The British Olympic Association (BOA) has today announced Georgina Harland as Team GB’s Chef de Mission for the Maribor 2023 Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF).
The former modern pentathlete, who won bronze for Team GB at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, will lead the British delegation in Slovenia from 23 – 29 July 2023.
Harland became the first ever female Chef de Mission for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at a senior Olympic Games when she was appointed to the role for Beijing 2022.
She also held the role for the Youth Olympic Winter Games in Lausanne in 2020, and was named as Deputy Chef de Mission for both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
Harland said: “I am delighted to be appointed Chef de Mission for Maribor 2023 – it is a real honour to be leading the team.
European Youth Olympic Festivals are such a great opportunity to experience a multi-sport event for athletes aspiring to compete at an Olympic Games in the future.
I have no doubt that all the Team GB athletes will seize the opportunity to not only compete to the best of their ability but also enjoy the experience and use it as a stepping stone for the future, and we will ensure we do all we can to support them to do just that.”
Maribor 2023 will see over 3000 young athletes from 48 nations descend on the city in the northeast of Slovenia for seven days of sporting action.
Eleven Olympic sports make up the programme: artistic gymnastics, athletics, road cycling, handball, judo, swimming, tennis and volleyball, with mountain biking, skateboarding and 3×3 basketball featuring for the first time at an EYOF.
EYOFs play an important role in the development of young British athletes, providing crucial multi-sport event experience and guiding them towards realising their Olympic ambitions.
Many athletes who have competed for Team GB at a summer EYOF have gone on to compete at an Olympic Games, including Rebecca Adlington (Paris 2003 EYOF), Dina Asher-Smith (Trabzon 2011), Nile Wilson (Utrecht 2013), Amy Tinkler (Utrecht 2013), Tom Pidcock (Tblisi 2015) and more.