Adam Peaty earned Team GB’s first gold of Tokyo 2020 with victory in the men’s 100m breaststroke and started a gold rush as Tom Daley and Matty Lee won in the diving with Tom Pidcock surging to gold in the mountain biking. Here’s what happened on day three:
- Re-peaty – Adam Peaty defends breaststroke title in stunning fashion
- Tom Daley finally gets his Olympic gold medal
- 21-year-old Pidcock beats world number one to cross-country title
- Alex Yee continues Team GB’s success in triathlon
- Second silver for Great Britain in the Taekwondo
- Unlucky fourth in gymnastics and canoe slalom
- More to come on day four
Peaty party in the pool with breaststroke victory
Adam Peaty became the first British swimmer to retain their Olympic title after winning Team GB’s first gold medal of Tokyo 2020 with victory in the men’s 100m breaststroke.
The fastest man to ever compete in breaststroke was a huge hope for gold and hit the expectations of a nation, stopping the clock in 57.37 seconds to become double Olympic champion.
With eight world titles, 16 European titles, the 16 fastest times in history and having broken the world record on five occasions, Peaty’s standing in the pool was never in doubt.
And a second Olympic gold medal was nothing less than what was hoped for from the 26-year-old, becoming Team GB’s first champion of a Games for the second time having achieved the feat in 2016.
Peaty spoke after his win: “I wanted it more. I know they are trying to get me but that’s where the training comes in.
“Thanks to the nation for being behind me for five years and my family and my beautiful boy [George-Anderson Adetola Peaty].”
READ: Adam Peaty: The journey to Olympic swimming greatness
Daley delivers gold at his fourth Games
Tom Daley and Matty Lee produced the performance of a lifetime to claim Olympic gold in sensational fashion at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
For Daley it marks the culmination of a remarkable career. A bronze medallist at London 2012 and again in Rio five years ago, he now has a gold to his name.
For Lee, the gold comes much earlier in his Olympic career with Tokyo 2020 being his debut Games.
Daley and Lee sat second after three dives, with Chinese pair Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen 15 points clear and seemingly destined for gold.
But a brilliant fourth dive from the Brits, combined with a slight slip-up from their rivals, allowed Daley and Lee to take the lead.
They needed no second invitation and despite holding a lead of just 1.74 points going into the final dive, the British pair did it.
Daley said: “It’s kind of unbelievable. I’ve dreamt, as has Matty, since I started diving 20 years ago for this moment of becoming an Olympic champion.”
READ: Tom Daley’s rollercoaster ride to Olympic gold
READ: Matty Lee on becoming Olympic champion with childhood hero
Solo attack serves up gold for Pidcock
Tom Pidcock soared to cross-country gold with a searing solo attack that earned Team GB its first medal in mountain biking.
The 21-year-old overtook eight-time world champion Nino Schurter and Mathias Fluckinger on the third lap and never looked like letting go of gold, prevailing by 20 seconds in a time of 1:25:14.
A heavy early fall for race favourite Mathieu van der Poel opened things up and Pidcock soon took control. Starting 29th on the grid, he gained 26 positions in the start loop alone.
The win came only a couple of months after Leeds native Pidcock broke his collarbone, but he was back on the bike six days later focused on pursuit of Olympic gold.
Pidcock kept that focus on the startline: “It’s been a such a hard time coming here from crashing and breaking my collarbone [in May] and that’s just unbelievable.
“I’m always better when I take control myself. I take my own lines, my own speed. Once we started I was fine, all the nerves kind of went and I concentrated on the race. I’m happy this [the Olympic Games] is only every four years because it’s stressful.”
READ: Pidcock makes mountain bike history
Alex Yee takes triathlon silver on Olympic debut
In the early hours of the morning, Alex Yee got Team GB off to a flying start by coming home in second place in the men’s triathlon.
Yee scorched to Tokyo silver and embraced his status as the heir to the Brownlee brothers’ Olympic throne.
The 23-year-old star ensured Team GB’s unparalleled record in the sport continued with sixth British swim, bike, run medal.
Yee got exactly the race he wanted, with the swim and bike stages failing to produce a conclusive breakaway.
His 7:38 10km run in broiling heat couldn’t catch Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt, but was more than enough to clamber onto the Olympic podium.
Yee said: “It hasn’t really sunk in quite yet, it doesn’t feel real like it’s me,”
“I still feel like a normal boy from south east London. I hope I can serve as inspiration to people to show this is possible. I’m not anything special, I just really enjoy sport and have been really lucky.”
READ: Alex Yee’s time is now after Olympic triathlon silver
Lauren Williams earns second taekwondo silver of the Games
Lauren Williams rounded off a bumper day for Team GB with silver in the women’s -67kg category in taekwondo.
The 22-year-old was leading the gold medal contest by three points with 10 seconds to go but ultimately lost 25-22 to Croatia’s Matea Jelic.
Williams is the second Team GB taekwondo medallist of Tokyo 2020, following Bradly Sinden’s silver on Sunday.
The pair have both enjoyed medal success on Games debut and Williams was circumspect after her defeat in the final:
“I didn’t go out there to lose, I went out there to win, I tried my best in that situation and it just didn’t happen on the day.
“I’m very happy with how I performed all day, it’s gutting in the last ten [seconds]. But an Olympic silver medal, it’s not bad is it?”
READ: Silver lining for Lauren
Fourth places for Burgess and men’s team gymnasts
It’s the place no one wants to finish but Adam Burgess and the men’s artistic gymnastics teams can hold their heads up high after impressive displays.
Burgess finished fourth in the C1 canoe slalom having earlier set the benchmark as the third competitor out of the gates.
He faced an agonising wait to see if he could cling on to third place but it wasn’t to be for the 29-year-old.
A similar fate befell the men’s artistic gymnastics team as they earnt a fourth-place finish in the men’s team final, finishing with a score 255.760.
The quartet of Max Whitlock, Joe Fraser, Giarnni Regini-Morgan and James Hall were beaten on the day by the ROC, Japan and China.
Elsewhere Lauren Smith and mixed doubles partner Marcus Ellis advanced to the quarterfinals in the badminton but it wasn’t to be for Smith and Chloe Birch in the women’s doubles.
Tuesday offers more chance at glory
Day four begins how day three did with the triathlon and this time Britain’s women have the chance to get themselves on the podium.
The trio of Jess Learmonth, Vicky Holland and reigning world champion Georgia Taylor-Brown will start their pursuit of gold at 22:30 BST this evening.
Duncan Scott will hope to carry on the tidal wave of success started by Adam Peaty in the pool as he goes in the men’s 200m Freestyle final at 2:43 BST tomorrow morning.
Scott will start in one of the coveted centre lanes, while fellow Brit Tom Dean will look to secure a medal from lane six.
After Jade Jones fell in the first round of the taekwondo, Charlotte Dujardin has the chance to become the first British woman to win golds at three Olympic Games.
Dujardin will go in the Dressage Team Final alongside Carl Hester and Charlotte Fry at 8:00 BST.
Source: Team GB. For further information, please visit TeamGB.com
