British Army rower Corporal Stephen Cox is ready to realise a childhood dream at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Cpl Cox missed out on the Tokyo Games due to the pandemic, but an amazing qualifying performance at the African qualifiers saw him book his place in Paris.

“This dream has been an aspiration of mine since I was 13,” said Cpl Cox, who has been training Down Under with the Australian rowing team to prepare for the games.

The REME soldier is a proud British serviceman but acknowledges the unusual nature of his competing for Zimbabwe.

He said: “A lot of people get confused about it, but I couldn’t thank the British Army enough for how instrumental they’ve been in this whole process.”