The 2016 Olympic Games come to an end today and Team Great Britain have managed to make sporting history in Rio by securing second place in the medal table for the first time since 1984.
The British athletes’ target when they arrived in Brazil was to win 48 medals and thus make Rio 2016 the country’s best ever overseas Games, but they exceeded their own predictions, ending up with 67 medals.
On day 15 of the Games, boxer Nicola Adams became a double Olympic champion while Liam Heath also won gold in the men’s K1 sprint. Runner Mo Farah bagged a “double-double” after winning the 5,000 meters on Saturday night despite having started the race at the end of the group.
And the team continued to grow their medal count till the last day of the games, when boxer Joe Joyce defeated France’s Tony Yoka in the Super Heavyweight boxing final and won Britain’s 28th gold.
The country’s total haul, 67 medals, is the most Great Britain has won at an Olympics since the 1908 Games, surpassing even their performance at London 2012. For those who want the breakdown, 28 of these were gold, 22 silver, and 17 bronze, with nearly 130 medalists across 19 sports.
Moreover, Great Britain became the first nation ever to record five consecutive summer Olympic Games of medal growth.
“We are one of those sporting superpowers now […] To win more medals than London and be ahead of China is an incredible place to be,” said UK Sport chief executive Liz Nicholl.
With these amazing results at Rio 2016, the British Olympic Association bosses are already looking forward to Tokyo 2020 and believe the team could produce even more outstanding performances.
