Michael Phelps brings back the back-slap, Morgan Hurd finds new use for books, and more - 31 March updates from athletes in isolation

With many of us staying home, we're sharing inspiring and emotional moments to help us all stay safe and cope with these challenging times. 

5 minBy ZK Goh
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Friendship, excellence, and respect are the three core Olympic values, and we have been touched by the way the sports world has responded to these challenging times.

And not just Olympians either.

The Olympic family as a whole, and that's all of us, has come up with brilliant ways to help and lift each other up.

Here's a collection of tweets, posts, memes, gifs, gags, and messages that have brought us inspiration and motivation - and made us smile!

We want this to be as interactive as possible so please comment, say hi, tell us how you're doing and send ideas, stories, and your own inspirations on Instagram or Twitter.

All times below are Central European Summer Time (UTC +2 hours).

6:30 pm – Hats off to these athletes

That's all the time we have for today. Thanks for joining us.

We leave you with this story, featuring Olympic and Paralympic athletes who have switched from focusing on sport to fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

A big thank you to them and to all doctors, nurses, and other front-line workers.

Don't forget to stay safe.

6:15 pm – We're all feeling like Novak Djokovic today

View this post on Instagram

Which @djokernole are you today?

A post shared by Olympic Channel (@olympicchannel) on

6:00 pm – Pita's workout

Did you catch Pita Taufatofua's home workout live on the Olympic Channel Instagram earlier? It's leg day, so we hope you did.

Don't worry if you weren't able to though, we've got you covered.

5:30 pm – Strength training, Adam Peaty style

5:05 pm – Paddling fun

How do you train when all the swimming pools are closed and you don't have one yourself?

Olympic open water marathon swim champion Sharon van Rouwendaal has a makeshift solution!

4:29 pm – Inspirational Ibrahim

To give you a dose of inspiration, why not check out our Body+ series?

Here's a trailer of our episode with Egyptian Paralympian Ibrahim Hamato.

4:01 pm – Playing from home

Serena Williams, her husband, daughter, daughter's doll, and dog all form part of her Home Team starting lineup, playing the game of self-isolation from home.

Which athlete would you have in your self-quarantine lineup?

3:20 pm – R-Fed still going in the snow

Roger Federer's at home, and still playing tennis, and still practising those trick shots.

A little snow in Switzerland isn't going to stop the greatest Grand Slam champion ever.

2:44 pm – Indian table tennis player donates to Covid-19 funds

Table tennis player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran has donated some U.S. $1,650 to relief efforts in India.

Gnanasekaran said he donated 1 lakh rupees (around U.S. $1,325) to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Fund in his state and the remainder to the Indian prime minister's fundraising cause.

2:03 pm – Keeping occupied

British tennis player Laura Robson might be struggling with a bit of cabin fever staying indoors, judging by her latest TikTok.

Anything to keep herself occupied…

1:28 pm – Message from Olympic champion Guardiola

Manchester City manager and 1992 Olympic champion with Spain, Josep Guardiola, delivers an important message not just to fans of his team, but to everyone.

12:50 pm – Work out with Pita Taufatofua

Tonga's Pita Taufatofua takes over the Olympic Channel Instagram live in 10 minutes to deliver another home workout masterclass.

Don't forget to tune in!

12:30 pm – Imitation games

Watch out Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron!

The French ice dance pair's routine from this past season, set to Fame, has a challenger.

Introducing Maé-Bérénice Méité and Kevin Aymoz.

What do they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

(Watch on for an indoor work-out led by Méité, herself a singles skater in her own right.)

12:02 pm – Lunchtime

Wondering what to have for lunch?

Why not check out our Transform My Meal series?

Here's today's special.

11:40 am – Kipchoge rocks the style

First, a disclaimer – Eliud Kipchoge, like everyone else, is currently respecting social distancing rules and training at home.

That said, he recently did a photoshoot with style magazine GQ, and the Olympic marathon champion is more than willing to show off the results.

Looking stylish!

11:25 am – More books?

One you're done stretching like Morgan Hurd, or if you have even more books, here's what you can do with them.

New Zealand footballer Abby Erceg suggests you use them as weights in this home workout.

10:55 am – #BackslapChallenge?

If only Michael Phelps was still doing this at the start of a race, right?

Unfortunately, the GOAT has long since retired. But that isn't stopping him – and son Boomer – from doing his famous back-slap.

10:30 am – Done reading?

Lot of us are spending the time at home by reading books.

But what to do with all the books you've already finished?

Artistic gymnastics 2017 world all-around champion Morgan Hurd has an idea…

10:15 am – Good morning, afternoon, evening

Another day dawns upon those of us in home isolation in Europe.

Stay with us throughout today as we bring you the latest updates from athletes in self-quarantine. We promise laughs, tears, inspiration, home workouts, and more.

Let's start off by getting active with this home workout, courtesy of Olympic champion Aljona Savchenko.

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