Olympic Nan And The Other Stuff We Loved About Rio Yesterday

Team GB's Rebecca Downie

Hands up who else spent most of yesterday watching the Olympics? Mr Rochell and I certainly did, and then got up at the crack of dawn this morning, popped on our dressing gowns and watching the overnight action on the red button. #keen

So what were the highlights from yesterday? Here are our best bits.

Olympic Nan

There’s something about swimmers’ relatives that just makes them the BEST supporters – who remembers Burt Le Clos totally stealing the show at the Aquatics Centre in London 2012? But there’s a new mega-fan in town in the form of ‘Olympic Nan’, AKA gold medal winner Adam Peaty’s granny, Mavis Williams, aged 74. To say Mavis is proud would be an understatement – just look at her Twitter feed. Legend!

Peaty fever

Which brings us nicely on to Adam Peaty himself, who not only won our first medal of the games in the 100 metre breaststroke – a gold no less – but smashed the world record in the heats and then AGAIN in the final. And he’s only 21! More good news in the pool came from Jazz Carlin who won silver in the 400 metre freestyle.

An unexpected interest in rugby

‘I’m really enjoying watching the rugby’ was a sentence I never thought I’d hear myself utter, but how great were Team GB’s ladies in the rugby sevens yesterday? Having beaten Brazil, Japan, Canada and Fiji already, they face New Zealand in the semi-final today at 7pm. And don’t be put off watching if you’re not usually a rugger fan – the sevens games are much quicker and the rules easier to understand.

Our totally badass teams of girls

As well as the rugby girls, we’ve got some inspirational ladies in our hockey team (they beat one of the favourites, Australia – keep up the good work!) and in gymnastics too. Special shout out to Ellie Downie who, after landing on her head during a tumble and injuring her neck, got up and carried on competing in the vault. What a girl!

The 41-year-old gymnast. Yes, FOURTY ONE!

Of course, I’m mostly concentrating on Team GB, but I couldn’t not mention Oksana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan who is competing in her seventh Olympic Games. When you consider that many gymnasts are just teenagers, how amazing is it to be competing aged 41? Really amazing.

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Olympic Nan And The Other Stuff We Loved About Rio Yesterday