Jason Kenny gold marks record best ever away Games for British athletes at Rio 2016
- Day 11 in Rio sees UK Sport’s historic medal target of at least 48 medals achieved with more sports to come and more athletes still to compete
- Best ever British Olympic medal haul away from home eclipsing Beijing and potential for even more medals
- Exceptional Games so far, with historic achievements by British athletes in a variety of sports to inspire the nation
- 14 sports have contributed to the medal tally so far
A historic day at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games saw Jason Kenny win Team GB’s 48th medal, his sixth Olympic gold of his illustrious career, to ensure Rio 2016 will be Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s best ever Olympic Games away from home, the target set by UK Sport, with more sports to come and more British athletes still to compete.
UK Sport has strategically invested around £274million from Government and The National Lottery into Olympic sports and athletes over the past four years to continue to inspire and unite the nation following the success of London 2012.
UK Sport also provides access to world class science, medicine and technology through the English Institute of Sport, in partnership with the other home country institutes, develops world leading coaches and works to identify and develop talented athletes and support them to reach their full potential.
With 5 days of competition still to go in Rio, Team GB sit in 2nd place on the medal table with 48 medals (19 gold, 18 silver, 11 bronze) and having delivered countless inspirational landmark performances by individual athletes.
So far, Team GB has won medals in 14 sports, compared to 11 in Beijing in 2008, which was the previous best away Games with 47 medals won. 13 sports have either met or exceeded their pre Games medal target that they proposed to and agreed with UK Sport.
Rod Carr, Chair of UK Sport, said: “Our National Lottery and Government backed athletes have worked so hard for many years to compete here in Rio, and to collectively achieve a historic best ever away Games medal haul with five days still to go is a fitting accolade for this special team.
“Our vision is to inspire the nation through Olympic and Paralympic success, and Team GB is doing that, not just through their performances but through their incredible stories of commitment, team work and determination that have seen them reach the pinnacle of their sports, showing how ordinary people can achieve exceptional things.”
Liz Nicholl, CEO of UK Sport, said: “Our high performance system is the envy of the world and continues to go from strength to strength. This milestone of reaching a record away games is a historic achievement, and we are confident the outstanding medal success of Rio 2016 will continue over the coming days.
“The British Olympic Association has done and is doing a truly word class job of supporting our athletes at the preparation camp in Belo Horizonte and here in Rio, leaving nothing to chance, to ensure they are the best supported team at this Games bar none.
“We are now entering the critical home straight and can look forward to more magical performances, and the tantalising possibility of yet more history being made by British athletes in Rio.
“National Lottery players have helped make this possible, and I really hope they are feeling proud of and inspired by their team.”
Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport, said: "The performance of Team GB at Rio 2016 has been phenomenal. Surpassing the medal target with days of competition left is an incredible achievement and I congratulate the whole team, including the athletes, coaches, physios and all the support staff, on already making this our best ever performance at an away Games.
“These Games have shown how successful the UK's elite sport system is when backed by National Lottery and Government funding. The nation is willing on the athletes still to compete in Rio who I'm sure will provide us with yet more magical medal moments, but in the meantime Team GB has made the country very proud."
Bill Sweeney, Chief Executive of the British Olympic Association, said: “We said we believed this to be our most talented Team GB squad and everything we have seen to-date has proven that to be true. We have incredible faith in the athletes and our sports and with a number of them still to compete we are hopeful of creating yet more history and new heroes and heroines.”