John MacGregor (Scottish) invented the kayak /canoe. In 1865, he founded the Royal Canoe Club. Kayak made its debut at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin (Germany).
From 1896 to 2004, Great Britain has won 668 Summer Olympics medals, including 188 gold. The United Kingdom has more gold medals than Greece, Cuba, Spain, Brazil, Argentina and India combined…
Sebastian Newbold Coe was selected to carry Great Britain’s flag during the closing ceremony at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games. From 1980 to 1984, he won four Olympic medals (800m and 1500m). Coe is an iconic figure in the world of sports.
Great Britain is the birthplace of table tennis. This sport was a demonstration sport at the 1988 Seoul Games and went on to become an “Olympic sport” in the Barcelona Games in 1992.
In the 1910s, Great Britain’s national football team won its third-ever gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Stockholm (Sweden).
The United Kingdom has many famous sportspeople: Jonathan Edwards (athletics / England), Sally Gunnell (track & field/ England), David Wilkie (aquatics /Scotland), Sebastian Newbold Coe (athletics / England), Samuel Ferris (marathon / Northern Ireland), Allan Wipper Wells (athletics/ Scotland), Steve Michael James Ovett (track and field / England), Colin Ray Jackson (athletics/ Wales), Cris Hoy (cycling / Scotland).
Unlike Japan, West Germany, Canada and Kenya, Great Britain / United Kingdom did not boycott the 1980 Olympics in the Soviet Union. Margaret Hilda Thatcher ( Prime Minister of the United Kingdom / 1979-1990 ) did not support the boycott. GB sent 214 athletes to the Moscow Games (won 21 medals). Ironically, Bermuda, Cayman islands, Antigua-Barbuda and Hong Kong ( British territories ) boycotted the Games.
Kate Howey was the flag bearer of the British Olympic team at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Who is she? Kate was a judoka…
England dominated the medals at the First Commonwealth Games in 1930. But over the last three decades, England has been overtaken by Australia.
Glasgow (Scotland) will be host to the Commonwealth Games in 2014.
The United Kingdom is the birthplace of boxing. London hosted the first boxing championships in 1867. James Figg and John Broughton were the first boxers in the history…
Linford Christie was one of the greatest sprinters in the past century. Great Britain’s Linford won the gold medal in the 100m at the Barcelona Games in 1992. He was born on April 2, 1960 in Saint Andrew, Jamaica (Caribbean).
British boxers won all the gold medals in the Olympics in 1908. The champions were: Henry Thomas ( bantamweight / 54kg), Richard Gunn ( featherweight / 57kg ), Frederick Grace ( lightweight / 60kg ), John Douglas (middleweight / 75kg), Albert Oldham (super heavyweight / 91%2B kg).
The Montreal Olympic Games was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II ( Head of State of Canada) in 1976.
Great Britain introduced field hockey into India and Pakistan. This European country was the first ever men’s field hockey Olympic champion (1908).
This country has hosted many international Games/ tournaments:
The 1897 Cycling World Cup-Glasgow, Scotland
The 1904 Cycling World Cup-London, England
The 1908 Summer Olympics-London, England
The 1934 British Empire Games-London, England
The 1938 Baseball World Cup-London, England
The 1948 Summer Olympics-London, England
The 1958 British Empire Games-Cardiff, Wales
The 1966 FIFA World Cup-London, England
The 1970 British Commonwealth Games-Edinburgh, Scotland
The 1975 FISA World Rowing Cup-Notthingham, England
The 1971 Cycling World Cup-Leicester, England
The 1986 Commonwealth Games-Edinburgh, Scotland
The 1991 World University Games-Sheffield, England
The 2002 Commonwealth Games-Manchester, England
Bermuda ( British territory / Caribbean ) won an Olympic medal at the 1976 Montreal Games. The medalist was Clarence Hills (boxing). It competed in the Summer Games 15 times: Berlin-1936, London-1948, Helsinki-1952, Melbourne-1956, Rome-1960, Tokyo-1964, Mexico City-1968, Munich-1972, Montreal-1976, Los Angeles-1984, Seoul-1988, Barcelona-1992, Atlanta-1996, Sydney-2000, Athens-2004. Bermuda has also competed in the Winter Games: France-1992, Norway-1994, Japan-1998, USA-2002, Italy-2006…
The United Kingdom has many foreign-born sportspeople : Tessa Sanderson (Jamaica / track & field ),Curtis Osano (Kenya / soccer), Blair Blenman (Barbados / weightlifting ), John Barnes (Jamaica / football ), Cliff Drysdale ( South Africa / tennis ), Fatima Whitbread ( Cyprus / athletics ), Bamlerdele “Dele” Adebola (Nigeria / soccer), Zola Budd ( South Africa / track & field ), Judy Simpson (Jamaica / athletics ), Eniola Aluko ( Nigeria /soccer ), Simon Lessing ( South Africa / triathlon ), Clive Longe (Guyana / track and field ), Natalie Steward (South Africa / swimming), Nedeum Onuoha ( Nigeria /soccer ).
Like Dan O´Brien and Jim Thorpe, Daley Thompson was one of the best decathletes in the 20th century.
Fact File
Name: Francis Morgan Thompson ( best known as Daley Thompson)
Nationality: British
Ancestry: Nigerian (Scottish mother and Nigerian father)
Born: 30 / 7 / 1958
Place of birth: Notting Hill, London,UK
Personal motto: “Competition is my life, winning is my only goal”
Sport: Decathlon (track & field)
Major individual medals
1977: European Junior Championships-Gold medal
1978: Edmonton Commonwealth Games-Gold medal
1978: European Championships-Gold medal
1980: Moscow Olympic Games-Gold medal
1982: Brisbane Commonwealth Games-Gold medal
1983: World Championships-Gold medal
1984: Los Angeles Olympic Games-Gold medal
1986: Edinburgh Commonwealth Games-Gold medal
1986: European Championships-Gold medal
