Olympic Day Live Blog | 23 June 2020

Olympic Day 2020 was celebrated with people across the globe getting active, getting moving, and getting involved.

Amazing Olympians led the way with the Olympic Day Workout that spanned five continents and crossed borders in 20 different time zones.

The @Olympics and @OlympicChannel Instagram handles put Olympic Day into the hands and homes of many, while many more shared Olympic memories, hopes and dreams using the hashtags #StayActive and #OlympicDay.

To relive all the inspiration and motivation of Olympic Day 2020, just scroll down to see how it all happened live.

All times are Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)

9:30pm - Interview with Bryan Clay

Now it's time to listen to Bryan tell us about his Olympic experience.

He says he was lucky to be part of two of the most amazing Olympics in modern times: Athens 2004 - the birthplace of the Olympics, and Beijing 2008 - China's moment.

He talks about his philosophy on victory and that iconic image of him, on his knees, wrapped in the American flag, in tears, and what it cost him to get there.

"I had beaten the odds, I was up against it, like so many athletes."

His advice?

"Sweat the small stuff."

Watch the workout part 2 and the full interview here:

9:15pm - Final workout Part 2

No time to catch your breath here, it's mountain climber time, and bicycle kicks, "I wonder if anyone's actually doing this with us?" Asks Bryan.

The live blog team will be honest and say... No. But we are blogging!

We're sure all the people watching the live workout are getting stuck in, right guys?

We do love the names of these exercises though, time to do the bird dog, and the superman crawls, and finally: burpees challenge.

Final push, come on!

Still live, click here.

9:05pm - Burn time

Bryan Clay and Olympic Channel's Ed Knowles are ready to go.

Get involved, jumping jacks time, jump-squats next, these are tough.

And of course Ed will have some questions for Bryan when the workout is over and both are gasping for breath. Perfect time for an interview.

Some frog jumps are next, serious leg burn, and shadow boxing in 5, 4, 3, 2...

Looks like we're going to reconnect to get a better image and audio... And we're back, nice shades Ed! 😎

8:55pm - Final workout of Olympic Day

And the very last 25-min session of our worldwide workout is less than ten minutes away.

Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete Bryan Clay will take us home from Honolulu.

You ready?

Live in five here: @Olympics Instagram, just click the profile pic.

8:41pm - Skipping in full goalkeeper kit

Skipping is a challenge in itself for most of us, imagine doing it fully padded up in a field hockey goalkeeper's kit.

Fair 'dinkum to the Kookaburras goalie Tyler Lovell.

8:30pm - The art of Olympic Day

Olympic Day inspires many people in many ways, here's some art and hockey from India:

8:15pm - Gracias!

Feliz dia olimpico to you too Javi!

8pm - Here's to the volunteers!

Of course, Olympic Day isn't just about the athletes, the Olympics wouldn't be the Olympics without the thousands of volunteers and billions of fans around the world.

Here's to you!

7pm - More Olympic Memories

6:55pm - Final workout!

The finishing line is in sight, the crowd is urging you on, one final push to Olympic glory.

Bryan Clay has the honour of bringing this worldwide workout across all 5 continents and 20 time zones home, this will be the last of the 25 minute sessions.

Get ready!

Clay is a gold-medal winning decathlete, so we're ready to finish with a flourish.

He's live from Honolulu here @Olympics a couple of hours from now.

Keep those sweats on, we're nearly there.

6:46pm - Remember Katie Ledecky at 15?

Prodigy.

6:30pm - Interview with Kyla Ross

Scott and Kyla are stretching it out after completing those burpees and a successful workout.

But the interview is still to come.

Kyla wasn't even 16 when she won gold, 8 years ago as Scott points out.

"Don't age me!" says Kyla. So what does she miss about international competition?

The team spirit, the travel, the fun. Kyla is the last person to beat Simone Biles in the all around, she's talking about her memories of Simone and the incredible career she has gone on to have.

And in the comments someone says that they named their daughter after Kyla!

Watch the full workout and interview here:

6pm - Two workouts to go!

You got this, just two more to go.

First up it's USA gymnast Kyla Ross, then Bryan Clay will be live from Hawaii.

Kyla is live right now with Olympic Channel's gymnastics guru Scott Bregman on @Olympics Instagram.

Planks, push-ups, stretches, you don't need any equipment, just a bit of space. Kyla's challenge is a 45 second handstand hold. Scott says he's going to try but it might result in a comedy moment.

Colleagues standing by to clip and post in case that happens, good luck Scott!

Get on it!

Handstand time... Scott is handstanding with no wall! 👏 We never doubted you Scott. This is a fun workout, Kyla is laughing a lot.

Kyla won an Olympic gold medal at London 2012, part of the 'Fierce Five'.

5:59pm - Who's your pick?

It's Olympic Day, you can hang with any Olympian you want past or present.

Who are you picking?

Answer us here on this tweet:

5:55pm - Hima Das is dreaming big

Today is a day for Olympic-sized dreams too.

India's track phenom Hima Das says it best:

"Every athletes dream is to win an Olympic medal for their country. We happily devote our lives to this!"

5:39pm - Sydney McLaughlin pitches up at Dodgers game

USA 400m relay world champ Sydney McLaughlin threw the first ceremonial pitch at today's baseball Dodger's game as part of Olympic Day celebrations.

At 16 she was was the youngest athlete to qualify for the Rio 2016 USA track team since 1980. Now she's 20 and aiming to make her mark at the Tokyo Olympics next summer.

5:20pm - Tessa Virtue on 'the process'

Tessa Virtue and Scottt Moir are the most decorated Olympic figure skaters of all time.

Tessa won three gold and two silver medals in a shimmering career.

Today she's remembering the empty stadiums and the endless hours of practice - the ones that make Olympic champions.

"Thinking about the Games takes me back to these practice days," she says.

"An empty arena filled only with our dreams and goals. It was the process that was most fulfilling - diving deeply into each and every facet of preparation, long before crowds or judges had their say.

"To the summer 2020 athletes who envisioned something entirely different this year and were eagerly awaiting their Olympic moment ... hang in there. Know that there is an entire nation behind you, ready to propel you forward when you need a boost as you continue training, perfecting, focusing. Your time will come, and it will be everything you make it."

Some moments you'll never forget.

5:05pm - Live workout with Natalie Spooner

We're live on @Olympics Instagram, Natalie is with Olympic Channel's Ash Tulloch, "squats are an easy exercise" says the Olympic champion.

Speak for yourself Natalie!

High knees are getting the heart rate up, this is Ash's third workout today, an Olympic effort.

We're still on the warm up, plenty of time to join in.

And it's not just workouts we have going on, the Olympians tell us their stories during the workout, Natalie says that her parents came from the UK and moved to Canada, knowing nothing about ice hockey.

Her dad was a rugby player and wasn't too keen on contact sports for his kids.

Now his daughter is an ice hockey Olympic champ. A little like the Rolling Stones, dads don't always get what they want.

And we've just met Adam, Natalie's fiance! Top camerawork Adam.

Watch the full workout and interview here:

4:55pm - Stay warm

Don't get cold, our next workout is coming up in 5 minutes.

Canada's ice hockey gold medallist Natalie Spooner is your next workout leader.

4:42pm - Sandi Morris's unforgettable jump

USA pole vault Olympian Sandi Morris is remembering the jump that started it all for her.

It won her a silver medal at Rio 2016.

Happy Olympic Day to you too Sandi. 💪

4:30pm - Rommel Pacheco's dancing!

Mexico's star diver isn't happy with just the workout, he's dancing during the breaks too. Is there a more fun, energetic, effervescent and ebullient Olympian than Rommel Pacheco?

He deserves even more adjectives that start with e.

In the comments we have people joining in from Italy, England, Argentina, Peru, California, Mexico...

Get involved!

Triceps burn time... 🔥

We love the Olympic rings above the pool Rommel, he had them put in a year ago to remind himself every day what he's working towards.

Missed the workout? No worries, here it is in full:

4:20pm - Rommel Pacheco live!

It seems there have been a couple of technical issues with Mexico's diving sensation Rommel Pacheco and his live workout.

But don't worry, glitches and hitches have been sorted and we're live right now, join in... You might get some Spanish practice in too, vamos!

Rommel is live with MD on the @Olympics Instagram handle right now, try rolling your wrists and your ankles at the same time while keeping your balance!

Jumping jacks in 10, 9, 8...

Here's one Rommel made earlier:

4:15pm - Pau Gasol: "Celebrate it together!"

Basketball star Pau Gasol says that Tokyo 2020 could provide the perfect ending to his career.

He knows where it's at today, love that hat Mr. flagbearer!

3:55pm - All-Day global workout rolls on

The non-stop energy and exercise continues, we just had Mikel Thomas from Trinidad and Tobago put the Olympic Channel's Alessandro Poggi through his paces.

And now it's Mexican diver Rommel Pacheco's turn, it's live on @Olympics Instagram Channel, it's going to be a bilingual Spanish-English workout with Olympic Channel's Alvaro Alonso.

3:40pm - Messi's favourite medal

Do you know what Barcelona FC megastar Leo Messi's favourite medal is?

He's won so many it must be hard to choose, what between all the Champions Leagues, La Liga titles, Copa Del Rey medals and a World Cup runners-up prize in the trophy room.

But Messi has said that his most prized medal is the Olympic gold that he won at Beijing 2008 when he was 21.

Relive some of that magic here including that stunning goal from Angel Di Maria in the Argentina v Nigeria final.

You can watch the full final replay here.

3:20pm - Eliud Kipchoge can't wait for Tokyo

Three-time Olympian, three-time Olympic medallist and the reigning Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge has chimed in on Olympic Day.

He says he's looking forward to defending his title in Tokyo.

After running the world's first ever sub-two hour marathon in October 2019, the 35-year-old seems to be getting faster as he gets older.

We can't wait to watch you run again Eliud!

3pm - "It's about 30 million Malaysians back home" - Lee Chong Wei

Across the planet people are sharing what the Olympics means to them on Olympic Day.

And to Malaysia's superstar shuttler Lee Chong Wei they mean a lot.

"Olympic is the ultimate sporting event for every athlete," he wrote on Facebook.

"My first Olympics 2004, 22 years of age, represented Malaysia in singles, together with Roslin and Choong Hann. I was lucky as it was held in Athens, the birth place of Olympics. It was like no other tournaments I entered before. I realised it’s no longer about me, but 30 million Malaysians back home. The euphoria, indescribable.

No I didn’t get to face top seed Lin Dan. He lost in the first round. I couldn’t get past Cheng Hong in the second round. Taufik took the Gold with his insane performance.

Since then, I think all knew what happened. 3 Olympic Silvers. There it goes, 16 years of my life. I still remember every match I played. It all feels like just yesterday."

His retirement from the sport after 19 sparkling years don't mean that he's gone from badminton forever, we will see him at Tokyo with a different role to play, inspiring the next generation.

Thanks for the memories and see you soon Lee!

2:35pm - How Hugo Calderano plans to take on China

Brazil's table tennis hero Hugo Calderon is asked how he will take on the seemingly unstoppable Chinese table tennis dynasty.

China has won 28 of 32 gold medals since the sport joined the Olympics at Seoul 1988.

So how does Hugo plan for a game against a Chinese star player?

"The Chinese are very strong technically," he says, "they start so early so it's hard to beat them technically, so I try to approach it in a different way, mentally and physically, I try to innovate."

We're looking forward to seeing it Hugo!

2:12pm - Workouts that leave you... Wow

The global workout relay continues, Brazilian table tennis player Hugo Calderano is live right now on @Olympics and the press-ups are flying. Here come the dreaded dive bombers!

Shred!

The IOC's Kyrian Mello is keeping up with the Olympian, somehow, go Kyrian!

They call Calderano the 'Thrill from Brazil', you can see why after that workout! Aww, and it was Hugo's birthday yesterday, 24 years young.

Feliz aniversario Hugo!

Watch the full workout and interview right here:

2pm - What's your favourite Olympic memory?

Too many to choose from...

Let us know on @Olympicchannel

1:54pm - Olympic Day kit

Loving the lid + polo combo Michael Wokorach!

The Ugandan rugby 7's captain is on trend today.

1:40pm - Happy Olympic Day from Evgenia Medvedeva

"Happy International Olympic Day," says Olympic figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva on her Instagram account.

Zhenya, as her fans call her, won a silver medal at PyeongChang 2018, and talks about how much it meant to her.

"Today is very important for me. Happy holiday!"

12:45pm - Figure skater Elizabet Tursynbayeva shows you how

Kazakh star skater Elizabet Tursynbayeva showed future figure skaters the type of workout that helps build important muscles for the sport.

But you don't have to be a figure skater to try!

She also talked with Olympic Channel's Lorena Encabo about being injured and how hard it is to be away from the ice.

"It's difficult mentally, because you're trying to exercise off the ice but it's just so different. The feeling on the ice is totally different from the feeling off the ice so all I could do is just keep my muscles strong before I get on the ice, but, ya, it's really hard."

"It's not like different kinds of sports where you can practise something off the ice."

Elizabet walks us through figure skating-specific exercises:

"Why we are doing a core exercise is because it's really important because when you jump jumps with a lot of rotation, you need to keep it centred, and that's when strong muscles help."

Watch for more:

Kazakhstan's world silver medallist hit the headlines when she became the first woman to land a quadruple jump in a senior international competition at the World Championships, Saitama 2019.

12:30pm - Coming up

Still so much more to come on Olympic Day, set that reminder for these live workouts coming up:

2 pm: Hugo Calderano (Brazil)

3 pm: Mikel Thomas (Trinidad and Tobago)

4 pm: Rommel Pacheco (Mexico)

5 pm: Natalie Spooner (Canada)

6 pm: Kyla Ross (United States)

9 pm: Bryan Clay (United States)

Refugee Olympic Team goes live

Abdullah Sediqi is a taekwondo athlete who had to flee his country because of war. He's training in Belgium with an IOC athlete scholarship and working hard to qualify for Tokyo.

He brought us this live Olympic Day workout packed with jumping jacks, knee-ups, squat jumps, speed skaters, a bootcamp challenge, some textbook shadow boxing, and even bird dog.

You'll get a serious sweat on with this one, give it a try!

11:45am - Max Whitlock's 10 minute workout

The worldwide workout continues across 20 different timezones and GB gymnastics star Max Whitlock went live with this 10 min workout.

Max talks about what the Olympics means to him, "we are celebrating the biggest sporting event in the world, an event that means so much to me."

This double Olympic champ is in full-on preparation mode for the Tokyo Olympics, can you keep up?

This 10-minute workout is one to save and get in every day.

11:20am - "The Olympic Dream is coming"

The celebration of all things Olympic continues across the globe, here's boxer Wessam Salamana showing the way on staying fit during challenging times.

Regular press-ups too easy? Try them with the kids on your back!

 Salamana competed for Syria at London 2012 and is aiming to join the refugee team for the Tokyo Olympics.

10:55am - Retirement reflections from van der Burgh

Olympic swimming gold medallist Cameron van der Burgh spoke to Ash Tulloch after doing the workout.

He retired a couple of years ago and his wife is due to give birth to their first child in September.

He said, "It's only when you stop and you look back and you think about all the amazing things that sport and the Olympics has given you... I never used to watch my races or interviews because it felt weird to watch them, but now I'm retired it's nice to watch your Olympic races or achievements and it makes you extremely proud.

"It's an amazing thing. One day, I'm definitely going to make my kids do sport in whichever form that they want to. I'm not going to press them into swimming but just to instill those values in them and hopefully they can grow and appreciate it as much as I did."

Van der Burgh also talked about recovering from COVID-19 in a really interesting interview, and a spectacular introduction from Ash is a bonus in this video.

10:45am - Lorena makes the finish!

Two workouts done for our Lorena who needed plenty of shouts of "Vamos" to help get her over the line as well as encouragement from footballer Desire Oparanozie.

She recovered her breath to quiz Desire who returns occasionally to Nigeria to catch up with family and friends and enjoy the food of her homeland having been playing in France for six years.

We go to Dakar, Senegal for our next workout with surfer Cherif Fall at 11am.

Judging by his Instagram, he's been working hard on his fitness during COVID-19 lockdown so this could be intense and, as he says, "Get ready to sweat."

Olympic Channel's Mathilde Delorme will be with him for her second workout of the day. Good luck, MD.

10:05am - Nigerian footballer Desire Oparanozie starts the workout

We've had Kenya and South Africa, and now we're joining Nigerian footballer Desire Oparanozie.

The prolific goalscorer plays for Guingamp in France and is currently in the Brittany region.

She's with Olympic Channel's Lorena Encabo who has already done one workout today and is asking Oparanozie to "be kind" to her.

Watch the workout on the @Olympics Instagram.

10:00am - Sport unites for Olympic Day Workout

We've just had a load of live Olympic Day Workouts and there are plenty more to come.

Not just on Olympic Channel platforms either - PyeongChang 2018 pairs gold medallist Aljona Savchenko just did it live from her home in Oberstdorf at the same time as Latvian youngster Deniss Vasiljevs from Champery on the ISU Figure Skating Instagram.

Italian pairs skaters Nicole Della Monica and Ondrej Hotarek will work out in Bergamo at 12pm UTC, with Japan's former singles world champion Takahashi Daisuke and his ice dance partner Muramoto Kana live from Florida at 3pm UTC.

Hockey's international federation, the FIH, also hosted a live workout by Great Britain's Rio 2016 gold medallist Susannah Townsend.

Join in with it here.

9:44am - Jess Ennis-Hill inspires schoolchildren

Olympic Day is a day not only to celebrate the Olympic movement, but also to inspire the younger generation to get active and make sport part of their lives.

London 2012 heptathlon gold medallist Jess Ennis-Hill is one of Sheffield's most famous daughters and she's been helping promote a local schools sports event which, due to COVID-19 restrictions, will be a virtual event.

9:35am - Kenya joins the Olympic Day Workout

It's great to see so many people joining in with the Olympic Day workout challenge.

Kenya's rugby sevens player Humphrey Kayange, an Olympian at Rio 2016, did it for the Kenyan National Olympic Committee.

Kayange is a former Shujaa captain and, in 2009, helped in rugby's successful bid for inclusion in the Olympic Games alongside former Argentina captain Agustin Pichot and late All Blacks wing legend Jonah Lomu.

9:20am - Feeling the burn, and enjoying it!

Welcome to everyone joining our live blog on Olympic Day workout challenge wherever you are in the world, and we hope you're enjoying the live workouts.

Right now on the @RefugeeOlympicTeam Instagram is Belgian-based Afghan refugee judoka Abdullah Sediqiwith Olympic Channel's Anne Sophie Thilo.

Over on the @OlympicChannel Instagram is French surfer Johanne Defay with our own Ed Pearce.

And finally on the @Olympics Instagram is South Africa's Olympic swimming champion Cameron van der Burgh with a familiar face to Olympic Channel viewers, Ash Tulloch.

Earlier, Jordanian boxer Zeyan Eashash took on the Olympic Day Workout.

He spoke about what it meant to represent his country, and how he loves training.

9:10am - Mamun talks family and life after sport

Margarita Mamun did the workout with our own Ekaterina Kuznetsova who translated the Russian.

The Russian star, 24, retired soon after Rio 2016 and gave birth to son Lev last October.

She spoke at length after the workout about what she has been doing during lockdown and why Russia is so dominant in rhythmic gymnastics.

Mamun worked with Olympic Channel on The Z Team and said it was "an extraordinary experience".

"I had to train girls for just one week before they went back to competitions.

As far as returning to sport, she admitted, "Rhythmic gymnastics is a young person's sport. It's very hard to get back there after having a baby. My back is not as flexible as it used to be.

8:50am - Workouts, thousands of 'em...

The Olympic Day workout challenge just gets bigger and better.

Coming up, not one, not two but THREE workouts at the same time across three live Instagram platforms.

On the @Olympics Instagram is our first African-based workout courtesy of swimming hero Cameron van der Burgh in Cape Town.

At the same time over on the @OlympicChannel Instagram is France's Johanne Defay who will be appearing in surfing's Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020.

And on the @RefugeeOlympicTeam Instagram, Belgian-based judoka Abdullah Sediqi will be doing the workout.

Sediqi fled his homeland Afghanistan and is now hoping to make the second Refugee Olympic Team in Tokyo after its debut at Rio 2016.

8:31am - And the answer is...

22! So close.

I underestimated Venus Williams who has no fewer than five Olympic medals including four golds. The full breakdown is:

Serena Williams 4, Andy Murray 3, Stan Wawrinka 1, Monica Puig 1, Roger Federer 2, Venus Williams 5, Victoria Azarenka 2, Rafael Nadal 2, Novak Djokovic 1, Bethanie Mattek-Sands 1.

Venus won singles and doubles gold at Sydney 2000 and, most recently, claimed silver at Rio 2016 in the mixed doubles with Rajeev Ram, losing out in the final to fellow Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock.

Enjoy the best of the Williams sisters here.

8:24am - Tennis quiz time

The International Tennis Federation has posted a great video featuring a number of tennis stars including Olympic gold medallists Serena Williams, Andy Murray, Monica Puig and Rafa Nadal.

The question is 'How many Olympic medals can you count between these tennis stars?"

I've had a guess without looking... of 21. I'm going to check now and give you the answer in a few minutes.

8:12am - More live Olympic Day workouts

And we're back with the workouts on Olympic Day with the first foray into Europe.

Russia's Rio 2016 rhythmic gymnastics gold medallist Margarita Mamun is on the @Olympics Instagram with Olympic Channel's Ekaterina Kuznetsova.

Margarita is no stranger to Olympic Channel having worked a gymnastics team in Moscow in 'The Z Team'.

She also took part in 'Sports Swap' with footballer Heather O'Reilly.

At the same time over on the @OlympicChannel Instagram is Jordanian boxer Zeyad Eashash who reached the Tokyo 2020 Games through the Asia Boxing Qualifiers in Amman.

The 21-year-old is a rising star in boxing and he's working out with Waleed Abu Nada.

Unsurprisingly, he's looking very accomplished in the shadow boxing element of the workout.

8:00am - President Bach calls on world to harness "power of sport"

IOC President Thomas Bach has sent a video message to National Olympic Committees to mark Olympic Day.

He said, "Celebrating Olympic Day may feel very different from all previous years, but at the same time, on this Olympic Day, our message of the power of sport to bring hope and optimism to everyone resonates even stronger.

"Let us join together to use this power of sport to prepare the postponed Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 as a moment of solidarity and resilience of humankind."

Bach also spoke of the "uncertainty" caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, adding, "In these difficult times, we need the values of sport, our shared Olympic values of excellence, friendship, respect and solidarity, more than ever.

7:35am - Young Indian hockey players learn about Olympic Games

Olympic Day is a great opportunity to introduce youngsters to the Games and the values of the Olympic movement.

Children in Karnataka State, India have been combining their love of hockey with Olympic studies and producing some beautiful written and artistic work.

India's last of eight Olympic golds in men's hockey came back in 1980 with the nation failing to win a medal since.

But hopes are high that they can end that drought with the men's and women's teams boasting medal chances in Tokyo next year.

7:00am - Mads Pedersen and UCI mark Olympic Day

Our next Olympic Day workouts are not until 8am with Rio 2016 rhythmic gymnastics gold medallist Margarita Mamun on the @Olympics Instagram.

At the same time, Jordan's Zeyad Eashash - who reached the Tokyo 2020 Games through the Asia Boxing Qualifiers - will be on the @OlympicChannel Instagram.

Before then, we'll be bringing you the best of #OlympicDay on social media with cycling's international federation, the UCI, posting a video on their Twitter.

Reigning world road race champion Mads Pedersen and Dutch mountain bike rider Anne Tauber were among the cyclists taking part in their celebration which also looks forward to the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games.

6:42am - Tennis doubles star Qureshi talks Liverpool and happiness

Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi was a really entertaining workout participant with he and Ed Knowles enjoying themselves this morning.

The pair bonded over their common love of Liverpool FC and talked about how coronavirus is affecting tennis.

The pandemic was particularly untimely for Qureshi as he and British doubles specialist Dominic Inglot won the ATP 250 New York Open in February having only starting playing together at the start of the year.

He is yet to compete at an Olympic Games, but hopes to make Tokyo next year when he would be 41.

6:25am - ICYMI: PV Sindhu does the Olympic Day Workout

Here's the full video of reigning world badminton champion PV Sindhu joining the Olympic Channel on Olympic Day.

After early connection issues, she was able to join our MD (Mathilde Delorme) with her positivity shining through.

Sindhu talked to MD about having to stay in Hyderabad due to COVID-19 restrictions and how daily meditation is helping her deal with the current situation.

6:08am - Pakistan's top tennis player joins Olympic Day workout

Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi has been Pakistan's leading tennis player for a number of years and he's just joined Olympic Channel's Ed Knowles to start his workout.

After a couple of connection difficulties, they've hooked up and are just starting on the @OlympicChannel Instagram.

5:55am - Sevens Player of the Year Ruby Tui marks Olympic Day

Most of the social media posts have come from Australia and India so far on this Olympic Day.

But New Zealand has been prominent too with 2019 World Rugby Women's Sevens Player of the Year Ruby Tui posting on her Instagram.

Tui won silver with the Black Ferns Sevens at Rio 2016 and will be desperate to go one better in Tokyo next year.

5:40pm - PV Sindhu gets started

The electronic gremlins tried their best to throw a spanner in the works, but PV Sindhu managed to connect from Hyderabad with Olympic Channel's Mathilde Delorme and she's up and running with Jumping Jacks.

Join in with her workout live on the @Olympics Instagram.

5:20am - PV Sindhu coming up

Elizabet Tursynbaeva is concentrating on the core and back after her lower back injury, and giving our Lorena Encabo quite a serious workout.

Coming up in 10 minutes, also on the @Olympics Instagram, is world badminton champion and Rio 2016 silver medallist PV Sindhu.

The Indian is one of the sport's biggest stars and spoke recently to Olympic Channel.

Sindhu is also part of the joint Bridgestone-Olympic Channel experience 'Olympic State of Mind' which looks at how athletes can use mindfulness, motivation and visualisation to achieve great things.

5:05am - Treat for figure skating fans

It may be the figure skating close season but that hasn't stopped 2019 world silver medallist Elizabet Tursynbaeva joining us for the Olympic Day workout.

The 20-year-old Kazakh became the first woman to land a quad jump in senior competition at the Worlds in Saitama but missed last season through injury.

She has just joined Olympic Channel's Lorena Encabo and, as she is still injured, will be doing a slightly modified version of the workout on the @Olympics Instagram.

4:55am - Badminton stars sweat on Olympic Day

The Olympic Day workout is hard for us mere mortals, so it's comforting to see Olympians sweat while doing it.

Anthony Ginting and Jonatan Christie are two of the world's top badminton players but even they struggled with some of the exercises, not least the push-ups and dive bombers.

But most importantly, they had a lot of fun doing it.

Afterwards, they spoke to Sanjeev Palar about returning to action on the BWF Tour and the postponed Tokyo 2020 Games, focusing first on the Thomas Cup, the World Men's Team Championships.

Sanjeev caught up with both players at last year's World Tour Finals in Dubai, and you can watch his interviews with them here.

4:40am - Dutch recall Wevers triumph

Europe is starting to wake up on Olympic Day and the Royal Dutch Gymnastics Federation is quickly out of the blocks, marking Sanne Wevers' Olympic gold at Rio 2016.

Wevers became the Netherlands' first individual female Olympic gold medallist in artistic gymnastics, winning the balance beam from American pair Laurie Hernandez and Simone Biles.

4:15am - Australian boxing hero Pittman celebrates Olympic Day

Athletes from Oceania and Asia are leading the way with Olympic memories on Olympic Day.

Jamie Pittman represented Australia at Athens 2004, going out narrowly in his first contest despite knocking down Germany's Lukas Wilaschek in the opening round.

As a professional boxer, he went on to challenge for the WBA world middleweight title but lost out to another German, Felix Sturm.

The proud Indigenous Australian is now coaching youngsters as part of the National Futures programme.

4:05am - Double dose of Indonesian badminton stars

Right now you can join two workouts featuring three of Indonesia's top badminton players.

On the @Olympics Instagram, there's reigning Asian Games doubles champion Marcus Fernaldi Gideon doing the workout with Olympic Channel's Sam Friedman.

And on the @OlympicChannel Instagram, two star singles players - Jonatan Christie and Anthony Ginting - are working out together with Sanjeev Palar.

Join us now and #StayActive on Olympic Day.

3:40am - Hong Zhang looks forward to Beijing 2022

The latest workout is done with Hong Zhang looking particularly graceful in her high kicks and burpees near the end.

Afterwards, the Sochi 2014 1000m speed skating gold medallist spoke to Olympic Channel's Julian Polo about her role as an ambassador for Beijing 2022 after retiring due to a knee injury.

She is also a member of the IOC Athletes' Commission and says she's enjoying making a contribution after her career in competition.

Watch below for some Chinese language tips as well.

3:30am - All through the day and night!

We've got plenty of Olympians taking part in the Olympic Day workout around the world.

It started with Summer and Winter Olympian Pita Taufatofua in Tonga and ends with gold medal decathlete Bryan Clay in Hawaii.

Our penultimate workout is attracting plenty of interest in the artistic gymnastics community with London 2012 team gold medallist Kyla Ross live from Los Angeles at 6pm UTC.

Ross was actually born in Hawaii so it's a bit of a Hawaii love-in for the end of Olympic Day.

3:05am - Speed skating gold medallist Hong Zhang warming up

The names keep coming in our Olympic Day workout.

Now it's Sochi 2014 speed skating gold medallist Hong Zhang in the Chinese capital Beijing with Olympic Channel's Julian Polo.

Julian's keen to learn some Chinese but they're talking about the weather, and now it's into the Jumping Jacks.

Join them now on the @Olympics Instagram.

2:55am - Feel the burn with Yamamoto Seito

That was an intense workout with Japanese pole vaulter Yamamoto Seito.

And, if you watched it, you should now at least know some basic Japanese words and numbers.

Olympic Channel's Daum Kim certainly found the workout tough going but reminded us how important it is to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.

Have fun and #StayActive.

2:40am - Kiwis defy the cold on Olympic Day

With the exception of the southern tip of South America, Invercargill on New Zealand's South Island is one of the most southerly cities on earth.

It's also pretty cold at this time of year but that hasn't stopped pupils at Southland Girls' High School celebrating Olympic Day.

They recreated the Olympic Rings before taking part in athletics races with the official New Zealand team sharing news of their exploits.

2:25am - Ji Soyun bids to fire Korea Republic to first Olympic Games appearance

The postponement of Tokyo 2020 has put Olympic dreams on hold for several athletes.

Korea Republic's women's football team now have to wait until next year to see if they can make their first Olympic Games having made three appearances at FIFA Women's World Cups.

Their two-legged playoff with China, which was originally due to take place in March, will now be held next February.

Their star player is midfielder Ji Soyun who is celebrating her third league title with English club Chelsea after the Women's Super League was halted early due to COVID-19.

She is Korea's top scorer with 61 goals in 125 games and says, "COVID-19 did pose difficulties for us this year but the postponement gives us more time to prepare. We will work hard and get ourselves ready for the play-off."

2:10am - Yamamoto Seito is ready to go

Ahead of preparing to take part in his third Olympic Games, and his first on home soil, Japanese pole vaulter Yamamoto Seito is warming up for the Olympic Day workout.

It's amazing to see people tuning in from all over the world on the @Olympics Instagram live feed with viewers from Brazil, Canada, Nepal and Portugal. Thank you so much for joining us.

Now get ready for a special bilingual workout which is being done in Japanese and English!

It looks like they're having a lot of fun so follow along and, if you're feeling active, join in too.

Olympic Channel's Daum Kim is your host and she's doing plenty of laughing as Seito demonstrates the exercises.

1:58am - ICYMI: Our workout with Melissa Wu

Here's our third workout of Olympic Day with Melissa Wu managing to stay really cool and composed and our Paul Saunders getting pretty hot and sweaty.

Wu in Sydney admitted, "I'm actually glad it's winter here because if it was summer I'm pretty sure I'd be the complete opposite!"

A silver medallist in the synchro platform event at Beijing 2008 aged just 16, Wu hopes to compete in her fourth Games at Tokyo 2020 and says the year postponement might be "a blessing in disguise".

"It's been good to have another year up my sleeve because I was a little bit injured this year. That's my goal, working towards that. Having this extra time is really good for me."

And she has an extra incentive with Tokyo being her favourite city.

"I actually went to Japan for the first time on holiday after Rio. I went to Tokyo and a few other cities and I just fell in love with it. I've been there a few times since for training camps and competitions and I just love the people, the culture, everything about it. So I reckon an Olympics there would be amazing."

1:35am - Badminton joins in on Olympic Day

Badminton's international federation, the BWF, is celebrating Olympic Day with us.

We have our fair share of badminton stars joining us today with Indonesia singles players Jonatan Christie and Anthony Ginting, and Asian Games men's doubles champion Marcus Fernaldi Gideon working out at 4am.

Then at 5:30am, India's Rio 2016 silver medallist and reigning world champion PV Sindhu is live on @Olympics Instagram.

1:20am - Melissa's memories of Sydney 2000

Beijing 2008 synchro platform diving silver medallist Melissa Wu is hosting our third workout of Olympic Day right here on the @Olympics Instagram alongside Olympic Channel's Paul Saunders.

Paul asked her about her best Olympic memories to which Melissa replied, "I can't get past the Olympic silver."

As a spectator, the Sydneysider said, "I watched a few sports at the Sydney 2000 Games including hockey. That was awesome and when I fell in love with the Olympic dream."

You can see a schedule of all the Olympians hosting workouts on the @Olympics Instagram right here.

Among the exercises in the workout were the aptly-named 'dive bombers' which she admitted were new to her.

12:45 am - 15 minutes until Melissa Wu joins us!

2008 Olympic silver medallist Melissa Wu, an Australian diver, is our next Olympian to host an Olympic Day workout on the @Olympics Instagram. Don't miss it!

12:28 am - "To achieve your goals, there's nothing quite like it."

In need of chills? Watch this video from the New South Wales Institute of Sport as members of their staff, who just happen to be Olympians, talk about achieving their goals.

12:01 am - Join gymnasts from around the world, including Max Whitlock and the Averina twins!

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Max Whitlock of Great Britain and Russia's rhythmic gymnastics duo of Dina and Arina Averina are among the many gymnasts who are also hosting live workouts on their Instagram accounts.

Check out the post below from the International Gymnastics Federation for the complete list!

11:46 pm - ICYMI: Our workout with Tyla Nathan-Wong

Olympic Channel's Ash Tulloch was joined by New Zealand rugby player and Olympic silver medallist Tyla Nathan-Wong for our second live workout of the day!

11:19 pm - Join Team Australia!

You won't want to miss this one. Make sure to join Australian Olympic champs Ian Thorpe and Ellia Green for a live workout.

10:53 pm - Tyla Nathan-Wong coming up next!

The fun keeps going! New Zealand rugby player Tyla Nathan-Wong leads the next workout on the @Olympics Instagram handle in just 7 minutes.

10:23 pm - Pita approved

You know the workout is working when two-time Olympian Pita Taufatofua says it's tough.

"As an Olympian, I certify this is challenging!" he joked during the first #OlympicDay live workout.

9:50 pm - A look ahead

Here's the schedule for all of the LIVE Olympic Day Workouts!

10 pm (22 June): Pita Taufatofua (Tonga)

11 pm (22 June): Tyla Nathan-Wong (New Zealand)

1 am: Melissa Wu (Australia)

2 am: Yamamoto Seito (Japan)

3 am: Zhang Hong (China)

4 am: Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (Indonesia)

4 am: Jonatan Christie and Anthony Ginting (Indonesia, on the @olympicchannel Instagram)

5 am: Elizabet Tursynbaeva (Kazakhstan)

5:30 am: PV Sindhu (India)

6 am: Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi (Pakistan, on the @olympicchannel Instagram)

8 am: Zeyad Eashash (Jordan, on the @olympicchannel Instagram)

8 am: Margarita Mamun (Russia)

9 am: Cameron van der Burgh (South Africa)

9 am: Johanne Defay (France, on the @olympicchannel Instagram)

9 am: Abdullah Sediqi (Refugee Team, on @refugeeolympicteam Instagram)

10 am: Desire Operanozie (Nigeria)

11 am: Cherif Fall (Senegal)

2 pm: Hugo Calderano (Brazil)

3 pm: Mikel Thomas (Trinidad and Tobago)

4 pm: Rommel Pacheco (Mexico)

5 pm: Natalie Spooner (Canada)

6 pm: Kyla Ross (United States)

7 pm: Bryan Clay (United States)

9:41 pm - Here we go!

Make sure to join us for our first live workout with 2016 and 2018 Olympian Pita Taufatofua of Tonga! The action starts at 10 pm UTC on the Olympics Instagram account.

At the end of February Pita managed to qualify for his third Olympic Games after winning an Oceania taekwondo qualifier.