Andy Murray and Adam Peaty's absence from Paris Olympics closing ceremony explained

Andy Murray Adam Peaty

Andy Murray and Adam Peaty were both absent from the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics on Sunday night

PA
Jack Otway

By Jack Otway


Published: 12/08/2024

- 09:19

The duo were some of the big names who didn't attend the event in France on Sunday night

Andy Murray and Adam Peaty were both absent from the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics on Sunday night.

The duo are both Team GB icons, having picked up a staggering eight medals combined over the years.


The games in France drew to a close on Sunday night, with Paris putting on a show as they passed the Olympic torch to Los Angeles.

Fans on social media were gutted to not see Murray or Peaty attending the ceremony.

Andy Murray Adam Peaty

Andy Murray and Adam Peaty were both absent from the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics on Sunday night

PA

But that's because both men flew home once their involvement at the Olympics ended.

Murray had confirmed before the event in Paris that he'd be retiring from tennis once his participation was over.

He had gone into the Olympics hoping to claim a third gold medal, having previously done so at London 2012 and Rio 2016.

Murray played doubles with Dan Evans, with the pair beating Japan and Belgium on their way to the quarter-finals of the tennis.

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It wasn't to be a golden ending for Murray, however, with the 37-year-old and Evans losing to American pair Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.

Murray is now set to spend more time with his wife, Kim, and their four children together.

There has been talk of the veteran potentially becoming a pundit, having worked in that role in the past.

But Murray said after his Olympics exit that punditry was something that didn't interest him, with coaching a far likelier prospect.

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As for Peaty, the swimming sensation won one silver throughout the games.

He was unfortunate to test positive for Covid while performing in Paris, with Peaty doing well to perform in the men's 4x100m medley relay.

The Team GB star missed out on a medal, with France, the United States and China all securing spots on the podium instead.

And Peaty confirmed he could retire from swimming, though was keen to stress that he hadn't yet made a final decision on his future.

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Andy Murray Dan Evans

Andy Murray and Dan Evans produced some moments to remember at the Paris Olympics this summer

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The 28-year-old also hit out at China, suggesting they hadn't 'won fair' with two of their swimmers, Qin Haiyang and Sun Jiaju, previously testing positive for trace amounts of banned performance enhancing drugs.

Those positive tests were blamed on food contamination, with the pair approved to compete.

“One of my favourite quotes in sport is that there is no point winning if you’re not winning fair,” Peaty said.

“I think you know that in your heart. If you touch and you know you’re cheating, then you’re not really winning.

Adam Peaty

Adam Peaty added to his legacy by winning silver at the Paris Olympics

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"So for me, if you’ve been ‘contaminated’ twice, I think as an honourable person you should be out of the sport.

"But we know sport isn't that simple."

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