Team GB climbs to fourth place in Olympic medal table after a string of successes | Tokyo Olympics 2020

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GB’s golden glory day at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday saw cyclist Laura Kenny become the first British Olympian to win three in a row and Kate French to win the modern pentathlon, while there were more medals in cycling, hockey and on the fitness track.

Laura Muir won the silver in an exciting final in the 1500m, a feat matched by the 4x100m relay team for GB, while the women won the bronze in the 4x100m final.

All eyes were on Kenny at the Iso Velodrome, but she and Katie Archibald dumped her nerves to give advanced lessons at Madison in a race hailed as the greatest run of the games. They finished with 78 points, ahead of Denmark with the silver medal and the Russian Olympic Committee with the bronze.

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Glowing with pride and bursting with emotion after the race Kenny – now the most successful cyclist in Olympic history – couldn’t hold back the tears as she spoke of her son Albie.

“I haven’t missed him so much in my whole life,” she told the BBC. “It’s hard to leave him at home. Having Katie here—I feel like I’m racing with my sister. I wouldn’t have done it without her.”

Katie Archibald and Laura Kinney during the medal ceremony. Photo: Thibault Camus/AP

Soon after Kenny made history at the velodrome, Jack Carlin took the bronze in the men’s sprint, going along with his team in the silver sprint. Team GB has now won five medals on the bike track, with more races to come – including from Kenny.

The second GB gold of the day went to the French in the modern pentathlon, after her dominant display destroyed a strong field with her closing performance in the laser race at Tokyo Stadium. The 30-year-old didn’t win an Olympic medal coming into these games, but he did win the gold by a clear margin after five and a half hours in a series of disciplines including fencing, swimming, show jumping and target shooting after running with a full-fledged whip into the laser track.

“I tried not to think too much about getting a medal,” she told the BBC. “I am so glad I was able to put it together. It has always been a dream and I can’t believe it has come true.”

Kate French crosses the finish line to win the modern pentathlon. Photo: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images

At Oi Hockey Stadium, Great Britain won the bronze medal, while Welsh boxer Lauren Price now has at least a silver medal after winning the middleweight semi-final.

Friday’s seven medals take the GB team’s total to 58, with 18 golds – putting Britain fourth in the medal table with these Olympics entering the final in a row.

On the track, Laura Muir, who qualified as a vet in 2018, overcame the memory of a string of near misses in other competitions to win a silver medal in the 1500m final with a personal best and a new national record of 3 minutes 54.50 seconds. Kenyan defending champion Faith Kipigon won the gold with a new Olympic record – with Muir and Barefoot Kipigon taking the honor together. Dutchman Sivan Hassan won the bronze medal.

Panting to catch her breath, the British flag draped around her shoulders, Muir struggled to find the words to describe her feelings. “I worked hard, for a long time,” she finally managed.

Britain’s Laura Muir lies on the floor after winning the silver medal. Photo: Clauda Kilcoen/Reuters

The 28-year-old Scot suffered a string of near misses in a series of World and Olympic finals, but he didn’t reach the podium until Tokyo. “I don’t think I was so frightened before, as if someone was going to pass me and I would be fourth,” she said. “I gave him everything and I was so tired. But I thought just keep pushing, keep pushing.”

In the relay, GB’s CJ Ujah, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, Richard Kilty, and Zharnel Hughes won the silver in the men’s 4x100m relay final, losing the gold medal by just a hundredths of a second, reaching the streak by Italy – fifth A gold medal for them in athletics in the games. There was a tense wait for Asha Phillippe, Emani Lara Lancecott, Dina Asher Smith and Daryl Neta in the women’s 4x100m final. They were forced to wait to celebrate the bronze medal after reviewing their first change, which was finally confirmed to the team’s delight.

From left: Imani Lara Lancecott, Dina Asher-Smith, Daryl Neta and Asha Philip taking bronze. Photo: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

Asher Smith’s ambitions for individual success at the Olympics were dashed by a torn hamstring at the British trials in June. In Tokyo she missed a place in the 100-meter final and withdrew from the 200-meter race. “I have a little bit of mixed feelings because obviously I’m like, ‘Argh, I could have done this and this and we could have paid for a medal of a different color,” she said. “But at the same time, if I’m honest, on a personal journey, I’ve been on Crutches six weeks ago and there was less than a 10% chance of me being here. I’ve worked incredibly hard and getting a medal here is honestly something I didn’t even think about six weeks ago. Seven weeks ago? definitely. Six weeks ago? Absolutely.”

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