Team GB were given a heroes’ welcome as they returned to London – as winner Tom Daley revealed he left his medal in Paris.
The diver, who won silver in the men’s synchronised 10m platform event with Noah Williams, made his lost property admission just hours after announcing his decision to retire.
Speaking to Sky News at St Pancras train station, Daley praised his husband Dustin Lance Black for being “an absolute hero” by looking after their two children as he focussed on his fifth Olympics.
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He continued: “He’s the biggest reason why I’ve still been able to do all of this stuff, still been able to train and still been able to travel to compete.
“I owe my medal to him and, sadly, I did leave my medal in the village in Paris.”
Daley added the medal has been found and was “on its way back to London but not with me right now”.
He announced his retirement hours earlier in an interview with British Vogue.
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The Team GB athletes arrived in London aboard a special golden Eurostar train and were met with cheers from fans waving flags on the platform.
Bryony Page – who won Team GB’s first-ever gold medal in trampolining – was one of the first athletes off the train.
She was soon joined by the likes of triathlon champion Alex Yee, and bronze-winning twins Laviai and Lina Nielsen.
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Team GB won 65 medals at the games, putting them behind just the USA and China for total medals won.
However, the medal table is traditionally ranked by the number of golds – and Team GB’s count of 14 is its lowest total since Athens 2004.
Prior to the Paris games, UK Sport said it was expecting the athletes to land a top-five position in the table but Team GB ended up in seventh after agonisingly missing out in some sports.
In Tokyo three years ago, Team GB swimmers brought home four golds but that tally was down to one this time around, along with four silvers.
Adam Peaty was pipped to gold by just 0.02 seconds in the men’s 100m breaststroke – just hours before testing positive for COVID. Teammate Matt Richards was second in the men’s 200m freestyle by the same margin.
Also, Ben Proud was just 0.05 seconds off winning gold in the men’s 50m freestyle.
On the track, sprinter Daryll Neita finished fourth in the women’s 100m final, missing out on a bronze by 0.04 seconds, while Dina Asher-Smith ended in the same position in the 200m, just 0.02 seconds behind the third-placed runner.
Team GB’s boxers endured a difficult games, as five of its six stars exited in the opening bouts, leaving just Lewis Richardson in the men’s 71kg category. He went on to win bronze.
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Windsurfer Emma Wilson won eight out of 14 qualifying races and had a 30-point lead on her competitors, but was left in tears and fuming at organisers as she finished third in a winner-takes-all final.
