‘Greatest achievement in Britain’s Olympics history’
Team GB match London 2012 tally to come fourth overall – with women winning more medals than they ever have before
‘These are more than just athletes, they’re wonderful people who are incredible examples to the rest of us’
THE Tokyo Games were hailed as the “greatest achievement in British Olympic history” yesterday after athletes matched their medal haul at London 2012.
Team GB’S women have enjoyed their best ever Games, contributing 28 of the overall medal tally of 65 medals in Japan over the past fortnight.
Dame Katherine Grainger, the chairman of UK Sport, the funding body, said the squad were “trailblazers” after more women than men had been selected for competition for the first time. Mark England, the Team GB chef de mission, added that the “absolutely extraordinary” feat should have been impossible as the nation spent extended periods in lockdown during the past 18 months.
“Against all odds, it is, I think, the greatest achievement in British Olympic history,” he said. “It has been the miracle of Tokyo. It has just been wonderful to be here.”
As the team signed off in fourth place in the medal table, Dame Katherine, a former gold medallist rower, said Britain had built on the “magical moment” of 2012 by producing a more diverse team than ever. Mixed events have helped women increase their tally by two on the record overall Rio haul, when Britain shocked the world by finishing second.
“Team GB feels like the team of trailblazers,” said Dame Katherine, as she also cited the likes of Adam Peaty speaking out about mental health.
“I really think they have just set new standards in so many different ways, and they have truly burned their name into Olympic history in ways that we didn’t expect.”
Tokyo 2020 – delayed by a year due to Covid – is now comfortably Team GB’S second-best overseas Olympics.
Sporting chiefs, who had set an unofficial target of matching or bettering Beijing 2008, are ecstatic over the spread across a record 24 disciplines in a young squad. Boris Johnson said the performances had “shown us the very best of this country – demonstrating our sportsmanship, hard work and determination”.
“Above all, you have again revealed the central truth about this country: that when we put our minds to it, there is no limit to what we can achieve,” the Prime Minister said in a statement.
“Thank you, Team GB. We are so, so proud of you. Now bring on Paris [2024]!”
Because of Covid bubble arrangements in Japan, Team GB have had to leave all their celebrations until they return to the UK. The champagne will eventually be uncorked back on home soil on Sunday, with an official “homecoming” funded by the National Lottery at Wembley Arena.
Dame Katherine said the team
deserve every bit of credit as “they’ve gone above and beyond their own sport in so many ways”.
“We’ve got the most memorable role models who speak out on issues that are very close to their heart, who are powerful on the field of play, but equally powerfully off the field of play,” she added.
“We have Adam Peaty speaking out about mental health. We’ve got Tom Daley speaking about LGBTQ issues.
“We’ve Alice Dearing in the water, talking about inclusion and diversity. Hannah Mills talking about sustainability. These athletes are more than just athletes, they’re wonderful people who are incredible examples to the rest of us.
“And I think that’s why they’ll trailblaze in all different ways and will continue to do so for a long time.”
Britain won 67 medals at the Rio Games – finishing second in the medal table. This time the team finishes fourth, and becomes the first country to match or better its medal tally for two consecutive Games after hosting.
The medal haul is arguably better than 2012 as Team GB had entered more than 500 athletes nine years ago, but only took 375 to Tokyo.
Analysts had predicted 52 medals and 14 golds prior to the Games and the haul comes amid injuries and shock defeats for competition favourites Jade Jones, Dina Asher-smith and Katarina Johnson-thompson.
Potential gold medal shooter Amber Hill also withdrew on the eve of competition after testing positive for Covid.
Of the 65 medals won, 109 British athletes have stood on the podium, accounting for team events. Of those, 54 are women and 55 are men. “We announced early on it was going to be the first ever where female participation is bigger,” Dame Katherine added.
“I think we underestimate sometimes the power of being able to tell the stories of our brilliant athletes. And certainly, in the time I had as an athlete, I was massively inspired by other female Olympians. You get inspiration from what you see.”
Emily Campbell, who won a surprise weightlifting silver medal, was cited for being “brilliant at speaking out about how important it is that women of all shapes and sizes feel they have somebody who belongs and someone who can excel”.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said the performances in Japan had “shown the very best of our country”.