Tokyo Olympics: Bethany Shriever wins BMX gold as GB claim six medals

Bethany Shriever claimed a thrilling BMX gold and Duncan Scott extended his streak in the pool as Great Britain won six Olympic medals on Friday.

A silver for Kye Whyte in the BMX men's race was Britain's first in the event at an Olympic Games, and a first gold quickly followed through Shriever in the women's race.

Scott claimed his third medal in Tokyo with silver in the men's 200m individual medley, while Luke Greenbank took 200m backstroke bronze.

The men's eight won a rowing bronze and Bryony Page added another in the women's trampolining on day seven as Great Britain remained sixth in the medal table.

GB finished the Games with two rowing medals, their lowest rowing medal tally at an Olympics since they won two at Atlanta 1996 and the first time they have not won at least one gold since 1980.

Friday brought the start of the athletics in Tokyo, with Dina Asher-Smith qualifying second in her opening 100m heat.

But there was a shock in the men's tennis as Novak Djokovic's hopes of completing a Golden Slam were ended by Germany's Alexander Zverev in the semi-final.

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• Times and channels for BBC's live coverage

How are Great Britain doing in the medal table?

Simon Gleave, head of sports analysis, Nielsen Gracenote:

"After seven days of competition, Great Britain has 24 medals including six golds. This beats the 22 medals won in the first seven days of both Rio 2016 and London 2012, the two best Olympics for Great Britain since 1908.

"In London, Team GB had eight gold medals at this stage whereas in Rio, the team had won seven."

With a further six medals on day seven of the Games, Team GB remain ahead of London 2012 and Rio 2016's medal tally at the same point

• Full Tokyo 2020 medal table

• Who are GB's medal winners?

• Listen to the latest Olympics Daily podcast

Round-up of other news from Friday

• Ethiopia's Selemon Barega won the men's 10,000m where Britain's Marc Scott was 14th, while compatriot Sam Atkin dropped out.

• British boxers Ben Whittaker and Pat McCormack are both guaranteed medals after winning their respective quarter-final fights on Friday.

• Meanwhile, GB beat the USA 21-12 to reach the women's rugby sevens semi-final but football medal hopes were dashed by a 4-3 extra-time loss to Australia in the quarter-finals.

• Bradley Forbes-Cryans reached the final of the K1 canoe slalom, where he finished sixth.

• GB's eventing team lead after the opening day of dressage. World number one Oliver Townend topped the scores with 23.60 on Ballaghmor Class, with fellow debutant Laura Collett posting 25.80 aboard London 52 to lie fourth overnight in the individual standings.

• Great Britain will face India in the men's hockey quarter-finals after a 2-2 draw with world champions Belgium in their final group game.

• Olympic champion Hannah Mills and partner Eilidh McIntyre remain second in the overall women's 470 sailing standings after third-place finishes in Friday's two races

• In judo, GB's Sarah Adlington was beaten in the first round of the women's +78kg category.

• How are Team GB athletes doing in Tokyo?

From crowdfunding to Olympic gold

Shriever had to fund her own qualification campaign after UK Sport cut its support for her event following Rio 2016, and two years ago she said she needed to raise a "worrying" £50,000 through crowdfunding.

The 22-year-old, who also worked part-time as a teaching assistant to cover training costs, held off two-time Olympic champion Mariana Pajon from Colombia to win on her Olympic debut.

"Honestly, I'm in shock. To even be here is an achievement in itself," said the Essex cyclist.

"To make a final is another achievement in itself. To win a medal, let alone a gold medal, I'm over the moon."

Shriever's gold meant GB became the third country, after France and the Netherlands, to win in all four cycling disciplines - BMX, mountain bike, road and track.

Whyte finished 0.114 seconds behind Dutchman Niek Kimmann to claim silver.

Nicknamed the Prince of Peckham, 22-year-old Whyte has fought back from serious injury to earn his place on the Olympic podium.

Great Scott eyes GB history

Scott added to his 4x200m freestyle relay gold and 200m freestyle silver by finishing 0.28 seconds behind China's Wang Shun in the 200m medley.

Although the 24-year-old Scot again narrowly missed out on a first individual gold, he could become the first British Olympian to win four medals at a single Games when the 4x100m medley takes place this weekend.

"It was always going to be tight and always going to be exciting. I am really happy with the swim," the Glasgow-born swimmer told BBC Sport.

Scott's silver came shortly after Greenbank took bronze in the 200m backstroke, describing his first Olympic medal as a "dream come true".

The 23-year-old touched home in 1:54.72 as Russian Evgeny Rylov won gold with an Olympic record 1:53.27.

"It is amazing," Greenbank told BBC Sport. "I am so happy - over the moon and a bit lost for words, I am not going to lie."

Scott and Greenbank took GB's swimming medal tally at Tokyo to six - three golds, two silvers and one bronze.

In the rowing, GB men's eight took bronze in the final race of the Tokyo 2020 regatta, pipped to silver by Germany as New Zealand took gold.

Vicky Thornley was edged out of a medal despite a late push in the women's single scull, finishing 0.67 seconds off bronze.

It was Britain's sixth fourth-placed finish at the Sea Forest Waterway, while they won two medals.

They were the leading rowing nation at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016, claiming six, nine and five medals respectively at those Games.

Page, who became the first Briton to win an Olympic trampolining medal in Rio, backed that up with a bronze in Tokyo.

The 30-year-old qualified with the third-best overall score and took the lead in the final with a score of 55.735, but Chinese pair Lingling Liu and Xueying Zhu claimed gold and silver respectively.

Athletics under way in Tokyo

Asher-Smith, who is bidding to become the first British woman to win an Olympic individual sprint gold, reached the semi-finals with a run of 11.07 seconds.

Daryll Neita and Asha Philip finished second in their heats to qualify for Saturday's semi-finals.

Eilish McColgan and Jess Judd both failed to progress in the 5,000m, with McColgan complaining of having her legs repeatedly clipped by other runners' spikes, but Cameron Chalmers, Emily Diamond, Zoey Clark and Lee Thompson reached the final of the new 4x400m mixed relay.

What's coming up on Saturday?

• Triathlon makes its mixed relay debut (23:30 Friday until 01:00 Saturday). Two men and two women on each team must in turn swim for 300m, cycle for eight kilometres, then run for two kilometres. GB were third at the latest world championship.

• Rugby sevens: GB women's team face France in the last four, with Fiji versus New Zealand the other semi-final (03:30).

• Swimming: Duncan Scott has a chance to make it four medals in Tokyo as GB compete in the 4x100m mixed medley relay (03:35).

• Shooting: The mixed trap team event will feature GB's three trap shooters (01:00-06:50), while Seonaid McIntosh competes in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions (04:00-09:10).

• Athletics: Dina Asher-Smith runs in the first semi-final at 11:15 where she will be expected to seal her place in the final at 13:50. There's also the new 4x400m mixed relay (13:35), where the US are world champions and Britain finished fourth in 2019.

• Tennis: Belinda Bencic faces Marketa Vondrousova in the women's final (time to be confirmed).

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