Reuters
Britain's Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford pose after they won the men's 10,000m and men's long jump respectively during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium (KAI PFAFFENBACH, REUTERS / August 5, 2012)
A Somali immigrant, the daughter of a Jamaican father and an English mother and the great-grandson of an England soccer international reflected the multi-cultural face of modern Britain during their country's finest Olympic hour on Saturday.
A wall of sound at the packed Olympic stadium enveloped Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis and Greg Rutherford as they won gold medals in the men's 10,000 meters, the heptathlon and the men's long jump.
"It was the greatest day in sport I have ever witnessed," said London organizing committee chairman Seb Coe, a twice Olympic 1,500 meters champion.
"I dreamed we would have a night like that but not in my wildest dreams did I think it could unfold like that."
Britain's highest gold medal total in the central sport of the Olympics since they became truly international after World War Two is four at the 1964 and 1980 Games, where Coe won his first title.
Saturday night revived memories of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics when Mary Rand and Lynn Davies won the long jump titles for Britain. Rand went on to win a silver medal in the pentathlon and a bronze in the 4x100 meters relay.
Welshman Davies, dubbed "Lynn the Leap" in his competitive days and now the head of UK Athletics, was present in the stadium on Saturday to watch Rutherford.
"It's a privilege all these years later to have witnessed tonight with Greg, and I salute him," Davies told BBC radio.
"It was an incredible night, the best night of athletics I've ever witnessed."
FACE OF THE GAMES
Farah moved to Britain at the age of eight, speaking hardly a word of English. His early passion was soccer and he remains a fan of the north London Premier League club Arsenal.
"This is my home, this is where I grew up in London, so to win the Olympics running where I grew up, where I went to school, where I started life just means so much to me," he said on Saturday.
Ennis has been the host nation's face of the London Games, adding to the pressures on the opening two days of the athletics competition. On Sunday the intense and focused stare at the stadium was replaced by a smile of pure relief.
"I tried not to focus on the pressure," she said. "I was aware of everything going on and obviously every time I looked on the television there was another advert or a poster or ad campaign.
"It was great, I had so much fun doing everything but it did add to the pressure. It was the people around me that helped keep everything in perspective.
"I didn't really go on Twitter or anything like that I just shut off from everything. I just stayed really really focused and not worry about what other people expected of me and just believed I could do it."
Rutherford's great-grandfather Jock represented England at soccer 11 times and, in 1926 at the age of 41 years 159 days, he became the oldest player to take the field for Arsenal.
While Farah and Ennis have won world and European titles, Rutherford previous best performances were European and Commonwealth silver medals.
"I haven't slept," he said on Sunday. "I spent most of the night staring at the ceiling and trying to take in what's happened. I'm pretty tired and wishing my body would shut down but it's still running off the adrenalin.
"I don't think it's hit me what's happened. I can sit here and say yes, I'm Olympic champion now, which is something I've wanted my entire life.
"But the emotion that comes with it? I'm not sure how to take it on board. It's a very strange feeling, I'm very, very, very, happy."
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
A wall of sound at the packed Olympic stadium enveloped Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis and Greg Rutherford as they won gold medals in the men's 10,000 meters, the heptathlon and the men's long jump.
"It was the greatest day in sport I have ever witnessed," said London organizing committee chairman Seb Coe, a twice Olympic 1,500 meters champion.
"I dreamed we would have a night like that but not in my wildest dreams did I think it could unfold like that."
Britain's highest gold medal total in the central sport of the Olympics since they became truly international after World War Two is four at the 1964 and 1980 Games, where Coe won his first title.
Saturday night revived memories of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics when Mary Rand and Lynn Davies won the long jump titles for Britain. Rand went on to win a silver medal in the pentathlon and a bronze in the 4x100 meters relay.
Welshman Davies, dubbed "Lynn the Leap" in his competitive days and now the head of UK Athletics, was present in the stadium on Saturday to watch Rutherford.
"It's a privilege all these years later to have witnessed tonight with Greg, and I salute him," Davies told BBC radio.
"It was an incredible night, the best night of athletics I've ever witnessed."
FACE OF THE GAMES
Farah moved to Britain at the age of eight, speaking hardly a word of English. His early passion was soccer and he remains a fan of the north London Premier League club Arsenal.
"This is my home, this is where I grew up in London, so to win the Olympics running where I grew up, where I went to school, where I started life just means so much to me," he said on Saturday.
Ennis has been the host nation's face of the London Games, adding to the pressures on the opening two days of the athletics competition. On Sunday the intense and focused stare at the stadium was replaced by a smile of pure relief.
"I tried not to focus on the pressure," she said. "I was aware of everything going on and obviously every time I looked on the television there was another advert or a poster or ad campaign.
"It was great, I had so much fun doing everything but it did add to the pressure. It was the people around me that helped keep everything in perspective.
"I didn't really go on Twitter or anything like that I just shut off from everything. I just stayed really really focused and not worry about what other people expected of me and just believed I could do it."
Rutherford's great-grandfather Jock represented England at soccer 11 times and, in 1926 at the age of 41 years 159 days, he became the oldest player to take the field for Arsenal.
While Farah and Ennis have won world and European titles, Rutherford previous best performances were European and Commonwealth silver medals.
"I haven't slept," he said on Sunday. "I spent most of the night staring at the ceiling and trying to take in what's happened. I'm pretty tired and wishing my body would shut down but it's still running off the adrenalin.
"I don't think it's hit me what's happened. I can sit here and say yes, I'm Olympic champion now, which is something I've wanted my entire life.
"But the emotion that comes with it? I'm not sure how to take it on board. It's a very strange feeling, I'm very, very, very, happy."
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
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