Nearly four in 10 men believe they could qualify for the Olympics if they had access to professional coaching and followed a strict training programme, according to a new survey.
A poll of 2,000 adults found that 38% of men would feel confident about meeting the entry criteria for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles with the right training and support.
More than a quarter of adults overall, 26%, also believe they could beat a professional athlete in their chosen sport if they were given the opportunity.
Football was considered the sport where people would have the best chance of competing at an Olympic level, with 17% choosing it as their strongest option.
Jude Bellingham. Photo credit: Shutterstock
Tennis came next, with 11% believing it would give them their best chance of competing against the world's top athletes.
The survey also found that some men are confident in their sprinting abilities.
Around 13% of men said they believe they could run 100 metres in less than 15 seconds.
However, one in five of those surveyed admitted they had never actually attempted to run 100 metres.
Not everyone was as confident when it came to Olympic sports.
Almost half of adults, 45%, said gymnastics would be the toughest sport to master, while 33% chose diving.
The survey also suggests that watching the Olympics can inspire people to become more active.
Almost a quarter of those polled, 24%, said they had been motivated to take up a new sport or return to a sport they had previously done after watching the Olympic Games.
Eurig Druce, managing director at Vauxhall, which commissioned the research to mark its partnership with Team GB, said: “With more than a quarter of adults believing they could qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games given enough time, it's clear we’re a nation with considerable sporting ambition."
