Budding young Northern Ireland gymnast heading to Paris Olympics as Team GB's first-ever mini mascot

A 11-year-old Glengormley girl is heading to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to represent Team GB as a first-ever mini mascot.

Amelia Cropera is one of six children from across the UK who were selected to become official mascots supporting the Team GB athletes.

She was nominated by her parents and judged by the British Olympic Association Athletes’ Commission, beating competition from over 20,000 applicants.

Amelia, who is a budding young gymnast, is a huge fan of Olympic medal winner Max Whitlock, whose success including 14 medals and six titles in Olympic and World Championships.

To celebrate six months to go until Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the children were announced via a series of pictures by Alice Mann, capturing their favourite sport

The mini mascots will support Team GB athletes all the way to Paris, from kitting out - where athletes will head to Birmingham to collect their Olympic kit - to local team announcements and participating in Team GB Fanzones to watch the action and cheer them on.

Carly Hodgson, Team GB head of marketing, explained: “We’re so excited to announce the first-ever mini mascots and welcome Josh, Dora, Alice, Amelia, Elliott, and Santino to Team GB for the first time.

“The passion from the six finalists came through in their entry videos and it was brilliant to see this come to life when meeting them in person. They will be an asset in rallying their communities and the nation to support Team GB in the run up to Paris, in a role that we know will be hugely exciting and inspiring for both them and our athletes.

“We’re especially happy that the children who made it through the application process represent each of the home nations which make up Team GB - England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.”

The children were introduced to each other for the first-time last year, participating in a photo shoot and meet-and-greet with canoe slalom Olympic silver medallist, Mallory Franklin.

Mallory Franklin, added: “I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the Mini Mascots and found it incredibly inspiring to see the next generation are so excited to cheer us on from the sidelines. It is a really important initiative to not only get kids involved in sport, but also to give athletes like myself even more motivation to succeed this year.

“I may be biased, but the Olympics are the greatest sporting event and I am excited for Josh, Dora, Alice, Amelia, Elliott, and Santino to experience this in a never-seen-before way.”

If you’d like to hear more about the mini mascots and follow their journey, head here.