MAGIC MEMORIES

Athletes share cherished wins | Team GB make us swell with pride

- JEREMY ARMSTRONG

I WAS deep in the underground network of tunnels and corridors of the Stade de France when Katarina Johnson-Thompson showed me her precious silver medal.

She clasped it tight, like a child holding a bird's egg, cradled in both hands.

"I've never touched an Olympic medal," the 31-year-old heptathlete from Liverpool confided. "I'm so scared I'm going to scratch it."

The night before I had watched her collapse on the track before 71,000 fans and hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide.

But this quiet moment summed up the greatest show on earth.

Katarina's silver symbolised years of sacrifice, hard work, heartache and devotion.

She was heading off to share it with her Nol fan, Tracey, the mum who had taken her to countless training sessions throughout childhood, to this, the pinnacle of her career.

From Celine Dion singing on the Eiffel Tower to 800m runnér Keely Hodgkinson, from biker Tom Pidcock to swimmer Adam Peaty, Paris 2024 served up so many memories to cherish.

All against the backdrop of one of the most beautiful cities on earth.