Olympic medals table - Britain third!

[SanVito]

The title is all I wanted to say really. We Brits spend so much time moaning about how crap we are at sport. And given that we really ARE crap at track and field at the moment which means our medal table position will plummet over the coming days, I'd just like to savour this moment while we still have it.

Little old Britain, Third in the World. Astonishing.

[GorillaMan]

Sailing, rowing, track cycling. Domains of rich white people. True British sporting excellence.

[One And Only Wanderers]

Maybe our sports minister will win his bet with the aussie minister after all!

[Cunctator]

Perhaps it's a different ranking system, but the list here currently has Australia third, and GB fourth.

[Ice Wolf]

Originally Posted by Cunctator

Perhaps it's a different ranking system, but the list here currently has Australia third, and GB fourth.

Can't see how different it can be -- the list looks clear enough to me.

#1 China 35 13 13
#2 United States 19 21 25
#3 Australia 11 10 12
#4 Great Britain 11 7 8
#5 Germany 9 6 7

Australia ahead by 3 silver and 4 bronze, at the moment.

[One And Only Wanderers]

its probably just been updated since the OP last saw it. When I looked yesterday GB had #3 and Aus had #5 (only 8 golds at the time)

[SanVito]

Originally Posted by Cunctator

Perhaps it's a different ranking system, but the list here currently has Australia third, and GB fourth.

See, I knew it couldn't last. Oh well, the cycling's not over yet. How did we suddenly get so good at cycling? It's not even a posh person's sport.

[Ximenean]

As some have pointed out, we appear to be really good at sports where you get to sit down

[CatInASuit]

Don't worry there is some more cycling going on at the moment.

Shouldn't be too long before we get some more gold coming our way

[tagos]

Originally Posted by Cunctator

Perhaps it's a different ranking system, but the list here currently has Australia third, and GB fourth.

Our ranking system excludes colonials who didn't kick our asses out of the place.

[don't ask]

Yeah Australia has won 3 golds today - last 8 hours say.

[don't ask]

Originally Posted by tagos

Our ranking system excludes colonials who didn't kick our asses out of the place.

Well the smart thing to do would be to call your team the British Commonwealth and claim all the medals of the colonies by Royal fiat.

[SanVito]

Originally Posted by don't ask

Well the smart thing to do would be to call your team the British Commonwealth and claim all the medals of the colonies by Royal fiat.

Genius! We might even top China. And win something in the Winter Olympics that didn't involve hurling, sorry, curling.

[SanVito]

GOLD! Britain takes Gold in the cycling team pursuit, breaking the world record. Back in third position.....

[Ximenean]

Originally Posted by CatInASuit

Don't worry there is some more cycling going on at the moment.

Shouldn't be too long before we get some more gold coming our way

Indeed, another cycle race, another gold and world record. At this rate GBR could win 10 of the 18 cycling events

[Petrobey Mavromihalis]

And if we discount that strange American swimmer who's wider than he is tall, we'd be 2nd.

[chowder]

Originally Posted by SanVito

GOLD! Britain takes Gold in the cycling team pursuit, breaking the world record. Back in third position.....

In your face Aussies

::waves Union Flag wildly::

[Shirley Ujest]

Of America's 19 Gold, how many are Phelps'?

The mind is boggling.

[Dead Cat]

Originally Posted by Shirley Ujest

Of America's 19 Gold, how many are Phelps'?

I believe it's 8, but this has been kept pretty quiet by the media, especially in America, so it's not surprising you missed it.

[chowder]

Sooooo if we discount Phelps golds this lil' ol' dinky country of ours would have won more golds than that big ol' country across t'pond

[Giles]

Originally Posted by tagos

Our ranking system excludes colonials who didn't kick our asses out of the place.

So, the US and Australia are out of the game, and so is China (since it showed you the door in Hong Kong about 11 years ago). That means the Brits are in the lead!

[Really Not All That Bright]

Did they clone Daley Thompson or something? It's been ages since I've even seen Britain on a medal table, let alone at the top.

[Ximenean]

If they cloned him that would earn us precisely one medal.
But Britain did OK at the last two Olympics. Atlanta was really our darkest hour, with just one gold.

[garius]

It's track and field over the next week or so, so we'll drop down the table (although we should pick up a couple of female track medals and silver in the triple jump at the very least).

That said, we've got a lot of promising young trackers coming through the ranks, and given that a good chunk of our current medalists will still be around in 4 years London 2012 should be interesting.

[garius]

And yes, Phelps is an abomination of nature and should be banned for making everyone else look a bit silly.

Same goes for that damned Jamaican. When you can virtually stop to wave at the crowd and still bust the men's 100m sprint record wide open there's something freaky about you.

Anyone listen to Alan Green's commentary on the quad rowing (where the Brit's snatched it from the Aussies), by the way? It was incredible.

[Elendil's Heir]

Huzzah for our gallant friends from across the pond, and God save the Queen!

[Pushkin]

Originally Posted by GorillaMan

Sailing, rowing, track cycling. Domains of rich white people. True British sporting excellence.

I got the same "gentleman's" vibe off the sports listed as Britain's favorites.

[Ximenean]

The posh sports hark back to the early days of the modern Olympics, when the whole thing was conceived and run by European nobs. Many of those sports are anachronistic now, but the IOC seems to be a conservative organisation, so I guess we're stuck with Dressage and Fencing. But track cycling? When has that ever been a rich person's sport? No double-barrelled names there.

[Tapioca Dextrin]

If only snooker and darts were olympic sports .......

[mutantmoose]

From the BBC news site:

Team GB's 15 golds is their best performance since claiming a British all-time record of 56 gold medals at the 1908 Olympics in London.

That tally came amid a haul of 146 medals in total, but will almost certainly never be surpassed, given there were only British entries in some events including figure skating, polo, rackets and tug of war.

How come we don't still have tug of war in the olympics? I reckon we'd totally own that event.

[mutantmoose]

Hold on...

High jump...

seems to be going well

[mutantmoose]

yay silver

(although I think we nicked him off Jamaica)

[Really Not All That Bright]

Originally Posted by mutantmoose

How come we don't still have tug of war in the olympics? I reckon we'd totally own that event.

Because Iceland would destroy everyone. Haven't you seen the World's Strongest Man lately?

[WormTheRed]

Originally Posted by Really Not All That Bright

Because Iceland would destroy everyone. Haven't you seen the World's Strongest Man lately?

We'd own ya! Finally something we could excel in!

(goes back to tugging the rope)

[Ximenean]

Is that an Icelandic euphemism?

[WormTheRed]

Originally Posted by Usram

Is that an Icelandic euphemism?

Nah... just mine. I might start using it regularly though

[Elendil's Heir]

When come back wash hands.

[WormTheRed]

Originally Posted by Elendil's Heir

When come back wash hands.

Funny

And silly, silly me for not even thinking in that direction - must be something in the air.

[One And Only Wanderers]

Originally Posted by WormTheRed

Funny

And silly, silly me for not even thinking in that direction - must be something in the air.

A guy who gives himself the user name red worm claims not to think in that direction? I think you have it on the brain pal

[Ximenean]

Hey, we just won a gold in something you do standing up. Christine Ohuru... Ohouru... plucky Christine won the 400m. I thought the American had it there, but she was running through treacle at the end.

[WormTheRed]

Originally Posted by One And Only Wanderers

A guy who gives himself the user name red worm claims not to think in that direction? I think you have it on the brain pal

Nota bene, wasn't thinking in that direction right now - those excel-sheets sure aren't that inspiring

But on ya go Brits - glad some countries are doing well in the Olympics!

[chowder]

Sixteen Golds so far.....SIXTEEN!!

::cue Rule Britannia::

[One And Only Wanderers]

Originally Posted by chowder

Sixteen Golds so far.....SIXTEEN!!

::cue Rule Britannia::

Best result ever for my money. 1908 is so unrepresentative of the current olympics that 2008 shouldn't keep getting compared to it. I mean, events in which only British athletes entered?

[Busy Scissors]

War the Ohuruogo Dope Fiend!

Admirable restrain from Steve Cram, who for sure cannae stand cheats like Ohuruogu: Christine's had a difficult 13 months

[don't ask]

I don't know how to take Britain's success. I remember years ago everyone looked disdainfully at the medals won by the USSR because "all their sportspeople are full time professionals supported by the government." And now I find that Britain has invested half a billion pounds in their Olympic team, has 1,400 athletes supported by government grants and spent more on their Paralympic swim team than Australia spends on their entire swimming programme.

[chowder]

[quote=don't ask]I don't know how to take Britain's success.

Lying down maybe

[Busy Scissors]

Behave don't ask. You know exactly how to take Britain's olympic success, as Australia has been doing it for 20 years. The Australian Institute of Sport is the worldwide blueprint for how a government successfully funds and develops elite sporting performance.

[Ximenean]

I think most countries go a little sports budget crazy when they have an Olympics coming up. Gotta put up a good show, you know? Anyway, that half a billion is spread over six years, as I understand it. A lot of it is lottery proceeds.

[SanVito]

Originally Posted by don't ask

I don't know how to take Britain's success. I remember years ago everyone looked disdainfully at the medals won by the USSR because "all their sportspeople are full time professionals supported by the government." And now I find that Britain has invested half a billion pounds in their Olympic team, has 1,400 athletes supported by government grants and spent more on their Paralympic swim team than Australia spends on their entire swimming programme.

Come now, nobody likes a sore loser. Australia's been thumping money into sport for decades.

Phew, it's all a bit overwhelming. Somebody slap me.

[Illuminatiprimus]

Originally Posted by SanVito

Come now, nobody likes a sore loser. Australia's been thumping money into sport for decades.

Phew, it's all a bit overwhelming. Somebody slap me.

SLAP