As the Olympic flame was extinguished and the closing ceremony reached its completion, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games wrapped up after seventeen days of athletic excellence. The Games (retaining 2020 in its title for branding purposes) were scheduled to be held last year but were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During the run up to the event, many criticised the decision not to postpone the games further, including Voice Contributor Alex Hart.
Regardless, the Games went ahead. Although the empty spectator stands may have disheartened the participants, they in no way diminished the extraordinary feats of spirit and determination that had brought them all to Japan’s National Stadium.
Here, we highlight some of Team GB’s medallists:
Tom Daley and Matty Lee
The pair won gold in the men’s synchronized ten-metre platform, executing a near perfect forward four and half somersaults, a dive with a 3.7 DD (degree of difficulty), the hardest Olympic dive of the event.
Tom Daley became a four time medal winner with his bronze-worthy performance in the individual bracket. He now holds the most medals of any British diver.
Sky Brown
Now the youngest British medallist at thirteen years old, Brown took home the bronze medal in the women’s park skateboarding final. After a severe head injury that would have prevented her entering the Olympics had they taken place in 2020, the skateboarder secured her podium finish with a perfectly executed final run.
Jason Kenny
Beating the second place finisher Azizulhasni Awang by almost three quarters of a second, Kenny earned his seventh gold medal during the men’s keirin cycling race and with nine medals overall, has overtaken Chris Hoy as Britain’s most successful Olympian.
Laura Kenny
The first British woman to win a gold medal in three consecutive Olympic games, Kenny took on the women’s cycling madison race in excellent time.
Charlotte Worthington
The BMX freestyle event made its Olympic debut this year, with Charlotte Worthington securing her victory with a stunning backflip that took home the gold.
The Olympian went from supporting her craft by working at a restaurant full-time to taking the top spot during the sport’s first ever outing at the premier world sporting event.
Team GB’s chef de mission, Mark England said “Against all odds, it is, I think, the greatest achievement in British Olympic history.”
“For this team to deliver 65 medals is absolutely extraordinary,” he added. “The team has made history on the back of the most complex, challenging and most difficult environments that we will ever face, certainly in my lifetime. And I can say that because I’ve been involved in five or six summer Games.”
In the end, sixty-five medals were brought home by British athletes, with Britain coming fourth overall on the table. Every member of the national team can be proud of their accomplishments, particularly in the context that surrounded this year’s competition. The next Olympics event will take place later this month, as the Paralympic Games begin in Tokyo on 24 August.
A link to the full list of Team GB medallists can be found here.
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