GB’s greatest Games proves London 2012 was no fluke

HAVING once been pick-pocketed for $200 on the fabulous Copacabana beach by an urchin with the getaway speed of Usain Bolt, I held a cynical view of Rio for many years.

But the pulsating sporting action of the last couple of weeks has exorcised that unpleasant memory.

Staying up, bleary-eyed, to watch Britain claim countless gold medals in the early hours has put my experience at 1984’s Games in LA into perspective.

Back then, we were almost delirious to pick up five golds!

To claim 29 golds in London four years ago was astonishing and it did seem, going into these Games, that the pressure to repeat such success in a less amenable climate would prove stifling for our athletes.

However, a common thread has linked all our competitors, from canoeing to cycling, from tennis to taekwondo . . . a sense of great self-belief.

That is why the Rio Games have been the best of all for Great Britain. Our success has shown that 2012 was no fluke.

The Lottery funding has helped, but the golds have poured in because we have established coaching systems which are durable.

I never thought I would live to see so many British competitors with a superiority complex.

Rio has shown that attitude will stand the test of time.