Arts & Culture

Tokyo Olympics 2021: How Team GB’s first week at the Olympics have begun with a bang

4 August 20214 August 2021By
Tokyo Olympics 2021: How Team GB’s first week at the Olympics have begun with a bang

After a longer than usual wait the Tokyo Olympics are finally here. I take a look at how Team GB have started the games.

Despite still being in the early stages of the Tokyo Olympics, Team GB have flown out of the blocks and secured a total of 13 medals (4 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze). After coming second in Rio with a total of 67 medals, Team GB look hungry for more.

The Tokyo Olympics have always had such momentous importance to athletes and the countries they represent. I am partial to a good 9 hour sleep but even I have found myself, as I am sure many others have, up at 3am watching the races and battles between these incredible athletes.

Finally Tom gets his Gold:

Winning a gold medal is all Great British diver Tom Daley has wanted during his 20-year diving career. We first saw him in Beijing at the age of 14 and as a nation we have followed his career every step of the way. This is why the Rio Olympic games back in 2016 was so devastating. Despite taking home a bronze in the synchronised 10m platform alongside Dan Goodfellow, he failed to qualify for the individual competition. For such a prolific and dedicated athlete who knew he was capable of more, that was hard to take. 

Fast forward to Tokyo 2020, and Daley is back on the big stage with a lot to prove. And on Monday morning he did just that, taking home his first ever gold Olympic medal alongside his synchronised diving partner, 22-year old Olympic rookie Matty Lee. The pair executed six perfect dives, with their final one being the most difficult dive a person can do. Their perfection was of the utmost importance as they beat the reigning Chinese gold medalists Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen by just 1.23 points.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CRyoFf1ni5K/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Tom will be diving again in the 10m individual competition at this years Tokyo Olympics.

Manic Monday:

Tom and Matty’s victory was one of three that occurred all before 9am Monday morning. A day now being referred to as Manic Monday. 9 hours before the diving pair we saw Jonathon Brownlee and Alex Yee compete in the men’s triathlon. With the air temperature reaching sweltering heights and the water was almost like a hot tub hitting 30 degrees, this was an intense and highly difficult race. 

While the past bronze and silver medallist Brownlee failed to add a gold to his collection finishing in 5th place, it was the 23-year old Yee who amazed us all and took silver. He was beaten only by 27-year old Norwegian Kristian Blummenfelt. 

With only 3 years until France 2024, it is extremely exciting to see such young British talent competing in the triathlon. Could he be the person to continue the legacy of the legendary Brownlee brothers?

After the excitement of the triathlon, if you were able to stay up until 3am you would have seen the 8-time world champion and world record holder, Adam Peaty, take home his second Olympic gold in the men’s 100m breaststroke. This continues his 7-year undefeated streak for this distance and shows the world that he still is the best.

 

Peaty will compete again in the men’s 4x100m medley relay and there is a possibility we might see him in the mixed 4x100m medley relay.

Soon after Peaty’s victory, we saw yet another gold for team GB. British cyclist Tom Pidcock, who despite being proficient in many different cycling disciplines, came out and won Mountain Bike gold. So all in all, not the worst Monday in the world. 

But not all the magic happened on Monday. We have also seen Chelsea Giles win bronze in the women’s 52kg Judo competition, as well as two silver medals in Taekwondo. Bradly Sinden was agonisingly close to getting gold in the men’s 68kg Taekwondo, as was Lauren Williams in the women’s 67kg Taekwondo. But I am sure their silver medal wins have inspired the next generation to give Taekwondo a try.

The Medals keep coming:

Day 4 of the Olympics was no different. The UK woke up to the news of two more medals. Tom Dean came out with gold in the men’s 200m freestyle, with Duncan Scott right behind him taking silver. We also saw Georgia Taylor-Brown win silver despite suffering a puncture on the final lap of the cycle. Shortly after, Bianca Walkden took bronze for the women’s 67+ Taekwondo and both the women’s gymnastics team and the mixed dressage team won GB two bronze medals.

It is hard to believe that the Olympics have only just begun after such an exciting few days. While I have touched on a few key moments here, the amount of incredible athletes and teams are endless. From gymnastics to rowing. Canoe slalom to archery. I am sure everyone cannot wait for what else is to come.

Medals so Far:

Giles Scott (gold) – Sailing, men’s Finn

Dylan Fletcher, Stuart Bithell (gold) -Sailing, men’s 49er class

Oliver Townend, Laura Collett, Tom McEwen (gold) – Eventing team

Max Whitlock (gold) – Pommel horse

Jess Learmonth, Jonny Brownlee, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Alex Yee (gold) – Mixed triathlon relay

Kathleen Dawson, Adam Peaty, James Guy, Anna Hopkin (gold) – Mixed 4x100m medley relay

Tom Dean, James Guy, Matthew Richards, Duncan Scott (gold) – Men’s 4x200m freestyle relay

Tom Dean (gold) – Men’s 200m freestyle

Adam Peaty (gold) – Men’s 100m breaststroke

Tom Daley, Matty Lee (gold) – Men’s synchronised 10m platform

Tom Pidcock (gold) – Men’s cross-country mountain biking

Beth Shriever (gold) – Women’s BMX racing

Charlotte Worthington (gold) – Women’s BMX park freestyle

Keely Hodgkinson (silver) – Women’s 800m

Pat McCormack (silver) – Men’s boxing

Jason Kenny, Jack Carlin Ryan Owens (silver) – Cycling, men’s team sprint

Katie Archibald, Laura Kenny, Jessie Knight, Neah Evan (silver) – Cycling, women’s team pursuit

John Gimson, Anna Burnet (silver) – Sailing, nacra 17 multi-hull class

Emily Campbell (silver) – Women’s +87kg weightlifting

Tom McEwen (silver) – Individual eventing

Harry Leask, Angus Groom, Tom Barras, Jack Beaumont (silver) – Men’s quadruple sculls

Duncan Scott (silver) – Men’s 200m freestyle

Georgia Taylor-Brown (silver) – Women’s triathlon

Alex Yee (silver) – Men’s triathlon

Lauren Williams (silver) – Women’s -67kg taekwondo

Bradly Sinden (silver) – Men’s -68kg taekwondo

Mallory Franklin (silver) – Women’s canoe slalom C1

Duncan Scott (silver) – Men’s 200m medley

Kye Whyte (silver) – Men’s BMX racing

Luke Greenbank, Adam Peaty, James Guy, Duncan Scott (silver) – Men’s 4x100m medley relay

Jack Laugher (bronze) – Men’s 3m springboard

Chelsie Giles (bronze) – Women’s -52kg judo

Bianca Walkden (bronze) – Women’s taekwondo +67kg

Alice Kinsella, Amelie Morgan, Jennifer and Jessica Gadirova (bronze) -Gymnastics women’s team

Carl Hester, Charlotte Fry and Charlotte Dujardin (bronze) – Dressage

Charlotte Dujardin (bronze) – Individual dressage

Matt Coward-Holley (bronze) – Men’s trap

Luke Greenback (bronze) – Men’s 200m backstroke

Men’s eight (bronze) – Rowing

Bryony Page (bronze) – Trampolining

Emma Wilson (bronze) – Windsurfing

Karriss Artingstall (bronze) – Women’s featherweight boxing

Declan Brooks (bronze) – Men’s BMX freestyle

MORE: England Team: A love letter to the players