'I can't wait to see my sport in the LA Games'

Athletes from across the west of England have spoken of their excitement about new sports and disciplines being added to the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Cricket, squash, lacrosse, baseball/softball and flag football will all be added to the line-up in 2028, and players from the west of England are hoping to make the GB squad.

"People often think that cricket is a very boring sport and for older people," says 15-year-old seam bowler Iris.

"If they watch it during the Olympics then they can see that it's very interesting and it's actually quite fun to play," she told the BBC's Extra Time programme.

The sport is due to be played at the 2028 games for the first time since 1900, when GB won gold in Paris.

The England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Scotland have been in discussions to form a new entity called GB Cricket to oversee a team.

One person who will be keeping an eye on that is Iris, from Stapleton in Bristol.

She made her T20 international debut for 's senior side this year, thanks to her dual citizenship.

"We live really close to the ground," Iris said, referring to Stapleton Cricket Club.

"I started playing for a mixed team when I was 11 and I was the only girl."

Iris plays for her home club and the North Bristol Girls Hub Cricket - a club for girls who play for clubs that do not have female-only teams, to practice playing against other girls.

She also plays for the Gloucestershire County Development Squad as well as being picked to play for .

"My dad found out there was a German under-15s squad," she said.

"One of the German coaches is based in Cardiff and they let me go do a couple of training sessions there," she explained.

"I went to trials in in January and I got picked for the squad. I was very nervous, I didn't know anyone there."

Now that the T20 format is in the Olympics, Iris could be one of the athletes of the future.

In addition to new sports, existing ones have also seen new disciplines added to the Olympics, like compound archery.

Someone who could not be more thrilled about it is world number one compound archer, Ella Gibson, from Cirencester in Gloucestershire.

Miss Gibson, and her teammate Ajay Scott, became Archery World Cup stage two mixed team champions in Shanghai, as it was confirmed the discipline would be included in the Los Angeles line-up.

"Both of us were so happy and I spoke to my coach and there were some tears, it was just amazing news," she said.

Miss Gibson said compound archery is used for hunting in the US, adding: "It's more compact than the archery you already see in the Olympics.

"It's more powerful and faster, and the dynamics of the bow and how it works is quite different."

She explained: "The draw cycle, when you start pulling back the bow, starts at 60lbs (27kg), so it's quite heavy. Archery definitely gives you stronger shoulders, for sure."

The 24-year-old has held onto the world champion title for nearly three years and is hopeful of making it the Olympic Games.

She and her partner Ajay hope to earn a place either through world ranking or tournaments.

"The standard would be to pick the world championship's top three in 2027. So if we win a medal in mixed team that year, we're going."

"Los Angeles is definitely on my mind", she added.

With new sports, come new venues which need to be built or repurposed.

And squash will be taking place in a rather unique venue at the 2028 Olympics - the Universal Studios Lot.

Nathan Lake from Cheltenham in Gloucestershire - who lives in the US - is a professional squash player thrilled at the thought of seeing his sport in the Olympics.

"It will be the pinnacle of our sport," he said.

Mr Lake plays squash for University Club of Chicago.

Last year, he ranked 22 in the PSA World Squash Rankings. In March, he placed 42.

"This is my 14th season as a professional player. I've been playing squash for 23 years.

"Squash has got a pretty strong place in clubs across the US, especially in cities like Philadelphia, New York, Boston and DC. And it's still growing."

But at the age of 32, he does not hold strong hopes of making it to the LA Games.

"The reality is I'll be 35 by then and Team GB is so strong. I'm slightly becoming an older man which means my chances are quite low.

"I'm extremely lucky that I've made a living playing a sport that I love. It's not something I negatively look at, I'm just excited for the sport," he said.

Another West Country local looking ahead to the Olympics is Bristol Barracuda's coach and vice-president, Archie Wills-Johnson.

Originally from Cheltenham and now living in Bristol, he discovered flag football - a form of non- American football - after suffering a serious spinal injury during a game.

At the time, he was linebacker for the University of Bristol's American football team.

"As I was injured I was able to play flag football when I couldn't play sports - I would imagine that's similar to a lot of other people out there," he said.

In flag football, instead of tackling, defenders must pull a flag from the waist of the attacking player with the ball.

The sport has around 20 million players worldwide and a record number of nations took part in last year's world championships, according to the NFL.

"It's more accessible and inclusive. You can have mixed teams and it's growing quite rapidly," said the 22-year-old.

Asked if he had Olympic aspirations, Mr Wills-Johnson, who continues to balance his studies with the sport, said he was focused on coaching for now.

"It's been a realisation of what's best for me isn't necessarily running around sports, and I've actually taken up swimming more recently.

"My neck is getting better but there are some good and bad days," he said.

Speaking of Britain's chances in flag football, he seemed confident there was enough talent to form a GB team which was being ed by more funding.

"The women's team is our best team at the moment, they rank fifth in the world, which would likely qualify them to go for the Olympics.

"They are well and truly in the hunt for doing big things in three years' time," he added.

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