Comments from Team GB athletes after today’s afternoon/evening events at Tokyo 2020
Boxing
Comments from Team GB boxers after today’s bouts at the Kokugikan Arena
Luke McCormack
Age: 26 Hometown: Tyne and Wear: Washington
Result: Beat India’s Manish Kaushik on points (4-1) in the Men’s Lightweight (57-63kg) Round of 32
On his fight
“He was a tricky opponent, a tough one to start off with. He's a former World Championship bronze medallist and he's a good fighter, so I'm glad to have gotten the better of him.
“He was stepping off of me a few times for five
seconds or so, and it felt like a lifetime, so I just had to keep getting onto him.“It's my Olympic debut so I'm glad to get the win over a top Indian boxer.”
On his stay in Tokyo and sharing with twin brother Pat
“I've really enjoyed it. We've been a little bit locked up at times but the weather's lovely so I'm happy. It's been good and no, we're never really at each other's throats.
“After all, we're from the same womb, so we can share a room together can't we?”
Charley Davison
Age: 27 Hometown: Lowestoft
Result: Beat Morocco’s Rabab Cheddar on points (5-0) in the Women’s Flyweight (48-51kg) Round of 32
On wearing the Team GB kit at the Olympics for the first time
“I was getting changed and I couldn't stop looking at the logo, I was just thinking that I was at the Olympics. It didn't sink in until I got into the Olympic village, as soon as you're there, the atmosphere and everything just changes.
“I was standing out on the balcony looking and having a moment to myself thinking about how I'm here and how my kids will be watching at home on the telly. It's just crazy.”
On support from back home and on social media
“It's booming. My social media just hasn't stopped with people adding me and following me. Lowestoft is only a small town but there are so many people backing me.
“Football clubs, local shops, teachers from school, friends I haven't spoken to for years, there's just so many people backing me and I can't believe it."
On putting Lowestoft on the map and inspiration from Anthony Ogogo [London 2012 bronze medallist]
“He's from the same club as me! It's great to put Lowestoft on the map again. It's only a small town so to have two Olympians is great.
“I'm here for the gold, so I've got to get one up on him! But it's great for our small town to have two Olympians."
Benjamin Whittaker
Age: 24 Hometown: West Midlands: Darlaston
Result: Beat Colombia's Jorge Luis Vivas Palacios on points (4-1) in the Men’s Light Heavyweight (75-81kg) Round of 32
On being an Olympian
“I can call myself an Olympian when I've done the job. 100%.
“My dad said to me before I left that if you don't get a medal, especially the gold, then I should stay here!
“To be honest I love it here, so I actually wouldn't mind, but I know I've got to go back to the West Midlands with something shiny."
On his background
“I'm from Darlaston which is a small town in Wednesbury. I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid. I wasn't a naughty kid but I had so much energy, especially in a classroom setting where I just couldn't concentrate.
“So my dad said, you know what, for a bit of discipline and to burn off that energy, we'll take him to the boxing gym. Truthfully I didn't like it – who likes getting hit in the face? I'd rather have played football but I had two left feet.
“I got to about 15 and my dad said I had to make a choice, boxing or football. But he said, 'as your dad...you're terrible at football'. I went, 'thanks dad!'
“So I stuck to the boxing and didn't know where I'd get. I was happy just winning a Midlands title. I took it step by step and now I'm in the Olympics, so my mentality is just to believe in yourself and keep proving people wrong."
Gymnastics
Comments from Team GB’s artistic gymnasts after today’s women’s qualifying events at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre.
Jennifer Gadirova
Age: 16 Hometown: Aylesbury
Result: Scored 54.699 to progress to the individual all-around final in 12th place. Helped Team GB score 163.396 to qualify for the women's team final in sixth place.
On her emotions
"It's just like a sigh of relief and happiness and I can call myself an Olympian now and that's an incredible thing. Not many people can say that, so being able to say and that and going on that floor and performing the best I could - couldn't ask for any more."
On her performance
"I'm very happy. I went clean, I hit some new PBs, did a new tumble, and just did everything I could to the best of my ability."
On being with her twin
"I think it's really helped because by myself I'd find it hard and she knows everything about me, like all my cue words, how to bring me up, and if I'm in a bad place, she'll bring me back up so it's just incredible and sharing this experience, like not many twins or siblings can be on the same team so being able to have her is just so nice and I won't get homesick!"
Jessica Gadirova
Age: 16 Hometown: Aylesbury
Result: Scored 55.199 to progress to the individual all-around final. Scored 14.033 to progress to the floor final. Helped Team GB score 163.396 to qualify for the women's team final in sixth place.
On the experience so far
"I'm speechless. Just wow, amazing, incredible. So many words that I don't even know that could just describe how I'm feeling.
"An Olympian at 16 is like 'what the hell', just like so crazy to even think I could be an Olympian this young and just ever just have that dream of using that word and being under the Olympic rings and competing in the most high-level competition ever. No words can describe how I'm feeling."
On her enjoyment of competing
"To be honest at the start until the finish, I was nervous but I just tried to be relaxed and tried not to treat it as, 'oh my God, it's an Olympic Games'.
"I treated it like any other competition like Europeans or I did try and think it was just another podium training because not many people are there. I just think 'it's podium training, no pressure', and leave it like that and put my best performance out there."
Taekwondo
Comments from double Olympic champion Jade Jones after a first round defeat to Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin of the Refugee Olympic team in the women’s -57 kg category
Jade Jones
Age: 28 Hometown: Bodelwyddan
On her performance
“I'm absolutely gutted. It's not how I planned the day to go and just really frustrated with myself, I wasn't the best today so I just have to take it on the chin and congratulate the other girl.
“It was a tough draw and I didn't know who I was going to be fighting until two hours before but no excuses. I just felt I put too much pressure on myself going into it and I really did feel it more than I expected on the day and not having my family there to push me out of that fear zone really did affect me and I'm just gutted I couldn't have done more on the day.
“Obviously it's easy to say woulda coulda shoulda because champions adapt and I didn't adapt, but for me I do love a crowd and my family being there so for me it was a struggle and I did miss them being there.
“It's going to take a while for the emotions to sink in so I'll probably take a bit of time out and work out what happens next.”
Equestrian
Comments from Team GB equestrian athlete Charlotte Dujardin after Dressage Grand Prix and Individual Qualifier Day 2 on horse Gio.
Name: Charlotte Dujardin
Age: 36 Hometown: Enfield
Result: A new personal best score of 80.963% saw her finish third overall and safe passage to the individual final. The score also secured Team GB's progression to the Grand Prix Special for the team medals on Tuesday.
On her horse, Gio
“It is a bit of the unknown, not knowing what to expect in there under the floodlights in an arena like that. I could not have asked any more of him tonight, he went in and tried his absolute heart out.
“He is just unbelievable. He gives me everything he’s got, even though he needs to get stronger and more confident. But he’s giving more than he’s capable of and I’m able to help him out here and there.
“I felt emotional on the last centre line because when you have a ride like that, it doesn’t matter of you win or lose.”
Badminton
Comments from Team GB badminton players after today’s group matches at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza BDM
Marcus Ellis
Age: 31 Hometown: Huddersfield
Result: Won 21-13 21-19 against Canada’s Joshua Hurlburt-Yu and Josephine Wu in Mixed Doubles Group B, alongside Lauren Smith. The pair have qualified for the quarter-finals with victory.
On the upcoming challenges
“I think these first two matches were absolutely key for us. Tomorrow's a very, very tough match. We're very happy that we're through the box and who knows what lies ahead.
“Of course, we came here in the top eight on the list and we wanted to get through our group.
“In a way, we've kind of reached our seeding now so whatever happens from here is a bonus. Hopefully we can take some pressure off of ourselves and relish the opportunity to play against the top four or five pairs in the world."
Lauren Smith
Age: 29 Hometown: Carlisle
Result: Won 21-13 21-19 against Canada’s Joshua Hurlburt-Yu and Josephine Wu in Mixed Doubles Group B, alongside Marcus Eiliis. The pair have qualified for the quarter-finals with victory.
On the performance
“In that second set we were a little bit less structured than we wanted to be. We didn't quite execute the tactics and maybe didn't make them move as much as we normally like to make our opponents move.
“But I think in general we are executing what we want to. We're bringing quality at the right times.
“I think the speed is definitely there which is a really big part of our game and we get to test it tomorrow against the Thai pair [Sapsiree Taerattanachai and Dechapol Puavaranukroh]."
Tennis
Comments from Team GB tennis player Liam Broady after his Men's Singles First Round match at Ariake Tennis Park. Broady, a late call-up to Team GB, beat Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo 7-5 6-7 6-2 in a match lasting more than three hours.
Liam Broady
Age: 27 Hometown: Stockport
On the match
"It was brutal. It's probably one of the first three-set matches I've played that has gone over three hours and what conditions to do it in.
"I know he's a tough opponent, but I suppose the only comfort you can take out there is that if you're feeling bad, your opponent's feeling just as bad. The third set comes down to a battle of wills and thankfully I won that today."
On his late call-up to the Games
"My main concern was not wanting to look at me and think I'm making up the numbers. I'm here to compete, I'm here to play and to win matches. I was just hoping I'd acclimatise to the time zone and the heat quick enough.
"You could be here for two months and you're never going to feel comfortable in the heat out there. Thankfully I've acclimatised enough to give it a go."
On the Olympic experience
"It's been unbelievable, once in a lifetime. I've never played an event like it and hopefully will do one more time in my career. You never know. I'm just taking everything in and really enjoying it."
Cycling (Road)
Comments from Team GB rider Lizzie Deignan after today's Women’s Road Race. Deignan finished 11th in 3:54.31, behind gold medallist Anna Kiesenhofer by 1 min 46 seconds.
Lizzie Deignan
Age: 32 Hometown: Yorkshire: Otley
On winner Anna Kiesenhofer
"I don't know anything about her, she's definitely a surprise winner."
On actions of the peloton
"There was a huge lack of information. Probably the Dutch dominance before the race worked against me in the end. Nobody committed. In my position as a sole rider, there was nothing I could do and I was surprised by the lack of collaboration.
"Too many leaders, potentially. It's almost understandable. What do you do in your team meeting when you've got four riders who can win the bike race? How do you decide? They're all incredible riders, all very professional, but they needed to choose one leader probably."
On her performance
"I'm happy. I feel like I was stuck in the middle of tactics and physically didn't have the punch to make a different on the climbs. I would have liked top ten, it's a shame I didn't get top ten.”
Canoe Slalom
Comments from Team GB canoeists Adam Burgess and Kimberley Woods after today’s events at the Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre
Adam Burgess
Age: 29 Hometown: Stone
Result: Third in the heats with a time of 99.64 to qualify for the Men’s C1 semi-finals, scheduled to take place on Monday.
On the performance
“Really good. It's great to kick off my Olympic campaign in this way. I've been so nervous the last 24 hours or so. It's something we've tried to embrace.
“We know I'm better when I do feel a little bit up against it. I can just focus on relaxation and really, my breathing. Those runs today were like a moving meditation really.
“I noticed probably ten times doing each run I'm out of focus and I just spot where my next visual cue is, lock it back in. Really solid today and I'm happy.”
On laying down a marker
“I wanted to put that pressure on myself here today so I'm used to it because there's no second chances now. Everything counts tomorrow.”
Kimberley Woods
Age: 25 Hometown: Rugby
Result: Eighth in the heats with a time of 107.82 to qualify for the Women’s K1 semi-finals, scheduled to take place on Tuesday
On being at the Olympic Games
“It's obviously a little different to what it originally would have been but I'm so happy and proud to be wearing the British flag on my chest and finally call myself an Olympian."
On people back home supporting her
“I didn't feel expectation, I felt a lot of support and everyone behind me back at home. I've been in contact with a couple of them and they're all super proud of me and I'm proud of myself for just getting here.
“It has been really difficult but no expectations from them, I'm sure they're just really proud that I'm actually here.”
On how she's feeling ahead of the semi-final
“I'm feeling really cool about it actually. I'm feeling really relaxed and just super happy to just be here and soak the whole experience in.
“Tomorrow I'm going to do a lot of resting and support my teammate Adam Burgess in those finals.
"Hopefully we can bring a medal home and then it's my turn the next day, but I'm so, so, so, looking forward to it.”
Table tennis
Comments from Team GB table tennis player Paul Drinkhall after today’s match at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium
Paul Drinkhall
Age: 31 Hometown: North Yorkshire: Middlesbrough
Result: Beat Robert Gardos (Austria) – ranked 33 places above Drinkhall in the world – 4-1 (13-11, 6-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-6) in Round 2 of Men's Singles.
Drinkhall plays world No.12 Jang Woojin (Korea Republic) in the last 32 on Tuesday.
On his opponent, Robert Gardos
“He’s a great player and I’ve always struggled against him in the past – I’ve had a couple of close ones but also a few where I’ve lost easily, so I’m very, very happy to come through a game like that against a player like him.
“It was 4-1 but it certainly wasn’t straightforward. I felt in control for a lot of the match although obviously he had a big lead in the first set but I kept fighting and managed to win that.
On making the most of his late call-up to the Olympics
“I thought I’d be camping because that was the plan if I didn’t come here!
“I know that I’m capable of good things and my game, when I get everything together, can challenge the best. That’s what I was planning for.
“Not qualifying initially was a disappointment but now I’m here and performing how I expect and how I train to perform.
Sailing
Comments from Team GB sailors after day one of competition at Enoshima Yacht Harbour.
Emma Wilson
Age: 22 Hometown: Nottingham
Discipline: RS:X Windsurfer
Result: Finished fifth in Race 01, second in Race 02 and sixth in Race 03. Sits in fourth place overall. Races again on Monday
On the day’s action
“It was really physical. In the first race, we had nice wind and by the last one it a case of pumping as hard as I could and then keep pumping.
“We train everyday for it, so we expected it and it was a similar to what we were practicing last week.”
On making her Olympic debut
“It is my first Olympics and to have a day like that is great, I am really enjoying it. I am really happy.”
On pre-race nerves
“I am not nervous anymore. I was before but now I am just looking to chill out a bit and then to come back tomorrow.
“The key was being in the moment, enjoying it and pumping hard.”
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