Athletes from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, all but three of its Overseas Territories, and the three Crown Dependencies, can compete in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

as part of Team GB. Athletes from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

(part of the UK) can also choose to compete as part of

Team Ireland Team Ireland was a stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series between 1991 and 1992. Owned by Irishman Martin Birrane, the team posted a best finish of thirteenth with driver Bobby Hillin Jr. Winston Cup Series Car No. ...

instead (though most sports in NI are organised on an all-Ireland basis). It has sent athletes to every Summer and Winter Games, since the start of the Olympics' modern era in

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

, including the 1980 Summer Olympics, which were

boycotted A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

by a number of other Western nations. From

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

inclusive, Great Britain & NI has won 918 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, and another 32 at the

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

. It is the only national team to have won at least one gold medal at every Summer Games, lying third globally in the winning of total medals, surpassed only by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Team GB is organised by the

British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It is responsible for organising and overseeing the participation of athletes from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team, at both ...

(BOA) as the National Olympic Committee for the UK. While the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC) and BOA both refer to the team as 'Great Britain' and the team uses the brand name

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their Great Britain at the Olympics, British Olympic team. The brand was developed after Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the nation's poor perfor ...

, the BOA explains that it is a contraction of the full title, the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team. Great Britain was one of 14 teams to compete in the first Games, the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, and is one of only three nations (

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and Switzerland being the others) to have competed at every Summer and Winter Olympic Games. In

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 4 ...

, the country finished in the Olympic table in first place for the first and only time in its history; its most successful performance both post-War and away from a home Games was in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, finishing second. The most successful British Olympian by gold medals won is Sir Jason Kenny, who has won seven gold medals in track cycling. He is followed by

Sir Chris Hoy Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy MBE (born 23 March 1976) is a former track cyclist and Racing driver from Scotland who represented Great Britain at the Olympic and World Championships and Scotland at the Commonwealth Games. Hoy is eleven-times a w ...

who won six. Kenny also has the most total medals with 9, followed by fellow cyclist

Sir Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional road and track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but later made the transition to r ...

who has eight. Dame Laura Kenny, with five gold medals, has the most golds of any British female athlete and became the first British woman to win gold at three consecutive Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020. She shares the designation of most total medals by a British female competitor with horse-rider Charlotte Dujardin. Sir Steve Redgrave is the only British Olympian to win a gold medal in five consecutive Olympic Games, winning his first in 1984 Los Angeles and last in 2000 Sydney. At the Winter Olympics as a non-alpine team Great Britain has historically been unable to replicate the amount of success they have achieved in the Summer Olympics although the team enjoyed gold medal success at figure skating through the seventies and eighties, while in recent years, the expansion of the Winter Olympics to include sports such as

Curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

, Snowboarding, Skeleton and Freestyle skiing has brought some renewed success. Currently, Great Britain is the most successful team in women's skeleton, having won a medal six times, and every gold medal from 2010 to 2018. The most successful Winter Olympian from the Great Britain team is

Lizzy Yarnold Elizabeth Anne Yarnold, OBE (born 31 October 1988) is a British former skeleton racer who joined the Great Britain national squad in 2010. With consecutive Olympic gold medals in 2014 and 2018, she is the most successful British Winter Olympia ...

, with two gold medals, both in the women's skeleton.

Eligibility

As the National Olympic Committee (NOC) for the United Kingdom, the

(BOA) membership encompasses the four

Home Nations Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...

of the United Kingdom (

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

), plus the three Crown Dependencies ( Guernsey,

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

and

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

), and all but three of the British Overseas Territories (

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = " Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Bri ...

and Cayman Islands have their own NOCs). Representatives of the devolved Northern Ireland government and others in the region, however, have objected to the name "Team GB" as discriminatory, and have called for it to be renamed as "Team UK" to make it clearer that Northern Ireland is included on the team. The existence of a Great Britain team has been criticised by Welsh and

Scottish nationalists Scottish independence ( gd, Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; sco, Scots unthirldom) is the idea of Scotland as a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom, and refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about. S ...

, advocating for separate Welsh and Scottish olympic teams instead. Under the IOC charter, the

Olympic Federation of Ireland The Olympic Federation of Ireland or OFI ( ga, Cónaidhm Oilimpeach na hÉireann) (called the Irish Olympic Council until 1952 and the Olympic Council of Ireland until 2018) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of the island of Ireland. At ...

is responsible for the entire island of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. However, athletes from

can elect to represent either the UK (in Team GB) or

Ireland at the Olympics A team representing Ireland as an idenpendent state or polity has competed at the Summer Olympic Games since 1924, and at the Winter Olympic Games since 1992. The Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) was formed in 1922 during the provisional ...

, as

people of Northern Ireland Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

. A number of Northern Irish-born athletes, particularly in boxing, have won medals for Ireland at the Games. All athletes from the whole of

were included in the Great Britain team up until the 1920 Olympics as the entire island was part of the United Kingdom at that time.

Hosted Games

The United Kingdom has hosted the Summer Games on three occasions – 1908, 1948 and 2012, all in London – second only to the United States. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio,

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

became the first team to win more medals at a Summer Olympics immediately after hosting a Summer Olympics; they won 67 medals overall, coming in second place in the medal table ahead of China, two more than in London in 2012. This success came 20 years after finishing 36th in the medal table, after winning just one gold and fourteen other medals at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in Atlanta, which led to significant changes in the management and funding of British sports and facilities.

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

also won the right to host the 1944 Summer Olympics. However, the 1944 games were cancelled due to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Successful bids

Unsuccessful bids

Potential future bids

In February 2019, the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current m ...

announced plans to bid for the

2032 The 2030s (pronounced "twenty-thirties"; shortened to the '30s) is the next decade in the Gregorian calendar that will begin on 1 January 2030, and will end on 31 December 2039. Plans and goals * NASA plans to execute a crewed mission to Mars be ...

or 2036 Olympics, which was backed by UK Sport. However, it has been speculated that either

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

may be in the frame to host future games, rather than London. In July 2021, the 2032 Games were awarded to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Medals

Medals by Summer Games

Medals by Winter Games

Medals by Summer Sport

''This table excludes seven medals – one gold, two silver, and four bronze – awarded in the

and 1920 figure skating events.''

Medals by Winter Sport

''This table includes seven medals – one gold, two silver, and four bronze – awarded in the

and 1920 figure skating events.''

List of Winter Olympic medallists

This list also contains the medals won in winter sports at the 1908 and 1920 Summer Olympics, which are not counted in the overall winter Olympic total.

Multiple medallists

The following athletes have won more than one medal for Great Britain at the Winter Olympics, or in winter disciplines. Bold denotes athletes that have not yet retired.

Stripped medal

Great Britain's only stripped medal in Winter Olympic history was an Alpine Skiing bronze at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Alain Baxter tested positive for a banned substance, resulting from Baxter using an inhaler product which, unknowingly to him, contained different chemicals in the United States.

Medals by individual

According to official data of the

. This is a list of people who have won at least three Olympic gold medals or four Olympic medals for Great Britain. Medals won in the 1906 Intercalated Games are not included. It includes top-three placings in 1896 and 1900, before medals were awarded for top-three placings. *People in bold are still active competitors

is the most successful British athlete at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

, with two gold medals. Duncan Scott is the most prolific athlete at a single Games, winning four medals (1 gold, 3 silver) at the 2020 Olympics. Steve Redgrave is the most consistent British Olympic athlete, winning gold medals at five consecutive Games (1984-2000).

Most successful British Olympian progression

This table shows how the designation of most successful British Olympian has progressed over time. This table ranks athletes by golds, then silvers, then bronzes; the progression would be different if ranked purely by medals.

Most successful in their sport

As of the 2020 Olympics, the following athletes are the most successful (ordered by golds, then silvers, then bronzes) in their sport: *

Jason Kenny Sir Jason Francis Kenny, (born 23 March 1988) is an English former track cyclist, specialising in the individual and team sprints. Kenny is the holder of most Olympic gold medals (7) and medals (9) for a British athlete. His wife, Laura Ke ...

(

Cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

) *

Ben Ainslie Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie (born 5 February 1977) is a British competitive sailor. Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at the four consecutiv ...

(

Sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...

) * Alistair Brownlee (

Triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

) *

( Skeleton) * John Wodehouse ( Polo) * John Astor (

Rackets Racket may refer to: * Racket (crime), a systematised element of organized crime ** Protection racket, a scheme whereby a group provides protection to businesses or other groups through violence outside the sanction of the law * Racket (sports equ ...

) * John Shepherd, Frederick Humphreys and Edwin Mills (

Tug of War Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certa ...

) * John Field-Richards, Bernard Boverton Redwood and Isaac Thomas Thornycroft ( Water Motorsports) * Twelve members of the Devon and Somerset Wanderers team (

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

) Steve Redgrave and

Reginald Doherty Reginald "Reggie" or "R. F." Frank Doherty (14 October 1872 – 29 December 1910) was a British tennis player and the older brother of tennis player Laurence Doherty. He was known in the tennis world as "R.F." rather than "Reggie".

are the most successful male athletes in their respective sports,

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

and

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

. Five-time gold medalist

Laura Kenny Dame Laura Rebecca Kenny, Lady Kenny ( Trott; born 24 April 1992) is a British track and road cyclist who specialises in track endurance events, specifically the team pursuit, omnium, scratch race, elimination race and madison disciplines. Wi ...

is the most successful female cyclist and

Hannah Mills Hannah Louise Mills, (born 29 February 1988) is a British competitive sailor and two-time world champion in the Women's 470 class, having won in 2012 and 2019. Mills won a silver medal for Team GB with her crew Saskia Clark in the 2012 Olymp ...

with two gold medals and a silver is the successful woman in sailing.

Nicola Adams Nicola Virginia Adams (born 26 October 1982) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2017 to 2019. She retired with an undefeated record and held the WBO female flyweight title in 2019. As an amateur, she became the first fe ...

, with two golds, shares the title of most successful woman in

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

Medals by sport

Alpine skiing

Archery

Artistic swimming

Great Britain appeared in the first synchronised swimming competition in 1984.

Athletics

Badminton

Great Britain has competed in all Badminton events held at the Summer Olympics since badminton made its full debut as an Olympic sport in 1992. The figures from 1972 do not count towards the total as badminton was a demonstration sport.

Basketball

Biathlon

Bobsleigh

Boxing

Great Britain made its Olympic boxing debut in 1908.

Canoeing

Cricket

Great Britain and France were the only two teams to compete in the only Olympic

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

match, in 1900. The British team won, making them the only nation to win an Olympic cricket contest and the only Olympic gold medallists in cricket.

Cross-country skiing

Curling

Cycling

with seven gold and two silver medals is the most successful British Olympian, most successful British cyclist, indeed the most successful cyclist, in Olympic history. His wife,

is the most successful British female Olympian, and most successful Olympic female cyclist in history, with five golds and one silver. As of 2021, of the 100 cycling medals won by Great Britain, half (50) have been won in the four Games since 2008, including 28 gold medals. Great Britain had won ten golds in total between 1896 and 2008.

Diving

Great Britain made its Olympic diving debut in 1908.

Jack Laugher Jack David Laugher ( ; born 30 January 1995) is a British diver competing for Great Britain and England. A specialist on springboard, he competes in individual springboard events, and in synchronised events with Chris Mears, Daniel Goodfello ...

with one gold, one silver and one bronze medal is the most successful British Olympic diver in history.

Tom Daley Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, with one gold and three bronze medals, is the most decorated.

Equestrian

Great Britain had one rider compete in the hacks and hunter combined event at the first Olympic equestrian events in 1900.

Fencing

Great Britain first competed in fencing in 1900 and won its first fencing medal, a silver, in 1908 at the London Games.

Figure skating

Great Britain hosted the first Olympic figure skating contests in 1908.

Football

Great Britain and Ireland – now represented separately by Team Ireland and Team Great Britain – was one of three teams to play in the inaugural football tournament, winning their only match to take the first Olympic gold medal in football. The men's team competed in the ten Olympics in the table below. The women's team competed in 2012, and has qualified for 2020. In 1974, the FA abolished the distinction between "amateur" and "professional" footballers in England. This ended the practice of "shamateurism", where players claimed to be amateur but still got irregular payments from their clubs. Also,

is not a member of FIFA and its athletes participate in international football competitions as members of the national teams of the home nations (

and

), none of which have National Olympic Committees. As a result, Great Britain usually does not participate in Olympic qualifying tournaments. Having qualified as hosts in both tournaments in 2012, pressure arose to find a way for Great Britain, and at least a women's teamm, to take part in Olympic football competitions. The solution, first instituted in time for the 2020 Games, and following the precedent set out by field hockey and rugby sevens was for the results of the England women's team, as the highest ranked national team within Great Britain, to be treated as qualification results for the purposes of UEFA quota places. When both England and Scotland qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup, the UEFA designated qualification tournament, England's results were treated as Great Britain results for Olympic qualification purposes, while Scottish results were ignored for the same purposes. England's U23 men's team do not have a similar arrangement. Notwithstanding the arrangement, in the event of qualification, Scottish and Welsh players are eligible.

Freestyle skiing

Golf

Great Britain was one of four teams to play golf at the first Olympic golf events in 1900, taking silver and bronze in the men's competition. They did not compete in the Olympic golf competition held in 1904. When the sport returned in the 2016 Rio Olympics, after a 112-year absence,

Justin Rose Justin Peter Rose, (born 30 July 1980) is an English professional golfer who plays most of his golf on the PGA Tour, while keeping his membership on the European Tour. He won his first major championship at the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion Golf ...

won gold.

Gymnastics

Great Britain first competed in gymnastics in the inaugural 1896 Olympics, with wrestler

Launceston Elliot Launceston Elliot (9 June 1874 – 8 August 1930) was a Scottish weightlifter, and the first British Olympic champion. Biography Launceston Elliot was conceived in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, after which he was named, but before his ...

entering the rope climbing event and finishing last. Great Britain's first gymnastics medal came in 1908 with a silver in the men's individual all-around. Until 2008, Great Britain's last medal for gymnastics was a Bronze in the Women's all-round team event in 1928. At the 2012 Summer Games in London, Great Britain equaled its tally for all previous games combined, winning 4 medals to bring their all-time total to eight. A record seven medals, including first ever gold medals, were won in 2016, while a further three, including one gold, were won at the 2020 Games. Having won only four medals in total between 1896 and 2008, 14 medals, including 3 gold medals were secured between 2012 and 2020.

Handball

Great Britain's men's and women's handball teams were allowed to take up host places at the 2012 Olympics. This is the only time that Great Britain has competed in handball at the Olympics.

Field hockey

Great Britain hosted the first Olympic field hockey tournament in 1908.

Ice hockey

Jeu de paume

Great Britain hosted the only Olympic

jeu de paume ''Jeu de paume'' (, ; originally spelled ; ), nowadays known as real tennis, (US) court tennis or (in France) ''courte paume'', is a ball-and-court game that originated in France. It was an indoor precursor of tennis played without racquets, a ...

tournament in 1908.

Judo

Great Britain has competed in all judo events held at the Summer Olympics since judo made its full debut as an Olympic sport in 1964. Although Great Britain has won 20 judo medals, none have been gold.

Lacrosse

Great Britain's Olympic lacrosse debut was in 1908.

Luge

Modern pentathlon

Great Britain's Olympic modern pentathlon debut was in 1912 when it was first included in the Olympics. Their most successful games were the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the List of Olympic Games h ...

, where Great Britain won both the available gold medals.

Nordic combined

Polo

Great Britain was one of four teams to compete in the debut of Olympic polo. Three of the five teams had British players, and those three teams took both the top two places and split the third place with the Mexican team. Great Britain would be the only team to play in all five of the Olympic polo tournaments, with no other nation appearing more than three times. The nation took gold and two silvers in 1908, when only British teams competed. Facing international competition in 1920, the British side won. The 1924 tournament resulted in a bronze medal for Great Britain, while the team took silver in 1936. In international play, the Great Britain team had an overall record of 5–3 (semifinal and final wins in 1920, a 2–2 record the 1924 round-robin, and a first-round win and final loss in 1936). There were 2 games in 1908 pitting teams from Great Britain against each other, necessarily resulting in a 2–2 record that year. The mixed teams in 1900 had records of 3–0, 1–1, and 0–1, though both losses (and, of course, therefore two of the wins) were against each other.

Rackets

Great Britain hosted the only Olympic

rackets Racket may refer to: * Racket (crime), a systematised element of organized crime ** Protection racket, a scheme whereby a group provides protection to businesses or other groups through violence outside the sanction of the law * Racket (sports equ ...

tournament, in 1908.

Rowing

Great Britain took a bronze medal in the first Olympic rowing competition, in 1900.

Rugby

Great Britain took a silver medal in the first Olympic rugby competition, in 1900. They repeated as silver medallists by losing the only match in 1908. Great Britain did not compete in 1920 or 1924. When the sport returned in 2016 as rugby sevens, Great Britain earned a third silver medal (in men's) as well as placing 4th in the first women's rugby competition.

Sailing

Great Britain took four gold medals in the first Olympic sailing events in 1900. In addition, British sailors were part of two mixed teams that won gold.

Shooting

Great Britain's first shooting medals came when the United Kingdom hosted the 1908 Games, at which the British shooters dominated the competitions. There were 215 shooters from 14 teams in the shooting events, including 67 from Great Britain.

Short track speed skating

Skateboarding

Skeleton

Great Britain is the most successful team in Skeleton winning a medal at every Games in which the sport has been included and has won at least one medal in each of the five contests of Women's skeleton since its introduction with five different athletes.

is the most successful Skeleton rider of all time winning back to back gold medals in 2014 and 2018. No other rider has successfully defended a gold medal.

Ski jumping

Snowboarding

Speed skating

Sport climbing

Swimming

Great Britain was the third most successful team in swimming in 2008, with 2 golds, 2 silvers and 2 bronzes, with

Rebecca Adlington Rebecca Adlington (born 17 February 1989) is a British former competitive swimmer who specialised in freestyle events in international competition. She won two gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 400-metre freestyle and 800-metre ...

winning two of these, making her the most successful female British swimmer in 100 years.

Table tennis

Taekwondo

Great Britain have competed in all six taekwondo competitions that have taken place since 2000. Their best result is a gold, silver and bronze in 2016.

Tennis

Spectators at Live Site East (7724461770)

John Pius Boland John Mary Pius Boland (16 September 1870 – 17 March 1958) was an Irish Nationalist politician, and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and as member of the Irish Parliam ...

dominated the 1896 tennis tournaments. Tennis in 1896 was a sport that allowed mixed teams, and both Boland and George S. Robertson joined partners from other nations to win their medals. Great Britain again dominated in 1900, taking all four gold medals and adding seven others (three as part of mixed teams).

Triathlon

Great Britain have competed in all Six triathlon competitions that have taken place since 2000. Their best finish is two 2nd place's in the men's and women's individual triathlon event's, and a 1st-place finish in the mixed triathlon relay event, in 2020(2021).

Tug of war

Great Britain's Olympic tug of war debut came when the United Kingdom hosted the Games in

. Great Britain was then one of only two teams to compete in 1912 and also won the last Tug of War competition held in the Olympics in 1920.

Volleyball

Prior to participating, as host nation, in the 2012 volleyball tournaments, Great Britain had never competed in Olympic volleyball with the exception of the women's team participating in the inaugural Beach volleyball tournament in 1996.

Water motorsports

The United Kingdom hosted the only Olympic water motorsports contests, in 1908.

Water polo

Weightlifting

Great Britain's only gold medal in weightlifting came at the first Games in 1896, when