Andy Murray comforted Team GB badminton star Gail Emms in a McDonald’s after her Olympic gold medal dreams had come to an end in 2008. The badminton squad had been sharing a flat with Murray and his brother Jamie as the Beijing Games ended in heartbreak for Emms and her mixed doubles partner Nathan Robertson.
British sports fans had been gripped by the endeavours of Emms and Robertson in 2004 when the duo had won a silver medal together in Athens. But the talented pair could only reach the quarter-finals four years later in their final appearance at an Olympic Games. To make matters worse, Emms was then asked in an interview whether she would turn her attention to having “babies”. And she was “heartbroken” as she sat in a McDonald’s with Murray, who went on to win three Grand Slam tennis titles.
Emms, 48, has written a book called Grit and Goose Feathers, where she offers Team GB fans a glimpse of what life was really like as one of the best badminton players in the world.
And detailing her experiences in Beijing, she explains: “So there it was. No medal. No fairytale ending.
“Just heartbreak, tears and a deeply inappropriate interview. But that’s sport. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes your dreams die on live television.
“Sometimes a man with a press badge asks if your uterus has immediate plans. All part of the Olympic experience.”
Discussing the kindness Murray showed to her, she then reveals: “We got back to the Village and still didn’t quite know what to do with ourselves.
“Andy helped me with my bags and we headed straight for the food hall. I didn’t want to go back to my room. I wasn’t ready to be alone with that grief.
“We walked in, me, Nathan, Jamie and Andy, and found a table. Andy wandered off to the McDonald’s counter and came back with a box of chicken nuggets for me.
She adds: “It sounds silly now but that little act meant everything. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I just sat there, stunned.
“Andy saw that. He did what any true team-mate would do – he showed compassion. Quiet, unspoken compassion. Athlete to athlete.
“He placed the nuggets in front of me. I started crying again. He looked at me and said softly, ‘I had no idea that was your last match. I’m so sorry.’ So we sat there, eating McNuggets. And I mourned the dream that never happened.”