Who Lived in Your Building? - London 2012 Olympics ๐
Every building in East Village has a plaque in the foyer listing the countries that stayed there during the 2012 Games. Here's the full list - with the notable athletes who were sleeping just a few floors from where residents now live.
Every building in East Village has a plaque in the foyer listing the countries that stayed there during the 2012 Games. Here's the full list - with the notable athletes who were sleeping just a few floors from where residents now live.
Calla House / Kotata House / Tayberry House - Great Britain ๐ฌ๐ง
The three buildings needed to house Team GB, the host nation. GB finished third in the medal table with 65 medals, dominating cycling, equestrian, triathlon, boxing and rowing. Notable residents would have included:
- Mo Farah - double gold (5,000m & 10,000m), plus his famous Mobot
- Jessica Ennis - heptathlon gold on Super Saturday
- Chris Hoy - two golds in the velodrome, becoming Britain's most decorated Olympian at the time
- Andy Murray - tennis gold at Wimbledon
- Nicola Adams - first-ever female Olympic boxing champion
Vesta House - Jamaica ๐ฏ๐ฒ
The entire Jamaican contingent stayed in Vesta House - including the most famous man at the Games. Usain Bolt was mobbed when he first walked into the Village dining hall, with hundreds of athletes standing to cheer him. At London 2012, Bolt won the 100m in a new Olympic record of 9.63 seconds, then took gold in the 200m and 4ร100m relay. Yohan Blake - silver in both sprints - was also a Vesta House resident.
Fortuna House - Australia ๐ฆ๐บ + others
Australia's team included swimmer Leisel Jones, cyclist Anna Meares (gold in the sprint), and the Opals basketball squad. The building also housed Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Tanzania, and others.
Hopground House - Canada ๐จ๐ฆ, Greece ๐ฌ๐ท, Austria ๐ฆ๐น, Ireland ๐ฎ๐ช
Canada's big names included swimmer Ryan Cochrane and the women's rowing eight. Greece sent defending wrestling champion Stelianos Mygiakis. Ireland's Katie Taylor won gold in women's boxing - the country's only gold of the Games - from this building.
Torero Mansions - Germany ๐ฉ๐ช, India ๐ฎ๐ณ, Nigeria ๐ณ๐ฌ, Serbia ๐ท๐ธ + others
Germany's impressive squad (44 medals) would have been here, including equestrian Michael Jung (gold, eventing) and rower Eric Johannesen. Serbia won its first-ever Olympic gold as an independent nation at these Games - taekwondo athlete Milica Mandiฤ - making Torero Mansions a historic building.
Meander House - France ๐ซ๐ท + 13 others
France won 34 medals at London 2012. Judoka Teddy Riner (gold, +100kg) and cyclist Julien Simon would have called Meander home, alongside delegations from Barbados, The Gambia, Zimbabwe, and more.
Istra House - Japan ๐ฏ๐ต, Kenya ๐ฐ๐ช, Singapore ๐ธ๐ฌ + others
Japan won 38 medals. Wrestler Saori Yoshida (gold) and judo star Kaori Matsumoto (gold) were in the squad. Kenya's marathon runners - including silver medallist Abel Kirui - also lived here. Singapore's Joseph Schooling (then 17, later an Olympic champion) may well have been a resident.
Kaleidoscope House - New Zealand ๐ณ๐ฟ, Cuba ๐จ๐บ, Iceland ๐ฎ๐ธ
New Zealand had a strong Games - rowers Hamish Bond & Eric Murray (gold, men's pair) and canoeist Mike Dawson among their athletes. Cuba's boxing team, traditionally strong, were also here.
Merle Mansions - Sweden ๐ธ๐ช, Morocco ๐ฒ๐ฆ, Latvia ๐ฑ๐ป, Philippines ๐ต๐ญ
Sweden's squad included handball players and wrestler Sofia Mattsson. The Philippines sent Remy Rikako in swimming, one of only four Filipino athletes.
Calico House - Armenia ๐ฆ๐ฒ, Peru ๐ต๐ช, Slovenia ๐ธ๐ฎ
Slovenia's Primoลพ Kozmus defended his hammer-throw silver medal. Armenia's weightlifters - a historically strong discipline for the country - also resided here.
Frye House - Belgium ๐ง๐ช, Cape Verde ๐จ๐ป, Kyrgyzstan ๐ฐ๐ฌ
A small but interesting mix. Belgium's Nafissatou Thiam was still a teenager in 2012; she'd later become a two-time Olympic heptathlon champion. Cape Verde sent four athletes.
Galena Heights โ Netherlands ๐ณ๐ฑ, Costa Rica ๐จ๐ท, Yemen ๐พ๐ช
The Dutch had powerhouse performances - cyclistย Marianne Vosย (road race gold), the field hockey team (gold), and the rowers - one of the most medal-rich nations relative to its size.
Tucana Heights - Spain ๐ช๐ธ, South Africa ๐ฟ๐ฆ, Dominican Republic ๐ฉ๐ด
Spain's squad included multiple gold medals in cycling and sailing. South Africa's sprinter Oscar Pistorius - the first amputee to compete at the Olympics - was a resident here.
Source: Building-country allocations from plaques photographed by residents and compiled on the Yonder E20 community forum (2015). Notable athlete attributions from official Olympic records.