Great Britain at the Olympics
Sporting event delegation / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The United Kingdom has been represented at every modern Olympic Games, and as of the 2020 Summer Olympics is third in the all-time Summer Olympic medal table by both number of gold medals won and overall number of medals. London has hosted the Summer Olympic Games three times: in 1908, 1948, and 2012.
Great Britain at the Olympics | |
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IOC code | GBR |
NOC | British Olympic Association |
Medals Ranked 4th |
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Summer appearances | |
Winter appearances | |
Other related appearances | |
1906 Intercalated Games |
Athletes from the United Kingdom compete as part of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team,[1] currently branded "Team GB". The team is organised by the British Olympic Association, the National Olympic Committee for the UK. Team GB also represents the United Kingdom's Overseas Territories (with the exceptions of Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands), and the three Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man. Athletes from Northern Ireland can choose to compete for either the UK or the Republic of Ireland.[lower-alpha 1]
British athletes have won a combined total of 950 medals at the Olympic Games; 916 of those medals were won at the Summer Olympics, where Team GB is the only team to have won at least one gold medal at every games. The team has been less successful at the Winter Olympics, winning thirty-four medals, twelve of them gold. The United Kingdom finished in first place on the medals table at the 1908 games, placed second at the 2016 games, and third at the 1900, 1912, 1920, and 2012 games.
The most successful British Olympian by gold medals and total medals won is Sir Jason Kenny, who has won seven gold medals nine overall, all in track cycling. The cyclist Dame Laura Kenny and the dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin share the record for the most medals won by a female British athlete, with six each; Kenny's five gold medals are the female British record. The most successful Winter Olympian from Team GB is Lizzy Yarnold, with two gold medals in the women's skeleton.
As the National Olympic Committee (NOC) for the United Kingdom, the British Olympic Association (BOA) membership encompasses the four Home Nations of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales), plus the three Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey), and all but three of the British Overseas Territories (Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands have their own NOCs).
Representatives of the devolved Northern Ireland government and others in the region, however, have objected to the name "Team GB" as discriminatory, and have called for it to be renamed as "Team UK" to make it clearer that Northern Ireland is included on the team.[2][3]
The existence of a Great Britain team has been criticised by Welsh and Scottish nationalists, advocating for separate Welsh[4] and Scottish olympic teams instead.[5][6][7]
Under the IOC charter, the Olympic Federation of Ireland is responsible for the entire island of Ireland.[8] However, athletes from Northern Ireland can elect to represent either the UK (in Team GB) or Ireland at the Olympics, as people of Northern Ireland. A number of Northern Irish-born athletes, particularly in boxing, have won medals for Ireland at the Games. All athletes from the whole of Ireland were included in the Great Britain team up until the 1920 Olympics as the entire island was part of the United Kingdom at that time.[9]
The United Kingdom has hosted the Summer Games on three occasions – 1908, 1948 and 2012, all in London – second only to the United States. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Great Britain became the first team to win more medals at a Summer Olympics immediately after hosting a Summer Olympics; they won 67 medals overall, coming in second place in the medal table ahead of China, two more than in London in 2012. This success came 20 years after finishing 36th in the medal table, after winning just one gold and fourteen other medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, which led to significant changes in the management and funding of British sports and facilities.[10]
London also won the right to host the 1944 Summer Olympics. However, the 1944 games were cancelled due to the Second World War.
Successful bids
Games | Host city | Dates | Nations | Participants | Events |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1908 Summer Olympics | London | 27 April – 31 October | 22 | 2,008 | 110 |
1944 Summer Olympics | London | Cancelled | |||
1948 Summer Olympics | London | 29 July – 14 August | 59 | 4,104 | 136 |
2012 Summer Olympics | London | 27 July – 12 August | 204 | 10,820 | 302 |
Unsuccessful bids
Games | City | Winner of bid |
---|---|---|
1992 Summer Olympics | Birmingham | Barcelona, Spain |
1996 Summer Olympics | Manchester | Atlanta, United States |
2000 Summer Olympics | Manchester | Sydney, Australia |
Potential future bids
In February 2019, the Mayor of London announced plans to bid for the 2032 or 2036 Olympics, which was backed by UK Sport.[11] However, it has been speculated that either Manchester or Birmingham may be in the frame to host future games, rather than London. In July 2021, the 2032 Games were awarded to Brisbane.
Host country
Medals by Summer Sport Leading in that sport
This table excludes seven medals – one gold, two silver, and four bronze – awarded in the 1908 and 1920 figure skating events. |
Medals by Winter Sport Leading in that sport
This table includes seven medals – one gold, two silver, and four bronze – awarded in the 1908 and 1920 figure skating events. |