It’s the tennis, track and Trott show
Exclusive poll reveals what you really enjoyed about the Rio Olympics
WE’VE all gone Brazil nuts in recent days as Team GB took Rio by storm.
Our Olympic heroes stormed into second place in the medals table with a terrific torrent of golds, silvers and bronzes.
But while in the past most people’s focus was on the high-profile track events, it seems there has been something of a sea-change in our favourite sports.
Our exclusive poll has revealed that tennis and cycling lead the field when it comes to getting our pulses racing.
Andy Murray and Laura Trott in particular are the golden boy and girl, rating as favourite male and favourite female of the Games, while cycling was the favourite sport.
Overall 94% of those who tuned in for the sporting spectacle rated Team GB’s performance as good or great with 71% saying it’s made them proud to be British.
As the Olympics entered its 17th and final day of action today, Sunday Post readers have shared their excitement over what has already been achieved by Britain’s athletes.
And fans have been quick to cite Andy Murray’s defence of his Olympic gold medal as a highlight of the games.
The tennis ace’s victory over Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro has been voted the most popular moment of the Olympics so far as 43% of people rated it best.
One chuffed reader described the match as “fantastic” and “worth staying up to watch”.
Another fan said they enjoyed it because “Andy had to dig in and the match had so many swings between both competitors”.
One said: “Andy Murray is a credit to his sport and his country. It is always a joy to watch him play.”
Readers also paid tribute to the commitment the Scot has put in to all he’s achieved.
One fan wrote: “Andy works so hard and despite missing his family, he puts playing for his country first. “He deserves a knighthood.” People’s second favourite moment of the games was seeing Laura Trott pick up her fourth gold medal as she became Britain’s most successful female Olympic athlete.
The third favourite was cyclist Jason Kenny’s kieran win, which saw him pick up his sixth Olympic gold overall.
And cycling clearly had pedal-power when it came to getting people excited. Most of those polled said cycling was the sport they most enjoyed following as 37% of respondents rated it best.
The games in Rio have attracted massive audiences for the BBC as people have clamoured to follow the action on TV, radio and online.
BBC Four has even achieved record ratings, with a peak audience of 3.3 million tuning in to watch Andy Murray’s victory.
And a whopping 75% of people in our exclusive View Finder poll said they have enjoyed the BBC’s coverage of the games, hosted by pundits such as Helen Skelton and Rebecca Adlington.
Presenter Clare Balding has emerged as the standout telly favourite – although she must have a bit of a “Marmite” personality as she also came second in the Least Favourite category!
An Olympics aficionado, she won a BAFTA Special Award and RTS Presenter of the Year award for her part in the coverage of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Scots sport buff Hazel Irvine was second favourite for readers while Gabby Logan came third and Helen Skelton fourth.
However, John Inverdale would likely be miffed to find out he was least popular in our poll.
He and Sir Steve Redgrave pair were rumoured to have fallen out during their coverage of rowing at the Olympics.
Sir Steve even walked off and pulled a face at his colleague while the pair were doing a live segment together.
The awkward moment came after Inverdale referred to Sir Steve as silent James Bond villain “Oddjob”, prompting Redgrave to respond by dubbing his co-host “Jaws” because he talks too much.