40. Gemma Gibbons
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPJ1flkyJZI Sport - Judo Emotional gestures are nothing new at the Olympics, with memorable incidents in 2012 including German discus champion Robert Harting tearing off his shirt and attempting to run the hurdles, as well as the shameless celebratory behaviour of South African swimming champion Chad Le Clos father, Bert, live on the BBC. In contrast to these, the reaction of judo silver medallist Gemma Gibbons after her final bout was understated, but the image of her looking to the sky and silently mouthing her love for her late mother will go down as one of the most iconic images of the games. Ranked just 42nd in the world in her weight category, the -78kg, the judoka beat the world number one on her way to the final, where she succumbed to defeat at the hands of American Kayla Harrison, but showed the world that Britain can be a force to be reckoned with, regardless of the sport in question. 39. Beth Tweddle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FwTvquNv3E Sport - Gymnastics In the field of competitive gymnastics, a competitor aged twenty seven is a rare sight, given that the event is usually dominated by teenagers. Indeed, two of the British womens team, Rebecca Tunney and Jennifer Pinches, were aged nineteen or under at the time of the games, babies compared to Beth Tweddle, who was four years more senior than the next oldest member of the team, Imogen Cairns, herself somewhat ancient in comparison to typical competitors at the grand old age of twenty three. Together, the team finished sixth in the all-around final, but Tweddle, spurred on by a home crowd, was able to take home a medal in the uneven bars event at the third time of asking, having previously competed in the 2004 and 2008 games, albeit unsuccessfully, despite having won several World Cup, World Championship and European Championship medals throughout her career. One of these was a gold in the World Cups 2012 iteration, but it is her London bronze (the first ever medal achieved by a British female gymnast at the Olympics) that will cement Tweddles place in the history books.