Rio 2016: Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Greg Rutherford are hoping to relive Super Saturday

Will we see a reprise of Super Saturday, four years on from the London Olympics, when Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill – then only single-barrelled – and Greg Rutherford made the country fall in love with track and field?

Yes and no. Yes, all three are back in action on the second Saturday in Rio and all remain serious contenders for medals. But in order to see them all in action, you are going to have to deprive yourself of some serious sleep.

If insomnia is your bag then this year could even surpass the euphoria of London 2012. Farah is the one of the trio mentioned above that is as nailed-on as possible to repeat his double gold medal feats in London in the 5,000m and 10,000m, while Ennis-Hill is also showing to be in great form after taking time out to start a family.

Rutherford, meanwhile, who was accused of “fluking” his gold medal in 2012, has since proven doubters wrong by following up with baubles of the same colour at the World Championships, European Championships and Commonwealth Games. Sure, he is yet to jump close to a world record, but Farah has not broken one in his career either and nobody is accusing him of merely getting lucky.

All three are again in action on the same day (or in the wee small hours in Britain) but this year the talent pool is larger than four years ago. For one, Ennis-Hill has a challenger in Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who was also competing in London, but is now approaching her peak.

open image in gallery

And there are athletes who missed out on medals at the London jamboree because they were injured or not old enough. In the former category is Tiffany Porter, the sprint hurdler, who carried a back injury into the last Olympics and failed to make the final.

She is a world bronze medallist and may have added another global medal last year had she not tripped over a hurdle in the final.

In the latter category is Dina Asher-Smith, who was a kit carrier at London 2012 but four years on is the British record holder in the 100m and 200m. She competes in the longer sprint in Rio and is part of the British 4x100m relay team, who also have a good chance of making the podium.

In the men’s sprint relay team the jokes about British athletes being unable to hold on to a baton have been consigned to the past and the quartet of Adam Gemili, James Dasaolu, Chijindu Ujah and James Ellington boast three sub-10-second 100m runners. They may not be fast enough to stop Jamaica from winning their third straight Olympic gold, but should be on the podium.

open image in gallery

No talk of British athletes at the Olympics should pass without mention of the distance runner Jo Pavey, who will be competing in her fifth Games, at the age of 42.

She qualified in the nick of time and although she is unlikely to be near the front when she rounds the bend for her final lap of the 10,000m (her team-mate, Jess Andrews, 20 years Pavey’s junior, is likely to be ahead, for one), she will be cheered by one and all back home. And as a bonus, the race will be held at a civilised time.