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The Channel Islands' three Olympians have been heartily praised after each showed their prowess in their chosen sports over the last fortnight.
Sark's Carl Hester and Guernsey's Heather Watson and Alastair Chalmers were chosen to compete for Team GB in equestrian, tennis, and athletics respectively.
Only Hester brought home a medal – coming third in the Team Dressage.
Watson was knocked out of the singles in the second round, but she reached the quarter finals of the women's doubles alongside fellow Brit Katie Boulter.
Chalmers made his way to the semi-finals of the mens' 400m hurdles before crashing out at the seventh hurdle but he won praise for getting up and finishing the race.
Each of the trio were congratulated on their Olympic efforts by individuals across the Channel Islands – and the States of Guernsey was also full of praise.
"For the small communities of the Bailiwick of Guernsey to be represented by three athletes at the Paris Olympics is a huge achievement and one we are rightly very proud of," they said.
Both Hester and Watson have represented Team GB at previous Olympic Games, while Chalmers followed in the footsteps of his older brother Cameron who was selected for the 400m individual and relay events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Hester was the oldest competitor among Team GB this summer, at 57 years' old.
He's appeared at six Olympics in total, with his first the 1992 Barcelona Games, followed by Athens 2004, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024.
He's won four Olympic medals in total for Team Dressage. His bronze at Paris 2024 followed a bronze in Tokyo in 2020, a silver at Rio 2016 and a gold in London in 2012.
Pictured: Carl Hester.
Hester has also won a number of gold, silver, and bronze medals at other events including the World Cup, European Championships, and World Championships.
He announced his retirement from competing at the Paris Olympics but his wider equestrian work will continue, and a film of his life and career is in production.
Hester's position as a stalwart of Team GB is reflected in his fellow Bailiwick athlete Heather Watson who this summer became the first female tennis player to represent her country at four Olympic Games.
Prior to Paris 2024, Watson competed at Tokyo 2020, Rio 2016, and London 2012.
Pictured: Heather Watson.
She was selected for the singles and doubles in 2012, and across all three tennis events for the Rio Games, before playing in the singles at Tokyo 2020.
Watson was selected for both the singles and women's doubles this summer.
Aside from the Olympics Watson is a mixed doubles Wimbledon Champion, and a Junior US Open winner. She has also won four WTA Tour titles, six titles on the ITF Circuit, and five doubles titles.
Like Watson, Alastair Chalmers started representing Guernsey as a young child - winning his first national athletics title at u15 level.
Since then he has won various medals and titles including five consecutive British Championships.
Pictured: Alastair Chalmers.
His run at that event in June saw him secure his place at the Paris games with a national-record-breaking season and personal best run of 48.54 across the 400m hurdles.
Chalmers followed that up with a 48.98 second run in his qualifying heat.
His semi-final run was disrupted when he fell at the seventh hurdle but he got up and finished the race in 56.92.
The States said that each of the three Bailiwick Olympians at the 2024 Paris Games had secured huge personal achievements which should be celebrated.
Paris Olympics: Introducing… Carl Hester
Paris Olympics: Introducing… Heather Watson
Paris Olympics: Introducing… Alastair Chalmers
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