The spokeswoman said May had been following the success in Rio closely from her walking holiday in Switzerland, and was extremely proud to see the team surpass its achievements at London 2012.
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“We all know that this success does not come easy and is the culmination of years of hard work, passionate commitment, sheer grit and determination”.
The hard-earned collection from Rio included 27 gold, 23 silver and 17 bronze – the biggest medal count for the nation in more than a century.
The Prime Minister’s official spokeswoman said: “We have had an incredible fortnight at the Rio Olympics and we should be looking at the differing ways that we can recognise and reward the athletes for all they have achieved, and honours are there to recognise and reward people”.
Although both were absent on Tuesday, Team GB chef de mission Mark England was full of praise for Murray and golfer Justin Rose, revealing how a rousing speech from Murray on the eve of the Games had spurred the team to go on to glory.
“I send my best wishes to all those who contributed to this remarkable achievement”.
His comments came as Great Britain’s athletes returned home having achieved the country’s best ever overseas Games performance. “They should be recognising and rewarding great achievements and my goodness we’ve had that in the last two weeks”.
“In terms of honours, there is an independent process”.
The team entered the Maracana for Sunday night’s closing ceremony riding high on their success, the occasion infused with a relaxed party atmosphere that showed on the faces of the delighted stars.
Team GB’s athletics captain finished fourth in the 200 metres, missing out on a medal by just three thousandths of a second in a race won, of course, by Usain Bolt, whose rivals will believe a gold medal is actually attainable as he bows out after Rio. The US was top.
Asher-Smith said being part of Team GB gives you a special confidence and that the support staff were the best in Rio.
She said it was a shame to miss out on a home Games, joking “although I was a bit young”. GB have also smashed their pre-Games target of at least 48 medals, which was set by UK Sport.
America is bringing home gold and glory from the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
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“The lovely thing is that the London Games were undoubtedly a huge inspiration for the nation and we all thought it could not be replicated, it will never happen again and was a once in a lifetime moment”.
