Team GB 'exhausted but happy' on return from Olympics

Team GB athletes person returned to nan UK "exhausted but happy" aft collecting 65 medals astatine nan Paris 2024 Olympics.

The athletes arrived astatine nan Eurostar terminal astatine London St Pancras position connected Monday.

"To beryllium backmost celebrating pinch Team GB fans, nan sound is conscionable incredible, and nan truth everyone's turned retired to travel and spot america is really amazing," Amber Rutter, who won metallic successful nan women's skeet shooting, told nan BBC.

"I deliberation there's a batch of exhaustion but everyone's truthful happy. It really is an unthinkable moment."

Great Britain won 14 golds, 22 silvers and 29 bronzes successful Paris, matching their full badge haul from London 2012. It is besides nan joint-third-highest tally for Team GB astatine a azygous Games down Rio 2016 (67 medals) and London 1908 (146).

However, their golden badge tally and last placing of seventh successful nan badge array are nan lowest since nan Athens Games of 2004.

Also among nan athletes to return location was gymnast Bryony Page, who won trampoline golden to unafraid a complete group of medals aft metallic successful Rio successful 2016 and bronze successful Tokyo successful 2021.

The 33-year-old was a Team GB flagbearer for nan closing ceremonial alongside triathlete Alex Yee.

"It hasn't sunk in," Page told BBC Sport. "My coach said it rather nicely: I person a full life for it to descend in. I americium going to beryllium an Olympic champion for nan remainder of my life.

"This full Games has been an astonishing experience. To beryllium portion of this squad for nan 3rd clip is conscionable phenomenal."

Rutter, who became a mother successful April, said she was thrilled to beryllium coming location to her family pinch an Olympic medal.

"It feels incredible," she said. "It's thing astatine 1 constituent I ne'er thought I would achieve, truthful I'm ace happy.

"I’m truthful happy to beryllium back. Just to spot this small feline is nan champion thing."

An affectional Tom Daley, who has announced his status from diving aft winning his 5th Olympic badge successful Paris, said: "Right now, I'm really happy pinch really everything's gone. I conscionable deliberation it's ever difficult erstwhile you opportunity goodbye to your sport. Lots of things to process, but I deliberation it’s nan correct time.

"This twelvemonth felt for illustration specified a prize and I sewage to compete successful beforehand of my family, my kids. I sewage to beryllium flagbearer. So yeah, bucket database ticked disconnected connected each occasion."

UK Sport chair Katherine Grainger says Great Britain's occurrence successful Paris is "extraordinary", but Team GB person moved past nan era of "winning astatine each costs".

The five-time Olympic badge victor says creating a affirmative situation for nan athletes is conscionable arsenic important arsenic finishing connected nan podium.

"It is astir winning well, not winning astatine immoderate cost," Grainger, who leads nan assemblage responsible for allocating backing to sports for each Olympic cycle.

"If you emotion sport, you want to awesome occurrence but you want to judge successful it, you want precocious standards, pinch group thriving successful a very affirmative environment.

"The nationalist governing bodies person embraced this and delivered clip and clip again, showing winning good is possible. The much times we do this, nan much occurrence we will have."

Grainger besides said GB's little badge haul and gaffe down nan badge array was arsenic overmuch to do pinch nan betterment of different countries.

"It is simply a strategical ambition to beryllium apical 5 but is not a target," she said. "The US and China beryllium retired up of everyone but betwixt 3rd and eighth is incredibly congested.

"With nan announcement of nan Brisbane games successful 2032, which is simply a longer lead-in clip than normal, Australia are connected nan rise. France arsenic nan location federation you expect to to beryllium up location too, and nan Netherlands enjoyed nan champion golden badge haul they person ever had.

"There are incredibly competitory nations astir nan mediate [of nan badge table] and we are portion of that."