The sporting stars who had their final Olympic Games hurrah in Paris
Six big names have appeared at their final Games.
The Paris Olympics has created new household names but has also seen the final hurrah for a number of stars.
Some left with medals around their necks while for others the experience was bittersweet.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the big names bowing out.
Andy Murray
One of Britain’s all-time sporting greats, Murray had an emotional farewell at Wimbledon last month but chose the Olympics for his final event. The two-time singles gold medallist could not add more silverware in men’s doubles with Dan Evans but the pair won two dramatic matches to reach the quarter-finals.
Max Whitlock
Britain’s most successful Olympic gymnast came back for one final tilt on his signature pommel horse. Whitlock won gold in Rio and Tokyo on the apparatus, and six medals in total across three Games, but he was disappointed to finish fourth this time.
Helen Glover
Glover won rowing gold in London and Rio in dominant fashion with Heather Stanning in the women’s pair before taking several years out of the sport and having three children. She just missed out on a medal in Tokyo but finished with silver in the women’s four having been one of Britain’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony.
Carl Hester
At the age of 57, dressage rider Hester all but confirmed his Olympic career is over. A Games that began with the shock revelations about his protege Charlottle Dujardin ended with Hester winning a medal at a fourth successive Olympics with bronze in the team competition.
Lizzie Deignan
Cyclist Deignan was the first British athlete to win a medal on home soil at London 2012 with silver in the women’s road race. The 35-year-old mother of two, a former world champion on the road and the track, competed in her fourth Games in Paris, finishing 12th in the road race.
Rafael Nadal
While Murray was unequivocal that Paris would be his career swansong, 38-year-old Nadal has kept things open for now, but he will certainly not be in Los Angeles. The Spaniard, who won gold in singles in 2008 and doubles in 2016, teamed up with Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s doubles here but they bowed out in the quarter-finals.
