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Rio 2016: Team GB's decision to issue 900 identical kit bags leads to chaos at baggage claims on return from Olympics

A number of British athletes took to social media to reveal the chaos that led to four-hour delays in leaving the airport

Marissa Payne
Thursday 25 August 2016 09:11 BST
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Team GB thwarted by matching kit bags at Heathrow

Team Great Britain brought home a total of 67 medals from the Rio Olympics and 900 identical red bags.

Issuing matching Team GB bags might have been a cool idea in theory, but in practice it appears to have created a whole lot of confusion.

Along with the team, several athletes also tweeted about the mess, including silver medal windsurfer Nick Dempsey.

Gold medal-winning rower Alex Gregory was also looking for his red bag.

As was fellow gold medal rower Matt Langridge, who uploaded a panoramic view that looks like a “Where’s Waldo” tableau.

Gymnast Becky Downie took a video of the mess.

Bronze medal sailor Luke Patience’s surname seems extra relevant for the situation.

Meanwhile, sailor Sophie Ainsworth didn’t mind her long search for her bag. Honoured to be a part of the Olympics, Ainsworth called the issue a “fantastic problem to have.”

Skeet shooter Elena Allen didn’t say how long she searched for her bag, but simply said it took “a while.”

The good news is that it appears everyone found their respective luggage, including sprinter Richard Kilty, marathon runner Aly Dixon and trampoline gymnast Kat Driscoll.

Long jumper Jazmin Sawyers looked extra excited to have her baggage.

Judging from the time stamps on some of the earlier tweets, it appears it took almost four hours to get out of the airport on Tuesday.

© Washington Post

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