Comments from Team GB athletes after today’s afternoon/evening events at Tokyo 2020
Artistic Gymnastics
Comments from Team GB’s artistic gymnasts after the men’s team final at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre.
Result: Team GB – represented by Max Whitlock, Joe Fraser, James Hall and Giarnni Regini-Moran
– finished 4th in the men’s team final, the same position as at Rio 2016, after scoring 255.760 points. They were 6.134 points behind China in bronze (261.894) while the Russian Olympic Committee took gold with 262.500 and Japan won silver.
Max Whitlock
Age: 28 Hometown: Hertfordshire: Hemel Hempstead
Result: Whitlock competed on the high bar (13.3660) and then scored 14.966 on the pommel horse on the final rotation with a routine that had a mammoth 7.000 difficulty to lift Team GB above USA into 4th. He competes in the individual pommel horse final on Sunday.
On his approach heading into his pommel horse routine
“I didn’t know what the scores were, how big the gap was or where we were placed. I do that on purpose because I have my plan, I come in and we all knew we were going all out today to do the big routines.
“I was asking at the end to find out, out of curiosity, how close first and second were because I didn’t have a clue.
“I didn’t know where we were placing because I don’t look at scores. I’ve done it throughout my whole career because it’s something I can’t control.
“I’ve worked a long time and learned a lot of things to get the most out of me at the right time.
“I don’t want to do loads of training and then see loads of scores coming in and think ‘I need to beat that score’.
“I need to do my plan and do the best score I can do, personally. That helps me stay in my lane and focus on what I can do."
On finishing fourth
“Getting into the medals was always going to be hard – those three teams have showed so much strength throughout the cycle. We knew there was a gap there but that we were top five. We proved that today, we put a lot of risk into our routines and it paid off.
“Fourth place is hard, just outside the medals but there was a big gap there, so we can be really pleased with that. It’s a young team – I’m the oldest by a few years – they’ve all become Olympians this time around, so they’re massively proud.
“Fourth place is a really, really high achievement for us – now we can work on it, look at how we can close the gap and push into those medal positions.
“We’ve done it before, so hopefully we can do it again.”
Joe Fraser
Age: 22 Hometown: West Midlands: Birmingham
Result: Competed on all six apparatus: rings (14.500), vault (14.133), parallel bars (14.666), high bar (14.333), floor (13.866) and pommel horse (14.666). He goes in the individual all-around final on Wednesday and the parallel bars final next Tuesday.
On competing in a team final
“Team finals are always very nerve-wracking. For all three people to count on each apparatus, it’s very nerve-wracking.
“You want your best for your friends and your teammates who you class as brothers because you’ve trained together for so long.
“I do feel that pressure because I want to do well for them. Performing under that pressure makes you feel amazing. It’s great fun and being out there with friends you class as family is always great.
On his Olympics so far
“I’m over the moon with my performances so far. I’m trying to take them all in my stride, enjoy the moments.
“Every second I’m out there, I’m trying to make the most of because I’ve done 17 years of gymnastics to get here. For this two-week period, I’m soaking up every second I can."
On his approach for the all-around final
“In the all-around final I plan to enjoy myself, go for broke and see what happens.
“I potentially might upgrade a few apparatus to go all out. I’m going to make sure I’ve got some good rest and recovery for Wednesday.”
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: Currently sitting overall in second on her second day of racing in the Women's RS:X sailing class, having won Team GB’s first sailing race of Tokyo 2020.
On today's action
"It was a really good day - I'm really happy."
On the conditions today compared to yesterday
"They were a lot more fun. A bit more what we're used to in England but also I prepared for everything. It was really fun and I enjoyed it a lot."
On the beginning of the race
"The start was really important. I have some pretty good starts so that obviously helped me and then just kept going fast around inflatable marks."
On overall performance so far
"I'm happy. It's my first Olympic Games and I'm doing well so I can't ask for more really."
On racing with everyone all together
"We last raced in April and then I went home to Weymouth and trained really hard with my friend, the Danish girl, and we're doing pretty well and have a laugh and a joke before the races so it's really nice."
On key to making today work
"It was pretty shifty, the wind from the land so that was always going to be tricky. I had good starts and just tried to do what I could do best and trust myself so that was good.
"It was quite cool. I like watching the surfing so I try and find my inner surfer. I'm not very good at surfing though! I just keep doing simple things well and I'll be happy."
Rugby Sevens
Comments from Team GB rugby sevens players after today’s matches. Team GB beat Canada 24-0 in the first match before beating Japan 34-0 in Men’s Pool B. Team GB will now face defending champions Fiji in the final match on Tuesday to decide who tops Pool B.
Alex Davis (speaking after the game against Japan)
Age: 28 Hometown: Bristol
On scoring his first Olympic try, having missed out on Rio just days before the tournament due to injury
“I had to take a moment when I scored it to take it in. There wasn’t any crowd cheering but staying present, dotting the ball down, turning around and thinking, ‘wow, I’ve just scored a try for Great Britain on the Olympic stage’ is up there with some of the best tries I’ve scored. I’ll take that.”
On the next game against Fiji
“It’ll be the toughest game of the pool. It’s a repeat of the 2016 final but we’re not going to worry about that, we’re just going to focus on ourselves, do the things we’re doing well which is the basics and focusing on our game and the intensity we can bring as a group.”
Tennis
Comments from Team GB tennis players Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski after their Men’s Doubles Second Round match at Ariake Tennis Park.
Result: Lost to Japan's Kei Nishikori and Ben McLachlan 3-6 4-6
Jamie Murray
Age: 35 Hometown: Scotland, Dunblane
On the match
“Disappointed to lose obviously. The Olympics only comes around once every four years and everyone wants to do well, everyone dreams of coming in and winning a gold medal.
"It was a tough match for us today, the other guys played very well. Especially at the start, they put us under the pump a bit. It was just a tough day."
On reforming his partnership with Skupski
“We did well to get through the first match, today was a different story. We combined well and did what we could, it just wasn’t to be today.”
On prospect of returning to Olympic Games at Paris 2024
“I’ll be 38 then, there are plenty of guys still going strong at that age. We’ll see but if I am there, it’s testament to the longevity of my career to play at that level for so many years. We’ll see.”
Neal Skupski
Age: 31 Hometown: Liverpool
On the match
“The first set was pretty tough for us. Nishikori returned very well at the start, Ben was serving well. It was tough to get back into it after the break. We competed a lot harder in the second and could have got a break in the second set, but we didn’t take it.
"I missed a couple of forehands to get broken and they were really comfortable until the end. I hit a forehand wide when I should have made them play and serve for the match. It wasn’t to be and it’s disappointing, but they played better than us today."
Hockey
Comments from Team GB women's hockey player Ellie Rayer after today's match at the Oi Hockey Stadium. Team GB came from 1-0 down to beat South Africa 4-1 in their Pool A match.
Ellie Rayer
Age: 24 Hometown: Berkshire: Maidenhead
On the result
"A good result, for sure. Performance-wise, we probably need to have a look at a couple of things but we are chuffed with that.
"Against Germany yesterday we were really happy with how we came out and we executed. Today we definitely started slow and let them go into the game.
"Obviously, we went 1-0 down, so for us it is to go away and look how we can make sure that we start every game on the money ready to go and it doesn't take us a half of hockey to get into the game."
On her first goal in the Olympics
"It's pretty special but this is what we do I guess it is like any other tournament really, we go out there.
"To get on the scoresheet is pretty cool but it is testament to the team and the work we do.
"I think they put it on a plate for me, so it was all good."
Canoe Slalom
Comments from Team GB canoe slalom athlete Adam Burgess after today’s men’s C1 event at the Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre
Adam Burgess
Age: 29 Hometown: Staffordshire: Stoke
Result: Finished fourth in a time of 103.86 seconds, just 0.16s behind bronze medallist Sideris Tasiadis (GER) and 5.61s behind winner Benjamin Savsek (SLO). Burgess had qualified in eighth for the ten-man final earlier in the day, meaning he was the third athlete to complete his run in the final.
On his performance
“It was just a fight from top to bottom. I’m proud – I think I did a good job to hold the run together and put something down on what is a really difficult course.
“I made the mistakes early on and it was getting more and more physical, harder and harder to hold it all together. Not quite good enough in the end today.
“I was happy with my semi-final performance. I knew I’d had a really good top half and I’d seen the way the event had gone before me, so I backed off a little bit to make sure I got the job done. That’s where a few mistakes crept in and made it close.
“I wanted the early start in the final because it’s less pressure there, less to think about and hear what times are going down. No regrets about the semis at all."
On the 45-minute turnaround between the semi-final and final
“It was a tight turnaround. That’s one thing I’ve made massive improvements on in the last year or so – my confidence in my ability to put multiple runs down in a short period of time.
“We were practising back in January and February, full runs with only 15 minutes between them and going faster on the second run.
“I was doing the same out here – I barely hit a gate here in training and just put in run after run.
“45 minutes was tight but it was long enough. I got back to the tent, refuelled, watched the video, put my head down for five minutes, shut my eyes and tried to relax, then got back out there to warm-up."
Boxing
Comments from Team GB boxer Galal Yafai after their events at the Kokugikan Arena.
Galal Yafai
Age: 28 Hometown: West Midlands: Birmingham
Result: Beat Armenia's Koryun Soghomonyan (Referee Stopped Contest in the third round) in the Men’s Flyweight (48-52kg) Round of 32. Will face Zambia's Patrick Chinyenma in the Round of 16, on Saturday
On the fight
"I fought him a few weeks ago in the European qualifier, I managed to beat him comfortably there.
"It's an honour for me to represent my country in what I love doing. To get a second Olympic Games, hopefully I can go one better now and come back home with a medal.
"They'll be home watching, they'll be getting up at any time to watch, I've got friends and family involved and it's nice to have the support.
"I want to keep myself grounded and get better for the next fight."
On the team unity
"We all want to better each other, we all support each other to do well and hopefully we will do."
On his accolades
"Commonwealth gold was great. Olympic gold would just be another level. It's nice being Commonwealth champion but being Olympic champion would be on another scale."
Table Tennis
Comments from Team GB table tennis players after today’s matches at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym
Liam Pitchford
Age: 28 Hometown: Derbyshire, Chesterfield
Result: Lost 4-2 (11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 11-13, 11-9, 12-10) to Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic in the Men’s Singles third round, his first match of the competition
On the performance
“I’m not too happy to be honest. I had a lot of chances that I didn’t take, it’s frustrating because I felt I played alright, it was close – I just didn’t take my chances.
“It is what it is but I’m gutted because I know I can play a lot better.”
On his third Olympic Games
“I had higher hopes for this than happened, it’s hard to come in first game of the tournament and play against someone who has already played and is a very good player on his day.
“I’ll reflect on it, look back and see what happened and hopefully I can learn from it.
“It’s been different but I’ve enjoyed it nonetheless. It’s good to be back as part of Team GB, the atmosphere has been great and I’m disappointed I couldn’t perform better.”
Paul Drinkhall
Age: 31 Hometown: North Yorkshire: Middlesbrough
Result: Lost 4-1 (7-11 12-10 11-8 11-8 11-7) to Republic of Korea’s Jang Woojin in the Men’s Singles third round
On his third Olympic Games
“It’s great. It was great going to the first Olympic Games and then the second and third, that’s great but it would be nice to be more than a three-time Olympian.
“It’s a fantastic achievement and I’m very proud of that, hopefully there’ll be more.
“I think my game is getting better and better. I’m learning a lot more things and taking a lot more on board, my mental side of the game is improving a lot more."
“Overall, in the last couple of years, my performances were getting better and better. Paris is only three years away so I’ve just got to keep going in that direction.”
Archery
Comments from Team GB's men's archery team following a 5-3 defeat to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the men's team competition. They beat Indonesia 6-0 in the previous round
Patrick Huston
Age: 25 Hometown: Northern Ireland: Belfast
On the performance
“Archery is a fast and competitive game, it's something where the gaps can be infinitesimal. We took a couple of leads from the Dutch early on but we couldn't match them when they finished so strongly. It's a sport of tiny margins and it's cut throat.”
On future competitions:
"I just need to grit my teeth and work harder."
James Woodgate
Age: 19 Hometwown: Surrey: Shepperton
On the performance
“There's a lot I can take in terms of how I want to perform on this stage. I was really shaking for our first match but I'm starting to feel steady and more at ease with myself.
"I can take definitely take comfort in the fact I now know how to perform on the finals field. I'm learning all about competition pressure as we the Olympics go on.”
Tom Hall
Age: 30 Hometwown: Warwickshire: Kenilworth
On the performance
“I love shooting with these guys and I'm proud of everything we've done as a team in qualifying for the Games, it's been a long journey.
“It's not technique or training, you just have to believe. I thought were in the game, so I'm gutted we've lost that. We've not got knocked down easy but we've still got a lot of growing to do as a team.”
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