BEIJING—Britain’s 12 golds and third place in the medals table herald their best Olympic performance since the “Rule Britannia” days of empire nearly a century ago.
The gold triumph by Ed Clancy, Paul Manning, Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins in the men’s cycling track team pursuit on Monday also put Britain in third place in the overall medals table behind sporting superpowers China and the United States.
It is a remarkable turnaround for British sport just 12 years after Britain collected a solitary gold at the Atlanta Olympics and finished way down in 36th place in the table.
Now their golden wave in Beijing has Britain ruling over traditional sporting giants like Australia, Germany, Japan and Russia in the medals table. The British delegation is in contention for at least another handful of golds before Sunday’s closing ceremony.
A look at the record books shows Britain has never enjoyed such a golden Games since Antwerp in 1920, when it won 14.
Britain last managed to finish as high as third in 1912 in Stockholm.
The timing of the Beijing successes in cycling, rowing, swimming, sailing and gymnastics has delighted British sports officials as they prepare to host the Olympics in London in 2012.
Much of the credit for the gold rush is widely attributed to heavy financial investment since the 1997, when many British sports were in the doldrums because of poor training facilities and a lack of sports heroes to spark interest among the young.
The poor showing in Atlanta in 1996 occurred just after British sport started receiving National Lottery money.
By 1997 athletes were given grants, allowing them to train full time. The money also allowed sports to employ physiologists, team managers and coaches—with several coming from abroad—and also to develop state-of-the-art training centers.
By Sydney in 2000, results were quickly starting to show and Britain finished 10th.
The most British successful sport in Beijing so far has been cycling, with 11 medals and six golds on the road and track.
“We’re only just getting going,” Britain’s cycling coach Dan Hunt told reporters.
