Inside the Rio Olympics with our UK F-Teamers
The Rio Olympics was everything we expected it to be: fun, bright, loud and filled with amazing sporting achievements. But what was it like for the athletes? We talked to four of our UK F-Teamers about their Rio highlights.
Georgia Coates - Pre-Olympic Training Camp in Brazil
17-year old Georgia Coates was the youngest British swimmer to be selected in Team GB for the Rio Olympics. She raced in the 200m freestyle, finishing 27th with a time of 1:59.33. For Georgia, one of the highlights of her time with Team GB started before they even arrived in Rio. Their camp at Belo Horizonte, Brazil was memorable as it offered her the opportunity to meet other British athletes.
"The swim team flew to Belo Horizonte together where we stayed with many British athletes, not just swimmers. There was a great area, which we used almost every day, where we could watch TV, play board games, the Wii and also get to know other athletes.
Each day we travelled about 10 minutes from the hotel to a pool for training, reserved just for British swimmers. When we were there we had to get used to the time difference of our racing. Swimming didn't start until 10pm due to US TV coverage so each night at the camp we had to stay up later and later, and train at odd times like 11pm to 1am at night! Many nights we played cards or board games to pass the time (and stay awake) which was great fun! The camp was a great way to get to know everyone and prepare at such a fab facility. It was also my first taste of Brazil itself."
Ellie Faulkner - Inside Team GB house in Athlete Village
Rio 2016 was Ellie Faulkner's second Olympic Games and the 23-year-old relished the prospect of racing in the 200m. She notched up a time of 2:00.51 and came 32nd. Experiencing the athlete village again was a highlight for Ellie, who spilled the beans on what it was really like!
"Firstly I'll start with food, because for an athlete this is the most important part of each day. In the village there were three main food outlets where a range of different types of foods from across the world was served 24 hours a day.
While staying in the village, each country was allocated a different block number where they were staying. Team GB was in block number five, where we were allocated into groups of around six to seven to each apartment. We also had access to our own physiotherapy areas, small gym area, a lounge area out the front of block and bikes for athletes and staff to use to get around the village.
In the village there was lots of other facilities for all athletes and staff to use such as the medical centre, dentists, a village gym, swimming pools, village buses and laundry services to wash our kit throughout our stay. In the international zone, there was the main merchandise store, a supermarket, a hair and nail salon, a photo shop and laundrette.
I hope I have given you a detailed idea of what the village was like throughout the Rio Olympic Games, keep working hard to reach your dreams of one day becoming an Olympian and more. It's worth it...TRUST ME!!"
Molly Renshaw - Competition time
Rio was 20-year-old Molly Renshaw's debut Olympics - her debut holding even more significance due to her near miss for Team GB at London 2012. Molly raced in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke, coming away with a sixth place in the 200m after swimming 2:22.72 in the final and 23rd in the 100m (1:07.92). We caught up with Molly to find out more about the competition and how she handled the nerves of being on the biggest sporting platform in the world!
"Handling my nerves at my first Olympic games was always going to be a challenge, but I've been lucky enough to be able to work with a psychologist for the past year to help me prepare. I just tried to enjoy the competition, take each stage of racing as it came and not to overthink the outcome. I've worked my whole life to compete at an Olympic Games and I just wanted to have as much fun as possible whilst performing to the best of my ability.
My standout memory from the Games is walking out to my 200m breaststroke final and seeing my family in the crowd. It was so nice to see them before I dove in to the biggest race of my life, knowing they had been there every step of the way helping me achieve what I have. I remember thinking to myself, why am I nervous? I've achieved more than I could have wished for so far, so I just wanted to go out there and enjoy the race and soak up the atmosphere one last time!
I was over the moon to break the British Record in the semi-final. I swam a huge PB, and stuck to my race plan whilst also really enjoying the race! I had such great support leading up to the games and everyone had confidence that I could go there and get the British Record, so to do that was great.
The 2016 Olympics will forever be the best experience of my life and Rio will always be a place that is very close to my heart."
Aimee Willmott - What Comes After Racing
Dual Olympian Aimee Willmott raced in the 400m individual medley and 200m butterfly in Rio. The 23-year-old felt amazing when she walked out for her pet event, the 400m IM. Aimee qualified for the final and raced hard, coming in seventh with a time of 4:35.04. In the 200m fly, she came 19th and swam 2:09.71. After competing, Aimee got the chance to enjoy the best that the Olympics and Rio had to offer and she filled us in on her most memorable moments.
"In London 2012, I didn't get the opportunity to see many other sports so I wanted to make the most of the whole Rio experience and watch as many as I could. Once I finished racing my cheerleader skills became my number one priority. I lost my voice and my heart rate must have rocketed during every race, but it is all worth it when you see your team mates and friends standing on the podium and you get to sing the national anthem with them.
I got to see a Team GB cycling duel within the Velodrome, the Hockey girls beat New Zealand to win gold, the Open Water events (while I sunbathed on Copacabana Beach) and the athletics. My favourite event was the Boxing. I had never been inside a boxing arena and the atmosphere was incredible.
The sightseeing in Rio was amazing also. Sugar Loaf Mountain has some of the best views I've ever seen, and what better time to see it then when the city was bustling with people for the Olympics with a great bunch of girls."
So there you have it Funkettes - the Rio Olympics straight from your GB Olympians!