Tokyo Olympics Jason Kenny becomes most successful GB Olympian closing ceremony to come live

Laura Kenny has the union flag, and that seems a solid decision to me â€" her joy is so compelling and infectious.

Here’s my song of the summer is this â€" and it’s one for the fantastic Alex Scott. Yes, I’m calling that a segue.

Barney Ronay (@barneyronay)

When's Professor Green on?

August 8, 2021

Here come the flag-bearers of each nation...

Japanese anthem time. Kimigayo is the world’s shortest, and the flag is raised alongside one baring the Olympic rings.

Mournful music plays, and the Japanese flag is carried to the stage by various uniformed, marching types taking tiny steps in what I assume is military style. .

Here come the dignitaries and flag-bearers...

Apologies: when discussing my favourite moments, I neglected to mention the stupefying Yulimar Rojas.

Yulimar Rojas became the first female Venezuelan Olympic gold medallist in stunning style as she shattered the 26-year-old women’s world triple jump record with her final jump â€" and then thanked Facebook’s algorithm for connecting her with the coach who guided her to glory.

Rojas, who is also a proud lesbian and prominent LGBT activist, jumped 15.67m to beat the previous world record of 15.50m, set by Ukraine’s Inessa Kravets in 1995 in Sweden.”

One of the great things about the Olympics is how people of whom you’ve never heard become global celebrities for a moment. Which is a long-winded way of saying that I’ve just remembered Dean Boxall.

Our narrators for the ceremony are Hazel Irvine and Andrew Cotter, both of whom have had terrific Games.

In the BBC studio, Chris Hoy notes how polarised the world is, and that it’s good to see people brought together, and Michael Johnson notes that the pandemic is the first thing in a long time to affect all of us in it. I think Hoy is wearing red suede shoes.

The closing ceremony is almost upon us...

I absolutely love this column from Caroline Dubois, in which she explains how it felt to lose a medal she thought was hers.

You then endure the agony of waiting for the verdict. When they said “Blue”, which meant Seesondee had won a bronze medal, she sank to her knees. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed in relief. I walked around the ring in a daze. I was thinking: “Fucking hell â€" what’s happening?” In that terrible moment I was so upset and frustrated. I could hardly believe it.

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In the changing room I kept saying: “I don’t know what to do … I don’t know what to do.” I was crying and it just felt like everything had been a waste of time. I’ve been fighting since I was nine years old, when I had to pretend to be a boy called Colin so that I would be allowed into a boxing gym. I’ve wanted to go to the Olympics since London 2012. I was 11 years old then, so I’ve been dreaming of these Games for nine long years. My tears fell because it felt like I had wasted my time. There was no consoling me in those lonely moments.”

Definitely make time for the rest, here.

This is an interesting angle.

We’ve done a lot of Kellie Harrington this morning and rightly so, but a search through our photo library has bestowed this upon me and of course, it’s incumbent upon me to share. There’s a Hebrew word, kavanah â€" it means intention, sincerity and focus, tall mixed. This is that.

As the montages start, a classic piece of trivia from early in the Games...

Russell Jackson (@rustyjacko)

[emerging from Olympic swimming research laboratory] slightly off topic, but Gary Hall Jnr owns a painting that William S. Burroughs created with his own blood. pic.twitter.com/mfqdPKi1jJ

July 25, 2021

“Can’t believe it’s all coming to an end,” tweets Guy Hornsby. “Despite the unique backdrop it’s still provided some incredible moments and stories. My favourites: Daley’s gold, BMX, Muir and Bleasdale’s medals, skateboards, the Kennys, but really it’s scratching the surface. Three years....”

I’ve had this open in a tab for nearly four hours now, so let’s go...

BBC Sport (@BBCSport)

GB's Charlotte Worthington has smashed her second run in the women's BMX freestyle final out of the park! ðŸ'ðŸ'

She scores a HUGE 97.50 🙌

ðŸ"º Watch live on @BBCiPlayer and @BBCOne

ðŸ"² https://t.co/tRBaftzxWl #bbcolympics #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/EuxH6mNxWf

August 1, 2021

Eurosport cut to the Olympic Stadium for the closing ceremony, where Greg Rutherford is enthusing in characteristic style. Meantime, Pat Wilson gets in touch with her own contribution to the Games.

Pat Wilson (@twittingneedles)

The final countup! Wool Done @TeamGB an astonishing performance. So sad it’s over. My crochet 🥇🥈🥉#olympicresultstable has been a big hit in @Deal_Town. pic.twitter.com/0v8JEQTqpo

August 8, 2021

And as for Tom Daley!

Barney Ronay (@barneyronay)

Tom Daley: “there are some beverages with my name on them”

July 26, 2021 Barney Ronay (@barneyronay)

Also Tom Daley: "I feel incredibly proud to say I am an Olympic champion and a gay man"

July 26, 2021 Barney Ronay (@barneyronay)

It is kind of something that Tom Daley is saying this at a table sat between Chinese and Russian athletes, being watched by their media. He is talking about his husband and child. As i understand it, neither would be permitted in China

July 26, 2021

“The women showed up,” Felix said. “I think we’ve been showing up on the track, off the track, in all of the ways. So to me I loved it, I love seeing it. It’s been a really special Games for women, in our sport, outside our sport, it’s been really inspiring for me to see performance after performance, women out there getting it done. Obviously I think there’s still a lot of work to do in a lot of areas but we have momentum, we’re moving in the right direction, not just from a performance standpoint but by changing industry norms. And we’re going to continue to push that.”

This is true. Legends like Felix, Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles - for example, and only for example â€" are changing the global conversation and setting the global agenda. I’m in awe of their strength and dignity, and grateful to them for taking many for the team.

Sifan Hassan, though. I just keep looking at the words, which I can understand but cannot grasp.

But sport being sport, we can’t flag that without flagging this.

Oo remembers, er, Magic Monday? I absolutely loved Adam Peaty’s interview with Eurosport after he’d calmed down:

He’s proud to become the first Brit to defend an Olympic swimming title, but it won’t sink in until he’s home. The gold, he reckons, goes to all his family and his team, and he’s looking forward to the relays.

As for the race, he says you touch the wall and generally you know if you’ve won. He’s feeling a lot of relief, but the moment when you win, you release all the frustration of the five years leading up to it, a mixture of elation, adrenaline and pride. Talking about how hard he worked to make it happen, he says that “there’s not a tangible word for the amount of investment that’s gone into this swim,” and “if you think you’ve emptied the tank there’s another tank to empty”. He talks about a lot of bad moments getting ready for the Games, when he didn’t want to push further, but he did, then explains that having a son gave him a new perspective on the world. He’s a very emotional person and cried the second his wife gave birth; now he hopes his son can learn from him “to be resilient, to be committed, to take the emotional intelligence that sport provides”.

Swimming has taken a lot out of him â€" he’s not lost a race in seven years â€" so now he wants to rest and enjoy life. But he’s not yet swum the perfect race, so that’s a target for him now.”

I daresay being second best at super-heavyweight boxing feels better than being second best in an argument about racism, and stomping off.

Frazer Clarke (@BigFrazeBoxer)

What a feeling … I now own an Olympic medal 🙏🏽

August 8, 2021

This is it, isn’t it? Let’s hope Paris is the party we deserve.

Scott Field (@scottjfield)

Feeling a touch melancholy in Tokyo today. Rain pouring down. A sense of an ending here. I'll miss this place; I'll always miss what might have been for this Games, but still, what a Games it has been. One of the best? No doubt.

August 7, 2021

I’ve looked forward to these every single day. Imagine having a snap like this with your significant other! Just look at their little faces!

Ouch.

The quality is uniform, these are just my favourites at this particular second.

Here’s a little digest of the beauty that’s sustained us these last couple of weeks.

The biggest story of the Games has probably been Simone Biles, and though things didn’t go as expected, she left an even bigger hero than she arrived â€" and what an accolade that is. Here are some reads on her.

Another of my favourite details: Elaine Thompson-Herah’s gran watches her granddaughter win gold. Goodness me, what a feeling that must be.

Jamaica Gleaner (@JamaicaGleaner)

Gloria Thompson, the grandmother of Olympic 100m champion @FastElaine, was ecstatic this morning as she watched the final of the women's 100m from her hometown in Banana Ground, Manchester. It's a win Thompson had predicted and she is looking for a repeat in the 200m. pic.twitter.com/VV6nJbVavF

July 31, 2021

And here’s how Sean Ingle saw it.

Raven Saunders, what a hero.

Fabien Goa (@FabienGoa)

X: "It's the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet". Raven Saunders ✊🏾 https://t.co/WuovgIeoMf pic.twitter.com/qEJyjVD93u

August 1, 2021

This was something. Yesterday, Tareg Hamedi of Saudi Arabia knocked out Sajad Ganjzadeh of Iran in the final of men’s -75kg karate ... but Ganjzadeh won gold because if you kayo someone, you’re disqualified.

This country.

â€" Jason Kenny defended his keirin title in masterful style, his gold his seventh Olympic medal. He now sits alone as GB’s most successful Olympian.

â€" Eliud Kipchoge retained his marathon title, absolutely dog-walking Sapporo conditions and the field. His winning margin, 1:20, is the biggest since 1972, when Frank Shorter of the USA led hom Belgium’s Karel Lismont by 2:12.

â€" Lauren Price won middleweight gold for GB.

â€" France beat “ROC” to win the women’s handball.

â€" Serbia beat Greece to retain the men’s water polo title.

It’s fair to say that the selling off of playing fields began under Tony Blair, but I shudder to think at how much worse things are going to get. The thing is, sport isn’t just exercise or gold medals, but the entry into another world â€" of people, places, stories, hopes, joy and love. We need to do everything possible to make those things available to everyone.

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