'An inspiration': Royal Family hail British success as Olympics come to an end
The Royal Family has hailed British athletes celebrating their success as the Paris Olympics came to an end.
The statement from Charles called all of the competitors "inspirations" and he praised their "outstanding success."
The Prince and Princess of Wales also posted a video praising the Olympians on social media.
The Princess of Wales, who has been undergoing cancer treatment in recent months and has taken a step back from public duties, could be seen in the clip saying "congratulations Team GB."
Great Britain ended the Paris Olympics with 65 medals – the same amount won at London 2012 and second-best ever tally on foreign soil – with only the United States (126) and China (91) claiming more.
But Team GB won eight fewer gold medals than in Tokyo three years ago and were 13 down on the 27 collected at Rio 2016.
The King said: "My wife joins me in sending our warmest congratulations to the competitors and their support teams from Team GB and across the whole Commonwealth, for their many outstanding successes at the Olympic Games in Paris.
"Your achievements, across so many disciplines, were forged from that invaluable combination of raw talent, true grit and hard toil over many years, burnished these past weeks by sportsmanship and team spirit in the finest tradition of the Games.
"To those who missed out on the greatest prizes, you have most certainly not fallen short in the pride that you, too, have generated for your nations.
"As we thank France for hosting such a wonderful tournament and look to the Paralympics ahead, I can only say that you have all been an inspiration."
Despite not winning any golds on Sunday Team GB still had a successful day with Emma Finucane's bronze in the individual sprint earning her her third prize of the games - the first British woman to win three medals in a single Games since 1928.
The 21-year-old, the reigning world champion in this event, needed only two races to beat Dutch rider Hetty van de Wouw in a best-of-three format.
Speaking after she won her third medal she said it was "just like a dream" and said she had been sleeping with her medals under her pillow.
She said: "This week’s been such a roller coaster. I wish I’d got a book for someone to tell me how to get through an Olympic week. I’ve cried. I’ve had happy tears. I’ve been exhausted and to get up every day and keep fighting, I’m just really proud of myself."
Elsewhere, swimmer Joyce Cooper was the last Team GB woman to win three medals in one Games when she earned a silver and two bronzes at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam.
There were also celebrations in the South Paris Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Emily Campbell took bronze in the women’s +81kg weightlifting event, smashing her personal best in the process.
Campbell clinched silver in Tokyo, earning Team GB’s first ever Olympic women’s weightlifting medal.
The Nottingham 30-year-old set a new combined personal best of 288kg over snatch and clean-and-jerk disciplines to finish behind defending champion Li Wenwen of China, and 21-year-old Hyejeong Park of South Korea.
She celebrated her third place with a cartwheel. “It was the best cartwheel you’ve ever seen in your life,” Campbell joked. “My coach had been telling me at every international for a long time that he wanted to see this cartwheel, and I thought, now’s your opportunity.”
Results in the final afternoon of the Games have taken Team GB past the total of 64 medals won in Tokyo, bringing the final total for Paris 2024 to 65.
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Meanwhile, Jack Carlin crashed out of the men’s keirin final in what turned into a painful competition for Team GB.
Carlin initially struggled to get up after the high speed incident on the final bend of the race but eventually walked off the track without the need of the waiting stretcher.
The Scot had been caught at the back of the group and was fighting to make up ground when Japanese rider Shinji Nakano and Malaysia’s Muhammad Sahrom tangled in front of him and left him with nowhere to go but down.
Earlier Carlin’s team-mate Hamish Turnbull crashed heavily in his semi-final after trying to avoid an incident involving Germany’s Luca Spiegel.
After the crash, Turnbull did not take part in the race to determine the 7th to 12th places.
The closing ceremony will take place on Sunday evening from 8pm.
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