A quarter of Brits think they could qualify for the 2028 Olympics

Do you fancy your chances?

According to data collected by YouGov, the British public fancy their chances at shooting in particular, helped in part by the viral image of the casual Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec.

His baggy clothes, lack of ear protection or special glasses, with one hand in his pocket was a stark contrast to his fellow competitors giving many the impression that he had wandered in off the street.

However, he is in fact a world record holder and now silver medallist.

Looking at 25 different sports, YouGov asked Brits if they believed they could qualify for the 2028 Olympics if they started training today.

27 per cent believed they could become an Olympian in at least one of those 25 sports.

18-24 year olds were most confident with 39 per cent saying they could try their hand at one of those sports and qualify whilst 34 per cent of 25-49 year olds thought they could.

15 per cent of over 65’s felt like, given four years of training, they could compete.

The sport that people most fancy their chances at is the 10m Air Rifle with Archery a close second with 15 per cent and 13 per cent respectively believing they could qualify in those disciplines.

Meanwhile, only 3 per cent of Brits think they could qualify in rhythmic gymnastics, diving, rugby sevens or skateboarding.

Men are more confident than women are of qualification with 30 per cent of men fancying their chances compared to 25 per cent of women.

The only sport listed that women are noticeably more likely to think they could compete to an Olympic standard than men is the 100m breaststroke, which 9 per cent of women believe they stand a chance of qualifying for compared to 4 per cent of men.

So, the only question left to ask is… when are you starting training so we can test this theory?