# Olympic medals table - Britain third! **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 18, 2008, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400 "2008-08-18T09:24:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/21 "2008-08-18T14:40:37Z")
[QUOTE=tagos] Our ranking system excludes colonials who didn’t kick our asses out of the place. [/QUOTE] 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! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/22 "2008-08-18T15:21:06Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/23 "2008-08-18T15:33:16Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/24 "2008-08-18T16:03:57Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/25 "2008-08-18T16:09:10Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/26 "2008-08-18T16:20:10Z")
Huzzah for our gallant friends from across the pond, and God save the Queen! ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/27 "2008-08-18T22:34:00Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] Sailing, rowing, track cycling. Domains of rich white people. True British sporting excellence. 😉 [/QUOTE] I got the same “gentleman’s” vibe off the sports listed as Britain’s favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/28 "2008-08-18T23:06:22Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/29 "2008-08-19T03:18:38Z")
If only snooker and darts were olympic sports … ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/30 "2008-08-19T12:58:50Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/31 "2008-08-19T13:00:01Z")
Hold on… High jump… seems to be going well ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/32 "2008-08-19T13:04:48Z")
yay silver (although I think we nicked him off Jamaica) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/33 "2008-08-19T13:21:01Z")
[QUOTE=mutantmoose] How come we don’t still have tug of war in the olympics? I reckon we’d totally own that event. [/QUOTE] Because Iceland would destroy everyone. Haven’t you seen the World’s Strongest Man lately? ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/34 "2008-08-19T13:26:56Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Because Iceland would destroy everyone. Haven’t you seen the World’s Strongest Man lately? [/QUOTE] We’d own ya! Finally something we could excel in! (goes back to tugging the rope) ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/35 "2008-08-19T13:42:03Z")
Is that an Icelandic euphemism? ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/36 "2008-08-19T13:57:23Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] Is that an Icelandic euphemism? [/QUOTE] Nah… just mine. I might start using it regularly though 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/37 "2008-08-19T14:01:00Z")
When come back wash hands. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/38 "2008-08-19T14:03:05Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] When come back wash hands. [/QUOTE] Funny 😛 And silly, silly me for not even thinking in that direction - must be something in the air. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/39 "2008-08-19T14:06:03Z")
[QUOTE=WormTheRed] Funny 😛 And silly, silly me for not even thinking in that direction - must be something in the air. [/QUOTE] 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 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400/40 "2008-08-19T14:21:57Z")
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. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-medals-table-britain-third/460400.md?page=3)