Comments from Team GB athletes after today’s morning events at Tokyo 2020
Triathlon
Comments from Team GB triathlete Jonny Brownlee after today’s men’s individual event at the Odaiba Marine Park
Jonny Brownlee
Age: 31 Hometown: West Yorkshire: Leeds
Result: Fifth in a time of 1:45:53, 49 seconds behind gold medallist Kristian Blummenfelt of
Norway. Team GB teammate Alex Yee won silver.On Alex Yee, who won silver for Team GB
“He was in Leeds training for a couple of years and is an unbelievable talent. He’s a great runner, he’s got a great head on him and knows how to race. He doesn’t let the big occasion get to him and he’s converted himself into a great all-round triathlete. He deserves that. Anyone who’s watched the sport over the last few years, they’ll know that wasn’t a shock. They’ve seen that coming.
“Alex has got the ability to dominate the sport now. People are going to need to work hard to beat him, because if they’re not careful he’s going to win lots and lots of races.”
Swimming
James Wilby
Age: 27 Hometown: Scotland: Glasgow
Result: Fifth in a time of 58.96 in the Men's 100m Breaststroke Final. The event was won by Team GB's Adam Peaty (57.37)
On the race
“I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed. It was my best race that I’ve done here so far so I’ll take that for what it is.
“My full focus is now on resting, resetting from this – I’ve got other races to do and that’s the other thing to keep focussed on.
“As well as contributing to other races, supporting other people’s journeys here is more important than dwelling on that.”
On competing in an Olympic final
“It’s a pretty special Games for more than one reason. To be part of it, to be in the mix is something that I’ll always remember.
“It would be nice if it was different but we’ve got to take it for what it is, we’re all in the same boat and giving the best effort, making everyone proud back home and uniting people as much as we can. That’s why we wear the flag.”
On Adam Peaty, gold medallist in the event
“It’s good fun racing together. We’re based at the same location and that’s always fun.
“I’m not on the podium this time but hopefully that’s something we can continue doing.”
On his best performance in the final
“That’s what matters, putting it down the best you can in the final. My season’s best would have put me more in the mix, there is an element of disappointment in that but we are past times now, the clock has stopped running.
“It’s just a case of dealing with it and moving on, putting the focus where it’s needed.”
Duncan Scott
Age: 24 Hometown: Scotland: Glasgow
Result: Won semifinal 2 in a time of 1:44.60 to qualify fastest for the Men’s 200m Freestyle Final, which takes place on Tuesday
On qualifying for the final alongside Tom Dean
“It feels good. It’s great to have Deano as well, I love racing with him, he’s a great teammate, we’ve been in an apartment together as well so it’s really good fun."
On setting the fastest time
“The first semi-final was slower. It’s something we’ve noticed with the evening heats and the morning finals. We were on it really well this morning, we just need to rest up for the dogfight that will be tomorrow morning."
On racing with Tom Dean
“We’re mates outside of the pool first. It’s a relly good competition we have between us, we enjoy that, we’re good mates in and out of the arena."
On the next race
“I’m sure my coach will tell me straight away about the improvements. There’s plenty more to come.
“Once you get into a final, times go out of the window. It’s going to be really tight, the heats and semis were both really tight and I’d expect nothing less tomorrow morning.”
Tom Dean
Age: 21 Hometown: Berkshire: Maidenhead
Result: Fourth in semifinal 2 in a time of 1:45.34 to qualify fourth for the Men’s 200m Freestyle Final, which takes place on Tuesday
On the race
“It was good, controlled. No dramas, it was just a swim that was executed pretty smoothly ahead of what will be a scrap tomorrow.
“I know I’m going to be able to push on a little bit more because there’s more left in the tank.”
On his first Olympic final
“It’s exciting. We’re up against the same people we normally race, it’s the same eight guys.
“I’ve been doing 200m Freestyle alongside Duncan [Scott] since I first did the event. It’s no different to any other race except I’m in the best shape I’ve been in. It’s exciting times.
“It’s nice to share the pool with him, hopefully I can share the podium with Duncan as we did a few weeks ago in Budapest.
“He’s an amazing athlete in his own right, he’s done some amazing swims. He’s got a few years on me, got that experience, but we always push each other on, whether at trails or here.”
Kathleen Dawson
Age: 23 Hometown: Cheshire: Warrington
Result: Third in Semifinal 1 in a time of 58.56 seconds to qualify fifth for the Women’s 100m Backstroke, which takes place on Tuesday
On the race
“It is very exciting. It went well, I’m glad to have moved it on from last night [the heat]. It’s my first 58 in a heat, ever, so I’m pleased to have moved it on."
On the quality of the field
“It’s such a stacked event, I’m just glad to be a part of it. It’s such a fast field and I’m glad to be part of it at this point of history.
“I’m definitely going to give it a fight and try and get on that podium.
“The quality has really picked up this past year.”
Badminton
Comments from Team GB badminton players after today’s group matches at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza BDM
Lauren Smith
Age: 29 Hometown: Cumbria: Carlisle
Result: Won 21-12 21-19 against Thailand’s third seeds Sapsiree Taerattanachai and Dechapol Puavaranukroh in Mixed Doubles Group B, with Marcus Ellis. The pair advance to the quarter-finals after finishing top of their group with three wins from three, winning six games from six.
On where this result ranks in her career
“We haven’t beaten them before. We’ve lost to them quite a few times, so for us to do that on this stage is really important.
“It makes a big difference going into the next rounds of the tournament. After we won yesterday, this was a freebie match, ours to take and theirs to lose, that’s something I kept reminding myself of throughout the match.
“It paid off, and we’re really excited for another opportunity going forward.”
On how far they can go in the competition
“We’ve proven today that there’s no obstacle too big, it’s just about making sure we prepare mentally right for every match and take the opportunities that have been given to us.
“Everyone we play against now, we’ll be underdogs and I think that’s a huge bonus.”
On the workload
“It’s busy. I’ve got another match today [Women’s Doubles with Chloe Birch,18:00 local time], it’s been tough but I’ve been playing two events for a few years now.
“I’ve got a few good recovery strategies, we’ve got a good physio with us and we’re well practiced in it.”
Marcus Ellis
Age: 31 Hometown: West Yorkshire: Huddersfield
Result: Won 21-12 21-19 against Thailand’s third seeds Sapsiree Taerattanachai and Dechapol Puavaranukroh in Mixed Doubles Group B, with Lauren Smith. The pair advance to the quarter-finals after finishing top of their group with three wins from three, winning six games from six.
On the win
“We said there were some things we could improve on and yesterday was a key match.
“We came out today with a clear mind, and I think we were very focused. I think the pressure was turned up on our opponents as well, so we’re really, really happy.
On his experience
“I’m into my early 30s now, I’m starting to be one of the older people on the tour.
“I still feel like I’m 21, I have had a lot of experience in these situations and maybe that is making the difference when it really counts.”
Fencing
Comments from Team GB fencer Marcus Mepstead after his Round of 32 match at Makuhari Messe.
Marcus Mepstead
Age: 31 Hometown: London: Hampstead
Result: Lost 15-13 to Egypt's Mohamed Hamza
On what went wrong
“I felt like I had a good gameplan going in but it just wasn’t enough today. I could have executed it better for sure.
“I have had to fight to get here and I feel like I did what I needed to do but it just wasn’t enough. I could have done so much better and that hurts the most. I feel like I let myself down and a lot of people down. I could have done so much more.”
On his preparation
“Team GB have put on a great set up for us here, I can’t fault that. The extra year was long and I had to fight everything. I came back to the UK and then the US, and then before the Games to Italy and Spain just to try and get some different sparrings.
“I knew after the last competition that I needed more and different people to fight against. There was nothing we could do until things opened up. I did what I could with the circumstances.”
On what’s next
“I am going back to the UK and spend some time with my family and friends, because I haven’t seen them. I need to decompress a bit.”
Hockey
Comments from Team GB’s Liam Ansell and head coach Danny Kerry after their 3-1 Pool B victory over Canada. GB were frustrated to be 0-0 at half-time but second-half goals came from Ansell (2) and Sam Ward to make it two wins from two in the pool stage. Team GB next play Germany on Tuesday.
Liam Ansell
Age: 27 Hometown: Buckinghamshire: High Wycombe
On the approach against a lower-ranked side
“It was a big three points for us. We knew coming into this game we wanted to leave a mark on the game and dominate the ball, keep a lot of possession and make them run – and hopefully by the end of the game that would tire them out and allow us to score those goals."
On tournament play
“In these tournaments, games come thick and fast – there’s always another game the next day, so we’re straight into recovery and prepping for Germany now.
“We’ve had a great block of training into this, we performed well in tournaments leading up to this, so we’ve got the confidence and the self-belief. It’s just about delivering on the pitch now."
On not reaching their full potential so far despite two wins
“We’re always trying to improve – we’ll look back at this game and see what we can improve straight away for tomorrow [against Germany].
“There’ll be stuff we can improve on over the long-term. If you stay still in this game, you’ll start going down the world rankings and as a team we’re trying to push forward, so we know our next three games are against three of the best teams in the world [Germany, Netherlands and Belgium].
“It’s why we play the sport – we want to test ourselves against the best and I’m looking forward to it."
On his goalscoring exploits – three goals in two games
“If you’re scoring goals it’s nice but if you’re winning the games it’s even better, so it’s nice personally but the main thing for me is three points on the board and getting through to the quarter-finals. Then we’ll take it from there."
On approach in three remaining group games with quarter-final spot nearly already secured
“We want to win every game – you never want to lose or draw, you go out to win. Our focus is on the next three games – they’re tough opponents but we’ve beaten them in the past and we want to do that again.
“We want to finish top of the group and keep that momentum going”
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