Described by CNN as a nation with an “obsession for gold”, China appears to have had a hard time during the 2016 Rio Olympics where the country ended in third place after Great Britain overtook them in the overall medal count.
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The jet – which will also be ferrying pole vaults, javelins, bicycles and a 6.7m sail back from Rio – was loaded with 77 extra champagne bottles and treats for team members, who were offered a three-course menu.
China won the gold medal for the women’s volleyball at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, bringing pride to the Chinese public amid reports that the country had a disappointing performance at the sporting event.
Ervin, who has lived in Berkeley for much of the past 20 years, was the first swimmer of African-American heritage to win a gold medal when he did it at the Sydney Games.
“The lovely thing is that after London 2012 we thought it could not be replicated, that feeling of uniting a nation, but the reaction here at Heathrow is just a small taste of what is to come”, she explained.
Rower Katherine Grainger, who became GB’s most decorated female Olympian on winning silver with Victoria Thornley in the double sculls, said she was glad the team had been a source of joy for the country after a year of political upheaval.
Usain Bolt was the man of the Games, from the moment he touched down at Rio International Airport, until he completed an unprecedented “triple-triple” by winning the 100 metre, 200m and 4x100m titles at a third successive Olympics.
(Though it’s important to note that Russian Federation was comparatively underrepresented at the Rio Olympiad, following a state-sponsored doping scandal that rocked the country and saw scores of athletes banned.) It’s hard to imagine how an Olympic team under President Trump would do any better.
“One of the objectives was to leave a legacy for United Kingdom athletes for generations to come”, he told AFP. “Our Rio mission was basically accomplished”, he added. “This plan wasn’t drawn up on the back of a fag (cigarette) packet, although that isn’t perhaps the most apposite analogy to use for sports!”
There will be times, as some daft hoo-ha engulfs football, when we yearn to see Jason Kenny and Laura Trott spinning around the velodrome again.
The win was especially special for USA head coach Adam Krikorian, who lost his brother just two days before the Opening Ceremonies. In the end, his team hung all of their gold medals around Krikorian’s neck as a sign appreciation for their strong leader.
Double gold-medallist Max Whitlock tried out some of his gymnastics routine on the first-class seats and he and champion boxer Nicola Adams were the first two stars to emerge from the plane, standing at the top of the stairs as the rest of the athletes filed out to cheers and applause.
One that unfolded at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium last weekend involved Cal graduate Anthony Ervin, who won the 50-meter sprint 16 years after tying Gary Hall Jr. for the gold medal in the same race.
He said: “As we attended the Games, we had high hopes for success from the most talented team that we had ever taken away”.
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Other heroes of Rio, including cycling golden couple Jason Kenny and Laura Trott, had already arrived back in the United Kingdom before the official Team GB flight.
