Athletes from Britain triumphed over numerous challenges, including significant injuries, a tire puncture, and a Covid scare, to secure two gold medals in Paris, marking the first time since 1948 that “God Save the King” echoed at an Olympic event.
On the third day of the Games, individual silver medals were clinched by 21-year-old Matt Richards, who narrowly missed out on gold in the men’s 200m freestyle final, and 32-year-old Adam Burgess in the men’s singles canoe.
Tom Daley and Noah Williams earned silver in the 10m synchronised diving event, with Daley expressing gratitude to his husband for stepping up with their children.
“It’s incredibly special,” he remarked. “A year ago, I was unsure if I could even make the synchro team or qualify for the Olympics, and here I am in Paris, diving in front of my son who encouraged me to return.”
In less favorable news, Team GB announced that swimmer Adam Peaty tested positive for Covid shortly after just missing a historic third gold in three consecutive Games during the 100m breaststroke on Sunday.
Officials remained hopeful that Peaty, 29, would recover in time for this week’s 4x100m medley and 4x100m mixed medley events as he aims to add to his six Olympic medals, but there were concerns regarding the health of the rest of the team.
Despite the challenges, the excitement of the Monday medal haul, including the first golds under a King since the death of George VI, was unwavering. The Prince and Princess of Wales tweeted: “Huge congratulations to the Equestrian Eventing Team and Tom Pidcock in mountain biking for winning Team GB’s first gold medals! Here’s to even more success ahead!”
In the sweltering heat at Chateau de Versailles, Tom McEwen, Ros Canter, and Laura Collett—who faced near-fatal injuries from a horsefall in 2013 and has only partial sight in one eye—became the first to reach the podium for Team GB, successfully defending their Olympic team eventing title.
This marked a historic fifth team gold medal for Great Britain in the three-day event, which included dressage, cross-country, and jumping, and Collett, aboard London 52, later secured bronze in the individual women’s eventing.
“I never thought this day would arrive,” she shared. “I owe everything to that horse and the incredible team that helped me reach this point.”
Tension was palpable at the beginning of the day, as Britain’s previously comfortable lead had dramatically tightened overnight due to a contentious jumping penalty against Canter. However, it was Tom Pidcock and his mountain bike that delivered the most thrilling Olympic moment by securing Team GB’s first individual gold.
Pidcock, who will celebrate his 25th birthday on Tuesday, seemed to be faltering against France’s Victor Koretzky on the challenging terrain of Elancourt Hill but staged a remarkable comeback after a puncture and a slow wheel change to clinch the second gold for Britain that day.
The race boiled down to a decisive moment when Pidcock veered to the left while Koretzky went right, nearly colliding and eliciting boos from some of the vocal home crowd. Nevertheless, Koretzky showed commendable sportsmanship in defeat.
“I hit some gravel with my front wheel, which cost me my lead on Tom,” Koretzky lamented. “I’m very disappointed; this mistake cost me the gold medal.”
After successfully defending his Olympic title, the Yorkshireman, who initially led until his puncture, described the experience as “the most emotionally draining victory of my career.”
He recounted: “Everything was going well, but then the puncture hit. We weren’t prepared in the pits, yet he executed a quick change. At that moment, I realized I had five laps left and anything was possible. I closed the gap on Victor, but I knew he was incredibly quick on the last lap.”
In the Aquatics Centre, Daley and Williams secured second place behind the Chinese duo Yang Hao and Lian Junjie, but the day was filled with joy for the proud father of Robbie, five, and Phoenix, one.
“Before the competition even started, it felt like we had won, just being there with my family makes it so special,” Daley noted. “They were right above the mixed zone during our interviews. Phoenix even threw his juice cup at me. I’ll have to return it to him—it nearly hit one of the BBC reporters! It was wonderful to share that moment with him.”
However, not all of Team GB’s experiences were triumphant. Richards narrowly missed gold in the 200m freestyle, finishing just 0.02 seconds behind, and fellow British favorite Duncan Scott placed fourth, a mere 0.08 seconds from the winner, Romania’s David Popovici.
Richards stated: “I can’t be too disappointed; it was my first individual final at the Olympic Games, and leaving with a silver is a significant achievement. Of course, being just two one-hundredths off gold is extremely frustrating, but it fuels my ambition even more.”
In women’s rugby sevens, the British team fell to the US with a score of 17-7 in the quarter-finals, while the Americans ended a long 16-year wait for a men’s gymnastics medal by winning bronze in a thrilling team final. At one point, the British squad had been in contention for gold but ultimately Japan edged out China for the victory.
Max Whitlock, a member of the British artistic gymnastics team, expressed his disappointment: “It was tough. I’m truly gutted. Fourth place is always difficult; we’ve faced that situation multiple times in the Olympics.”
Dan Evans encountered trouble against Stefanos Tsitsipas, losing 6-1, 6-2, in the second round of the men’s tennis singles, a stark contrast to his impressive performance alongside Andy Murray in the doubles on Sunday. The British duo is set to compete again on Tuesday.
Evans remarked: “I’ll be fine. It was a quick turnaround, and today was just a bit too much.”
Meanwhile, Rafa Nadal might have played his last match at Roland Garros after falling to Novak Djokovic with a score of 6-1, 6-4 in the second round of the Games. “I’ve dealt with numerous injuries over the past two years,” he shared. “If I feel I’m not competitive enough or physically unable to continue, I will retire and let you know. But I don’t constantly think about retirement.”
