Gold Rush: Our Race to Olympic Glory is a fascinating three part series about Great Britain and the Olympics – so when’s the Tokyo Olympics start date?
Who has won the most gold medals for GB and who are our best hopes for gold in 2021?
Here’s everything you need to know!
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Tokyo Olympics start date 2021
The Tokyo Olympics start on Friday July 23 2021.
They end on Sunday August 08 2021.
The opening ceremony will take place in Japan’s Olympic Stadium from 8pm local time on Friday July 23 2021.
Japan Standard Time (JST) is eight hours ahead of British Summer Time (BST).
That means the ceremony will begin from noon for UK viewers.
The closing ceremony will take place from 8pm JST (noon BST) on Sunday August 08 2021 at the same venue.
What is the Tokyo Olympic stadium called?
The Tokyo Olympic stadium is called the Japan National Stadium.
The Japan National Stadium – formerly known as New National Stadium – is a multi-purpose stadium.
It’s used mostly for association football in Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.
The Tokyo Olympic Stadium has a 68,089 capacity crowd.
However, Japanese medical experts have said that having no spectators is the “least risky” option as a result of the Covid pandemic.
The Summer Olympics in Japan will allow up to 10,000 local spectators at events – 50 per cent of its usual capacity.
Read more: Susanna Reid fights back tears as Olympic rower gets emotional over surviving coronavirus
Who has won the most gold medals for GB?
Cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins has the most overall medals by a British Olympian.
Hence, he is often referred to as the “most decorated British Olympian”.
He won a gold medal at four successive Olympic Games from 2004 to 2016.
As of 2020, he’s held the record as Great Britain’s most decorated Olympian with eight medals.
Sir Steve Redgrave is the only British Olympian to win a gold medal in five consecutive Olympic Games.
First of all, he won gold in 1984 at Los Angeles and, finally, in 2000 in Sydney.
With five golds and a bronze, Steve Redgrave is the most successful Olympic male rower of all time.
The most successful female Olympian for GB is cyclist Laura Trott, who has four gold medals.
Meanwhile, the most decorated female Olympians are Katherine Grainger and Kathleen McKane Godfree, with five medals each – one gold and four silver for Grainger, a gold, two silver and two bronze for McKane Godfree.
Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny are jointly the most successful cyclists in Olympic history and Ben Ainslie, with four golds at consecutive Games and a silver medal, is the most successful sailor in Olympic history.
Who are our best hopes for gold in 2021?
Five years ago, 80 GB athletics competed in Rio.
They returned with seven medals.
However, Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Greg Rutherford and Sophie Hitchon – who all won individual medals that year – won’t be around for another shot at glory in Tokyo.
This year, sprinter Dina Asher-Smith has a good chance of winning medals.
Middle-distance runner Laura Muir is also one to look out for.
She’s the fourth-fastest woman in the world this year.
Pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw achieved 4.90m at the British Championships, breaking the British pole vault record in the process.
If she can reproduce that with a clean card, she will be hard to beat!
World heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson would be one of our main medal hopes, but she is battling an Achilles tendon problem.
Scottish middle-distance runner Josh Kerr is one to watch for the 1500m, and is the second-fastest in the world this year after running a 3:31.55 personal best in June.
Sisters Tiffany Porter and Cindy Sember are both threats in the 100m hurdles.
Marathon runner Callum Hawkins might win gold for GB, instead of Sir Mo Farah.
Mo is not able to defend his 10,000-metre title at the Tokyo Olympics after failing to qualify for the games.
Tokyo Olympics start date: What sports have been added?
Under new IOC (International Olympic Committee) rules, the host nation can add new sports to the event’s programme.
This is in addition to the core events usually associated with the Olympics.
The Tokyo Olympics will subsequently see sport climbing, karate and skateboarding all make their Games debut.
Surfing will make its introduction for the first time.
Surfers will compete at Tsurigasaki Beach on Japan’s Pacific coast.
Athletes will compete in baseball and softball sporting events at the Olympics for the first time since Beijing 2008.
Tokyo Olympics start date: What’s the schedule?
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will feature a record 33 competitions.
There will be 339 events, held across 42 competition venues.
You can check out the full, updated schedule here.
Gold Rush: Our Race to Olympic Glory on BBC One
This three-part documentary on BBC One charts how Britain turned its sporting reputation around.
After 16 years, athletes triumphed at the London 2012 Olympics.
The first episode begins with the UK’s poor performance in the 1996 games at Atlanta.
It looks at how the Government diverted National Lottery funding to provide the best possible training for athletes.
Linford Christie, Louis Smith, Tom Daley and Kelly Holmes all contribute.
Cyclist Sir Chris Hoy says: “Nothing else in the world exists.
“It is life and death, it’s everything to you.”
Gold Rush: Our Race to Olympic Glory starts on Monday July 05 2021 at 9pm on BBC One.
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