Britain basks in golden Games glory

Beijing will go down as a landmark Olympics for Britain after they were left celebrating their best medal haul in living memory, boding well for the next Games on home soil in 2012.

A total of 47 podium places, comprising 19 gold, 13 silver and 15 bronze medals left “Team GB” fourth in the overall standings.

Not since 1908, when London, which stages the 2012 Games, hosted the Olympics for the first time has Britain seen success on such a scale.

Several years of sustained public investment from the National Lottery in elite sport were rewarded in China, with Britain comfortably exceeding the target of 41 medals, with 10 to 12 golds, set by funding agency UK Sport.

And London 2012 chief Sebastian Coe, himself a double Olympic 1500 metres gold medallist, said there was more to come.

"Look at Sydney in 2000 where the Australians did well but four years later in Athens they won even more golds," he said.

"The structures will be in place which will hopefully deliver more success over the next 20 years."

To Steve Roush, the United States Olympic Committee's head of sports performance, Britain's medal haul, which he likened to China's in Athens four years ago, was anything but a shock.

"You're awarded the Games seven years out. Then as a country you devote more resources toward being successful as the host," he said.

"They are doing it across the sports. It's not just coming from one sport."

It might not have been just one sport but Britain's traditional strength in 'sit-down' events again provided the backbone of their success, with cycling alone giving them eight golds.

This was no surprise as of all the British teams in Beijing, it was arguably cycling which had the best combination of world-class athletes in champions such as Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton and an ultra-professional backroom staff, led by Dave Brailsford.

For Bradley Wiggins, one of those gold medallists after defending his pursuit title, this was not a time for traditional British understatement.

"In eight years, we have become a dominant force right across the board," he said.

Canoeing, rowing and sailing shared seven golds but it was in the water, rather than on it, where one Briton produced two outstanding displays.

Teenage freestyler Rebecca Adlington became the first British woman for 48 years to win a swimming gold medal when triumphing in the 400m.

Not content with that, she went on to break the longest standing record in the book when surpassing Janet Evans's 19-year-old mark to also take the 800m title.

And just to prove Britons could win on their feet, as well as sitting down or lying flat out, middleweight James Degale won an unexpected gold medal in a boxing competition which started wretchedly for the team when world lightweight champion Frankie Gavin was forced out because of a failure to make the weight.

On the track, Christine Ohuruogu showed her victory in the 400m at last year's world championships was no fluke by adding Olympic gold – Britain's only first place in an athletics event.

But for some fans the success of Ohuruogu, who grew up near the site of the 2012 Games, will always be marred by the year-long ban she served for missing three drug tests.

Proof, if any more were needed, that this was a special Games for Britain came when Sarah Stevenson did something widely considered impossible by getting officials to reverse a decision in her favour against a Chinese opponent on the way to winning a taekwondo bronze medal.

 

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