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Can you believe eight years have passed since the magical days of London 2012 Olympics?
Moments from those Games will live with those who watched them for a lifetime – Danny Boyle’s astounding opening ceremony, Super Saturday’s golden rush and Andy Murray finally winning at SW19.
But what about the parts you may have forgotten? Those little moments away from the sporting action or the times when it all went a little bit skew-whiff?
The Kennys’ first PDA
That’s Public Display of Affection, in case you didn’t know.
We certainly didn’t know Jason Kenny and Laura Trott (as she was) were an item at that point, but when the world’s cameras zoomed in on a certain David Beckham at a beach volleyball match, it was a kiss behind him that caught everyone’s attention.
They had been dating “for a little while” but didn’t want their budding relationship making the headlines before they competed. It had worked well – they won two gold medals apiece.
Eight years – and a further five Olympic golds – later, the Kennys are happily married and have a two-year-old son, Albie. And of course, they’re targeting more success in Tokyo next year.
Disqualification drama
“Not using one’s best efforts to win”.
That was the view of badminton officials after two women’s doubles pairs from South Korea and one each from China and Indonesia made a series of basic errors during matches.
All four pairs were accused of wanting to lose, in an attempt to manipulate the draw for the knockout stage, and were then disqualified from the competition.
China said they were aiming to preserve energy ahead of the knockout stages. The Koreans, on the other hand, tried to deflect the blame.
“The Chinese started this. They did it first,” said South Korea’s coach Sung Han-kook. Sounds like something you’d hear in the school playground…
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Pundits go mad for Mo
We can all remember Mo Farah winning gold on Super Saturday, but you might have forgotten what was going on in the BBC studio at that moment.
What a day 4 August had been. We had already seen two rowing golds and cycling gold on the track for the women’s team pursuit before the fans had even taken their seats in the Olympic Stadium for the evening’s festivities.
But three more golds were to come – all in the space of 46 magical minutes. First it was Jessica Ennis-Hill in the heptathlon, then Greg Rutherford in the long jump. And then Farah in the 10,000m.
The stadium erupted as Farah crossed the line, slapping his head with disbelief. So too did the BBC studio, Colin Jackson and Michael Johnson bouncing around in their seats while Denise Lewis, having jumped out of hers some time earlier, screamed as she punched the air in ecstasy.
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Bert le Clos’ ‘unbelievable’ interview
As newly-crowned 200m butterfly champion Chad le Clos paraded poolside, showing off his gold medal for photographers and waving to the crowd, he wasn’t the only member of his family adorning himself to the public.
Up in the stands, the South African’s father, Bert, was in the BBC studio, being interviewed by Clare Balding, overcome with pride at his son who had just beaten defending champion and world record holder Michael Phelps to gold.
“UNBELIEVABLE. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. I’ve never been so happy in my life,” he said. “Look at him, he’s BEAUTIFUL. What a beautiful boy.”
That was before he then saw a glimpse of himself on TV, prompting him to feel he needed to suck in his stomach – “sorry, sorry” he apologised to viewers.
Don’t worry Bert, we’ve all been there.
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Hoy’s mum can’t watch
Another parent, another classic moment. But when your son is about to become Britain’s most successful Olympian, Carol Hoy had every right to be a little nervous.
Sir Chris Hoy’s mum could hardly keep her eyes on the track as he competed in the keirin, the race in which he would win his sixth and final Olympic gold medal.
Unable to sit down, every emotion flashed across her face. One moment she was clapping and pushing him on, the next she’s turning away and covering her eyes with her hand.
It’s her reaction when Hoy crosses the line that’s best, though. “Oh thank GOD,” she cries.
Exactly what we were all thinking, Carol.
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Korean flag blunder
The opening ceremony was still some 48 hours away but the Olympics did not get off to the best start with a mix-up on the very first day of sporting action.
As North Korean players were being introduced before their women’s football match against Colombia at Hampden Park, South Korean flags were mistakenly displayed in the video package.
The squad walked off and could only be persuaded to return when the teams were announced again with each player’s face displayed next to the North Korean flag, delaying kick-off by about an hour.
Hurdling Harting celebrates discus gold
Germany’s Robert Harting won discus gold at London 2012, but it was his celebrations after his winning throw of 68.27m that caught the eye.
Roaring before ripping his shirt off in an Incredible Hulk-esque manner, he then donned a German flag as a cape and completed a victory lap of the hurdles track.
He cleared the hurdles, yes, but probably a good job he stuck with just the discus until his retirement in 2018.
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From broken jaw to bronze
Kate Richardson-Walsh’s Olympics looked as though it was over before it had barely begun when she broke her jaw in Team GB’s opening match against Japan.
Britain’s captain was struck by a stick on the left side of her jaw in the closing minutes of play. Footage of the incident, and the sound of her screams of pain, made for uncomfortable viewing.
She later had surgery to fix a metal plate, but remarkably missed just two games before returning – wearing a protective mask – to lead the team to the bronze medal.
Four years later in Rio, it would be a different colour…
Feck exits after ‘calamitous’ dive
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Stephan Feck has never watched his London 2012 campaign back.
The German diver, in the second preliminary round of the men’s 3m springboard, landed flat on his back after his foot appeared to slip off the side of the diving board.
He was awarded a failed dive with zeros across the board, with Leon Taylor calling it a “calamity”.
“He probably lost a toenail or two,” said the BBC commentator and Olympic silver medallist. Ouch.
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Johnson left dangling on zip wire
We couldn’t not include this one.
Who could forget our now-Prime Minister Boris Johnson getting stuck on a zip wire for several minutes?
Then the Mayor of London, Johnson was trying out a 45m (150ft) high zip wire at Victoria Park when it lost momentum, leaving him dangling “like an odd Christmas decoration”, as one onlooker put it.
A spokesman for Johnson at the time said: “Clearly the judges are likely to have marked the mayor down for artistic impression, and unlike Team GB, the mayor may not be winning too many gold medals today.”
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