London Olympics chief organiser Sebastian Coe said Saturday’s British gold medal rush in rowing, cycling and the three-medal haul in athletics made it the best day of sport he has ever seen.
Coe said the six golds won by Great Britain, capped by a remarkable night in the Olympic Stadium with an emotional victory for poster-girl Jessica Ennis, made it a better day than the night Cathy Freeman won 400m gold in Sydney in 2000. “I think it was the greatest day of sport I have ever witnessed,” Coe told journalists. Throughout the day “there was a narrative of infectious success,” he added. A huge roar erupted from the packed 80,000-capacity stadium when Ennis crossed the line first in her final event, the 800m, to secure heptathlon gold. Two other golds from Mo Farah in the 10,000m and from Greg Rutherford in the long jump gave Britain six golds, its greatest one-day haul of medals at an Olympics for 104 years. The British success began on Saturday in rowing with the men’s four and the women’s lightweight double sculls before the women’s team pursuiters added a track cycling gold.
