From swimmers to runners and gymnasts, winning bronze, silver and/or gold – Mansfield and Ashfield have a pool of sporting talent who have excelled at prestigious Olympic and Paralympic games over the years.
Here are nine sports stars from our area…
1. Chris Adcock
Chris Adcock at the Olympic Homecoming in 2012. Chris is an Olympic badminton player for Team GB who competed in the mixed doubles. Although he and his partner won the first set in both of their initial rounds, they unfortunately lost to the German pair Michael Fuchs and Birgit Michels. Chris, who has been playing for Mansfield Badminton Club since he was young, receives support from the Armchair Club. He hails from Ravenshead. Picture left to right; Ollie Hynd, Chris Adcock, Charlotte Henshaw and Rebecca Adlington, Photo: Roger Grayson
2. Rebecca Adlington
Rebecca Adlington OBE wrote herself into the world's sporting history when she won the 800m freestyle final at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in a new world record time of 8:16:22. She also won the 400m freestyle gold and became the first woman to win swimming gold for Great Britain since Anita Lonsbrough in 1960. Photo: Getty Images
3. Charlotte Henshaw
Charlotte Henshaw MBE from Mansfield is a British Paralympic full-time athlete across multiple disciplines. Originally a swimmer, she changed to canoeing from 2017, becoming the reigning World champion in the KL2 and VL3 200m events. Photo: Garry Bowden/Getty Images
4. Oliver Hynd
Ashfield's Ollie Hynd MBE is a multiple medal winner having shone on the big stages. He won the gold medal in the 400 m freestyle S8, beating the world record in the final, and the 200m individual medley SM8, also in a world record, during the 2016 Rio Paralympics. Ollie swam at both London 2012 and Rio 2016. After changes to his classification, he decided to retire from competitive sport in 2021. Ollie is the brother of fellow Paralympian, Sam Hynd. Photo: Getty Images