Tokyo 2020: Team GB boss Mark England in cheeky quip at BBC host Sam Quek’s behaviour in Olympic village during Rio 2016
TEAM GB boss Mark England gave a cheeky reply when asked if BBC host and hockey star Sam Quek behaved herself at the Rio Olympics. Quek, 32, was part of the victorious women’s hockey team in Brazil, where England was Chef de Mission for the British team. Once again in charge at Tokyo 2020, the […]
TEAM GB boss Mark England gave a cheeky reply when asked if BBC host and hockey star Sam Quek behaved herself at the Rio Olympics.
Quek, 32, was part of the victorious women’s hockey team in Brazil, where England was Chef de Mission for the British team.
Once again in charge at Tokyo 2020, the 61-year-old gave a carefully-worded answer when quizzed by Dan Walker during BBC One’s Olympics coverage on Saturday morning.
Rounding off the interview, Walker, 44, asked: “You were Chef de Mission in Rio, was Sam well behaved in the village?”
Quek laughed and insisted ‘always’ and, as England paused to choose his words, the presenter shot in: “Don’t ask about after [the Games]…”
The coach gave a wry smile and eventually said: “As you know, social distancing and physical distancing are the order of the day so everybody behaves themselves.”
To which Quek remarked: “Woah, woah, woah – I was in a very happy relationship, Mark.”
And Walker joked: “Well this has got spectacularly awkward… Mark, thank you very much.”
England was left chuckling as the interview ended and Quek assured viewers, including husband Tom Mairs, that she was fully focused in Rio.
She added: “Just to assure everybody at home, and my dear now-husband, us hockey girls are very well behaved because we compete throughout the whole tournament.”
England has been tasked with securing another bumper medal tally for Team GB after major success in 2012 and 2016.
But the sport chief insisted that overall medal tally is not his main objective as the Games begin.
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He said: “What I’ve always said is that Team GB is medal competitive in a significant number of events.
“If you’re in the top six [and] with our preparation at Yokohama … We’re in the frame for, I’d say, a lot of medals.
“It’s just interesting to see how the story unfolds in the next 17 days.”
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