Anna Hopkin knows her Olympic title defence won't come easy at Paris 2024

Chorley's Anna Hopkin is under no illusion that defending her Olympic title will be easy at Paris 2024.

The 28-year-old freestyle swimmer was the anchor leg for Team GB in the 4x100m mixed medley relay three years ago, touching the wall for gold in a new world record time.

In simple terms, Great Britain perfectly solved the difficult mixed medley equation, with Kathleen Dawson leading off on backstroke, Adam Peaty on breaststroke, James Guy on the butterfly leg and Hopkin bringing it home.

It was a problem that plenty of nations were unable to get right, including the great Team USA, who made the vital mistake of putting sprinting titan Caeleb Dressel on the final freestyle leg and having a woman swimming butterfly.

Hopkin is convinced that teams will have learnt from their tactical mistakes at the event's inaugural outing in Tokyo and has already thought through what differences she may encounter as she lines up behind the block ready to defend her title in Paris.

"I remember in Tokyo, I was very aware of what was happening until James [Guy]'s final 50m when I focused in," she said.

"We might be in a slightly different position come Paris because I think it will be a lot closer and I might have to approach it slightly differently.

"We were very surprised when the USA said they were going to have Dressel on the anchor in Tokyo and I think everyone will swim it quite differently this time. I don't think any team will have a man on the freestyle leg this time.

"By the time I dive in, I think the girls will be quite close together."

Hopkin is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support – this is vital for her pathway to the Paris 2024 Games.

Hopkin has since added a multitude of relay medals to her CV but admitted that her individual performances were not quite hitting the heights she expected in the interim.

It was a period that saw a setback in her confidence and led her to seek out help from a sports psychologist at her training base in Loughborough.

Hopkin revealed that she now keeps a 'confidence diary' to help document all the strong things she does in training as a reminder of the success that she is capable of in the pool.

"After such a high in Tokyo, there were a couple of years when I wasn't quite hitting the times I wanted and my confidence was definitely knocked," she said.

"I started talking to a sports psychologist who gave me some really good tips and I started a confidence diary.

"When you train so often you forget all the good things that happen in training but when you do one bad thing that takes over and that's all you think about.

"Writing those good things down to flick back through is really helpful to not let it take over and affect the rest of your week."

Hopkin will now take to the La Defense Arena in Paris for her second Olympic Games, qualifying for the women's 50m and 100m freestyle as well as taking part in up to three relay events for Team GB.

It's a privilege that the 28-year-old now feels comfortable with, having plenty more experience under her belt compared to her first Games in Tokyo.

And Hopkin is eager to pass on that knowledge to the younger members of the squad as she soaks in another Olympic experience.

"The second time around it feels special for a number of reasons," said Hopkin.

"There's probably a bit more pressure this time round but that's going to come with it being a second Games.

"I'm definitely more comfortable in that kind of arena now and I'm one of the oldest on the team so hopefully I can provide more of a mentor side to some of the younger swimmers on the team.

"I want them to be able to come to me if they have any questions or need advice.

"I feel more comfortable in where I'm at this second Olympics, especially with it being in Paris so it's close to home and quite calm and settled."

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