Tokyo 2020 Day 16 & Closing Ceremony

Day 16 was the final day of events with the remaining 13 medal events across eight sports with the Closing Ceremony taking place later in the day.

Medals 

The Men's Marathon GOLD was won by Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) as he finished ahead of Abdi Nageeye (NED) who took SILVER and Bashir Abdi (BEL) who collected BRONZE. GB's Chris Thompson finished 54th while Ben Connor and Callum Hawkins didn't finish. 

The USA continued their dominance in the sport with GOLD after a 90-75 win over Japan who took SILVER.

The Women's Light (57-60kg) GOLD was won by Kellie Anne Harrington (IRL) as she defeated Beatriz Ferreira (BRA) who took SILVER. 

In the Men's Light (57-63kg), Andy Cruz (CUB) won GOLD as he defeated Keyshawn Davis (USA) who scooped SILVER.

GOLD for GB's Lauren Price in the Women's Middle (69-75kg) as she defeated Qian Li (CHN) who took SILVER.

In the Men's Super Heavy +91kg, Bakhodir Jalolov (UZB) won GOLD as he defeated Richard Torrez Jr (USA) who took SILVER. 

The Women's Sprint saw Kelsey Mitchell (CAN) win GOLD as she finished ahead of Olena Starikova (UKR) who took SILVER while Wai Sze Lee (HKG) collected BRONZE. GB's Katy Marchant finished in sixth.

In the Men's Keirin, An historic seventh GOLD for GB's Jason Kenny as he became the most decorated GB Olympian after finishing ahead of Mohd Azizulhasni Awang (MAS) who scooped SILVER while Harrie Lavreysen (NED) collected BRONZE. GB's Jack Carlin finished in eighth. 

Laura Kenny looked to match her partner Jason in the Women's Omnium but could only finish sixth as Jennifer Valente (USA) took the GOLD as she finished ahead of Yumi Kajihara (JPN) who took SILVER while Kirsten Wild (NED) collected BRONZE. 

The Women's GOLD was won by France with a 30-25 win over ROC who took SILVER while BRONZE was collected by Norway as they won 36-19 against rivals Sweden. 

The Group All-Around saw Bulgaria win GOLD ahead of ROC who took SILVER and Italy who claimed BRONZE. 

The Women's GOLD was won by USA as they secured a 3-0 set win against Brazil who took SILVER while Serbia collected BRONZE with a 3-0 set win over Republic of Korea. 

The Men's GOLD was won by Serbia as they sealed a 13-10 win over Greece who took SILVER while Hungary collected BRONZE after a 9-5 win over Spain. 

Closing Ceremony 

The ceremony began with a flurry of fireworks atop the Tokyo National Stadium and the introduction of the dignitaries including IOC President Thomas Bach and Japan's Emperor Naruhito followed by the parading of the Japanese flag. 

The flag was then raised accompanied by the Japanese national anthem and the flagbearers for each country entered together with GB's representative being Cycling Track heroine Laura Kenny. 

Next up was the Parade of Athletes with around 4500 entering, a reduction from the Opening Ceremony due to the COVID protocols of returning home within two days of event completion. The musical backdrop was an upbeat quiz show style which led to a sense of celebration in The Park in the centre of the arena. 

The artistry began with a colourful glow featuring the lights of the Athletes phones in the park with a firework backdrop as the arena alighted with a waterfall of light which formed the Olympic Rings. 

A performance from Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra on the stage kept up the upbeat feel to the ceremony as did the DJ set which followed. A move to a softer yet still upbeat musical scene as the park actions continued. 

The Greek national anthem and raising of the Greek flag followed as did the traditional final medal ceremonies of the Games in the Men's and Women's Marathons presented by IOC President Thomas Bach and World Athletics President Lord Sebastian Coe. 

The arena welcomed the new additions to the Athletes Committee who presented gifts to representatives from the Games volunteers. This was followed by a moment of remembrance and a montage across Japan and a musical change to a softer folk style. 

The traditional handover began with the French national anthem which was performed remotely across the French nation before ending with a performance from the International Space Station. 

A huge crowd in Paris including athletes and spectators became the feature including French President Emmanuel Macron from the Eiffel Tower before a return to the scene in Tokyo. The speeches began with the Games officially closed and the extinguishing of the Olympic Flame. The ceremony ended with an Arigato to Tokyo and Bonne Chance to Paris.

However, Paris 2024 is a long way off on this blog with the Paralympics -Tokyo 2020 next up from the 24th Aug-8th Sep which will be followed by the Winter Olympics of Beijing 2022 next February.