Rio 2016 Final Day/Closing Ceremony

The final day saw GB's last realistic chance of a gold medal end with silver as Joe Joyce lost out to Tony Yoka (FRA) in the Men's Super Heavyweight Boxing. The result means that GB end the games on 67 medals and in a superb second place as they finished clear of China, a feat made better given the respective populations - GB-64m and China -1.38bn.

A superb closing ceremony at the Maracana started with an array of colour and dancing with fireworks lighting up the Rio skyline. The parade of athletes saw the flag-bearers lead them out with GB represented by Kate Richardson-Walsh, captain of the gold medal winning women's Hockey team.

Across the parade, the GB team was easily to pick out with their specialised red, white and blue flashing footwear. The next part of the ceremony saw a great routine of music and dance ahead of the final medal ceremony of the games - the Men's Marathon with Galen Rupp (USA) collecting bronze, Feyisa Lilesa (ETH) collecting silver and Eluid Kipchoge (KEN) collecting the gold medal.

Next up, the official portion of the ceremony including the handover to Japan for the Tokyo 2020 games which began with a superb feature which saw the Prime Minister of Japan appearing from a Super Mario type pipe with the famous hat of the gaming character.  A Brazilian carnival graced the centre of the stadium after the officials speeches. The finale was a massive firework display coupled with the extinguishing of the Olympic Flame as the Rio games came to a close.

The blog takes a short break ahead of a return on 7th Sept for coverage of the Paralympics. 

Final Medal Table

 

Rio 2016 Day Fifteen

Day Fifteen saw it become official that Rio 2016 is the most successful games for GB since 1908 and the best overseas medal haul of all time with 66 medals so far.. Mo Farah completed the 'double double' as he retained his Men's 5000m title while Nicola Adams also retained her Women's Flyweight title from London 2012 and Liam Heath took gold in the Men's Kayak Single 200m. 

Mahama Cho narrowly missed out on a medal in the +80kg Taekwondo as he finished fourth while Charley Hull finished just outside the medals in the Women's Golf.

Silver medals came for Vicky Holland in the Women's Triathlon and Bianca Walkden in the Women's +67kg Taekwondo. The final GB medal of the day came in Athletics as the Women's 4x400m quartet of Eilidh Doyle, Anyika Onuora, Emily Diamond and Christine Ohuruogu took bronze to seal a first medal in the event for GB since 1992.

Elsewhere, Caster Semenya (RSA) took gold in the Women's 800m while Neymar struck the crucial penalty in the final of the Men's Football as Brazil took gold ahead of Germany. Allyson Felix clinched a record sixth career Olympic gold as the United States won the 4x400m relay for a sixth straight Games.

Rio 2016 Day Fourteen

Day 14 saw GB reach the 60 medal mark as the superb haul continued with a stunning gold for 58-year-old Nick Skelton in Showjumping, the first for GB in 108 years.The Women's Hockey team stunned defending Olympic champions Netherlands to take gold with a tense 3-3 score at the end of normal time followed by a superb 2-0 penalty shoot-out win.

Lutalo Muhammad suffered a last-gasp heartbreak as he claimed silver in the Taekwondo -80kg, he led 6-4 with a second to go and was hit in the head by Cheick Sallah Cisse (CIV) who took the gold with an 8-6 win. A bronze on the track for GB came in the Women's 4x100m Relay. 

Tom Daley qualified for the semi finals of the Men's 10m Platform Diving in first place with Liam Heath qualifying for the final of the Men's Kayak Single 200m while the Women's Kayak Four 500m team also reached the final.

Elsewhere, Usain Bolt completed an historic Olympic 'triple triple' as he added to his 100m, 200m titles with the 4x100m Relay with Jamaica to make it nine finals and nine wins in his Olympic career. In the Women's Golf, GB's Charley Hull sits fifth with China's Lin Xiyu and New Zealand's Lydia Ko both hitting holes-in-one in the third round. 

Rio 2016 Day Thirteen

After a 'day off' for the GB medal haul, day thirteen saw a superb resuming as the Brownlee brothers - Alistair and Jonny took gold and silver in the Men's Triathlon while Jade Jones retained her title to become a double Olympic champion at the age of 23 with the gold in the -57kg Taekwondo. More success came on the water as Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark triumphed in the Women's 470 Sailing. 

A silver for Liam Heath and Jon Schofield in the Men's 200m Kayak Double and a bronze for the duo of Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge in the Men's Badminton Doubles took GB to just nine medals short of the awesome 65 from London 2012.  Further medals are guaranteed with Nicola Adams assured at least silver in the Boxing  as she aims to become the first British boxer to retain an Olympic title for 92 years.

Elsewhere, Usain Bolt (JAM) completed his third Olympic sprint double by winning the Men's 200m while Ashton Eaton (USA) emulated Daley Thompson by winning back-to-back golds in the Decathlon.

 

Rio 2016 Day Twelve

Alike London 2012, day twelve saw no medals for GB but progress made towards future success with the highlight being the Women's Hockey as GB reached their first ever final with a comfortable 3-0 win over New Zealand. A superb brace from Alex Danson and Helen Richardson-Walsh's penalty secured the victory meaning GB will improve on their bronze in the event four years ago.

Another medal which is secured is in the Women's 470 Sailing with the duo of Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark having to wait an extra day to claim gold after the event was postponed due to a lack of wind at the Marina. Mo Farah continued his bid for a fourth Olympic gold as he survived a stumble in his 5000m heat to qualify third.

Elsewhere, Louise Thompson (JAM) added to her 100m title with the gold in 200m with GB's Dina Asher-Smith finishing fifth while the GB duo of Cindy Ofili and Tiffany Porter missed out on 100m hurdles medals as Brianna Rollins headed a US clean sweep. Brazil reached the Men's Football final with a 6-0 win over Honduras which saw a record breaking opening goal from Neymar inside 15 seconds.

Rio 2016 Day Eleven

So far the Rio Olympics has been an historic one for Team GB but day eleven went even better with the goal of 48 medals not only surpassed but now sitting at 50 making Rio the best all-time overseas games for GB. Golden couple Laura Trott and Jason Kenny took their combined total to ten golds overall with wins in the Women's Omnium and Men's Keirin. Also in Cycling, Becky James added to her gold earlier in the games with a silver in the Women's Sprint.


GB success in the water continued with Giles Scott taking gold in the Men's Finn while Jack Laugher claimed a silver in the Men's 3m Springboard Diving. The day saw nine medals overall with a superb bronze for 16 year old Amy Tinkler in the Women's Floor coupled with bronzes for Katy Marchant in the Women's Track Cycling, Nile Wilson in the Men's High Bar and Joshua Buatsi in the Men's Light-Heavyweight Boxing.

The success in the Cycling saw GB top the sport's medal table with 12 with every member of the GB team securing at least one medal and the total of 50 in the overall medal table keeps GB second only to USA with five days still to go.

Away from the medals, Robbie Grabarz finished an agonising fourth in the Men's High Jump while Eilidh Doyle reached the final of the 400m Hurdles and Dina Asher-Smith secured a spot in the 200m final.

Rio 2016 Day Ten

Day ten saw the GB medal haul slow down a bit but still continue as Mark Cavendish ended his long wait for an Olympic medal by claiming silver in the Men's Omnium. Charlotte Dujardin equalled Laura Trott's record of three golds she retained her Dressage title. History in the Women's Hammer as Sophie Hitchon became the first GB female medallist as she claimed the bronze.

The GB medal haul is currently one better than at the same stage of the London 2012 and contention in many more events, the goal of 48 medals is well within sight. The GB women are into the Hockey semi finals with Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis at the same stage in Badminton. Laura Trott is going strong in the Women's Omnium and has the chance to secure her fourth Olympic gold.


Elsewhere, Shaunae Miller (BAH) took the win in the Women's 400m with a dive over the line to beat Alyson Felix (USA) while David Rudisha (KEN) retained his Men's 800m title.

Rio 2016 Day Nine

Another historic day for GB as day nine saw a truly 'Super Sunday with seven medals which all started with Max Whitlock taking gold in the Men's Floor to become the first ever GB medallist in the event. Nick Dempsey collected silver in the Men's Windsurfing with a first ever GB gold in the Golf as Justin Rose edged out Sweden's Henrik Stenson on the final hole.  

Gymnastics golds for GB are like London buses, wait a while for one then two come at once as Max Whitlock became a double Olympic champion with the Pommel Horse title which saw fellow Brit Louis Smith collect silver. Another 1-2 came in the Cycling Sprint with Jason Kenny taking gold ahead of Callum Skinner.

Andy Murray secured back-to-back Olympic titles in Tennis with a hard fought victory over Juan Martin del Potro. The medal haul is set to continue as Giles Scott is guaranteed gold in the Men's Finn while in Boxing, Joshua Buatsi is on for at least a bronze. Simone Biles (USA) claimed her third gold of the games in the Vault while Jemima Sumgong became the first Kenyan to win the Marathon as she took gold ahead of Eunice Kirwa of Bahrain. 

A new world record in the Men's 400m saw Wayde van Nierkerk take gold in 43.03 seconds while in the 100m, Usain Bolt stormed to a third consecutive gold ahead of Justin Gatlin (USA).

Rio 2016 Day Eight

Four years ago it was ' Super Saturday' for GB on day eight with a triple gold in the evening session, this time around fortunes changed but overall it was another historic day for Team GB.Mo Farah overcame an early tumble in the 10,000m to retain his title while Laura Trott became the first GB female to win three gold medals as she and the trio of Joanna Rowsell-Shand, Elinor Barker and Katie Archibald set a new world record in the Women's Team Pursuit final.

After securing gold four years ago on 'Super Saturday', Jessica-Ennis Hill took silver in the Heptathlon while Greg Rutherford took bronze in the Long Jump. Over in the Rowing, the Men's Eight took gold while the Women's Eight took silver to secure top spot in the Rowing medal table for GB.

Two more silvers completed the best day so far for GB with Rebecca James taking second in the Women's Keirin while the quartet of Adam Peaty, Chris Walker-Hebborn, James Guy and Duncan Scott claimed a superb second behind the USA team which saw Michael Phelps bow out of the Olympics with a 23rd gold in the 4x100m relay. 
 
The GB medal haul will continue on day nine with medals guaranteed in the Men's Sprint as Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner go head-to-head for gold while Justin Rose leads the Golf going into the final round.

Rio 2016 Day Seven

Day seven saw the GB medal spree continue with three golds and three silvers moving them into third spot in the standings with 22 medals. Cycling saw an historic eighth medal for Sir Bradley Wiggins as he became the most decorated athlete in GB history after claiming gold in the Men's Team Pursuit with a world record alongside Ed Clancy, Owain Doull and Steven Burke.

In Rowing, Heather Stanning and Helen Glover successfully defended their Women's Pair title while in the Men's Four, Alex Gregory, Constantine Louloudis, Mohamed Sbihi and George Nash took gold too. Over in the pool, a second silver of the games for Jazz Carlin as she finished behind Katie Ledecky (USA) who stormed to a new world record. 

Success away from the water for GB saw a first ever Olympic medal in Trampolining as Bryony Page claimed silver with the Dressage team of Spencer Wilton, Fiona Bigwood, Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin collecting silver behind world champions Germany. 

A first ever gold for Singapore came in the 100m Butterfly as Joseph Schooling took the title to deny Michael Phelps a 23rd gold with the American sharing silver with fellow rivals Chad Le Clos (RSA) and Laszlo Cseh (HUN). The pool also saw a new record set For the oldest swimming champions as Anthony Ervin (USA) won the 50m Freestyle at the age of 35.

GB hopes look good in the Heptathlon with defending champion Jessica Ennis-Hill leading into day two of the event after a dramatic first day which saw fellow Brit Katarina Johnson-Thompson set a new record in the high jump as she sits fourth overnight overall.

Jo Pavey, 42, finished 15th in the Women's 10,000m as Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana demolished the world record by 14 seconds. Greg Rutherford survived a scare as he began the defence of his Long Jump title as he suffered two fouls before reaching the final. 

Rio 2016 Day Six

After a stunning day five for Team GB, day six saw the medal run continue starting with an historic fifth Olympic medal in Rowing for Katherine Grainger as she became the most decorated GB female Olympian by collecting silver with Victoria Thornley in the Double Sculls. More success in the water came with silver for GB duo David Florence and Richard Hounslow in the Canoe C2 Slalom.

The evening saw a focus on Cycling with a superb Men's Team Sprint gold for GB trio Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner as the edged past New Zealand in the final. Rugby Sevens saw the GB men reach the final with a 7-5 win over South Africa before taking silver as they were outplayed in the final by Fiji who claimed their first ever Olympic medal with a 43-7 triumph.

In the Women's Canoe K1 Slalom, Fiona Pennie missed out on a medal after suffering penalties on her final run which left her finishing sixth. Johanna Konta lost out in the Tennis as she suffered a 6-1 6-2 exit to Angelique Kerber (GER) while  Andy Murray progressed to the quarter-finals with a 6-1 2-6 6-3 victory over Italian Fabio Fognini.

An historic 22nd gold medal for Michael Phelps in the 200m Individual Medley while compatriot Simone Biles took gold in the Women's All Around Final.  America's success in the pool continued with a unique gold as Simone Manuel and Penny Oleksiak (CAN) shared the title after a dead heat which saw them record a joint Olympic record.

Rio 2016 Day Five

Day Five saw history made in the water for GB with a first ever diving gold in the Men's 3m Synchro Diving as Jack Laugher and Chris Mears topped the standings with a score of 454.32 while Joe Clarke took gold in the Men's K1 Kayak with a superb final run.

A great day of medals for GB started with Chris Froome taking bronze in the Men's Individual Time Trial followed by a bronze for Steve Scott in the Men's Double Trap Shooting as he defeated compatriot Tim Kneale.

GB judoka Sally Conway was unfortunate to lose in Golden Score to Yuri Alvear (COL) in the semi finals of the -70kg Judo but sealed a bronze medal as she defeated Bernadette Graf (AUT). In Artistic Gymnastics Men's Individual All Around Final, a 108 year wait for any medal in the event came to an end as Max Whitlock took bronze as Kohei Uchimura (JPN) successfully retained his title from 2012.

A sudden death 5-0 win for GB in the Rugby Sevens against Argentina saw them reach the last four while the superb medal haul put GB's total at 12 - two more than at the same stage at London 2012. Andrew Willis almost made it seven medals on day five when finishing fourth in the men's 200m breaststroke, won by Kazakhstan's Dmitriy Balandin. Also in the Swimming, Katie Ledecky secured her third gold of the games as part of the USA quarter in the Women's 4x200m Freestyle Relay while Michael Phelps kept up his pursuit of a 22nd gold as he beat compatriot Ryan Lochte in the 200m Individual Medley.  Gold for 18-year old Kyle Chambers as the Australian took the Men's 100m Freestyle title.

 

Rio 2016 Day Four

Late night success for GB over in the Swimming saw two great silver medals as Siobahn-Marie O'Connor claimed second in the 200m Individual Medley finishing just behind Katinka Hosszu (HUN) who secured her third gold of the games.GB staged a stunning comeback in the Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay as the quartet of Stephen Milne, Duncan Scott, Dan Wallace and James Guy took second as the USA took gold with final leg Michael Phelps collecting his 21st overall gold medal having won the 200m Butterfly earlier on.

After success in the Synchro Diving for the GB men on day three, day four saw the women look to also claim a medal but sadly the duo of Tonia Couch and Lois Toulson only finished in fifth with a score of 319.44. In Tennis, GB's Johanna Konta came from one set down to win 3-6 7-5 7-5 against Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) while a huge shock saw defending champion Serena Williams (USA) exit at the hands of Elina Svitolina (UKR).

Over in the Artistic Gymnastics, GB's female quintet missed on the medals as they finished fifth with United States of America storming to the gold with Russia claiming silver and China bronze. Another missed medal for GB came in the Men's Canoe C1 Final as David Florence could only managed to finish in 10th.

Rugby Sevens saw an upset as Japan held onto stun New Zealand with a 14-12 win in a game that saw NZ star Sonny Bill Williams suffered a potentially serious injury. A milestone on day four saw Greece claim their first gold since 2004 as Anna Koraki took the title in the Women's 25m Pistol.

Rio 2016 Day Three Review

Day three saw the GB medal haul double as Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow sealed a superb bronze in the Men's 10m Synchronised Diving while Ed Ling also claimed bronze in the Men's Trap Shooting.

Three other huge chances of medals saw GB miss out with a 33-10 defeat to Canada in the Women's Rugby Sevens with the Gymnastics team finishing in fourth in the Men's Team Final and James Guy finishing just 0.26 seconds away from bronze in the Men's 200m Freestyle.

A first gold for the hosts came in the Judo through Rafaela Silva while in the Rowing - GB duo Heather Glover and Heather Stanning came close to losing their six-year unbeaten run as they just about held off Denmark in their heat.  

Some GB joy came in the Table Tennis as Paul Drinkhall became on the third Briton to secure a last 16 spot as he defeated Andrej Gacina (CRO) however his run came to an end at the paddle of Vladimir Samsonov (BLR). Out on the water, Nick Dempsey leads the Men's Olympic RS:X windsurfing after three races.

Gold in the Women's Rugby Sevens went to Australia as they powered past rivals New Zealand 24-17. In the Swimming , Russia's Yulia Efimova was again booed in reference to her previous doping ban ahead of the 100m Breaststroke Final which was won by Lilly King (USA). Hungary's  Katinka Hosszu secured her second gold of the games as she took the win in the 100m Backstroke.

Sun Yang took gold in the Men's 200m Freestyle while in Tennis - Novak Djokovic continued a run of all-star exits as he followed his Single exit from day one with doubles exit as he and Nenad Zimonjic lost 6-4 6-4 to Brazilian duo Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares.

Rio 2016 Day Two

Only one place to start for the review today - GB's Adam Peaty became the first man since Adrian Moorhouse in 1988 to take gold in a Swimming event at 2.58 UK time with a stunning world record in the 100m Men's Breastroke. Minutes later, fellow GB swimmer Jazz Carlin produced a superb swim to take silver in the Women's 400m Freestyle while Katie Ledecky (USA) stormed to gold with a new world record.

Earlier, Lizzie Armitstead was fifth in the Women's road race won by Anna van der Breggen after leader Annemiek van Vleuten suffered a horrific crash which resulted in three small fractures in her lower back after coming off while leading down the Vista Chinesa descent.

Two huge upsets in Tennis saw defending champions Serena and Venus Williams bow out while GB duo Andy and Jamie Murray exited at the hands of Brazilians Belluci/Sa in straight sets. GB hopes were high in the latter stages of Fencing after a great day from Richard Kruse but he sadly exited in the final and lost out in the bronze medal match. 

Late in the evening, Michael Phelps continued his stunning medal haul with a a 19th Olympic Gold in the Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay. GB's female Gymnastics secured fourth spot into the finals while surviving a scare in qualification as Ellie Downie suffered a fall in Floor but defied the odds to compete in the Vault just minutes later.

Two notable milestones on day two saw a first ever medal for Kosovo as Majilinda Kelemendi claimed gold in the Women's Judo -52kg class while China's Wu Minxia made it five Olympic golds with victory in the Women's 3m Synchronised Springboard with Shi Tingmao.
 

Rio 2016 Day One

After a superb opening ceremony on Friday full of colour and dance, Rio officially began on Saturday and GB medal hopes started early with the Men's Road Race. However, a crash late on denied Geraint Thomas who ended up outside the top ten finishers with Chris Froome further back.

The first medal of the games went to Ginny Thrasher (USA) as the 19 year old won the Women's 10m Air Rifle event. Australia topped the medal table after the opening day with two superb golds in the Swimming. 

Also in the pool, it was a mixed day for GB with Adam Peaty breaking his own world record on his way to the 100m Breaststroke final. Sadly the GB duo of Hannah Miley and Aimee Willett missed out on medals in the Women's 400 Individual Medley final which saw Miley narrowly miss out in fourth with Willett in sixth. The gold went to Katinka Hosszu (HUN) who stormed to a new world record in a race which saw her inside the previous record by over five seconds. In the men's event, Max Litchfield finished in fourth while in the 400m Freestyle final, James Guy led for 3/4 of the race before finishing in sixth as Mack Horton (Aus) took the gold. Rowers Katherine Grainger and Vicky Thornley went through to the semi-finals of the women's doubles sculls, while the men's lightweight four and men's pair also progressed.

The first day also saw some milestones with the first athlete from the Olympic Refugee team - Yusra Mardini not only competing less than a year after fleeing Syria but winning her heat in the Women's 100m Butterfly but not quick enough to qualify for the next stage. Vietnam secured their first ever gold in the Men's 10m Air Pistol while GB's Rugby Sevens side started with comfortable wins over Brazil (29-3) and Japan (40-0).

Aside from GB news, a horrific injury in the Men's Vault saw Samir Ait Said suffer a broken leg in his dismount while the Serbian rowing pair capsized in choppy conditions in the semi final. A shock in the Tennis saw Venus Williams (USA) exit to Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) 2-6 6-1 6-2.

Sochi 2014 Becomes Rio 2016

After a spur of the moment idea to begin blogging back in 2012- this portal covered the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. I then went on to cover the Sochi 2014 Olympics and Paralympics with more of a GB focus than the previous games given I had more knowledge of the events/competitors.

The two year gap since then comes to an end tomorrow night (UK time) with the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Given that this year across all portals, my blogging has been stuttering but for this at the very least, i will cover any medals or major events from the GB contingent and hopefully cover the upcoming Paralympics as well.