Fantastic 2011 shows British sport on track for success in 2012
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Mo Farah
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UK Sport 15 November 2011
- 2011 proving to be a more successful year than 2007, the year before the Beijing Games
- 44 World Championship medals won in 2011 in Olympic Disciplines, with British Sailors still to compete at their World Championships in December
- 73 World Championship medals won in Paralympic disciplines this year
British success in London 2012 is on track as many sports continue to deliver medals on the international stage. That is the message coming from the annual UK Sport World Class Performance Conference being held at Olympic and Paralympic venue Excel this week.
As more than 300 Olympic and Paralympic Performance Directors, Head Coaches and key performance staff come together for the final time before next year’s Games, the latest analysis of Britain’s summer Olympic and Paralympic sports shows a high performance system in the UK that is producing many outstanding results, with 2011 already proving to be a more successful year than 2007, the year before the Beijing Games.
The results show that compared to 2007, where British athletes won 42 World Championship medals in Olympic Disciplines, 2011 has already produced 44 World Championship medal winning performances in a comparable number of events, with British Sailors still to compete at their World Championships in December. Although it is more difficult to make a like for like comparison in Paralympic sport due to the differing nature of the international calendars in 2007 and 2011, an incredible 73 World Championship medals won in Paralympic disciplines this year, indicate that Paralympic sport is also very much on track for success in 2012.
The results, which are monitored by UK Sport to track how the sports have fared against their own annual targets, detail the current performance of 45 Olympic and Paralympic disciplines, painting the picture of how British elite sport is progressing on its journey to 2012. They show that ‘established’ sports such as Rowing, Cycling and Athletics, which delivered 28 medals between them in World Championships in 2011 in Olympic disciplines, continue to deliver.
Encouragingly 2011 has also seen record breaking performances on the world stage from Olympic sports such as Taekwondo and Boxing, where both British squads achieved their best ever medal haul at a World Championships and from Paralympic sports such as Cycling, where the British Team won 28 medals in total breaking five world records in the process.
Commenting on the results achieved by British Olympic and Paralympic sports this year, UK Sport Chief Executive Liz Nicholl, said: “Through strategic investment and commitment to excellence we are seeing many British Olympic and Paralympic sports do a fantastic job and continue to improve as we get ever closer to 2012. 2011 has seen many first time achievements and best ever performances on the international stage, and the hard work of all of the athletes, coaches and the whole sporting system is ensuring we are in tremendous shape with just 8 months to go.
“Our wholehearted thanks must also go to the Government, National Lottery players and all those who have donated to Team 2012. Thanks to their support for elite sport in this country, the signs are that many of our Olympic and Paralympic sports will continue to deliver success for the nation in 2012 and beyond.”
2011 Medal Targets Summer Olympic sports
