CHARLEY HULL is worried an Olympic ban on smoking in the golf events will harm her medal chances at Le Golf National.
The World No11 is Great Britain‘s best hope of adding to Tommy Fleetwood’s silver medal in the men’s event – team-mate Georgia Hall has slipped from 22nd to 41st in the rankings.
But Hull admits not being able to light up if she forces her way into contention will be tough to deal with.
She explained: “I do smoke on the course.
“It’s a habit now, but I won’t do it this week, because you’re not allowed to.
“I think it could affect me, because smoking relaxes me a little bit. But I’ll just have to concentrate even harder on my golf.”
Hull went viral on social media when she was photographed signing autographs at the US Open a couple of months ago, with a cigarette in her mouth.
And she got even more attention when she revealed she had only taken up smoking to give up vaping!
Hull explained that she could not smoke indoors, but get away with vaping.
She added: “I smoke quite a few more than I should. But listen, I will stop soon.”
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Maybe this week’s ban will actually help her.
Hull has narrowly missed out on majors on three separate occasions.
She finished second at the 2016 Chevron Championship, 2023 US Women’s Open and 2023 Women’s British Open.
Her best result at a major this year came in the Women’s PGA Championship where she finished tied for 16th place.
WHAT TO WATCH TODAY
TODAY’S BRIT MEDAL HOPES
One of the hottest spectacles of Paris 2024 is the 1500m men’s final (7.50pm) – will it be gold for either Josh Kerr or Jakob Ingebrigtsen in their epic rivalry?
World champion Sky Brown, now 16, wants to upgrade her Tokyo bronze to Paris gold in the women’s park skateboarding final but is battling back from a dislocated shoulder (4.30pm).
Ben Maher on board Dallas Vegas Batilly is into the final of the individual jumping equestrian alongside Harry Charles and Scott Brash after coming through the 74-rider qualifying and could defend his Tokyo gold after already securing the team title in Paris (9am).
BRITS TO WATCH
Jack Laugher goes in the 3m springboard diving preliminaries with Jordan Houlden (9am) before Andrea Spendolini Sirieix goes in the 10m platform final (2pm).
Lewis Richardson is already guaranteed a bronze in the 71kg boxing but has his semi-final at Roland Garros at 8.45pm.
The women’s 200m gives Dina Asher-Smith a chance to make up for her disappointing 100m result (final 8.40pm).
Jack Carlin, Ed Lowe and Hamish Turnbull team up in the track cycling men’s team sprint today with the final at 7.10pm, hoping to wrestle back the gold they won in Beijing, London and Rio.
GLOBAL STARS TODAY
Emma Hayes’ USA women’s football team face Germany in the semi-final in Lyon (5pm).
Kellie Harrington will go for back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the ring with the Irish star’s 60kg final vs China’s Yang Wenlu at 10pm – two bouts after Imane Khelif’s 66kg semi-final.
FANCY SOMETHING DIFFERENT?
It wouldn’t be the Olympics without some wrestling would it?
There is both freestyle and Greco-Roman disciplines throughout the day at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
STATS MAD
A Hoy Where? For the first time since Atlanta 1996, the Team GB cycling track team will neither feature a certain Sir Chris Hoy nor Sir Jason Kenny. Just the 16 Olympic medals between those two legends, 13 of them gold.
Follow all the action as it unfolds with our Paris 2024 Olympics LIVE blog.
