Tokyo 2020 was Francisca Crovetto's third Olympic Games ©Getty Images

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics ended only seven months ago, but attention has already turned to Paris 2024 and a group of 10 Chilean athletes have been awarded scholarships to aid their attempts to qualify.

The group were presented with scholarships at the Marlene Ahrens Olympic Training Centre yesterday.

The initial plan was to have five Chileans benefit from this opportunity, however the scholarship was extended to 10 more athletes.

It is delivered through Olympic Solidarity funding.

Each athlete will receive $750 (£560/€675) per month to use on equipment, medical or training expenses, or put towards the cost of travelling to competitions.

The 10 beneficiaries are shooter Francisca Crovetto, sprint canoeist María José Mailliard, judoka Mary Dee Vargas, fencing's Katina Proestakis, cyclists Catalina Soto and Martín Vidaurre, triathlete Diego Moya, wrestler Yasmani Acosta and hammer throwers Gabriel Kehr and Humberto Mansilla.  

COCH President Miguel Ángel Mujica highlighted the diversity of the group, which includes young athletes and others with more experience.

"All Team Chile athletes will have their qualifying processes financed thanks to the contribution of the state and the official sponsors through the Olympic Plan," Mujica said.

"However, these scholarships will help this group of 10 athletes to enhance different aspects of their qualifying processes. 

"It is a diverse group, with young athletes and others with more experience, but we hope to see them all in France in two more years." 

Crovetto, who leads the COCH Athletes' Commission, expressed excitement at becoming a beneficiary of the scholarship.

"I am very grateful, very honored, this is a great contribution to be able to prepare for the Olympic qualification and hopefully I will be able to qualify for my fourth Olympic Games," she said.

"At the end of this year the qualifying process should begin and I hope to achieve it as soon as possible."

Although Chile's participation at Tokyo 2020 was not an easy path and the delegation went home without winning a medal, Vidaurre, who finished 16th in the men's cross-country mountain bike race, now wants to secure a spot on the podium at Paris 2024.

"The truth is that it is a great honor that they trust in the process that we have been doing for quite some time," Vidaurre said.

"I qualified for Tokyo two years ago, with a bit of surprise, so I hope that qualifying for Paris can be somewhat more controlled and I can dream big. 

"I want to jump into the pool and hopefully get a medal. 

"There is a long way to go but we are aiming for everything there."