Andy Murray takes Olympic gold in Rio


August 15, 2016

Andy Murray made history on Sunday as he became the first ever tennis player to win two consecutive Olympic singles gold medals. The 29-year-old managed to overcome Argentina's Martin del Potro in four thrilling sets to defend his title, and bring home another medal for Team GB.

His victory capped an incredible year, in which the British number one won his second Wimbledon title and finished runner-up in two other Grand Slams. But he had to pull out all the stops to overcome Martin in the four-hour match.

Tennis champion Andy Murray has won the gold medal at Rio 2016

"To defend the singles title… I think Venus and Serena (Williams) have won about four each but haven't defended a singles title before," Andy told the BBC after the game. "It's obviously not an easy thing to do. I had to fight unbelievably hard tonight to get it."

Asked whether he will attempt a treble Olympics win in Tokyo 2020, he replied; "Four years is a long time and so many things can change. A lot has changed since 2012. I'm happy competing here for the biggest events. Who knows about Tokyo in four years? At 33, I'm not sure I'll be at the same level."

Andy's historic win in Rio came on a breathless day of success for Team GB, in which Britain's athletes brought home six more gold medals and overtook China to move into second place on the medals table.

He is the first ever tennis player to defend the singles title

History was made by gymnast Max Whitlock, who won two golds on the same day – on the floor and then the pommel – while golfer Justin Rose also saw off strong competition to claim the top prize at the Games.

In the velodrome, the medals continued to pour in for London 2012 champion Jason Kenny as he took his fifth Olympic gold medal in the individual sprint, and Giles Scott sailed to victory to claim his first ever Olympic gold in the Finn class.

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