Team GB delivers on day 1 of Olympics with first female diving medallists in 64 years

Bronze medals hanging around their necks, Jasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen beamed proudly as they returned to the Olympic Village.

Cameras primed to capture synchronised divers unaccustomed to the limelight like this.

Mew Jensen was particularly ecstatic after a partial back fracture forced her away from the diving board for six weeks in the build-up to Paris.

Back competing felt “terrifying” and “nerve wracking”, she told Sky News fresh from the 3m synchronised springboard final.

But they delivered – much to the relief of British sport with more than £240m invested in the Paris project.

And it is taking nothing away from their achievement – as Team GB’s first female diving medallists in 64 years – that the duo will hope to be overshadowed in the next two weeks.

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The hope is golds soon start flowing.

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But Harper and Mew Jensen will always have their place as the first Britons to collect medals on the opening day of an Olympics in 20 years – climbing up the leader board as Australian rivals faltered.

Even in the glorious summer of London 2012 there was no day one success for the hosts.

And the day got even better when Anna Henderson mastered the treacherous weather on the soggy streets of Paris.

While rivals crashed, the skier-turned-cyclist claimed silver in front of the Grand Palais – one of many landmarks being showcased at these games.

“I didn’t realise how slippery it was out there until I was on the course,” she said. “I thought I could lose a whole Olympic Games on one corner here.”

The downpour wiped out skateboarding events and some tennis at Roland Garros.

So the best place to be on Saturday was the pool. Especially for Adam Peaty.

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Qualifying fastest for the 100m breaststroke final was the perfect preparation to complete the quest for gold at a third consecutive Olympics.

A personal milestone awaits and it would certainly help Team GB reach their medal target.

“It’s 50 to 70,” chef de mission Mark England said. “If we get somewhere in the sweet spot of the middle of that we would have done a fantastic job.”

Team GB feel they have the right momentum.

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There was a sour note for British sport, though, on Saturday – one that could have far-reaching consequences.

While Bev Priestman is lesser known in England, she was part of Phil Neville’s coaching setup that reached the 2019 Women’s World Cup semi-finals.

And she was a reigning Olympic champion coach with Canada – leading their women’s football title defence here until the eruption of a spying scandal this week.

Canadian personnel were caught using drones to snoop into rival New Zealand’s training session ahead of their Olympic opener.

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Already banished from France, Priestman was hit by a one-year ban from football by FIFA on Saturday.

The punishment could have a lasting effect on the reputation of a star of women’s football coaching.

For someone who has the credentials to one day manage the Lionesses – and potentially GB footballers if they qualify for the Olympics again – it is a rapid fall from grace.

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