Great Britain: Decoding their most successful campaign at the Olympics
Great Britain will be fielding 327 competitors across different sports categories at the 2024 Paris Olympics, starting July 26. Great Britain is ranked third in terms of standings at the Summer Olympics, having bagged 918 medals to date. The contingent has the pedigree to make things count in Paris and add more laurels. Here we decode Great Britain's best campaign at the Olympics.
146 medals in 1908
Great Britain hosted the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and the local fans had many reasons to celebrate. As per Wikipedia, Great Britain claimed 146 medals that year, out of which 56 were gold, 51 were silver, and 39 were bronze. Only USA (231 in 1904) and USSR (195 in 1980) have claimed more medals in a single edition of Summer Olympics.
Great Britain miles ahead of the rest
Such was Great Britain's dominance in the 1908 Games that United States (47) and Sweden (25) were the only other nations to clinch 20-plus medals at the event. Great Britain hence had the highest number of gold, silver, and bronze medals. Notably, the 1908 edition featured 22 sports, representing 110 events in 25 sporting disciplines.
Here are the notable athletes
Great Britain's Henry Taylor (swimmer) had the joint-most gold medals in the 1908 Games (3). Benjamin Jones (cycling) was the only other British player with three medals at the event (2 gold, 1 silver). Josiah Ritchie (tennis) also claimed three medals that year (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze).
