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Sometimes nothing expresses jubilation quite like a simple stick person doodle, and adidas harnessed this by getting some of Team GB's biggest medal winners at the Rio 2016 Olympics to sketch the moment they were victorious in their respective events.
Athletes including Laura Trott, Max Whitlock, Justin Rose, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Tom Daley committed their feelings to paper, and British illustrators Gabe Cuthbert, Alex Williamson and James Carey were then challenged with bringing these simple depictions to life.
You can view all of the sketches and illustrations in the gallery below.
Show all 20 1 /20Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016 Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016 Tom Daley, who won a bronze medal alongside dive partner Dan Goodfellow “This moment is when the scores came up on the board and we found on we’d won a bronze medal. I pounced on Dan in celebration and before we knew it, we were back in the water. The atmosphere was so intense going into the final dive and we knew what we needed to score. It felt like an eternity between hitting the water and finding out if we had done it. Winning a medal is special, but being able to share the moment and the podium with your friend is extra special.”
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016 Gymnastics hero Max Whitlock, who won two gold medals and a bronze, chose to draw himself on the podium “For me the Games has been a long journey. It started back in 2012 and culminated in standing on top of that podium in Rio. My illustration shows the road from that point to now. My supporters, friends and family have been there the whole way. When I got to the spotlight of the Olympic Games I knew it was just me out there but I had four years of support and hard work behind me to help me succeed.”
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016 Laura Trott, who is Britain’s most successful female Olympian with four gold medals, chose to commemorate the moment she shared with fiancée Jason Kenny “I picked the moment where I went and kissed Jason after his win in the Kierin to win his sixth Gold Medal. It was a mixture of relief but also feeling so happy for him. The atmosphere was incredible, it was like a switch flicked on and he just became a superstar. I remember crying and he just had this massive smile on his face. Even though there were cameras everywhere, it felt like a moment for us. It was the perfect end to the Games."
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016 Rugby sevens captain Tom Mitchell who led the side to a silver medal “It was hard to pick one moment because we enjoyed the whole tournament, but this represents the team’s absolute refusal to give up in the Semi-Final match against South Africa. They were on the break several times and would have scored tries but the boys chased back amazingly. There was always someone there to back you up, everyone worked so hard and the team work is what got us through. Winning that match was a relief and a fantastic feeling knowing that we were guaranteed a medal.”
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016 Justin Rose, who won a gold medal in the very first men’s golf competition “This sketch is my hole-in-one. To be the first to hit one in the Olympic Games is something that will go down in the history books. It’ll probably be a trivia question one day! There’s always an element of luck involved, but I knew I’d hit a great shot and it was a beautiful moment for me. To get the job done and win a gold medal is an honour and an incredible achievement.”
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016 Jo Roswell-Shand, who retained her team pursuit title from London 2012 “For me the moment that stands out is when I rose up on the bank with three laps to go and went to slot in behind the rest of the girls. We had been flying in the earlier rounds but knew the final would be tough. However, when I saw the American team in my periphery, they weren’t where we expected them to be and I knew we had won. It didn’t change anything, we still had to ride hard to the end before we could celebrate.”
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016 Jessica Ennis-Hill, who secured a silver medal in her final Olympic Games “My moment is from the starting blocks of the 100m hurdles on the Friday of the heptathlon competition. It had taken so much hard work to get to that point so I felt really happy just to be there ready to give it my all. When I arrived I could see some British fans in the crowd was lovely, but as soon as I took my starting position it became like a tunnel for me. It was just me, the track, and the hurdles.. That’s it.”
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016 Cyclist Elinor Barker, who won a gold medal in the women’s team pursuit “This is the second we crossed the line. It was an incredible release and I just screamed ‘wow’. I knew we were going fast, but had no idea we had broken the record. When I was racing, it was just the other girls, the track and the pain. After we went over, everything started coming into focus and I knew we had won Olympic gold. I saw my mum and dad and GB flags, it was amazing.”
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016 Becky James, who won two silver medals in the women’s sprint and Kierin events “If you’d said to me before the Games that I would win two medals, I would have said ‘no chance.’ I had to pick the moment I set a new World Record in the sprint qualifying. The atmosphere was incredible, it actually felt like a home race because it was so loud and there were so many flags. During the race, you are so focussed, but straight after I looked to the crowd and saw George and my family and went straight to be with them.”
Athlete sketches and artist illustrations of Team GB at Rio 2016
Laura Trott, who is Britain’s most successful female Olympian with four gold medals, chose to commemorate the moment she shared with fiancée Jason Kenny. Laura said: “I picked the moment where I went and kissed Jason after his win in the Kierin to win his sixth Gold Medal.
"It was a mixture of relief but also feeling so happy for him. The atmosphere was incredible, it was like a switch flicked on and he just became a superstar.
"I remember crying and he just had this massive smile on his face. Even though there were cameras everywhere, it felt like a moment for us. It was the perfect end to the Games."
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