- Team GB has made a remarkable beginning to an Olympics at the Paris Games
- Medals were claimed in both cycling and diving on the opening day of the tournament
Great Britain has recorded its finest Olympic start in 44 years, with cyclist Anna Henderson and the diving team of Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen excelling on the first day of competition in Paris.
Team GB had not managed to secure a medal on the first day of any Games since 2004, but Harper and Mew Jensen reversed that trend by earning a bronze in the women’s synchronised diving on the three-metre springboard.
Following that, Henderson astonished everyone with a silver medal in a challenging cycling time trial affected by rain, marking the first time since the Moscow Olympics in 1980 that Team GB has collected two medals on the opening day.
The diving duo secured their bronze in a tense final, taking advantage of mistakes made by the Australian pair Anabelle Smith and Maddison Keeney on their last dive.
This achievement marks Britain’s first Olympic medal in women’s diving in 64 years. ‘Winning a medal after such a long wait in women’s diving is truly amazing,’ stated Harper, who coincidentally celebrates her 24th birthday today.
Anna Henderson (pictured) won silver for Great Britain in the women’s time trial at the Paris Olympics
Yasmin Harper (left) and Scarlett Mew Jensen (right) earned bronze in the women’s 3m synchronised diving
Mew Jensen, 22, who recently healed from a back fracture just a month prior, stated: ‘It’s surreal. This is like a dream realized.’
Henderson, who has come back from two collarbone fractures this year, shared: ‘This year has been incredibly tough, so to achieve something like this is unbelievable,’ said the 25-year-old.
