Eight sets of siblings to compete for medals with Team GB at Olympic Games in Tokyo
Olympic Games will be a family affair as EIGHT sets of siblings – including three sets of twins – are set to compete for medals with Team GB in Tokyo
- Torch will finally be lit on last year’s postponed Olympic Games on July 23rd
- Record 16 siblings amongst the 376 athletes making the trip to Japan for Team GB and they will all participate in same discipline as their brother or sister
- Boxing brothers Pat and Luke McCormack, both 26, from Washington near Sunderland, are one of three sets of Team GB twins
- Mother-of-one Tiffany Porter, 33, and younger sister Cindy Sember, 26, who will compete alongside each other in the hurdles – a feat they achieved in 2016 in Rio
- Find out the latest Tokyo Olympic news including schedule, medal table and results right here
Team GB is taking a record number of siblings to Tokyo this month for the Olympic Games, with eight duos – including three sets of twins – hoping to bring back medals to adorn the family mantelpiece.
Among those going for glory on Japanese soil – the torch is lit on July 23rd – are boxing twins Pat and Luke McCormack, 26, from Washington near Sunderland and teen gymnasts Jennifer and Jessica Gadirova, 16, from Aylesbury.
Also in the mix are sisters Tiffany Porter, 33, and Cindy Sember, 26, who will compete alongside each other in the hurdles – a feat they achieved in 2016 at the Rio Olympics.
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Sister act: Tiffany Porter, right, and sister Cindy Sember, are one of eight pairs of siblings Tokyo-bound this summer. Team GB has never taken as many family duos to an Olympic games
There have been seven sets of siblings in Team GB history who have won medals at the Olympic Games.
Alistair and Jonny Brownlee were the most recent of which in the triathlon event, with Alistair holding two gold medals from 2012 and 2016 while his younger brother has claimed a bronze and a silver at the same Games.
As reported by the Daily Mirror, there will also be a ninth set of siblings on the plane to Japan, as Harry Martin – brother of women’s hockey player Hannah Martin – is a reserve for the men’s team and could still end up competing.
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Here, FEMAIL has the lowdown on the siblings and their sports
BOXING: PAT AND LUKE McCORMACK
‘It’s time for the twins to take over Tokyo! Eight pairs of siblings are representing Team GB with three sets of twins – including Pat and Luke McCormack in the boxing ring
Away from the ring, the twins are partial to a glamorous night out – an Instagram photo on Pat’s account shows them pictured sipping cocktails at the bar at London’s Savoy Hotel
The boys learned their craft at the fabled Birtley Boxing Club in the north-east and say they’re delighted to be in Tokyo together after Luke missed out on a place in Rio
The fun-loving McCormack twins, 26, from Washington near Sunderland, will be travelling to the Olympics together for the first time after Luke made the squad this time around after missing out in Rio.
The brothers, who have nearly 50,000 followers between them on Instagram, learned how to hit at Birtley Boxing Club close to where the boys grew up and when Pat became European Welterweight Champion in 2019, he said having his brother by his side was the difference between winning and losing.
Fun: The twins say they love to have a good time – but flick the switch when tournaments begin and focus on their sport
He told The Chronicle Live afterwards: ‘I heard my brother shout “make sure, how much do you want it?” and then I just felt a fire inside me and a release of energy. I just let it out, roaring like a lion.’
Pat, the reigning Commonwealth champion, told the Mirror: ‘It’s unbelievable – I went by myself to Rio last time and it’s time for the twins to take over Tokyo.
‘Both going to the Olympics will be unbelievable. It’s much better having him with us – we’ve been all around the world fighting together.
‘We like to have fun, but as soon as we get to these tournaments there’s a little switch that we switch on.’
Snapshots of their lives away from the ring show the twins have a passion for high-octane sports and glamourous nights out, with the pair photographed in one shot sipping at cocktail at the bar at London’s Savoy Hotel.
TRACK AND FIELD: TIFFANY PORTER AND CINDY SEMBER
Sister act: Tiffany Porter, left, and sister Cindy Sember, right, both US-based and living and training in Atlanta, will carry the hopes for Team GB in the women’s hurdles
Atlanta-based Tiffany Porter pictured on the track with her toddler daughter Chidera
Dual nationality: The sisters have a British mother which enables them to compete for Team GB in Tokyo
Last time around: the sisters pictured ahead of the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016. This time around: the sisters heading to Tokyo, pictured with Tiffany’s husband Jeff Porter
Sisters Tiffany Porter, 33, and Cindy Sember, 26, have done this before, with the 100-metre hurdlers competing as part of the same Team GB track and field team at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
The siblings, both US-based and living and training in Atlanta, will compete together for Team GB because their mother is British.
Porter, who became a mother in 2019, smashed competition with a 12.78 qualifying run to gain a place in Tokyo.
There’s brains with the brawn too, Porter is a part-time pharmacist. She says daughter Chidera, who was born after Porter struggled with several miscarriages, will be cheering on both her auntie and her mother.
After qualifying to compete, Porter told the Ilford Recorder: ‘Gratitude is the word for me in 2021. I am so pleased to be here running a good time after having my daughter Chidera and to do everyone proud.’
GYMNASTICS: JENNIFER AND JESSICA GADIROV
Jennifer and Jessica Gadirova will take part in gymnastics and one of three sibling pairs
Sixteen-year-old twins Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova, from Aylesbury, are tipped to be among the brightest hopes for Team GB on the floor in Tokyo.
Jessica claimed Great Britain’s first gold at the European Championships in Basel back in 2019 – scooping three medals on her debut for her country.
The sisters were born in Dublin but have Azerbaijani heritage and moved to England when the girls were still babies.
Their mother started them at gymnastics classes after wanting an outlet for their energy when they were aged just six – fast forward ten years on and the twins have touched down in Tokyo ahead of their first Olympic Games.
TRACK AND FIELD: HANNAH AND JODIE WILLIAMS
Hannah, 27, and Jodie Williams, 23, (left) will compete in the 200 and 400 metres in Tokyo with Hannah the current British 200 metres champion
Younger sister Hannah, left, has spoken in the past about sibling rivalry, saying she would compare herself constantly to her older sister while growing up
Style: The pair have sponsorship deals with PUMA and a combined Instagram following of around 65,000 followers
Competing at the top of their sports in the 200 and 400 metres, the Williams sisters have tussled for gold medals in races in the past – with Hannah, 23, the current British 200 metre champion.
Hannah, 27, and her younger sibling grew up in Hertfordshire to an English dad, Richard Williams, and their mother Christine, who is of Trinidadian and Vincentian heritage.
Hannah has spoken frankly in the past about sibling rivalry, saying she would compare herself constantly to her older sister. She told Puma-catchup.com: ‘When I was younger I was constantly being compared to my sister.
It was very demotivating as I felt like my performances were never good enough, especially as I was doing the same event as her. I stopped training for a while as I hated the constant comparison and not feeling good enough.’
The sisters have sponsorship deals with PUMA and a combined Instagram following of around 65,000 followers.
SWIMMING: MAX AND JOE LITCHFIELD
In the pool: Max and Joe Litchfield are the third pair of siblings to compete at the Games in swimming
Those swimming lessons paid off: Joe, second from left, and Max, far right, pictured with their parents and sister
In April, Max and Joe Litchfield, from Pontefract in Yorkshire, both made it through their qualifying races to win places in the pool in Tokyo.
Max is already considered something of a veteran in the pool at the age of 26, while younger bro Joe, 22, will be making his debut on the Olympic stage.
CYCLING: SIMON AND ADAM YATES
Twins Simon and Adam Yates will represent Team GB in cycling at the Tokyo Games
Another set of twins, Simon and Adam Yates, have excelled in road and track cycling. Their route to two wheels was influenced heavily by their dad John, who, after being injured while out cycling in an accident, helped his recovery by cycling at the Manchester Velodrome – and dragged his two sons along.
Will it be competitive in Tokyo? Always. Fellow pro cyclist Daryl Impey said it was clear the brothers fed off each other during races, saying: ‘They kind of spur each other on, encourage each other a little bit.
‘You see them confide in each other a lot of the time, talking to each other about what’s the best way to go, what to do on tomorrow’s stage and so on.
‘I think obviously the trust is bigger between the two of them because they’re brothers.’
ROWING: MATHILDA HODKINGS-BRYNE AND CHARLOTTE HODKINGS-BRYNE
Mathilda Hodgkings-Bryne (left) and her sister Charlotte (second from right) will take part in the rowing
Hey sis! Charlotte has shared cute photos of the siblings in their younger days on Instagram
Herefordshire sisters Mathilda, 26, and Charlotte Hodgkins-Byrne, 24, will be hoping to make rowing history by both bringing home medals for the women’s rowing squad this summer.
Younger sister Charlotte has had a bumper start to the summer, winning a European silver medal in the quadruple sculls in Italy earlier this year.
On social media, Charlotte has shared cute photos of the siblings in their younger days growing up with her Instagram fans.
The pair first tried rowing in 2011, dipping oars at the Hereford Rowing Club, Mathilda told the Hereford Times that her ‘annoying little sister’ had decided to try rowing just a few weeks after she did – and the sport stuck.
Mathilda said it’s hard to believe rowing is her career: ‘I never really realised, and I don’t think I do now that it is my real job. I got through the youth levels, and just got swept away with it to be honest.’
ROWING: TOM AND EMILY FORD
Also in the boat: Brother and sister Tom and Emily Ford will also be involved in rowing at the Olympics
Tom, 29, and Emily Ford, 26, from Cheshire will represent Team GB this summer – the siblings started rowing at secondary school
Of the 45 rowers heading to Tokyo’s waters, siblings Tom, 29, and Emily, 26, Ford, from Holmes Chapel in Cheshire, are among them. The brother and sister, who started rowing at secondary school, are both now full-time rowers.
Speaking to the Guardian earlier this year, Emily said of finding rowing: ‘I did some netball and swimming, but I started rowing at around 13. It really took off so I went down that route.
‘We have got two older brothers and when they started at the school they were told ‘you’re big’ and that they would make good rowers.
‘We were drawn into it from there and have never looked back.’
