On Monday, Team GB secured their initial gold medals at the Paris Olympics, following an impressive start in the medal tally over the weekend.
The British team celebrated their most successful opening to an Olympic Games in almost four decades on Saturday, with Anna Henderson taking silver in the women’s time trial, alongside bronze medalists Yasmin Harper and diver Scarlett Mew Jensen at the Aquatics Centre.
By Tuesday afternoon, Team GB ranked seventh in the overall medal standings, amassing a total of ten medals – two golds, five silvers, and three bronzes.
On Monday, the equestrian eventing squad achieved Team GB’s first gold of the Olympics. Tom McEwen riding JL Dublin, Ros Canter with his horse, and Laura Collett on London 52 topped the leaderboard, outperforming the host nation, France, to secure gold at the Chateau de Versailles.
Team GB have clinched their first medals of the Olympic games, with Rosalind Canter, Laura Collett and Tom McEwen (L-R) winning the eventing team final on Monday
Tom Pidcock (pictured) won gold in the men’s mountain bike race – defending his Tokyo 2020 title
In another remarkable performance, Tom Pidcock triumphed in the men’s mountain bike race, winning gold despite encountering a puncture during the event, even facing boos from the crowd.
The 24-year-old commented: ‘It’s disappointing that the French were booing me. That’s not in the spirit of the Olympics. But I get that they are very passionate and wanted Victor to prevail.
‘That’s understandable. But they didn’t boo the rock that caused my puncture.’
Despite the challenges, both Team GB’s equestrian team and Pidcock made history, marking the first instance in 76 years that ‘God Save the King’ was played on the medal podium at the Olympics.
Every gold medal-winning country has their national anthem played during the celebration, with the last such moment for Britain occurring in the 1948 Games, when King George VI was sovereign.
King George passed away on February 6, 1952, shortly before the 1952 Olympic Games, with Queen Elizabeth II succeeding him and reigning until her death on September 8, 2022.
With King Charles III now reigning, British athletes will sing ‘God Save the King’ at the medals ceremony for the first time since the 1948 Olympics, which were held in London and inaugurated by King George VI.
The Prince and Princess of Wales extended their congratulations to Team GB’s first gold winners of the games via X (formerly Twitter): ‘Huge congratulations to the Equestrian Eventing Team and Tom Pidcock in mountain biking for winning the first gold medals! Here’s to continued success ahead!’
Collett (pictured) and McEwen had also clinched gold in the same event at the 2020 Tokyo Games
Pidcock (pictured) remarkably still managed to win with a puncture in one of his tyres
It is the first time that ‘God Save the King’ has been played at an Olympic medal ceremony since 1948, when George VI (pictured) reigned over the United Kingdom
The Prince and Princess of Wales took to X (formerly Twitter) to issue their congratulations to the eventing team and Pidcock
“Competing in front of my son who urged me to return is incredibly meaningful. I have now achieved medals of every color; I’ve got the complete set.”
Adam Peaty narrowly missed becoming Britain’s third gold medalist, finishing just 0.02 seconds behind Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi in the men’s 100m final.
In other events, Tom Daley secured his fifth Olympic medal, taking silver in the men’s synchronized 10m platform with partner Noah Williams at the Aquatics Centre in Paris.
Daley was honored to be one of the flag bearers for Team GB during the opening ceremony on Friday night, alongside gold medalist Helen Glover, at a special reception held at the British Embassy in Paris, attended by Princess Anne—who represented Britain in eventing at the 1976 Montreal Games—and Sir Mick Jagger.
Princess Anne, who participated in eventing at the 1976 Montreal Games, presented medals to the equestrian team at Chateau de Versailles
In her address to the Team GB athletes, Princess Anne remarked: ‘It is the journey of getting here, and many of you have made it again and again.
She added: ‘That is truly extraordinary, as it requires immense inspiration and innovation to sustain such high levels of excellence for an Olympic Games, which highlights the magnitude of your accomplishments and skills.
‘Thank you for your dedication and support. I wish you all the best in achieving everything you aspire to during this competition.’
