Newcastle Falcons wing Marcus Watson is an Olympic silver medallist after his Team GB rugby 7s side reached Thursday night’s final in Rio de Janeiro.
Ultimately losing out to Fiji in the race for gold, Watson had been part of the squad which defeated South Africa 7-5 in a keenly-contested semi-final after previous victories against Japan, Kenya, New Zealand and Argentina.
The 25-year-old will now return to Newcastle in time for the start of the new Aviva Premiership season, Falcons skills coach Mark Laycock praising his efforts during the Games.
Laycock, who coached the Falcons’ own sevens team in last weekend’s Singha Premiership 7s finals, said: “It is a huge honour for Marcus personally to go to the Olympics and come away with a silver medal, and likewise for us as a club to have an Olympic medallist in our squad.
“Team GB only came together very recently as a group so it is a phenomenal effort to have reached the final. It will have been a great experience for Marcus and we look forward to welcoming him back to Kingston Park Stadium in the near future.”