Ella Gilbert
The rescheduled Tokyo Olympic Games began just over a week ago and it has already been an impressive start for Team GB. There’s been success both in medals and in breaking records, seeing both new and familiar faces on the podiums. Team GB are currently placing 6th on the medal count, with the People’s Republic of China taking the top spot, closely followed by the United States.
After GB’s success in Rio in 2016, there were big shoes to fill for the 2021 squad.
From Rio to Tokyo
“Tom Daley and Matty Lee took first place”
The medal haul began in Taekwondo with Sinden taking a silver, alongside surprise that double gold-medallist Jade Jones lost in the round of 16. However, this slightly less optimistic start in the Taekwondo was soon recovered on ‘Magic Monday‘. July 26th saw two silver medals and three golds for Great Britain.
It was celebration after celebration in the Aquatics Centre after Adam Peaty defended his position as Olympic champion of the 100m breaststroke, winning GB’s first Tokyo gold. Tom Daley and Matty Lee took first place for their 10m synchronised diving.
The Re-Peaty.#TeamGB #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/YUFdy2i6sl
— Team GB (@TeamGB) July 26, 2021
‘Magic Monday’ was followed by a ‘Terrific Tuesday’ where we saw three bronze medals, two silvers and a gold.
There was more success in the pool as GB celebrated their first 1-2 podium in swimming since 1908. Dean and Scott went on to share another podium later that week, this time both in the top spot, when they won gold in the men’s 4 x 200m freestyle relay.
Similarly, the GB Team Dressage squad were able to secure a bronze medal on Tuesday, which put Dujardin level with Dame Katherine Grainger and Kathleen McKane Godfree as five-time female medallists. Charlotte Dujardin and her teammate, Gio, then went on to achieve bronze in the individual dressage, making Dujardin Great Britain’s most decorated female Olympian.
Personal Success Stories
Whilst there has been much success for Team GB in medals, there has also been many personal success stories.
The diving victory was celebrated across the nation, when the much-adored Daley finally won his first gold medal at his fourth Olympics. We heard many tales of athletes going against all odds to claim their place on the podium, for example Georgia Taylor-Brown was on crutches due to a leg injury just twelve weeks ago but managed to take home a silver medal in the Triathlon on Tuesday. Just yesterday, we saw Bethany Shriever win gold in BMX cycling, after having worked part-time and used Crowdfunding to cover training costs and raise the money to take her to the World Cup.
OLYMPIC CHAMP!!!!! pic.twitter.com/2HborkSWyA
— Beth Shriever MBE (@bethanyshriever) July 30, 2021
Inspiring Tales
There has been countless inspiring tales coming from the games so far and it’s only been a week.
As of Sunday 1st August, Team GB have collected ten gold medals, ten silver and twelve bronze, bringing them to a total of 32, which is five less than they had by day 9 in Rio. Before the games, there were concerns over the amount of new faces on the squad, as usually reliable golds like Mo Farah were missing. However, it has been a promising start for the team and they have plenty of time left to prove themselves. Many events that GB traditionally score well in, such as track cycling, are yet to kick off so it’s still all to play for.
“There’s been success and heartbreak for the GB squad”
https://twitter.com/TeamGB/status/1421146067526107141
There’s been success and heartbreak for the GB squad, like the men’s rowing teams who were sent home medal-less, and there are still many events that could define Team GB’s time in Tokyo.
The games all look a little different this year, with no crowds and athletes being sent home straight after their events, will Team GB be able to keep up their success streak?
Featured image courtesy of Marcus Ng via Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to this image.
Ella Gilbert
Ella is History and Spanish student at the University of Sheffield. She is the social media manager for Empoword and a keen writer for various publications. When not writing or studying (which is far more often than she'd like to admit), you can find her exploring the outdoors, going out for drinks with friends, or in bed with Netflix and TikTok.