Swimmer Tom Dean sensationally won fourth British gold at the Tokyo Games on the fourth day of the Olympics, six months after contracting Covid for the second time.
The 21-year-old, who struggled to walk up the stairs after being infected with the virus, knocked out compatriot Duncan Scott in 0.04 seconds in the 200-meter freestyle.
By the way, Georgia Taylor-Brown retaliated in the back lap of the cycling legs take triathlon silver.
The Briton was 22 seconds ahead of the leading pack of four strong teams.
But she did her best in all her rivals except in Bermuda Flori Duffy who was looking for an emotional second place.
It is the second British silver in triathlon after Alex Yee’s success on Monday.
With a total of 10 medals so far on the fourth day, this is the best start for the British team in the history of the games – and the largest number of gold medals for Britain at the moment.
Simon Gleave, head of sports analysis at Nielsen Gracenote, said: “After four days of competition, Great Britain started the Olympic Games with at least 10 medals.
“This breaks the record in most British medals in the first four days, and that was six in 2000, 2008 and 2016. The UK’s recent successes in London and Rio started with four and six medals respectively in the first four days.”
Gracenote’s virtual medal table projects a total of 52 medals by the end of the Games. UK Sport set medal goal between 45 and 70.
The GB team won 65 medals in London 2012, followed by 67 medals in Rio 2016 – finishing second in the medal standings.
He’s coming on Tuesday
9:00 AM BST: British Carl Hester, Charlotte Dujardin and Charlotte Fry want to upset Germany in the final of the dressage team
11:45 AM BST: The UK gymnastics team competes in the women’s team final in which the United States and Russia are expected to fight for gold
1:30 PM BST: Bianca Walkden competes in taekwondo + 67 pounds in the quarterfinals, trying to make up for the early exit of housemate Jade Jones.
‘Olympic gold seemed a million miles’
Dean’s preparations for Tokyo were severely disrupted by Covid, as the 21-year-old lost twice more than six weeks of training after contracting the disease twice.
“When I was sitting in isolation in my apartment, Olympic gold seemed a million miles away,” he said.
“I had Covid in September and the new year. The first time it wasn’t bad. The second time I did a full period of isolation, I couldn’t train and it slowly continued in training.”
Dean’s teammate Scott was his favorite entry into the finals after qualifying the fastest, but was beaten to the touch in a solid finish.
It is the result of the first two British swims in 113 years, and both were encouraged by Adam Peaty, who successfully defended his 100-meter breaststroke title on Monday.
Taylor-Brown fights rain, wind and rims to take the silver
Taylor-Brown, 27, discovered after the target that she overcame the stress of a leg fracture to make a starting line, passing a late fitness test a week before going to Tokyo.
“My training was going so well before that, so it was a shock, but I knew I had all that training in my bag,” she said.
“I wanted to keep it private. You don’t want to show the competition your weaknesses.”
Her preparations for the race in hot, humid conditions were prepared by Tropical Storm Nepartak, which brought strong winds and heavy rain to the event.
Then she was on a bike ride with the leaders before her flat tire burst and saw the rear slider of the 40-mile foot.
She then said she “panicked” when the incident happened.
“I didn’t know what to do, so I just rode off to the apartment. It was a way of panicking, but it paid off,” she told BBC Sport.
The success of the Duffy gold medal winner has marked a part of history as Bermuda has become the least populated nation to ever win Olympic gold.
What else happened?
- Japan Naomi Osaka, who lit the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony, lost in the third round to Marketa Vondrousova
- Britain Caroline Dubois advanced to the round of 16 with a comprehensive victory in her opening competition in the lightweight category against Donja Sadiku of Kosovo Pat McCormack qualified for the last tournament in the light heavyweight category with a victory over Belarus’ Alexander Radzionau.
- The UK men’s hockey team suffered a sobering 5-1 defeat against Germany, amid a campaign that began with victories over South Africa and Canada.
- The UK seven men’s team will face the United States in the quarter-finals after losing their last pool match to Fiji in the Rio 2016 final.
- Britain Kathleen Dawson he finished sixth in the 100-meter backstroke, while Freya Anderson missed the 200-meter freestyle qualifiers.
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