The greatest British Olympians of all time

Great Britain has consistently been one of the best-performing countries at the Olympic Games, with swimming, cycling, rowing, and sailing proving fruitful events for British athletes. With that being said, let’s take a look at the greatest British Olympians of all time.

Daley has consistently been amongst the best divers in the world during his career, winning multiple World Championships alongside side three Olympic bronze medals and one gold. In a sport not usually dominated by Brits, Daley is deserving of his place on this list.

Per Swim England, Adlington is Britain’s most successful woman ever in the pool, winning four Olympic medals, including two golds in the 400 and 800m freestyle events at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

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Ovett is perhaps most famous for his rivalry with another runner on this list (yet to be named). Their battles in the middle-distance events were legendary, with Ovett claiming gold in the 800m at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, beating fierce rival Seb Coe in what was Coe’s signature event.

Romero’s Olympic successes may be less than others on this list, having only won one Gold medal, however, there are very few people ever to have medalled in multiple sports. Having won silver in the 2004 quadruple sculling event, Romero switched focus ahead of 2008 and won gold in the individual pursuit track cycling, per The Telegraph.

SunSport sums up Holmes’ Olympic legacy well, writing, “Considered by many to be over the hill at 34, made history with the 800m and 1500m double in Athens in 2004.” A true legend of the Olympics.

Coe won two Olympic gold medals, both in the 1500m. His win in 1980 came against the aforementioned Steve Offet and Coe was able to defend his title four years later in Los Angeles.

Possibly unknown to most Paulo Radmilovic was, for a long time, Britain’s greatest Olympian having won four gold medals in water polo and swimming from 1908 to 1920, per Olympedia.

Peaty has been a dominant force in the pool since his debut in 2013, since then, the Brit has won three Olympic golds and two silver. His triumphs came in his strongest discipline, the 100m breaststroke, plus as one of the 4x100 mixed medley team at Tokyo 2020, per BCC Sport.

Matthew Pinsent won gold medals at four consecutive Olympics from 1992 to 2004. His first two triumphs came in the coxless pair, before switching to the coxless four for the Sydney and Athens Games. He also won 10 World Championships to go along with his Olympic successes.

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Mo Farah will forever be remembered as a key part of Super Saturday during the London 2012 Olympics, in which Team GB won three golds in 44 minutes at London's Olympic Stadium, per BBC Sport. Farah won the double-double at the 2012 and 2016 games, taking home golds in the 5,000 and 10,000m events at both Games.

Ainslie is regarded by many as one of the greatest modern sailors, having won gold medals at four consecutive Olympics, making him the most successful sailor in the history of the Olympics, per The Guardian.

Britain has been blessed with a number of incredibly talented cyclists over the past couple of decades, and there may be none as good as Laura Kenny at her peak. Kenny has won five Olympic golds (plus a silver) during her career, making her the most successful women’s cyclist of all time, per ITV News.

Another Briton who is the most successful Olympian in their chosen discipline is Steve Redgrave, who won five consecutive gold medals from 1984 to 2000, triumphing in both the coxless pair and coxless fours.

Wiggins won five Olympic golds over his career, winning multiple team pursuit events, before also taking home the gold medal in the time trial at the London 2012 Games. Wiggins is a true cycling great, having dominated both track and road cycling during his career and winning a Tour de France along the way.

Britain’s success on two wheels cannot be underestimated, considering Chris Hoy is only the second-greatest cyclist on this list. Hoy was a force of nature during his career, winning six gold medals, and a silver, making him the most successful British Olympian of all time until…

Jason Kenny (married to Laura) claimed seven golds and two silvers during his Olympic career to make him the most successful British Olympian ever. His Keirin win in Tokyo also made him the most successful Olympic cyclist of all time, per BBC Sport.

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