Britain’s golden Games

Amidst the euphoria surrounding the Olympic success achieved by Britain’s poster girl Jessica Ennis, the cyclists and rowers, along with the acclaim achieved from unexpected gold medals, such as long jumper Greg Rutherford, it’s easy to forget the initial impatience as the British public thirsted for victories.

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning technically won the first gold for Team GB while also claiming Britain’s first ever women’s rowing gold, comfortably winning the pairs event. However, with the victory not coming until Day 5, the tension amongst the British public was tangible.

Prior to this podium-topping performance the Brits were feeding on scraps, seeking any links to gold that they could find. They found it first with Lithuanian swimmer, Ruta Meilutyte, a 15-year-old who attends a school in Plymouth, along with British diver, Tom Daley, the latter being the only one of four Olympians to be competing for the home nation.

The next success came bizarrely as the British took the 3-day eventing silver medal. Despite losing out to a clinical German outfit, the British could take a quantum of solace from the fact that the winners are coached by their very own Chris Bartle.

The Middle East celebrated its first medal in the form of 41-year-old Qatari shooter, Nasser Al Attiyah, who survived a nerve-jangling sudden-death shootout to claim the Skeet’s bronze. Competing in his fifth Olympics he secured Qatar’s first medal in the last 12 years. Al Attiyah is a talented sportsman having also won the 2011 Dakar Rally. Indeed he nearly did not make the Olympics, having had to retire from the 2012 Dakar Rally early in order to qualify, Qatar having failed to secure a wild card!

Using the same tenuous links applied above, the Middle East claimed its first gold in shooting, when Britain’s Peter Wilson won the double trap. Bizarrely, Wilson, following a succession of poor results, had his funding cut. He turned to Dubai Prince, Shaikh Ahmed bin Hasher Al Maktoum, himself a gold-winning Olympian, in the same event at Athens in 2004.

This is no surprise result; Al Maktoum’s coaching helped Wilson secure a world record in March. Wilson recognised the importance of his coach’s role while also describing it as ‘bonkers’, likening it to ‘Prince William teaching me to fly a helicopter’!

As the golds started to glitter around the necks of the winning athletes, talk has turned to naming the most successful Olympian, British and global, of all time.

The global argument is far more clear-cut with Michael Phelps having secured his 18th gold medal and now holds 22 Olympic medals. His nearest rival was gymnast Larissa Latynina who secured 18 medals between 1956 and 1964, although ‘only’ five of these were gold.

Longevity should surely be a factor. Despite a slow start, Phelps finished London 2012 as the most successful swimmer with four gold and two silver medals, in the process becoming the first swimmer to ‘three-peat’ to quote American jargon (translated as securing the same title in three successive Olympics). 

For some, the ability to compete individually and as part of a team confuses the issue. However, ten of Phelps’s gold were secured in individual events, twice as many as his nearest rival. Phelps has shown strength over all four swimming strokes although excelling in freestyle and butterfly. He has set a credible 34 solo world records.

In my personal opinion, the only athletes capable of competing with Phelps in this great debate are those able to only participate in a single event and have secured gold medals in a greater number of Olympics.

Step forward Sir Steve Redgrave – although if he were to do that from his boat he would have to, ironically, walk on water! Redgrave won gold at five successive Olympics, demonstrating the ability to top the podium for a remarkable 20 years.  What muddies the waters for any argument favouring Redgrave is that he chopped and changed his boat and crew, targeting an event that provided the best opportunity for success.

Ben Ainslie has now won in four successive Olympics in the same boat in an event that is hugely unpredictable due to shifting winds and water conditions. He has been able to do this while taking time off in between to compete in the America’s Cup.

Bradley Wiggins also deserves attention having won his fourth gold. The Tour de France winner, in securing the road-based time trial, has now transcended both the track and road, a remarkable and unprecedented achievement, which would surpass anything Sir Chris Hoy may have achieved by the end of these Games.

For me, Phelps wins the argument ‘hands-down’ on the global stage. The British argument demonstrates the difficulty in comparing individual versus team, single versus multiple discipline events, outdoor and indoor and those able to win several medals at the same Games – perhaps why Lord Coe describes this argument as ‘nothing more than a pub game’! However, for the record, I would pick Redgrave.