• Today on Twitter

    Tuesday, July 31, 2012

    Did you know that since the Games started, there have been 1.2 million uses of the phrase ‘good luck’ on Twitter?

    Every day of the Olympics people from all walks of life are coming together to get behind their country’s team with messages of support and encouragement.

    We've already seen 10 million mentions of the term Olympics during the Games as fans use Twitter to get to the heart of the action.

    One of last night's highlights for @TeamGB came as they scooped the bronze medal in the men’s gymnastics team final, our first medal in this event in 100 years. Check out the team answering fans' questions from Twitter, live on BBC3.

    They also took a moment to share their bronze medal with family members today:


    Amongst the many messages of congratulations the British men's gymnastics team received on Twitter, this one from US movie legend Samuel L Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) must have been a highlight:


    The @TeamGB women’s volleyball team also got the seal of approval from tinsel town, with actor Ewan McGregor (@mcgregor_ewan) tweeting his support last night:


    Medal success continued today with silver for @TeamGB’s eventing team at Greenwich Park, where Zara Philips made history as the first member of the Royal family to win an Olympic medal.
    Her teammate William Fox-Pitt (@foxpitteventing) tweeted this great picture of people cheering the team on, despite the British weather:

    However, it was 51-year-old Mary King who captured the imagination of BBC commentators Denise Lewis (@RealDeniseLewis) and Clare Balding (@ClareBalding1) as they praised her comeback from injury:

    In fact, the BBC has seen widespread praise of its coverage of the Games, with music star Gary Barlow (@GBarlowOfficial) tweeting this message last night:


    It's not just the athletes who are attracting goodwill this week. Rower @ZacPurchase tweeted this snap of the armed forces welcoming him to Eton Dorney this morning:


    There was also success over in SW19 for @andy_murray, who beat Finland's Jarkko Nieminen to reach the third round at Wimbledon. @BritishTennis tweeted this great picture:


    Whilst the Games can be an occasion for great celebration, they can also be a time of the deepest heartbreak for some athletes. Our hearts went out to @Euan_Burton today in the under-81kg judo event today as he lost his first contest to Canadian Antoine Valois-Fortier. On what must have been an incredibly difficult day, he took to Twitter to thank his fans for their support:


    It was disappointment too for swimmer @LiamTancock as he missed out on a medal in the 100m backstroke, finishing fifth in the final last night. He tweeted his thanks to his army of followers:


    And whilst his defeat in the men’s road cycling team left him devastated earlier in the week, @MarkCavendish announced his return to the Games today on Twitter – this time as a presenter. We look forward to hearing his insight into the competitive world of track cycling:


    Finally today, you may have noticed that the tagline for London 2012 is ‘Inspire a Generation’. It was Sir Chris Hoy’s (@chrishoy) Tweet that reminded us of the thousands of young people across the UK backing @TeamGB this summer:


    The action is set to continue tomorrow and here’s who to watch to get closer than ever to the action:

    Women’s water polo: Robyn Nicholls (@robyn_nicholls)
    Women’s 200m butterfly swimming: (@EllyGandy)
    Women’s 100m freestyle swimming: Amy Smith (@SwimAmySmith)
    Men’s super heavyweight (last 16): Anthony Joshua (@anthonyfjoshua)
    Men’s football: Marvin Sordell (@MarvinSordell)

    --Lewis Wiltshire (@LewisWiltshire)

    Posted by @ at 9:05 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Monday, July 30, 2012

    London 2012 is in full swing and yesterday’s @TeamGB successes in swimming and cycling saw a mass of celebration across Twitter. Fellow athletes, fans and celebrities tweeted their congratulations to medal winners Rebecca Adlington (@BeckAdlington) and Lizzie Armitstead (@L_ArmiTstead).

    And the action continued with another big day today for @TeamGB hopefuls. Once again Twitter is the only place to head to get closer than ever before to the blood, sweat, tears and celebrations:

    First off, Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) and Peter Waterfield (@PeterWaterfield) had the nation on tenterhooks this afternoon as they competed in the men’s 10m sychronised diving. After a tough year, Daley tweeted his fans ahead of the contest:



    However, it was not to be and medal hopes were dashed as they came in fourth place. Within hours, the pair shared their disappointment with fans via Twitter:






    Up next today is British gymnast Louis Smith (@louissmith1989) who is competing in the GB men’s team gymnastics event. He tweeted this picture of the team arriving at the arena this afternoon:



    One Mum responded with a touching message of support:



    Let’s hope he can follow the success of @TeamGB swimmer Rebecca Adlington (@BeckAdlington) who won bronze in the women’s 400m freestyle last night. She thanked her Twitter followers for their support live on BBC1 and with this message, which was retweeted over 4,500 times:




    Becky’s back on Thursday for the 800m heats, so don’t forget to tune in and find out if she can make it a double medal haul.

    Sometimes, a picture can say a thousand words. Women’s road cycling silver medal winner Lizzie Armitstead (@L_ArmiTstead) tweeted this amazing photo of her medal, the first to be won for @TeamGB:




    It touched the heart of marathon runner @paulajradcliffe, who was left devastated yesterday as she learned she would not be able to participate in the Games due to injury. It was Amiststead’s victory that prompted this touching tweet:




    Cycling and swimming aside, last night’s win for Shauna Mullin (@shuvolleygb) and Zara Dampney (@Zara_Dampney) in the beach volleyball heats was a popualr topic on Twitter yesterday. The teams compete in Westminster’s Horse Guards Parade, round the corner from Downing Street. MP @WilliamJHague can’t see the action from his office, but shared this fab aerial picture from the Metropolitan Police Helicopter @MPSinthesky with his followers today:



    Aside from medal hopes, have you ever wondered what TeamGB athletes get up to on their day off? Well, Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy (@chrishoy) gave us this sneak peak into the cycling team’s downtime today:



    Finally, a new British Olympic record was set today by 18-year-old Zoe Smith (@ZoePabloSmith) in the 58kg weightlifting contest. In order to qualify for the 58kg weight group, she had to shed around 3kg. On competition day, however, the rules don’t apply, which left Zoe free to eat what ever she fancied for the first time in weeks:


    Tomorrow on Twitter here’s who to look out for:

    Men’s 69kg weightlifting: Gareth Evans (@Gazpin_69kg)
    Men’s sailing Laser: Paul Goodison (@paulgoodisongbr)
    Women’s swimming: Stephanie Rice (@ItsStephRice)
    Women’s artistic gymnastics: Jennifer Pinches (@Jempin515)
    Women’s windsurfing: Bryony Shaw (@BRYONYSHAW)

    --Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 9:15 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Sunday, July 29, 2012

    The first weekend of London 2012 is in full swing Despite the all-too-familar British rain clouds making an appearance, spirits are high.

    Our @TeamGB athletes continue to use Twitter to share their once-in-a-lifetime experiences with fans around the world, and we've selected some of our favourites from today:




    Sports commentator Clare Balding (@clarebalding1), DJ Trevor Nelson (@DJTrevorNelson) and singer Lily Allen (@Lilyrosecooper) were amongst those who took to Twitter to send her their messages of congratulations:







    Up today is another great British hope, swimmer Rebecca Adlington (@BeckAdlington) who will compete tonight in the women's 400m freestyle final. Here's what she had to say to her followers ahead of the big race:



    Support has been flooding in for @TeamGB, including over in Hungary where F1 stars @LewisHamilton and @JensonButton customised their helmets with these very special messages of support. The positive vibes seem to have rubbed off as Hamilton sped to victory, winning today's race:





    British rower @ZacPurchase was overwhelmed by the support at Eton Dorney Lake today. He and lightweight men's double sculls partner Mark Hunter (@MarkHunterGB) qualified for the semi-final of their event as they seek to defend their Olympic title:



    And whilst there were no Royals jumping from helicopters in today's coverage of the event, Zara Phillips was cheered on by fans as she made her debut in the eventing dressage. Husband and rugby international Mike Tindall (@MikeTindall13) tweeted this pic of his wife, who is also 14th in line to the throne:



    Not forgetting yesterday's drama, @TeamGB men's road cyclist @MarkCavendish tweeted thanks to his teammates today for their support, despite missing out on the medals they'd been so hotly tipped for. Heartbreaking stuff:



    Whilst yesterday's cycling gripped the UK's imagination, it was the race between US swimmers Ryan Lochte (@ryanlochte) and Michael Phelps (@MichaelPhelps) generated the biggest peak in Twitter traffic. The two swimmers took to Twitter after their race to congratulate one another in a fantastic display of good sportsmanship after Lochte swam to victory:



    Tomorrow's Olympic action continues with more @TeamGB hopefuls up. If you want to get even closer to the action, them be sure to follow these athletes on Twitter:

    Men's synchronised 10m platform: Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994)
    Women's volleyball: Lucy Wicks (@lucywicks2)
    Men's gymnastics: Louis Smith (@LouisSmith1989)
    Men's backstroke Liam Tancock (@LiamTancock)
    Women's backstroke: Gemma Spofforth (@GemmaSpofforth)

    --Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 7:01 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Saturday, July 28, 2012

    The first 24 hours of the Olympic Games has well and truly gripped the nation with 27 million of us tuning in for the opening ceremony last night.

    Here at Twitter, we saw a worldwide total of 9.66 million mentions of the Opening Ceremony from the start at 8pm last night until the end of its broadcast in the US as people across the globe took to Twitter to get closer to the action.

    And it was Tim Berners-Lee (@timberners_lee), founder of the web, who set Twitter alive as he live-tweeted from the stage of the opening ceremony, generating almost 10,000 retweets of his message:



    It was from one legend to another as Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) shared this behind-the-scenes image with his followers shortly before playing the ceremony out with Hey Jude:


    Stars shared their views on the ceremony on Twitter, and footballer Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) was impressed by Danny Boyle's representation of multicultural Britain:


    However, it was the Queen's cameo that captured the imagination of presenter @GaryLineker, who tweeted this morning:


    For those who missed the Ceremony, the @London2012 team tweeted the moment her Majesty appeared to parachute into the ceremony from a helicopter. You really don't see that every day!


    As the stadium filled with athletes from around the globe, many took to Twitter to share their excitement. @TeamGB swimmer Rebecca Adlington (@BeckAdlington) told her followers:


    And it was Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy (@chrishoy) who had the honour of leading @TeamGB into the stadium:


    With the opening ceremony over, @TeamGB athletes were treated to another surprise this morning as the Queen visited them at the Olympic village. @TeamGB hockey player Beth Storry (@Bethstorry) shared this amazing photo:


    Aside from a Royal visit, excitement built as Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish), Bradley Wiggins (@bradwiggins) and the rest of the @TeamGB men's road cycling team geared up for their big day, with well-wishes flooding in:





    However it was not to be, and Bradley Wiggins (@bradwiggins) took to Twitter and captured the nation's feelings in a few short words:




    What a start, we can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store. Make sure you follow these @TeamGB athletes on Twitter to get closer to the action on Sunday:

    Archery: Alison Williamson (@ArcheryAlison)
    Men's football: Tom Cleverley (@tomclevz23)
    Women's 400m freestyle swimming: Rebecca Adlington (@BeckAdlington)
    Men's diving: Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994)
    Men's sailing: Ben Ainslie (@AinslieBen)

    - Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 7:06 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Friday, July 27, 2012

    Twitter brings you closer to the things you care about and for millions of people around the world right now, that means the Olympics.

    Never before have fans had such direct access to the Games, from athletes to fellow supporters, commentators and celebrities. In fact, there were more Tweets in a single day last week than during the entire 2008 Beijing Games. With the Opening Ceremony just hours away, we have already seen athletes talking to fellow competitors, sharing behind-the-scenes perspectives, answering questions and responding to good luck messages on Twitter.

    More than 60% of @TeamGB's 542 competing athletes are on Twitter (check out the full list here), and we now have more than 140 million active users worldwide, 10 million of them right here in the UK.

    Over the next few weeks we hope to highlight great examples of Twitter bringing people closer, and would love to hear your experiences as well. Here's our pick of the crop from today:

    Team GB cyclist @MarkCavendish is one of Britain's biggest medal hopes for the Games. He's up tomorrow, and feeling the pressure:




    And he's not the only one. It looks like @GaryLineker has got a case of the nerves too, and he's not even competing:



    Anticipation is building ahead of Danny Boyle's Opening Ceremony extravaganza, which kicks off tonight. Coming from a man responsible for films like Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire, no one is quite sure what to expect. And smart use of the #savethesurprise hashtag at the dress rehearsal means that the secrets of the show have remained under wraps until tonight's big reveal. The suspense is killing us!



    William, Kate and Harry are all huge sports fans - and @ClarenceHouse took to Twitter today to share this picture of the Olympic flame as it passed by Buckingham Palace:



    Never one to shy away from the spotlight, Jamaican sprinter @UsainBolt tweeted this amazing pic of his face projected onto the Houses of Parliament.



    Team GB's diving team were hanging out with the London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) down at the Olympic park today - and here's a sneaky pic:



    @MayorofLondon     Boris Johnson used Twitter to take his followers behind the scenes at yesterday's Hyde Park event - spine tingling stuff:



    If you're a @TeamGB fan, here are a few things to watch out for tomorrow on Twitter:

    - Men's road cycling - follow @MarkCavendish and @BradWiggins
    - Equestrian - follow William Fox-Pitt @foxpitteventing
    - Women's beach volleyball - follow Zara Dampney @zara_dampney
    - Women's football - follow Kelly Smith @kjs8eng

    Finally, don't forget, from 9pm tonight and for every night of the Games, @TheLondonEye will be lit up to reflect positive and negative sentiment about the Games, sourced from Twitter. Get involved by using the hashtag #Energy2012.

    --Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 6:47 AM