Finally, I have an appropriate icon
Aug. 19th, 2008 07:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
girlyswot...with which to say yay and well done to all the British athletes in Beijing.
This is (already) the British team's best performance in 100 years. Back then, in London in 1908, there were about twice as many British competitors as from any other country, because people just turned up and had a go if they fancied it. According to the BBC:
Team GB's 16 golds is their greatest haul since claiming a British all-time record of 56 gold medals at the 1908 Olympics in London. That tally came amid a collection of 146 medals in total, but will almost certainly never be surpassed, given there were only British entries in some events including figure skating, polo, rackets and tug of war. LOL.
The cyclists have absolutely killed the opposition, taking 10 golds out of 12 events on the track. The rowers and sailors have done brilliantly too. But it's the little people who've been awesome. Louis Smith taking the bronze medal on the pommel horse was the first male gymnast to win a medal for the UK in 80 years. Germaine Mason winning the silver in the high jump today - who'd ever heard of him? Tina Cook taking bronze in the eventing, as a substitute after Zara Phillips' horse was injured. David Florence who won silver in a kayaking event - he's a mathematical physicist in real life, who only took up canoeing when he was 15. Jo Jackson who came third in the women's 400m freestyle - almost a hidden achievement since Becky Adlington won the same race.
This is a particularly interesting version of the medal table - you can view it adjusted for population, GDP and other factors. I still can't find the one where the UK are winning though...
This is (already) the British team's best performance in 100 years. Back then, in London in 1908, there were about twice as many British competitors as from any other country, because people just turned up and had a go if they fancied it. According to the BBC:
Team GB's 16 golds is their greatest haul since claiming a British all-time record of 56 gold medals at the 1908 Olympics in London. That tally came amid a collection of 146 medals in total, but will almost certainly never be surpassed, given there were only British entries in some events including figure skating, polo, rackets and tug of war. LOL.
The cyclists have absolutely killed the opposition, taking 10 golds out of 12 events on the track. The rowers and sailors have done brilliantly too. But it's the little people who've been awesome. Louis Smith taking the bronze medal on the pommel horse was the first male gymnast to win a medal for the UK in 80 years. Germaine Mason winning the silver in the high jump today - who'd ever heard of him? Tina Cook taking bronze in the eventing, as a substitute after Zara Phillips' horse was injured. David Florence who won silver in a kayaking event - he's a mathematical physicist in real life, who only took up canoeing when he was 15. Jo Jackson who came third in the women's 400m freestyle - almost a hidden achievement since Becky Adlington won the same race.
This is a particularly interesting version of the medal table - you can view it adjusted for population, GDP and other factors. I still can't find the one where the UK are winning though...
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-20 09:05 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-20 02:53 pm (UTC)