• The Paralympics on Twitter

    Wednesday, August 29, 2012

    From today until the 9th September, London will take centre stage once again as the UK hosts the 2012 Paralympic Games.

    With over 150 million tweets about the Olympics, Twitter brought fans closer than ever before to the athletes and the action. As we head into the Paralympics, Twitter will once again be the place to get closer to the extraordinary stories of the athletes.

    Here’s our guide to watching the action on Twitter:

    Follow the athletes
    Here are five of our favourite @ParalympicsGB Paralympians on Twitter:

    - Jonnie Peacock (@JonniePeacock) British T44 100m World Record holder
    - Ellie Simmonds (@EllieSimmonds1) British Swimmer
    - David Weir MBE (@davidweir2012) British wheelchair athlete
    - Jon-Allan Butterworth (@J_Butterworth86) British cyclist
    - Clare Strange (@ClareStrange) British wheelchair basketball athlete

    You can also check out this list for more ideas of who to follow.

    Follow the presenters
    Presenters on Channel 4 will have some new and familiar faces, including:

    - Jon Snow (@jonsnowC4) at the opening and closing ceremonies
    - Clare Balding (@ClareBalding1)
    - Jonathan Edwards (@JDE66)
    - Ade Adepitan (@AdeAdepitan)
    - Daraine Mulvihill (@Darainemul)
    - Arthur Williams (@Arthurvw1986)
    - Rachel Latham (@rachlatham)

    You can see a full list of all the presenters here.

    If you’re tuning in to watch the Paralympics on Channel 4 (@C4Paralympics), look out for their daily Twitter hashtag polls, trends, and all the latest sporting news from the Paralympians.

    Join the conversation
    - #Paralympic and #AllAboutAbility are the two main hashtags so if you’re talking about the Games on Twitter, you can use these to connect with people who share your interest
    - #ProudParalympian – this hashtag will be used by athletes in order to see their tweets on a specially created Twitter Wall in the athlete’s village, so it’s worth keeping an eye on it throughout the Games

    Follow the games
    - @Paralympic is the official Twitter page of the International Paralympic Committee, providing insight throughout the Paralympics
    - @ParalympicsGB is the official account for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Paralympic Team
    - @C4Paralympics is Channel 4’s official feed

    Opening ceremony
    During tonight’s Opening Ceremony, 10 nations, including Team GB (@ParalympicsGB) and the USA (@USParalympics), will have a representative filming the Ceremony from their viewpoint. This video will then be uploaded to @Paralympic before the ceremony is over so you can get an athlete's view of the Opening Ceremony.

    To add to the excitement, throughout the Paralympics, 50 athletes from countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Spain and the USA, will use a Samsung camera to record a daily video blog, which will also be shared on the @Paralympic page.

    -- Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 2:28 AM

  • The Olympics on Twitter

    Monday, August 13, 2012

    It’s been an amazing fortnight at the London 2012 and with the Olympic Games now over, we’ve taken a look back at all of the memorable moments of the London Games: the wins, the losses, the drama, and above all, the Tweets.

    No matter which sport you enjoyed, Twitter brought you closer than ever before to the athletes and the action.

    We have seen well over 150 million Tweets about the Olympics over the past 16 days, and we’ve taken a look at some of the biggest trends within that massive conversation.

    The biggest moments of competition, as measured by Tweets per minute (TPM), were:
    - Usain Bolt (@UsainBolt) of Jamaica wins gold in the 200m sprint: 80,000+ TPM
    - Bolt wins gold in the 100m sprint: 74,000+ TPM
    - Andy Murray (@andy_murray) wins gold in the men’s tennis singles: 57,000+ TPM
    - Jamaica wins gold and sets the world record in the men’s 4x100 relay: 52,000+ TPM
    - Team USA beats Spain to win gold in men’s basketball: 41,000+ TPM

    The biggest tweeting moments that came during the heat of competition (not at a medal-winning conclusion) included Kobe Bryant’s dunk towards the end of the USA-Spain basketball game, and Hope Solo’s (@HopeSolo) land-diving save in the women’s USA-Japan football match.

    In addition to inspiring the biggest conversation spike with his 200m win, Usain Bolt also took home the record for being the most discussed athlete of the Games. But he had company — nine other Olympians garnered more than 1 million Tweets each:
    - Usain Bolt (@UsainBolt)
    - Michael Phelps (@MichaelPhelps)
    - Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994)
    - Ryan Lochte (@ryanlochte)
    - Gabby Douglas (@gabrielledoug)
    - Andy Murray (@andy_murray)
    - Kobe Bryant
    - Yohan Blake (@YohanBlake)
    - Lee Chong Wei (@Lee_C_Wei)
    - LeBron James (@KingJames)

    The BBC coverage of the Games has been widely praised, with presenters joining the conversation on Twitter too. We’ve taken a look at who were the most mentioned BBC TV commentators and pundits on Twitter over the course of the Games. Here’s the top five:
    - Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker): 27%
    - Clare Balding (@ClareBalding1): 17%
    - Jake Humphrey (@mrjakehumphrey): 12%
    - Ian Thorpe (@IanThorpe): 10%
    - Steve Redgrave: 7%
    - Others: 27%

    With so many of the athletes on Twitter, we were also treated to their unique perspectives of the Games:









    And which sports saw the most Twitter conversation? Football came top, driving over 5 million Tweets. Other popular sports were swimming, athletics, gymnastics, and volleyball.

    Finally, the thrill of Olympic sport just wouldn’t be the same without the spectacles of the opening and closing ceremonies.

    Both events drove an incredible volume of Twitter conversation, and experienced their own giant spikes in Tweets per minute. The closing ceremony saw performances by The Who, George Michael, Take That and many more, but it was the Spice Girls who stole the night, inspiring more than 116,000 Tweets per minute.

    We love this photo taken of the final moments of the spectacle:


    The Games have been an incredible experience. Like you, we were caught up in the roar of the crowd and amazed by what the athletes shared — and of course thrilled to watch the world come together on Twitter.

    And don't forget, London 2012 is only half way through - the Paralympic Games begin on Wednesday 29 August. Follow @C4Paralympics and @Paralympic on Twitter for all the updates ahead of what promises to be another awe-inspiring sporting event.

    -- Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 2:42 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Sunday, August 12, 2012

    Last night Twitter was abuzz with excitement as Usain Bolt (@usainbolt) and the rest of the Jamaican team stormed to victory in the 4x100m.

    And to top it off, Mo Farah (@Mo_Farah) won his second gold in the 5,000m in the Olympic stadium. This picture of the pair is one of our favourites of the games:



    Even the London police force were joining the ‘Mobot’ craze:



    Here’s a great shot of the man himself with Nicola Adams (@NicolaAdams2012), the women’s boxing gold medalist:


    Over in the aquatic centre it was bronze for Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) in the men’s 10m diving. Messages of congratulations flooded in across Twitter, including these from singer Cheryl Cole (@CherylCole) and Mollie King (@MollieTheSats) - what a lucky man!




    Tom’s certainly come a long way since he drew this picture of his ambition to perform in the 2012 Olympics as a 9-year-old:


    The public reaction to the Olympic Games has been overwhelmingly positive in the UK. We love this montage of @TeamGB created by @adidasuk which highlights some of the most memorable moments:


    BBC presenter Clare Balding (@clarebalding1) has been praised for her presenting, with Andrew Lloyd Webber (@OfficialALW) suggesting she should be in line for her own gold medal once the Games are over:


    It certainly sounds as if she has enjoyed the experience:


    Sir Chris Hoy (@chrishoy) summed up the Games in this great Tweet, paying tribute to all those involved in making the spectacle happen:


    We also love this Tweet from 400m runner Andrew Steele (@AndrewSteele) who told his fans what Twitter meant to him during the Games:


    Finally here's an amazing shot of all the @TeamGB medal winners together. What a proud moment for @TeamGB:


    Make sure you stay tuned to Twitter throughout tonight’s closing ceremony, and we’ll be back tomorrow with a wrap up of Twitter and the Olympics.

    -- Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 5:13 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Saturday, August 11, 2012

    During the Games we have seen @TeamGB athletes receiving well wishes from figures in all walks of life, from showbiz to sport and politics, as well as talking directly to fans via Twitter.

    One man who has been hanging out with our gold medal heroes this week is Russell Brand (@rustyrockets). He tweeted this great picture of him posing Mr T-style with the women’s rowing gold medalists:


    And here he is having a joke with boxing champion Nicola Adams (@NicolaAdams2012):


    Lennox Lewis (@LennoxLewis) also shared this photo of himself and 29-year old gold medalist Nicola on Twitter. It’s hard to tell who is more excited by the meeting:


    And whilst the Games may be drawing to a close, the medals continue to flood in for @TeamGB. It was gold this morning for canoeist Ed McKeever (@edmckeever) in the 200m sprint, taking the total up to 26 golds.


    Messages of congratulations flooded in on Twitter with these Tweets from the Prime Minister (@Number10gov), Boris Johnson (@MayorofLondon) of London and the Deputy Prime Minister (@nick_clegg) this morning:






    We love this great shot of the PM hanging out with bronze medalist Rebecca Adlington (@beckadlington) and swimmer David Carry (@davidcarry), cheering on David’s fiancee Keri-Anne Payne (@Keriannepayne) in the open water swimming event on Thursday:


    Sadly Keri-Anne missed out on a medal, but we were touched by this letter she received from a fan in Indonesia. She shared it on Twitter:


    Today fevers are running high in the aquatic centre as Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) competes in the semi-finals. Support for the diver is running high amongst fans, including this message of support from model Kelly Brook (@IAMKELLYBROOK):


    She was delighted when he qualified for tonight’s final:


    Singer Tinchy Stryder (@TinchyStryder) also added his support for the 18-year-old:


    Tom is up tonight, so follow him on Twitter @TomDaley1994 to get all the action in the diving final. Another one to watch tonight is gold medalist distance runner Mo Farah (@Mo_Farah) in the 5,000m. Over in the Excel Arena, it's the men’s boxing final with Luke Campbell (@Luke11Campbell), followed by Anthony Joshua (@Anthonyfjoshua) and Fred Evans fighting for gold tomorrow.

    And whilst the closing ceremony has been kept closely under wraps, if the rumours are to be believed you might want to keep an eye on @victoriabeckham, @EmmaBunton, @OfficialMelB, @MelanieCmusic and @GeriHalliwell tomorrow night.

    -- Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 4:26 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Friday, August 10, 2012

    "I am now a living legend that's for sure."

    Who could argue with that Tweet? Very few people. More than 10,000 chose to retweet or favourite it, making it the most popular tweet that @UsainBolt sent in the aftermath of his greatest hour last night.


    The Times were quick to celebrate his victory with this amazing shot on their cover:


    As well as cementing his status as the greatest sprinter of all time, he also set a new Twitter Olympics record with over 80,000 tweets per minute for his victory in the 200m:


    And it was Twitter the man himself turned to last night. With the sweat barely dry on the brow of the man who had just become the first in history to claim 100m and 200m gold in successive Olympics, he fired off a series of thoughts to more than one million followers. He thanked his fans:


    His coach:


    His parents:


    His country:


    His team-mates:


    And God:


    Here's a great snapshot of the Jamaican trio storming to victory:


    Seeing the inner thoughts of the greatest athlete in the world shortly after his finest hour was a fascinating experience unique to Twitter. Usain also responded to the two biggest stars from his favourite football team, Manchester United, thanking them for these tweets:




    @TeamGB has scooped 25 gold medals in London 2012 so far. But did you know, there have been 9.86 million mentions of the word 'gold' on Twitter since the launch of the Games?

    Away from the track, it was female boxers @NicolaAdams2012 and Ireland’s Katie Taylor who fought to victory in the ring last night. Gold medalist Nicola Adams tweeted this fab picture this morning with @DizzeeRascal:


    And Team GB Taekwondo gold medalist Jade Jones (@jadejonestkd) had this message for her Twitter followers after her victory last night:


    There are still few days left of the Games, and at @TwitterUK we're excited about Tom Daley and Mo Farah going for gold tomorrow. Be sure to cheer them on - @TomDaley1994 and @Mo_Farah. Plus, boxing hopes Anthony Ogogo (@AnthonyOgogo) and Anthony Joshua (@anthonyfjoshua) will be taking to the ring. Follow them on Twitter to get close than ever to the action.

    -- Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 4:06 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Thursday, August 9, 2012

    One of the great things we've seen during the Olympics is sports stars or presenters signing up for Twitter and sending their first ever Tweet.

    And today we are delighted to welcome to Twitter one of Team GB's gold medal heroes from the Velodrome, Jason Kenny (@JasonKenny107). The gold medalist and world record holder was encouraged to join by friend and Team GB BMX star Liam Phillips (@liamPHILLIPS65), who is competing today (and good luck to him - doing well at the time of writing!) Here’s Jason’s first ever Tweet:


    He’s already picked up over 21,000 followers, including the great Sir Chris Hoy (@chrishoy). Here’s the welcome message Sir Chris sent to his GB cycling team mate:


    Ahead of the Games, we also saw @TeamGB sporting director (and England World Cup-winning coach) Sir Clive Woodward (@CliveWoodward) join Twitter, along with Olympic gold medalist and now BBC expert Denise Lewis (@RealDeniseLewis). And during the Games, Olympic swimming great @IanThorpe started an account (egged on by his co-presenter @GaryLineker), and already has over 85,000 followers. You can follow them all to get closer than ever to the Games.

    Check out this awesome picture of the BMX track that was tweeted earlier today:


    During the Games, we've seen several athletes heading to @BTLondonLive in London’s Hyde Park to show off their medals. Sir Chris Hoy was there yesterday, and while his fans snapped pictures of him, he took one of them from his vantage point on stage. What a view.


    Hyde Park also became a London 2012 venue this week, and the open water swimming took place in the Serpentine today. Team GB swimmer Keri-anne Payne (@KeriannePayne) was a big medal hope and received some great good luck messages from her team-mates before the event.


    Sadly there was no medal for Keri-anne. BBC Presenter @ClareBalding1 posted this behind-the-scenes shot of her moments after she came out of the water:


    Here at Twitter we have been consistently impressed by the humility and graciousness of athletes during the Games. This series of Tweets from GB decathlete Daniel Awde @GBDawde was particularly touching:






    Tonight, attention will return to the Olympic Stadium and @usainbolt vs @YohanBlake part II, this time in the 200m. Their accounts will be worth monitoring later.

    If it was a race on Twitter, then Usain would be in the lead with follower numbers swelling by the day:



    We can't wait to see if he can match this success on the track. Over to you, self-declared 'most naturally gifted athlete the world has ever seen ...'


    --Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 8:44 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Wednesday, August 8, 2012

    More than two thirds of Team GB are on Twitter, and we’ve heard many athletes thank their followers for supporting them during the Games. And as these athletes have come into the spotlight, their follower counts are skyrocketing.

    Today, we decided to take a deeper look at the data, analysing the top ten @TeamGB athletes competing in the Games, based on follower count.

    Here is what we found:

    Team GB
    On Twitter, there have been more than 4.4 million mentions of Team GB since the Games began. The biggest spike came on on Saturday 4 August - the day Team GB won six gold medals.

    Gold
    Diver Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) is Team GB’s most followed athlete on Twitter. He has 1.15 million followers. Tom has already gained more than 800,000 new followers over the course of the Games, the biggest increase of any Team GB athlete.

    Silver
    Until this week, tennis player Andy Murray (@andy_murray) was the most followed member of Team GB. He was knocked off the top spot by Tom Daley, and is now in close second place with 1.10 million followers.

    Bronze
    Heptathlete Jessica Ennis (@J_Ennis) is the third most followed Team GB athlete, with more than 590,000 followers. She is Team GB’s most followed female athlete.

    Most improved
    Of the top ten athletes most followed athletes, Rebecca Adlington (@BeckAdlington) has seen the biggest percentage increase in followers numbers since the Games began (336%). She is now Team GB’s 8th most followed athlete with more than 265,000 followers.

    The medal table
    The most followed @TeamGB athletes on Twitter are (in order):

    - Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994)
    - Andy Murray (@andy_murray)
    - Jessica Ennis (@J_Ennis)
    - Tom Cleverley (@tomclevz23)
    - Aaron Ramsey (@aaronjramsey)
    - Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish)
    - Bradley Wiggins (@bradwiggins)
    - Rebecca Adlington (@BeckAdlington)
    - Mo Farah (@Mo_Farah)
    - Sir Chris Hoy (@chrishoy)

    Collectively, there have been more than 5.2 million Twitter mentions of the top 10 Team GB athletes since the games began.

    --Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 9:00 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Tuesday, August 7, 2012

    Another day, another gold medal for @TeamGB. Alistair Brownlee (@AliBrownleeTri) won the men's triathlon with brother Jonny (@Jonny_Brownlee) taking bronze. We love this photo of their proud parents:


    In fact, the achievement prompted one journalist to point out that one family was leading quite a few other nations in the medals table.


    Former England cricket captain Alec Stewart (@StewieCricket) was impressed, pointing out this nugget of information to his followers:.


    And F1 star Jenson Button (@JensonButton), a keen triathlete himself, was quick to tweet his congratulations to the brothers:


    More athletes are on Twitter during these Games than ever before, giving fans a front row seat to the action. And if you're happy just being a spectator, remember that you don't have to tweet to enjoy Twitter. Just follow people or organisations that you find interesting, sit back, and enjoy.

    One of the best things about Twitter is watching the conversation unfold between two high-profile figures, and we saw a great example of this today:

    Overnight, Usain Bolt (@usainbolt) gave an interview where he said he wanted a trial at Manchester United and this morning the Man Utd star Rio Ferdinand (@RioFerdy5) tweeted him to say that he could arrange it:


    @usainbolt replied to say they should work on it after the Olympics, although we aren't holding our breath:


    Twitter has also been unearthing high-jinks in the Olympic Village, such as this chat between @usainbolt and fellow 100m runner Asafa Powell (@officialasafa):


    It might not just be athletes you decide to follow. @andy_murray’s pet dog @maggiemay_hem has her own Twitter account, where she posted this shot of her and Rusty modelling Murray’s medals:


    While @usainbolt continued to steal the headlines (and arguably the fruit from his team-mates' rooms), @TeamGB eyes have now moved back to the Olympic Park and the Velodrome. If you’re watching this evening remember to cheer for Laura Trott (@LauraTrott31), Chris Hoy (@chrishoy) and Victoria Pendleton (@V_Pendleton), and if they do well, be sure to watch out for tweets from their team-mates, with all of the top cyclists active on Twitter.

    When it comes to tomorrow, here’s our top suggestions for people to follow to stay on top of the action:

    - Women’s 10m platform diving: Stacie Powell (@powellstacie)
    - Women’s boxing flyweight semifinal: Nicola Adams (@NicolaAdams2012)
    - Men’s light welterweight boxing: Thomas Stalker (@ThomasStalker1)
    - Women’s 470 sailing: Saskia Clark and Hannah Mills (@470Girls)

    -- Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 8:12 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Monday, August 6, 2012

    In the run up to last night's 100m final, pundits and athletes took to Twitter to predict whether @usainbolt could retain the title he won in such spectacular fashion in Beijing.

    In the end it was a clear cut victory for the Jamaican, and Twitter timelines were flooded with praise for the man who calls himself ‘The most naturally gifted athlete the world has ever seen’.

    We love this shot of him celebrating with the Olympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville:



    The 100m final drove more than 74,000 Tweets Per Minute yesterday, the highest peak since the Opening Ceremony:



    The mood was infectious, and even the police were getting into the mood with this move, which was widely shared across Twitter:



    And here’s BBC presenter Jake Humphrey (@mrjakehumphrey) doing his best Bolt impression:



    It wasn’t long before he shared this message with his followers, and we're delighted to see that his victory has pushed him over the one million followers mark just this afternoon:



    Aside from the 100m, there are many other great achievements going on at the Games. Sailing champion Ben Ainslie (@AinslieBen) became the most decorated Olympic sailor of all time as he won gold yesterday.

    Sir Richard Branson (@RichardBranson) had this message to share:

    Here at Twitter, we’re also big fans of gymnast Beth Tweddle (@bethtweddlenews). It’s partly because her name sounds like a combination of Twitter and medal, but also because she did a fantastic job today winning bronze in the Olympic bars event.

    Teammate Jennifer Pinches (@jempin515) was very excited to see her teammate succeed:

    If that wasn't enough action for you, here are some great Twitter accounts to follow to keep on top of tomorrow's activity:

    - Women's synchronised swimming: Jenna Randall (@JennaRTweets) and Olivia Federici (@Olivia_Federici)
    - Men's RS-X windsurfing: Nick Dempsey (@nickdempsey1)
    - Women's 200m double kayak: Louisa Sawers (@louisasawers)

    --Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 8:22 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Sunday, August 5, 2012

    It's been called the greatest night in British athletics history. Maybe even the greatest night in British sport. And Twitter brought UK sports fans closer to it than ever before.

    Three gold medals in athletics in less than one hour inside the Olympic Stadium, on top of the earlier golds for @TeamGB at the Eton Dorney rowing lake. And each time, the golden athletes took to Twitter afterwards to thank their followers.

    "Thanks to everyone at home and everyone on Twitter," said long jumper Greg Rutherford (@GregJRutherford) on BBC1 immediately after winning. And soon after he checked Twitter to thank his followers there too.


    He was also bowled over by the number of new followers he'd picked up - a phenomenon we've seen whenever British athletes have succeeded in these Games.


    Jess Ennis (@J_Ennis), gold medalist in the heptathlon, is the most-followed British sportswoman and was "blown away" by the support on Twitter.


    While Mo Farah (@mo_farah), perhaps not able to find the words himself to sum up his 10,000 metre gold, preferred to retweet someone else's summary, in this case the @PostOffice’s amazing special edition gold stamp produced in his honour:


    Tweets from pundits and Olympians were an amazing accompaniment to last night's action.

    Chris Hoy (@chrishoy), a hero from a previous day and now an emotional observer, tried to find the right words but admitted he couldn't.


    And two former British gold medallists from the 2000 Games, and now BBC pundits, Jonathan Edwards (@JDE66) and Denise Lewis (@RealDeniseLewis), were equally awestruck.


    Denise took her own snap for posterity.


    Today the action just keeps going. As well as the globally huge 100m men's final, from a UK point of view eyes are going to be on Wimbledon where Andy Murray (@andy_murray) competes in the finals of the men's singles and mixed doubles with Laura Robson (@LauraRobson5).

    And, as the most-followed British account on Twitter (@Coldplay) said, everyone is behind them.


    Here’s who to watch over the next 24 hours to keep close to the action:

    - Tennis doubles: And Murray (@andymurray) and Laura Robson (@LauraRobson5)
    - Men’s 100m final: Usain Bolt (@usainbolt), Tyson Gay (@TysonLGay), Asafa Powell (@officialasafa) and Yohan Blake (@YohanBlake)
    - Men’s sailing: Ben Ainslie (@AinslieBen)
    - Men’s gymnastics: Louis Smith (@louissmith1989)
    - Tyson

    -- Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 2:11 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Saturday, August 4, 2012

    Today is ‘Super Saturday’ at the Games with 25 gold medals up for grabs.

    With so much going on, we’ve selected some of our favourite ‘only on Twitter’ moments from the last 24 hours to show how Twitter brings you closer to the action than ever before.

    First off we love this picture of the moon at Tower Bridge which has been widely shared across Twitter today. What an awesome shot:


    We also love how the crowds celebrated the women’s success in the cycling pursuit this afternoon. As if winning gold wasn’t enough, the team was serenaded by Paul McCartney and the crowds singing ‘Hey Jude’. BBC reporter @DanRoan captured the moment on Twitter:


    The Olympics has been a really great example of how Twitter brings diverse people together around their shared interests. We love this chat between Sir Chris Hoy (@chrishoy) and movie star Samuel L Jackson (@SamuelLJackson):


    Twitter gives fans a real sense of the behind-the-scenes action, and it was great to see the man in charge of the Games Seb Coe @SebCoe share this candid shot of the moment he met gold medal winning pistol shooter Peter Wilson:


    Karina Bryant (@karinabryantgb) won gold in judo yesterday and posted this fantastic photo of her medal. Well done Karina, great work:


    And finally, we love this drawing of Victoria Pendleton (@v_pendleton) winning gold, penned by animator Richard Swarbrick (@RikkiLeaks). It really captures the moment:


    There’s so much going on in the Olympic Village tomorrow. Here’s who to follow to keep on top of the action on Twitter:

    - Women’s lightweight boxing: Natasha Jonas (@tashajonas)
    - Men’s RS:X windsurfing opening series: Nick Dempsey (@nickdempsey1)
    - Women’s handball: Kathryn Fudge (@fudge89)
    - Women’s volleyball: Maria Bertelli (@mariabertelli)
    - And of course not forgetting the one and only Usain Bolt in the men’s 100m final (@usainbolt)

    -- Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 10:39 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Friday, August 3, 2012

    Can you believe that just a week ago we were gearing up for Danny Boyle’s spectacular Opening Ceremony, and @London2012 was about to begin?

    Since then we have seen more than 10 million mentions of the word Olympics on Twitter. In fact, there have been more Tweets about the Olympics in a single day than during the entire 2008 Beijing summer Games.

    And with over 60% of @TeamGB on Twitter, we have been able to share in the highs and lows of the Games with athletes like never before.

    In cycling, we saw the elation of @bradwiggins in the time trials and @Chrishoy’s success in the velodrome, contrast sharply with the heartbreak of @MarkCavendish in the men’s team road race.

    Who knew the imagination of the British public would become gripped by athletes such as judo’s @gemma_gibbons or gymnast @louissmith1989, following their every move and sending them Tweets of support?




    British diver Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) hit a major Twitter milestone today as he became the UK’s 10th British sports person to reach one million followers. He celebrated with this message for his fans:


    He joins an illustrious list which also includes Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney), Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5), Joey Barton (@Joey7Barton), Michael Owen (@themichaelowen), Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter), Amir Khan (@AmirKingKhan), Rory Mcilroy (@McilroyRory), Jenson Button (@JensonButton) and Andy Murray (@andy_murray).

    It was victory in the velodrome yesterday for Sir Chris Hoy (@chrishoy), as he triumphantly updated his profile to read “Official Twitter page of Sir Chris Hoy, 5 x Olympic Champ track cyclist” after his gold medal win yesterday. What a legend:


    We love this picture of his parents celebrating yesterday in the velodrome as he took his fifth Olympic gold:


    He also retweeted this fantastic photo of the postbox in his hometown of Edinburgh. @RoyalMail is painting red post boxes gold to celebrate every Team GB and ParalympicsGB gold medal win during the Games:


    In fact, @RoyalMail have been giving gold medal athletes the star treatment. Yesterday they unveiled @timbaillie and Etienne Stott on their very own postage stamp:


    Finally, one of our favourite moments of the games was captured in this photo. Despite the introduction of Olympic lanes to ferry athletes around the capital, Venezuelan fencing champion Ruben Limardo Gascon — and his gold medal — chose to hang out with some fans on the tube:


    The second week of the Games features the track and field events, and a whole host of new athletes to follow on Twitter. Here’s who to watch out for tomorrow:

    Men’s 100m: Usain Bolt (@usainbolt) and Tyson Gay (@TysonLGay)
    Women’s pole vault: Holly Bleasdale (@HollyBleasdale)
    Men’s 10,000m: Mo Farah (@Mo_Farah)
    Men’s volleyball: Dami Bakare (@donlybakare)

    -- Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 8:59 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Thursday, August 2, 2012

    Twitter is the go-to platform for sports fans this summer with athletes, commentators and stars providing a fantastic new perspective to the Games.

    We were delighted to see a new face on Twitter yesterday as BBC presenter and former Olympian Ian Thorpe (@IanThorpe) signed up and sent his first Tweet. Welcome Ian, glad to have you on board!


    There are so many only-on-Twitter moments during the Games that Ian will be able to get involved in. For example Bradley Wiggins’ (@bradwiggins) won gold in the men’s road cycling time trial yesterday, making this his 7th Olympic medal, more than any other British athlete in history.

    His win was the most tweeted about moment on Twitter yesterday and this picture of him with his medal was shared over 1,000 times:


    And how did he celebrate this momentous occasion?


    It was gold for Army Captain Heather Stanning yesterday too. She took a two-year sabbatical from the military to concentrate on her rowing career and received this tweet from her battalion in Afghanistan as she won gold in the women’s coxless pairs:


    Twitter is bringing fans closer to the thoughts and emotions of athletes as well. You no longer have to imagine the delight American swimmer @MichaelPhelps felt when he received a good-luck call from US president @BarackObama, because he immediately shared his thoughts with fans on Twitter.


    And it’s not just the athletes who are tweeting. Cameras are getting in on the action as well. Here are some of our favorite photos from the last 24 hours:



    And finally, not content with his @cherylcole banter from yesterday, @TomDaley1994 tweeted pop star Molly King from the Saturdays (@molliethesats) today. Fingers crossed for a reply Tom, we’re all rooting for you!


    We’re set for a dramatic 24 hours as the first week of the Games comes to a close. Watch out for the following @TeamGB athletes on Twitter to get all the action:

    Tonight
    Women’s 800m freestyle swimming: Rebecca Adlington (@beckadlington)

    Tomorrow
    Women’s heptathlon: Jessica Ennis (@J_Ennis)
    Women’s 100m: Aniyika Onuora (@annyonuora)
    Men’s 400m hurdles: David Greene (@DaiGreene)
    Men’s triple jump: Phillips Idowu (@PhillipsIdowu)
    Men’s 400m Martyn Rooney (@MartynRooney)


    -- Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 8:54 AM

  • Today on Twitter

    Wednesday, August 1, 2012

    The hopes of the nation have been resting on the shoulders of @TeamGB, and until today an elusive gold medal remained out of reach.

    However, a Tweet from BBC sports presenter Clare Balding (@clarebalding1) this morning hinted at what was to come:


    And she was right. Helen Glover and Heather Stanning rowed to victory in the women’s coxless pairs, securing Britain’s first Olympic gold of the Games.
    Congratulations flooded in across Twitter, with Prime Minister David Cameron sending his own message from @Number10Gov:


    And it didn’t stop there! Bradley Wiggins (@bradwiggins) won gold in the men’s cycling time trials this afternoon, and his team mate Chris Froome (@ChrisFroome) took bronze.

    @MarkCavendish had this message for the man who has become one of Britain’s most decorated Olympians and the only person to win Olympic gold and the Tour de France in the same year:


    Elsewhere in the Olympic Park, celebrations for yesterday’s successes have continued. Zara Philips won silver in the team eventing and was captured on camera signing autographs for fans:

    And it was the Royal seal of approval for bronze medalist Rebecca Adlington (@BeckAdlington) as she met with some very special guests in the Olympic village:


    We also saw one of Twitter’s most retweeted message of the Games so far last night from Ryan Lochte (@ryanlochte) as he congratulated Michael Phelps (@MichaelPhelps) on his 19th Olympic medal:


    Here at Twitter we are very excited by the new cameras that LOCOG installed in Olympic venues all over London. They are tweeting fantastic photos with a “behind the scenes” perspective you can’t get anywhere else. Locations include underwater at the aquatic center, from the backboard of the basketball hoop, and the roof of Olympic Park.

    Here are the six cameras you can follow:
    @L2012BballCam - over the basketball hoop
    @L2012PoolCam - underwater in the aquatics center
    @L2012GymCam - looking down onto the rhythmic gymnastics mat
    @L2012TableCam - looking down onto the table tennis table
    @L2012StadiumCam - on the Olympic Stadium roof, looking down onto the track
    @L2012MatCam - looking down onto the judo/wrestling mat

    And here are a some of our favorite shots so far:

    US Swimmer Ryan Lochte (@ryanlochte)


    Team GB Swimmer Rebecca Adlington (@BeckAdlington):


    US basketball player LeBron James (@KingJames):



    Aside from the medals table, it looks like Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) has a new fan if this exchange is anything to go by:

    And another man bantering with Tom Daley today was showbiz journalist @DanWootton. Dan tweeted this great photo of the stadium up close as he arrived for his first day watching the games:


    And finally today, @MayorofLondon Boris Johnson was in London’s Victoria Park today and decided to have a go on their zipline. Unfortunately, it didn’t go quite according to plan…



    If you’re already looking ahead to tomorrow’s games, then here’s our top five to follow on Twitter to get closer than ever to the action:

    Women’s 800m freestyle swimming: Rebecca Adlington (@beckadlington)
    Men’s cycling: Chris Hoy (@chrishoy)
    Men’s synchronized 10m platform diving: Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994)
    Women’s individual cycling: Victoria Pendleton (@v_pendleton)
    Women’s handball: Holly Lam-Moores(@hollyhandball3)

    -- Lewis Wiltshire, @LewisWiltshire

    Posted by @ at 8:28 AM