Great Britain (GBR)

Overview

NOCBritish Olympic Association
Flagbearers99

Participants

Olympic Games 6566
Intercalated Games 40
Youth Olympic Games 182
Other competitors with GBR nationality 88

Description

Great Britain is the only nation that has never failed to be represented at the Olympic Games, including all the usual exceptions. It competed at the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens, the 1908 figure skating events in London, the 1920 figure skating events in Antwerp, and at the 1956 Equestrian Olympics in Stockholm. Through 1920, Great Britain competed as a combined team with Ireland, which was still not an independent nation, and its 1904 participation is in fact due only to three Irish athletes. The British Olympic Association was formed and recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1905. Through 2022, Great Britain has won a total of 954 Olympic medals, 300 of them gold. Their best participation by far happened at the 1908 Olympic Games, in their home soil, with a total of 146 medals and 56 gold (more than double their second best participation).

Jason Kenny leads the medal list, with seven golds and two silvers in track cycling events from 2008-2020. He is followed by cyclist Bradley Wiggins, with eight medals (five gold). Although with less medals (total of 7), cyclist Chris Hoy beats Wiggins in number of golds, with 6 gold medals. Laura Trott-Kenny, Jason Kenny’s wife, is also a track cyclist and Great Britain’s best female Olympian, with 5 gold and 1 silver. The nation’s best non-cyclist Olympian is rower Steven Redgrave, with five golds and one bronze.

Great Britain has won 34 medals and 12 gold medals at the Olympic Winter Games (or 41 and 13, if you include 1908 and 1920 figure skating, technically contested at the Summer Olympics). Their best sport has been figure skating, at which they have won 15 medals with five gold medals. But, more recently, they have also been dominant in skeleton, winning nine medals and three gold, and curling, with six medals and three golds. Its best Winter Olympic performances both came in 2014 and 2018, with five medals and one gold at both Sochi and PyeongChang.

Lizzy Yarnold has uniquely won two gold medals for Britain, in skeleton sliding in 2014 and 2018. Four other British Winter Olympians have won two medals, three with a gold and bronze in figure skating: Jeannette Altwegg in 1948 and 1952, and the sublime dance couple of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean in 1984 and 1994. Eve Muirhead joined this top in 2022, winning gold in the curling tournament, after winning bronze in the same event in 2014.

Great Britain has hosted the Olympic Games three times, the Games of the IVth Olympiad in London in 1908, the Games of the XIVth Olympiad in London in 1948, and the Games of the XXXth Olympiad in London in 2012.

Participations by edition

Olympic Games

Edition As Men Women Total
1896 Summer Olympics Great Britain 10 0 10 Results
1900 Summer Olympics Great Britain 94 1 95 Results
1904 Summer Olympics Great Britain 4 0 4 Results
1908 Summer Olympics Great Britain 698 39 737 Results
1912 Summer Olympics Great Britain 263 11 274 Results
1920 Summer Olympics Great Britain 219 16 235 Results
1924 Summer Olympics Great Britain 239 28 267 Results
1924 Winter Olympics Great Britain 41 3 44 Results
1928 Summer Olympics Great Britain 201 31 232 Results
1928 Winter Olympics Great Britain 29 3 32 Results
1932 Summer Olympics Great Britain 92 17 109 Results
1932 Winter Olympics Great Britain 0 4 4 Results
1936 Summer Olympics Great Britain 171 37 208 Results
1936 Winter Olympics Great Britain 29 10 39 Results
1948 Summer Olympics Great Britain 337 70 407 Results
1948 Winter Olympics Great Britain 43 12 55 Results
1952 Summer Olympics Great Britain 213 44 257 Results
1952 Winter Olympics Great Britain 8 10 18 Results
1956 Summer Olympics Great Britain 163 26 189 Results
1956 Winter Olympics Great Britain 31 10 41 Results
1956 Equestrian Olympics Great Britain 5 3 8 Results
1960 Summer Olympics Great Britain 206 47 253 Results
1960 Winter Olympics Great Britain 11 6 17 Results
1964 Summer Olympics Great Britain 160 44 204 Results
1964 Winter Olympics Great Britain 27 9 36 Results
1968 Summer Olympics Great Britain 175 50 225 Results
1968 Winter Olympics Great Britain 28 10 38 Results
1972 Summer Olympics Great Britain 210 74 284 Results
1972 Winter Olympics Great Britain 30 7 37 Results
1976 Summer Olympics Great Britain 176 66 242 Results
1976 Winter Olympics Great Britain 31 11 42 Results
1980 Summer Olympics Great Britain 149 70 219 Results
1980 Winter Olympics Great Britain 36 12 48 Results
1984 Summer Olympics Great Britain 229 108 337 Results
1984 Winter Olympics Great Britain 37 13 50 Results
1988 Summer Olympics Great Britain 219 126 345 Results
1988 Winter Olympics Great Britain 34 14 48 Results
1992 Summer Olympics Great Britain 229 142 371 Results
1992 Winter Olympics Great Britain 39 10 49 Results
1994 Winter Olympics Great Britain 25 7 32 Results
1996 Summer Olympics Great Britain 184 116 300 Results
1998 Winter Olympics Great Britain 27 7 34 Results
2000 Summer Olympics Great Britain 181 129 310 Results
2002 Winter Olympics Great Britain 31 18 49 Results
2004 Summer Olympics Great Britain 161 103 264 Results
2006 Winter Olympics Great Britain 23 16 39 Results
2008 Summer Olympics Great Britain 163 141 304 Results
2010 Winter Olympics Great Britain 28 24 52 Results
2012 Summer Olympics Great Britain 273 257 530 Results
2014 Winter Olympics Great Britain 32 21 53 Results
2016 Summer Olympics Great Britain 201 159 360 Results
2018 Winter Olympics Great Britain 33 23 56 Results
2020 Summer Olympics Great Britain 178 197 375 Results
2022 Winter Olympics Great Britain 26 21 47 Results

Intercalated Games

Edition As Men Women Total
1906 Intercalated Games Great Britain 40 0 40 Results

Youth Olympic Games

Edition As Men Women Total
2010 Summer Youth Olympics Great Britain 18 21 39 Results
2012 Winter Youth Olympics Great Britain 12 11 23 Results
2014 Summer Youth Olympics Great Britain 18 15 33 Results
2016 Winter Youth Olympics Great Britain 6 10 16 Results
2018 Summer Youth Olympics Great Britain 23 20 43 Results
2020 Winter Youth Olympics Great Britain 14 14 28 Results

Participations by discipline

Olympic Games

Discipline (Sport) Men Women Total
Alpine Skiing (Skiing) 73 51 124 Results
Alpinism 12 0 12 Results
Archery 35 46 81 Results
Art Competitions 123 28 151 Results
Artistic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 164 88 252 Results
Artistic Swimming (Aquatics) 0 20 20 Results
Athletics 941 346 1287 Results
Badminton 21 25 46 Results
Basketball (Basketball) 25 12 37 Results
Beach Volleyball (Volleyball) 2 4 6 Results
Biathlon 30 2 32 Results
Bobsleigh (Bobsleigh) 119 11 130 Results
Boxing 218 7 225 Results
Canoe Marathon (Canoeing) 10 0 10 Results
Canoe Slalom (Canoeing) 34 12 46 Results
Canoe Sprint (Canoeing) 62 38 100 Results
Cricket 12 0 12 Results
Cross Country Skiing (Skiing) 43 11 54 Results
Curling 30 22 52 Results
Cycling BMX Freestyle (Cycling) 1 1 2 Results
Cycling BMX Racing (Cycling) 3 2 5 Results
Cycling Mountain Bike (Cycling) 7 5 12 Results
Cycling Road (Cycling) 129 21 150 Results
Cycling Track (Cycling) 161 17 178 Results
Diving (Aquatics) 72 59 131 Results
Equestrian Dressage (Equestrian) 5 22 27 Results
Equestrian Eventing (Equestrian) 34 20 54 Results
Equestrian Jumping (Equestrian) 37 6 43 Results
Fencing 147 43 190 Results
Figure Skating (Skating) 61 68 129 Results
Football (Football) 127 29 156 Results
Freestyle Skiing (Skiing) 18 16 34 Results
Golf 9 4 13 Results
Handball 14 14 28 Results
Hockey 243 79 322 Results
Ice Hockey (Ice Hockey) 42 0 42 Results
Jeu De Paume 9 0 9 Results
Judo 47 29 76 Results
Lacrosse 12 0 12 Results
Luge 25 4 29 Results
Marathon Swimming (Aquatics) 4 3 7 Results
Modern Pentathlon 45 9 54 Results
Motorboating 12 1 13 Results
Nordic Combined (Skiing) 1 0 1 Results
Polo 29 0 29 Results
Racquets 7 0 7 Results
Rhythmic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 0 13 13 Results
Rowing 413 125 538 Results
Rugby (Rugby) 30 0 30 Results
Rugby Sevens (Rugby) 21 22 43 Results
Sailing 217 34 251 Results
Shooting 205 14 219 Results
Short Track Speed Skating (Skating) 18 6 24 Results
Skateboarding (Roller Sports) 0 2 2 Results
Skeleton (Bobsleigh) 11 6 17 Results
Ski Jumping (Skiing) 2 0 2 Results
Snowboarding (Skiing) 8 7 15 Results
Speed Skating (Skating) 31 4 35 Results
Sport Climbing 0 1 1 Results
Swimming (Aquatics) 283 235 518 Results
Table Tennis 10 7 17 Results
Taekwondo 9 5 14 Results
Tennis 46 32 78 Results
Trampolining (Gymnastics) 3 6 9 Results
Triathlon 10 12 22 Results
Tug-Of-War 31 0 31 Results
Volleyball (Volleyball) 12 12 24 Results
Water Polo (Aquatics) 71 13 84 Results
Weightlifting 86 7 93 Results
Wrestling 139 1 140 Results

Intercalated Games

Discipline (Sport) Men Women Total
Artistic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 2 0 2 Results
Athletics 19 0 19 Results
Cycling Road (Cycling) 1 0 1 Results
Cycling Track (Cycling) 5 0 5 Results
Diving (Aquatics) 2 0 2 Results
Fencing 5 0 5 Results
Shooting 2 0 2 Results
Swimming (Aquatics) 6 0 6 Results

Youth Olympic Games

Discipline (Sport) Men Women Total
3-on-3 Ice Hockey (Ice Hockey) 3 4 7 Results
Acrobatic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 1 1 2 Results
Alpine Skiing (Skiing) 4 4 8 Results
Archery 3 2 5 Results
Artistic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 3 3 6 Results
Athletics 5 8 13 Results
Badminton 1 2 3 Results
Beach Volleyball (Volleyball) 2 0 2 Results
Biathlon 1 1 2 Results
Bobsleigh (Bobsleigh) 4 8 12 Results
Boxing 7 1 8 Results
Canoe Sprint (Canoeing) 2 1 3 Results
Cross Country Skiing (Skiing) 2 2 4 Results
Curling 5 6 11 Results
Cycling BMX Racing (Cycling) 1 1 2 Results
Cycling Road (Cycling) 2 2 4 Results
Diving (Aquatics) 2 2 4 Results
Equestrian Jumping (Equestrian) 2 1 3 Results
Fencing 1 1 2 Results
Figure Skating (Skating) 1 1 2 Results
Freestyle Skiing (Skiing) 4 4 8 Results
Golf 2 2 4 Results
Ice Hockey (Ice Hockey) 1 2 3 Results
Judo 1 1 2 Results
Karate 0 2 2 Results
Luge 1 0 1 Results
Mixed Sports 4 3 7 Results
Modern Pentathlon 3 2 5 Results
Nordic Combined (Skiing) 0 1 1 Results
Rowing 5 4 9 Results
Sailing 2 3 5 Results
Shooting 1 0 1 Results
Short Track Speed Skating (Skating) 3 1 4 Results
Skeleton (Bobsleigh) 0 1 1 Results
Ski Jumping (Skiing) 1 0 1 Results
Snowboarding (Skiing) 1 0 1 Results
Speed Skating (Skating) 1 0 1 Results
Swimming (Aquatics) 4 6 10 Results
Table Tennis 0 1 1 Results
Taekwondo 2 4 6 Results
Tennis 1 0 1 Results
Trampolining (Gymnastics) 3 2 5 Results
Triathlon 3 3 6 Results
Weightlifting 0 1 1 Results

Medals by Games

Edition Competition Type Gold Silver Bronze Total
1908 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 56 51 39 146
2012 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 29 18 18 65
2016 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 27 23 17 67
2020 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 22 20 22 64
1900 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 20 8 9 37
2008 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 19 13 19 51
1920 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 14 16 13 43
2000 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 11 10 7 28
1912 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 10 15 16 41
1924 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 9 14 12 35
2004 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 9 9 12 30
1906 Intercalated Games Intercalated Games 8 11 5 24
1984 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 5 11 21 37
1988 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 5 10 9 24
1956 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 5 7 9 21
1980 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 5 7 9 21
1932 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 5 7 5 17
2014 Summer Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 5 5 10 20
1968 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 5 5 3 13
1992 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 5 3 12 20
1948 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 4 16 7 27
1964 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 4 12 2 18
1928 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 4 11 7 22
1936 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 4 7 3 14
1972 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 4 5 9 18
1976 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 3 5 5 13
2018 Summer Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 3 4 5 12
2010 Summer Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 3 1 5 9
1960 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 2 6 12 20
1896 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 2 3 2 7
2016 Winter Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 2 0 2 4
1996 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 1 8 6 15
1952 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 1 2 8 11
2014 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 1 3 5
1924 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 1 2 4
1936 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 1 1 3
1904 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 1 1 0 2
2022 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 1 0 2
2018 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 0 4 5
1956 Equestrian Olympics Olympic Games 1 0 2 3
2002 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 0 1 2
1952 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 0 0 1
1964 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 0 0 1
1976 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 0 0 1
1980 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 0 0 1
1984 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 0 0 1
2010 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 0 0 1
2006 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 0 1 0 1
2012 Winter Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 0 1 0 1
2020 Winter Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 0 1 0 1
1948 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 0 0 2 2
1994 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 0 0 2 2
1928 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 0 0 1 1
1998 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 0 0 1 1

Medals by sport

Olympic Games

Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
Athletics 56 83 72 211
Cycling Track 33 25 20 78
Rowing 31 25 14 70
Sailing 30 21 12 63
Swimming 22 29 30 81
Boxing 20 15 27 62
Tennis 17 14 12 43
Shooting 13 15 19 47
Equestrian Eventing 6 8 7 21
Figure Skating 5 3 7 15
Equestrian Jumping 4 3 5 12
Hockey 4 2 7 13
Modern Pentathlon 4 2 3 9
Water Polo 4 0 0 4
Art Competitions 3 5 1 9
Wrestling 3 4 10 17
Polo 3 4 1 8
Artistic Gymnastics 3 3 10 16
Triathlon 3 3 2 8
Curling 3 2 1 6
Canoe Sprint 3 1 5 9
Skeleton 3 1 5 9
Equestrian Dressage 3 1 3 7
Football 3 0 0 3
Cycling Road 2 8 6 16
Canoe Slalom 2 7 1 10
Diving 2 3 8 13
Taekwondo 2 3 4 9
Archery 2 2 5 9
Racquets 2 2 3 7
Tug-Of-War 2 2 1 5
Motorboating 2 0 0 2
Fencing 1 8 0 9
Weightlifting 1 4 3 8
Bobsleigh 1 1 3 5
Golf 1 1 1 3
Cycling BMX Racing 1 1 0 2
Cycling BMX Freestyle 1 0 1 2
Ice Hockey 1 0 1 2
Cricket 1 0 0 1
Cycling Mountain Bike 1 0 0 1
Judo 0 8 12 20
Marathon Swimming 0 2 1 3
Rugby 0 2 0 2
Badminton 0 1 2 3
Jeu De Paume 0 1 1 2
Trampolining 0 1 1 2
Lacrosse 0 1 0 1
Rugby Sevens 0 1 0 1
Snowboarding 0 0 2 2
Freestyle Skiing 0 0 1 1
Short Track Speed Skating 0 0 1 1
Skateboarding 0 0 1 1

Intercalated Games

Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
Athletics 3 5 1 9
Cycling Track 2 3 0 5
Shooting 2 0 2 4
Swimming 1 2 2 5
Fencing 0 1 0 1

Youth Olympic Games

Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
Artistic Gymnastics 4 4 6 14
Boxing 3 0 3 6
Swimming 1 3 3 7
Freestyle Skiing 1 1 1 3
Taekwondo 1 0 2 3
Rowing 1 0 0 1
Skeleton 1 0 0 1
Triathlon 1 0 0 1
Bobsleigh 0 1 1 2
Diving 0 1 0 1
Modern Pentathlon 0 1 0 1
Trampolining 0 1 0 1
Athletics 0 0 2 2
Sailing 0 0 2 2
Cycling Road 0 0 1 1
Karate 0 0 1 1

Most successful competitors

Includes medals won as part of mixed teams.

Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Jason Kenny GBR 7 2 0 9
Chris Hoy GBR 6 1 0 7
Bradley Wiggins GBR 5 1 2 8
Laura Trott-Kenny GBR 5 1 0 6
Steven Redgrave GBR 5 0 1 6
Ben Ainslie GBR 4 1 0 5
Matthew Pinsent GBR 4 0 0 4
Paul Radmilovic GBR 4 0 0 4
Mo Farah GBR 4 0 0 4
Jack Beresford GBR 3 2 0 5
Adam Peaty GBR 3 2 0 5

Intercalated Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Henry Taylor GBR 1 1 1 3
Con Leahy GBR
IRL
1 1 0 2
Peter O'Connor GBR
IRL
1 1 0 2
Gerald Merlin GBR 1 0 1 2
Sidney Merlin GBR 1 0 1 2
Johnnie Matthews GBR 1 0 0 1
Billy Pett GBR 1 0 0 1
Arthur Rushen GBR 1 0 0 1
Henry Hawtrey GBR 1 0 0 1
Herbert Crowther GBR 0 2 0 2

Youth Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Giarnni Regini-Moran GBR 3 0 2 5
Ben Dijkstra GBR 2 0 0 2
Sam Oldham GBR 1 1 0 2
Luke Greenbank GBR 1 0 1 2
Madi Rowlands GBR 1 0 1 2
Jade Jones GBR 1 0 0 1
Duncan Scott GBR 1 0 0 1
Carian Scudamore GBR 1 0 0 1
Fiona Gammond GBR 1 0 0 1
Georgia Howard-Merrill GBR 1 0 0 1
Oliver Golding GBR 1 0 0 1
Jake Saywell GBR 1 0 0 1
Miles Munro GBR 1 0 0 1
Martyn Walton GBR 1 0 0 1
Edward Carstairs GBR 1 0 0 1
Millie Paterson GBR 1 0 0 1
Jack Burrows GBR 1 0 0 1
Ashleigh Pittaway GBR 1 0 0 1
Karol Itauma GBR 1 0 0 1
Ivan Price GBR 1 0 0 1
Caroline Dubois GBR 1 0 0 1

IOC Members

Arthur, Lord Ampthill 1894—1898
Charles Herbert 1894—1906
Robert de Courcy Laffan 1897—1927
Sir Charles Vincent 1901—1908
William, Lord Desborough 1905—1913
Theodore Andrea Cook 1909—1915
Algernon, Duke of Somerset 1913—1920
Reginald Kentish 1921—1933
Gerald, Earl Cadogan 1923—1929
George, Lord Rochdale 1927—1933
Clarence, Lord Aberdare of Duffryn 1929—1957
David, Lord Burghley 1933—1981
Francis Curtis-Bennett 1933—1950
Francis Curtis-Bennett 1950—1950
Ian, Baron Luke of Pavenham 1951—1988
Mary Glen-Haig 1982—1993
Ian, Baron Luke of Pavenham 1988—1996
HRH Princess Anne 1988—
Mary Glen-Haig 1993—2014
Craig Reedie 1994—2021
Matthew Pinsent 2002—2004
Phil Craven 2003—2017
Adam Pengilly 2010—2018
Seb Coe 2020—
Craig Reedie 2022—