Olympics: GOLD RUSH!
After a slow start for team GB, the gold medals started to flow on day 5. The pair of Heather Stanning and Helen Glover got Team GB off and running, winning the women's coxless doubles in impeccable fashion, whilst also ensuring they became the first women to ever win a gold medal in a Rowing event. Bradley Wiggins followed suit almost an hour later in the same impressive manner. There was alot of pressure on Wiggins considering he had not lost a time trial all year, in addition to being crowned Tour De France winner a month prior. But Wiggins performed incredibly, winning by a huge margin of 42 seconds, ensuring he is well in the running for the sports personality of the year award which will be awarded in December. These 2 built the foundation for more gold medals to follow, and they came in a huge quantity. On the start of day 5 team GB were 21st in the medal table, 4 days later they had leapt to 3rd. An incredible achievement bearing in mind that Team GB only won a solitary gold medal at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics and finished a lowly 36th in the medal table.
Unlikely gold medals in the Canoeing and shooting events prove just how far a sporting nation we have come, whilst also showing that team GB are performing beyond expectations, buoyed on by a partizan crowd who have been a magnificent boost for British athletes since the very first event. The cycling team also fired out of the blocks, with team GB breaking the world record in the duration of the first 5 cycling events. Pendleton and Hoy have been in particularly good form, with Pendleton snatching the Keirin gold medal from the clutches of favourite Anna Meares, who had to settle for a disappointing 5th place finish. But the most incredible achievement of the British team so far has to go out to the GB flag bearer, Chris Hoy, who blitzes the final leg of the team sprint to earn gold for his team and also ensure he becomes the most decorated British athlete of all time. He surpassed Sir steve Redgrave in doing so, taking his tally to a magnificent 5 golds and 1 silver in his glittering cycling career.
But on 'Super Saturday' Team GB made another giant leap forward on the medal table. GB started the day on 8 gold medals, but this number would look considerably smaller after the days events. The GB rowing team continued their dominance with a gold medal in the mens 4, a discipline which has seen GB win gold in 4 successive games. A triumph in the women's lightweight doubles followed for GB soon after, to the amazement of the duo who looked completely perplexed in their interview after the race outcome. The third gold of the day came in the cycling for the women's team pursuit team, who broke another world record in the process. But then the athletics meet at night. Pure genius by the British athletes ensured that 3 GOLD MEDALS were won in the space of 2 hours. Not 1, not 2, but 3; a remarkable achievement for team GB. Golden girl Jess Ennis broke her British record to win by a convincing 300 point gap, followed by underdog Greg Rutherford's triumph in the long jump and Mo Farah's expert run in the 10000m, all of which sparked jubilance amongst the incredible British crowd. That made 6 golds, and a silver earlier on in the day meant that was the most successful single day in Team GB history.
A further 2 gold medals were taken the following day, taking GB's gold medal tally to 16. The first of which went to legendary Brit Ben Ainsle, who won the Men's Finn in sailing and in doing so became the most decorated sailor in Olympic history with 4 golds and 1 silver, another remarkable achievement set in what has been a remarkable games so far for team GB. Andy Murray also put in a heroic performance in the Men's singles tennis final, by demolishing world number 1 Roger Federer in straight sets to collect his first major title.
With Team GB going so well, the question must be asked; how many golds will we achieve!? At the time of writing Team GB lie an impressive 3rd on the medal table, with a brilliant tally of 16 gold medals. But surely this number is to soar, with gold medal candidates yet to finish their events. With sailing and cycling disciplines yet to finish, more gold medals for team GB are sure to come. Medal contenders include Dai Greene in the mens 400m Hurdles, Tom Daley in the mens individual diving and Perri Shakes-Drayton in the women's 400m hurdles, all of which have the potential to conquer the world in their respective events. I know it's a long shot, but can we catch up and overtake China and USA in the medal tables? Judging by team GB's performance in the last 4 days, anythings possible!
Gold Medal table - as of 5th August)
(Gold, silver, bronze, total)
1. China 29 16 14 = 59
2. USA 27 14 15 = 56
3. GB 16 10 10 = 36
4. Korea 10 4 6 = 20
5. France 8 7 9 = 24
GB golds:
1. Helen Glover + Heather Stanning (Rowing - Women's Pair)
2. Bradley Wiggins (Cycling - Individual time trial)
3. Time Ballie + Etienne Stott (Canoeing - Men's C2)
4. Peter Wilson (Shooting - Men's double trap)
5. Chris Hoy, Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny (Cycling - Mens team sprint)
6. Katherine Grainger + Anna Watkins (Rowing - Women's double sculls)
7. Steven Burke, Ed Clancy, Geriant Thomas, Peter Kennaugh (Cycling - Mens team pursuit sprint)
8. Victoria Pendleton (Cycling - Women's Keirin)
9. Andy Triggs Hodge, Pete Reed, Alex Gregirt, Tom James (Rowing - Mens coxless four)
10. Katherine Copeland, Sophie Hosking, Joanna Rowsell (Rowing - Women's lightweight double sculls)
11. Laura Trott, Dani King (Cycling - Women's team pursuit)
12. Jessica Ennis (Athletics - Heptahlon)
13. Greg Rutherford (Athletics - Mens Long Jump)
14. Mo Farah (Athletics - Mens 10000m)
15. Ben Ainsle (Sailing - Mens Finn)
16. Andy Murray (Tennis - Mens singles)
Unlikely gold medals in the Canoeing and shooting events prove just how far a sporting nation we have come, whilst also showing that team GB are performing beyond expectations, buoyed on by a partizan crowd who have been a magnificent boost for British athletes since the very first event. The cycling team also fired out of the blocks, with team GB breaking the world record in the duration of the first 5 cycling events. Pendleton and Hoy have been in particularly good form, with Pendleton snatching the Keirin gold medal from the clutches of favourite Anna Meares, who had to settle for a disappointing 5th place finish. But the most incredible achievement of the British team so far has to go out to the GB flag bearer, Chris Hoy, who blitzes the final leg of the team sprint to earn gold for his team and also ensure he becomes the most decorated British athlete of all time. He surpassed Sir steve Redgrave in doing so, taking his tally to a magnificent 5 golds and 1 silver in his glittering cycling career.
But on 'Super Saturday' Team GB made another giant leap forward on the medal table. GB started the day on 8 gold medals, but this number would look considerably smaller after the days events. The GB rowing team continued their dominance with a gold medal in the mens 4, a discipline which has seen GB win gold in 4 successive games. A triumph in the women's lightweight doubles followed for GB soon after, to the amazement of the duo who looked completely perplexed in their interview after the race outcome. The third gold of the day came in the cycling for the women's team pursuit team, who broke another world record in the process. But then the athletics meet at night. Pure genius by the British athletes ensured that 3 GOLD MEDALS were won in the space of 2 hours. Not 1, not 2, but 3; a remarkable achievement for team GB. Golden girl Jess Ennis broke her British record to win by a convincing 300 point gap, followed by underdog Greg Rutherford's triumph in the long jump and Mo Farah's expert run in the 10000m, all of which sparked jubilance amongst the incredible British crowd. That made 6 golds, and a silver earlier on in the day meant that was the most successful single day in Team GB history.
A further 2 gold medals were taken the following day, taking GB's gold medal tally to 16. The first of which went to legendary Brit Ben Ainsle, who won the Men's Finn in sailing and in doing so became the most decorated sailor in Olympic history with 4 golds and 1 silver, another remarkable achievement set in what has been a remarkable games so far for team GB. Andy Murray also put in a heroic performance in the Men's singles tennis final, by demolishing world number 1 Roger Federer in straight sets to collect his first major title.
With Team GB going so well, the question must be asked; how many golds will we achieve!? At the time of writing Team GB lie an impressive 3rd on the medal table, with a brilliant tally of 16 gold medals. But surely this number is to soar, with gold medal candidates yet to finish their events. With sailing and cycling disciplines yet to finish, more gold medals for team GB are sure to come. Medal contenders include Dai Greene in the mens 400m Hurdles, Tom Daley in the mens individual diving and Perri Shakes-Drayton in the women's 400m hurdles, all of which have the potential to conquer the world in their respective events. I know it's a long shot, but can we catch up and overtake China and USA in the medal tables? Judging by team GB's performance in the last 4 days, anythings possible!
Gold Medal table - as of 5th August)
(Gold, silver, bronze, total)
1. China 29 16 14 = 59
2. USA 27 14 15 = 56
3. GB 16 10 10 = 36
4. Korea 10 4 6 = 20
5. France 8 7 9 = 24
GB golds:
1. Helen Glover + Heather Stanning (Rowing - Women's Pair)
2. Bradley Wiggins (Cycling - Individual time trial)
3. Time Ballie + Etienne Stott (Canoeing - Men's C2)
4. Peter Wilson (Shooting - Men's double trap)
5. Chris Hoy, Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny (Cycling - Mens team sprint)
6. Katherine Grainger + Anna Watkins (Rowing - Women's double sculls)
7. Steven Burke, Ed Clancy, Geriant Thomas, Peter Kennaugh (Cycling - Mens team pursuit sprint)
8. Victoria Pendleton (Cycling - Women's Keirin)
9. Andy Triggs Hodge, Pete Reed, Alex Gregirt, Tom James (Rowing - Mens coxless four)
10. Katherine Copeland, Sophie Hosking, Joanna Rowsell (Rowing - Women's lightweight double sculls)
11. Laura Trott, Dani King (Cycling - Women's team pursuit)
12. Jessica Ennis (Athletics - Heptahlon)
13. Greg Rutherford (Athletics - Mens Long Jump)
14. Mo Farah (Athletics - Mens 10000m)
15. Ben Ainsle (Sailing - Mens Finn)
16. Andy Murray (Tennis - Mens singles)
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