DORSET sailors Emma Wilson, Ellie Aldridge and Saskia Tidey are among ten athletes named by the British Olympic Association (BOA) as the first Team GB athletes selected for Paris 2024.

Wilson won bronze at Tokyo 2020 and has had to switch from windsurfing to foiling after a tweak in Olympic sports offered on the water.

The Christchurch star’s selection is all the more impressive given she has only been racing the iQFOiL for two years.

Wilson has enjoyed a solid summer, with bronze at the iQFOiL European Championships followed up with a silver at the test event in Marseille, the venue for the Paris 2024 sailing competition.

READ MORE: Emma Wilson scoops silver in Paris 2024 test event

Returning for another tilt at Olympic glory is Portland’s Saskia Tidey, who with two previous Olympic Games under her belt will be the most experienced member of the sailing team.

Tidey is picked in the women’s skiff class alongside crew mate Freya Black, the youngest sailor in the Team GB sailing line-up at just 22.

Meanwhile, Ellie Aldridge’s historic European title win just two weeks ago secured the Poole sailor’s place as the sole representative in the women’s kite class, the second of the two new sailing disciplines for Paris 2024.

Wilson said: “It's super cool to be selected. It’s taken a lot of hard work, not just from me but my family, coaches, support staff and so many other people.

“After transitioning from the RS:X to the iQFOiL I really wasn't sure what it would be like.

“It was pretty hard with injuries and just keeping the belief. At the beginning I said I'd try for three months and see how it goes, and it went pretty well.

“I'm just super happy and looking forward to it. It will be my second Olympics but in a completely different class so I just want to go give my absolute best and enjoy it all.”

Tidey added: “It is a honour to be selected for my third Olympic Games. I have had a lot of fun sailing with Freya and building a team worthy of challenging a medal in Paris.

“Every day counts now, it is a privilege to push hard and not waste one second of learning.”

Aldridge said: “I am so excited to be selected for Team GB and still can't really believe it.

“I remember leaving my first school when I was young and when we left the school put together a book for everyone.

“It had the names of everyone in each class, memories of our time at the school and details of where we were each going next and what we wanted to do when we grew up. I said I wanted to be a professional athlete.

“Not because I really knew what that looked like, but because I loved sport and couldn't imagine doing anything else.

“I didn't really think I'd actually make it to becoming a professional athlete, and I definitely didn't have clue what kite foiling was.

“But it's crazy looking back at me as a kid, knowing that I have actually made that dream a reality and all my work over the past five years particularly has paid off.

“I will be competing in my first Olympic Games, in a brand-new sport, and am hoping to win the first new gold medal for Team GB.”

James Peters and Fynn Sterritt will look to continue Britain’s success in the men’s skiff on their Olympic debut, following in the footsteps of Dorset-based Tokyo 2020 gold medallists Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell.

Tokyo 2020 silver medal winners Gimson and Burnet sealed their Paris place with a bronze in the mixed multihull fleet at the Olympic test event in July, followed by the runners-up spot at the World Championships in August.

Windsurfer Sam Sills earned his place with Team GB after winning the men’s iQFOiL class at the illustrious Princess Sofia regatta in Mallorca this year, following it up with a fifth at the Sailing World Championships.

Michael Beckett will pick up the mantle in the men’s dinghy and attempt to break Australia’s three-Games winning streak in the class.