years ago. 

  “I just love the Olympics and have always loved what it stood for. But I still pinch myself that I am an Olympian, let alone doing something that I just saw as going down in history.

  “To be flag bearer for a nation, it’s an honour. You can work hard to become an Olympian but this is bestowed upon me by somebody else who has seen that hard work. That just means so much.”

• Muir lauds 'inspirational' Murray ahead of Olympics swansong

  Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir described fellow Team GB member Andy Murray as "inspirational" ahead of the Paris Games. 

  Muir, who came second in the 1,500m in Tokyo three years ago, will again compete this year in the hopes of sealing a first gold medal in Paris. 

  Three-time grand slam winner Murray has confirmed he will retire from tennis after the Games, having previously won gold on two occasions.

  The Scot's first Games appearance was in Beijing in 2008, losing in straight sets to Lu Yen-hsun in the first round.

  Four years later, Murray triumphed on home soil by beating Roger Federer at London 2012, beating the Swiss in straight sets in the final.

  The Briton became the first male tennis player to win two Olympic singles titles when he beat Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro at Rio 2016.

  Murray withdrew from the singles event at the most recent grand slam at Wimbledon, competing in the doubles alongside brother Jamie but going out in the first round.

  Dan Evans will partner Murray in the doubles in Paris, with Muir praising the Scot's influence both on and off the court across his 19-year professional career. 

  "I think it's just he's been at the top for so long, and it's just been so nice to see him progress through everything," Muir told Stats Perform. 

  "He's had so many hard times and he's come back and he's fought so hard and he's been so patient and such a big sportsmanship person at the same time.

  "I think he's just hugely inspirational, not just in the sport of tennis but through Scottish sports and also lots of other sports on the team as well.

  "Just to see someone fight for so long and do so well, it's been so nice to see.

  "So it'll be such a shame that we won't see more of him to come, but it's just so nice to be able to finish it with the Olympics - he's hugely inspirational person both on and off the court."

  Fellow 1,500m hopeful Jake Wightman, who finished 10th at the Tokyo games, echoed Muir's words on Murray's glittering career. 

  "I think probably him winning Wimbledon for the first time is like a iconic moment within my sporting history, just because I'd watched Wimbledon most years and never seen a Brit perform anywhere near that level," Wightman told Stats Perform. 

  "You'd obviously had Tim Henman going to a certain point, but it had been an era of just watching [Rafael] Nadal and Federer for a long time battling it out.

  "So to see somebody in Britain, a British athlete, being able to go and do that was, I think, something that we may not see for a long time."

• Muir hoping Paris gold is 'meant to be' after claiming British record

  Laura Muir hopes breaking the British 1,500m record in Paris earlier this month is a sign of things to come as she guns for gold at the Olympic Games.

  Having finished seventh in the final at Rio 2016, Muir took silver at the last edition of the games in Tokyo, finishing behind Kenya's Faith Kipyegon with a time of 3:54.50.

  The 31-year-old Scot has been tipped to go one better this year after running a British record of 3:53:79 at the Diamond League meeting in the French capital on July 7.

  Speaking exclusively to Stat Perform, Muir outlined her hope that the 2024 Games will mark the culmination of her progress over the last few years. 

  "The record I broke was the record that I ran in the Tokyo Olympics, winning silver," she said, reflecting on her record time. 

  "So to break my British record that I ran winning silver, and to do it in the city that the next Olympics is going to be held in… it was just a 'this is meant to be' moment. 

  "It was really special, and to run the fastest I've ever ran just ahead of the Olympics was perfect and such a big confidence boost.

  "I'm just going to go into the Games in the best shape I've ever been in."

  Muir's silver medal in Tokyo came in front of no public spectators, with crowds in the Japanese capital limited to fellow athletes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  She is excited about the chance to share her experience with others this time around, saying: "It was such a shame that nobody could watch the biggest events in Tokyo. 

  "It's just so nice that people can come and spectate now, not just athletics but lots of different sports. 

  "With it being so close to home it'll be really easy for people to travel out there, it's not a big time difference, so it'll be so much easier for people to watch. I'm just really excited that they can soak up that atmosphere."

  Team GB managed five athletics medals in Tokyo (two silver, three bronze), having taken seven in 2016 and six on home soil at London 2016.

  With the likes of Matt Hudson-Smith and Keeley Hodgkinson also tipped to be in medal contention, Muir has high hopes regarding Team GB's overall prospects.

  "I think it's a fantastic team we've got out in Paris, so I'm just really excited to see how everybody gets on," she added.

  "To see Matt get his European record, Keeley get her British record, I got my British record a couple of weeks before that… it's a really, really exciting place to be. 

  "I think we're so strong across so many different events as well, which is so exciting, and the depth of that within some events, especially in endurance running, it's really exciting to see."