Paris 2024 Olympics: Team GB win first two gold medals of games in team eventing and cross-country cycling
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Team GB have won their first two gold medals of the Paris Olympics – in team eventing and cross-country cycling.
Tom McEwen and his horse JL Dublin, Ros Canter on Lordships Graffalo, and Laura Collett riding London 52 held off the challenge of France to take the top spot in eventing on Monday.
McEwen and Collett had been in the team which won the gold in the same event at Tokyo 2020, along with Oliver Townend.
Later on Monday, Tom Pidcock claimed a second gold in sensational fashion, battling back after a punctured tyre to win the men’s mountain bike race – also defending the title he won in Tokyo.
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Despite falling nine places and 36 seconds behind leader Frenchman Victor Koretzky after his front tyre suffered a puncture, the 24-year-old Briton produced a masterclass to claw his way back to the front.
In the final lap, Koretzky briefly retook first place, only for Pidcock to produce a daring overtake in the final moments before racing away to cross the line in first.
Collett collected a bronze medal on Lordships Graffalo in the individual eventing competition just hours after her gold.
There have been other Team GB athletes taking to podiums on Monday, with divers Tom Daley and Noah Williams winning silver in the men’s synchronised 10m, and Adam Burgess coming second in the men’s canoe single.
There was also a silver for Britain in the swimming pool when Matt Richards finished just behind Romania’s David Popovici in the men’s 200m freestyle final, with just two hundredths of a second splitting them.
In the team eventing, a total of 15.8 penalties incurred on Saturday’s cross-country stage had made it tight at the top, but a clear round from McEwen, with one fence down from both Canter and Collett, was good enough to seal gold.
Cyclist Tom Pidcock celebrates his victory. Pic: PA
The vital clear in the final round lifted Britain into first and left France with the silver medal.
Team GB finished on 91.30 penalties, ahead of France in second on 103.6 and Japan in third on 115.80.
The win at the Chateau de Versailles, outside Paris, marked a fifth Olympic eventing team title for Team GB.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer congratulated McEwen, Carter and Collett on their win.
He said: “Our first @Paris2024 gold medal. Congratulations Ros, Laura and Tom, what an incredible achievement.”
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“I am on top of the world, I have never ridden in an atmosphere like that. Thankfully, I have a trusty horse in London 52 and team-mates as well. Thankfully, we brought it home,” Collett said, speaking to BBC.
McEwen added: “It was a class last round from Laura to get the gold, the first of the Games. It has been a rollercoaster but we rose to the occasion.”
At Elancourt Hill, Pidcock suffered a flat front tyre on the fourth of eight laps, shortly after he had taken control of the 35km race.
But the Briton dragged his way back into contention and reclaimed the lead with a lap and a half to go.
Pidcock was booed by home crowds, who had been excited to see Koretzky take the lead late on.
But Pidcock broke their hearts after he got his nose in front of Koretzky as the path narrowed in a decisive moment in the race.