Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics explained

Noc:	GBR
Nocname:	British Olympic Association
Games:	Summer Olympics
Year:	2008
Flagcaption:	Flag of the United Kingdom
Location:	Beijing
Competitors:	311^[1]
Sports:	20
Flagbearer:	Mark Foster (opening) Chris Hoy (closing)
Rank:	4
Gold:	19
Silver:	13
Bronze:	19
Officials:	236^[2]
Appearances:	auto
See also:	1906 Intercalated Games

Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.^[3] The United Kingdom was represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), and the team of selected athletes was officially known as Team GB. Britain is one of only five NOCs to have competed in every modern Summer Olympic Games since 1896. The delegation of 547 people included 311 competitors – 168 men, 143 women – and 236 officials. The team was made up of athletes from the whole United Kingdom including Northern Ireland (whose people may elect to hold Irish citizenship and are able to be selected to represent either Great Britain or Ireland at the Olympics).^[4] Additionally some British overseas territories compete separately from Britain in Olympic competition.

Great Britain's medal performance at the 2008 Summer Olympics was its best in a century; at the close of the Games, the total medal count, 47, was also the fourth highest Great Britain had ever achieved. Only its performance at the 1908 Summer Olympics, which Britain hosted in London, resulted in more gold medals being awarded.^[5] Following retests of doping samples in 2016 in connection with the Russian doping scandal, four further medals, all bronze, were awarded in athletics, retrospectively increasing the total gained to 51. As of 1 July 2020, the award of the bronze medals to both the Men's and Women's 4 × 400 metres relay teams and the upgrade of Goldie Sayers to bronze in the Women's javelin, confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), brought the official medal total to 50, after which the confirmation of Kelly Sotherton receiving her second reallocated bronze medal in the Women's Heptathlon (having been part of the Women's 4 × 400 metre team) took the total number of medals won to 51.

Great Britain finished 4th overall in the medal tables, a target previously set by UK Sport, the public body responsible for distributing funding to elite sport, for the 2012 Games. UK Sport considered whether to target 3rd place in the 2012 Games, which was hosted by the United Kingdom in London.^[6]

The outstanding individual achievement for a British athlete at the Games was when cyclist Chris Hoy became the first British athlete in 100 years to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games.

Because London was to be host city of the 2012 Summer Olympics, a British segment featuring football star David Beckham was performed during the closing ceremony.

Medallists

The following British competitors won medals at the Games, all dates are August 2008.^[7] In the 'by discipline' sections below, medallists' names are in bold.

| width="78%" align="left" valign="top" |

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
	(cox)

| width="22%" align="left" valign="top" |

Medals by discipline
Discipline				Total
Cycling	8	4	2	14
Sailing	4	1	1	6
Rowing	2	2	2	6
Swimming	2	2	2	6
Athletics	1	2	5	8
Canoeing	1	1	1	3
Boxing	1	0	2	3
Modern pentathlon	0	1	0	1
Equestrian	0	0	2	2
Gymnastics	0	0	1	1
Taekwondo	0	0	1	1
Total	19	13	19	51

Medals by date
Day	Date				Total
1	9 Aug	0	0	0	0
2	10 Aug	1	0	0	1
3	11 Aug	1	0	1	2
4	12 Aug	0	1	2	3
5	13 Aug	0	1	0	1
6	14 Aug	0	0	0	0
7	15 Aug	1	0	0	1
8	16 Aug	4	1	5	10
9	17 Aug	4	3	1	8
10	18 Aug	1	1	0	2
11	19 Aug	4	2	0	6
12	20 Aug	0	1	3	4
13	21 Aug	1	2	1	4
14	22 Aug	1	1	2	4
15	23 Aug	1	0	4	5
16	24 Aug	0	0	0	0
Total		19	13	19	51

Multiple medallists

The following Team GB competitors won multiple medals at the 2008 Olympic Games.

Name	Medal	Sport	Event
			Men's team sprint Men's sprint Men's keirin
		Cycling	Men's team pursuit Men's individual pursuit
			Women's 400 m freestyle Women's 800 m freestyle
		Cycling	Men's team sprint Men's sprint
			Men's K-1 1000 m Men's K-1 500 m
			Women's 400 metres Women's 4 × 400 metres relay
			Team eventing Individual eventing
			Women's 4 × 400 metres relay Women's heptathlon

Targets

In June 2008, UK Sport, which distributes National Lottery funding to elite sport, published its expectations for the Games. It identified 41 potential medals to target and expected to win 35 of them, including 10 to 12 gold medals and to finish 8th in the overall medal table.^[8] Team GB exceeded the gold medal expectations on 19 August when Paul Goodison earned Britain's 13th gold medal in the men's Laser class. The minimum medal target, of 35 medals, was passed on 20 August when they claimed their 36th medal – a bronze in the women's RS:X, won by Bryony Shaw. The total medal target was equalled when canoeist Tim Brabants took gold in the men's 1000 m K-1 claiming Britain's 41st physical medal (three further medals were guaranteed in boxing at the time).^[9] They later exceeded the total number of targeted medals when Heather Fell secured the silver in women's modern pentathlon.^[10]

The medals claimed were not all ones that had been targeted, with Team GB falling short of targets in some disciplines whilst exceeding them in others. Nine out of seventeen disciplines met their targets.The British cyclists, for example doubled their medal target on 19 August when Victoria Pendleton won Britain's 12th cycling medal, a gold in the women's sprint.^[11] A further two medals were already guaranteed at this stage in the men's individual sprint, where gold and silver were soon won by Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny respectively. In all Team GB won seven of the ten gold medals up for grabs at the velodrome. The swimmers also managed to double the targeted number of medals in their sport when David Davies won the team's sixth swimming medal – a silver medal in the men's 10 km open water marathon on 21 August.^[12] Despite the men's and women's archery teams having come second and third respectively at the 2007 world championships, British archers were unable to win either of their targeted medals. This led to criticism of the tactics used by head coach Peter Suk from members of the team.^{[13] [14]}

Sport	Target	Won	Target met
	2	0
	5	8
	1	0
	2	3
	2	3
	6	14
	1	0
	3	2
	1	1
	2	0
	1	1
	4	6
	4	6
	2	0
	3	6
	1	1
	1	0
Total	41	51
Total expected	35	51
Total gold	12	19

Archery

See main article: Archery at the 2008 Summer Olympics. At the 2007 World Outdoor Target Championships, Great Britain's men's team placed second and its women's team placed third. This qualified the nation to send full teams of three men and three women to the Olympics.^[15]

Men

Athlete	Event	Ranking round		Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Final /
		Score	Seed	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Laurence Godfrey	align=left rowspan=3	Individual	657	34	(31) L 109–114	Did not advance
Simon Terry	670	7	(58) L 104–105	Did not advance
Alan Wills	661	21	(44) W 103–98	(12) W 110–109	(28) L 104–108	Did not advance
Laurence Godfrey Simon Terry Alan Wills	Team	1998	5	(12) L 210–214	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Ranking round		Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Final /
		Score	Seed	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Charlotte Burgess	align=left rowspan=3	Individual	623	40	(25) W 106–104	(8) L 96–110	Did not advance
Naomi Folkard	651	8	(57) W 107–95	(40) W 110–96	(9) L 97–106	Did not advance
Alison Williamson	651	7	(58) W 108–99	(26) L 108–112	Did not advance
Charlotte Burgess Naomi Folkard Alison Williamson	Team	1925	2		(7) W 201–196	(3) L 202–208	(5) L 201–203	4

Athletics

See main article: Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The initial squad was selected for the British team on 14 July; however, the final team was not confirmed until the outcome of a court case involving Dwain Chambers.^[16] Under the rules of the BOA, Chambers had been banned from future Games after testing positive for the steroid THG in 2003. His appeal to overturn that ban, on the grounds that it was an unfair restraint of trade, failed and he was omitted from the squad.^[17] The team included former Olympic medal winners Marlon Devonish and Kelly Sotherton, as well as former Olympic individual finalists Joanne Pavey, Paula Radcliffe, Helen Clitheroe and Tasha Danvers. Women's marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe faced a battle to be fit for the Games due to a stress fracture in her left thigh.^[18] She eventually proved fit enough to start the race but struggled to finish in 23rd position.^[19]

A total of four medals were won, one gold, two silver and one bronze. UK Athletics performance director Dave Collins stood down after the Games. This was due in part to the team's failure to meet the UK Sport target of winning five medals.^[20] Ironically, a series of retests ordered in the wake of the Russian doping scandal in 2015 and 2016 found that Great Britain athletes had been deprived of medals in a further four events by athletes later confirmed to have doped – the women's heptathlon (Kelly Sotherton), the men's and women's 4 x 400-metre relay teams and women's javelin (Goldie Sayers). When these medals are redistributed, Great Britain's 2008 athletics total of eight medals will be its most successful since the second world war, and 75% over target.^[21]

Men

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarter-final		Semi-final		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Tyrone Edgar	align=left rowspan=3	100 m	10.13	1 Q	10.10	3 Q	10.18	7	Did not advance
Craig Pickering	10.21	3 Q	10.18	5	Did not advance
Simeon Williamson	10.42	3 Q	10.32	4	Did not advance
Marlon Devonish	align=left rowspan=3	200 m	20.49	1 Q	20.43	4 Q	20.57	7	Did not advance
Christian Malcolm	20.42	2 Q	20.30	4 Q	20.25	4 Q	20.40	5
Alex Nelson	Withdrew due to hamstring injury
Martyn Rooney	align=left rowspan=2	400 m	45.00	1 Q	44.60	2 Q	45.12	6
Andrew Steele	44.94	1 Q	45.59	7	Did not advance
Michael Rimmer	800 m	1:47.61	1 Q	1:48.07	6	Did not advance
Andrew Baddeley	align=left rowspan=2	1500 m	3:36.47	3 Q	3:37.47	3 Q	3:35.37	8
Thomas Lancashire	3:43.40	7	Did not advance
Mo Farah	5000 m	13:50.95	6	Did not advance
Allan Scott	align=left rowspan=2	110 m hurdles	13.56	3 Q	13.66	6	Did not advance
Andy Turner	13.56	2 Q	13.53	5	Did not advance
Andrew Lemoncello	3000 m steeplechase	8:36.06	10	did not advance
Marlon Devonish Tyrone Edgar Craig Pickering Simeon Williamson	4 × 100 m relay			Did not advance
Michael Bingham Richard Buck Dale Garland Martyn Rooney Andrew Steele Rob Tobin	4 × 400 m relay	2:59.33	1 Q	2:58.81
Dan Robinson	Marathon	2:16:14	24

* Qualified for the team, but did not compete in any of the rounds

Field events

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Greg Rutherford	align=left rowspan=2	Long jump	8.16	3 Q	7.84	10
Chris Tomlinson	7.70	27	did not advance
Larry Achike	align=left rowspan=3	Triple jump	17.18	7 Q	17.17	7
Nathan Douglas	16.72	20	did not advance
Phillips Idowu	17.44	1 Q	17.62
Martyn Bernard	align=left rowspan=3	High jump	2.29	=6 Q	2.25	9
Germaine Mason	2.29	=1 Q	2.34
Tom Parsons	2.25	12 Q	2.25	8
Steve Lewis	Pole vault		—	did not advance

Combined events – Decathlon

Athlete	Event	100 m				400 m					1500 m	Final	Rank
Daniel Awde	Result	11.06	7.12	12.03	1.78	47.16	14.69	37.12	4.90	53.10	4:44.80	7516	20
	Points	847	842	608	610	950	887	606	880	636	650

Women

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarter-final		Semi-final		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Montell Douglas	align=left rowspan=3	100 m	11.36	2 Q	11.38	4	did not advance
Jeanette Kwakye	11.30	2 Q	11.18	3 Q	11.19	3 Q	11.14	6
Laura Turner	11.65	4	did not advance
Emily Freeman	200 m	22.95	2 Q	22.95	3 Q	22.83	7	Did not advance
Lee McConnell	align=left rowspan=3	400 m	51.87	3 Q	52.11	6	did not advance
Christine Ohuruogu	51.00	1 Q	50.14	1 Q	49.62
Nicola Sanders	51.81	2 Q	50.71	4	Did not advance
Jennifer Meadows	align=left rowspan=3	800 m	2:00.33	3 Q	1:59.43	6	Did not advance
Marilyn Okoro	1:59.01	2 Q	1:59.53	6	Did not advance
Jemma Simpson	2:02.16	4	Did not advance
Lisa Dobriskey	align=left rowspan=3	1500 m	4:03.22	3 Q	4:02.10	4
Susan Scott	4:14.66	4	Did not advance
Stephanie Twell	4:06.68	6	Did not advance
align=left rowspan=2	Jo Pavey	5000 m	Withdrew due to fatigue
10000 m	31:12.30	12
Kate Reed	10000 m	32:26.69	23
Sarah Claxton	100 m hurdles	12.97	3 Q	12.84	4 Q	12.94	8
Tasha Danvers	400 m hurdles	55.19	1 Q	54.31	2 Q	53.84
Helen Clitheroe	align=left rowspan=2	3000 m steeplechase	9:29.14 NR	6	Did not advance
Barbara Parker	9:51.93	12	Did not advance
Emma Ania Montell Douglas Emily Freeman Jeanette Kwakye Ashleigh Nelson Anyika Onuora Laura Turner	4 × 100 m relay	43.02	2 Q
Vicki Barr Donna Fraser Lee McConnell Christine Ohuruogu Marilyn Okoro Nicola Sanders Kelly Sotherton	4 × 400 m relay	3:25.48	3 Q	3:22.68
Paula Radcliffe	align=left rowspan=3	Marathon	2:32:38	23
Mara Yamauchi	2:27:29	6
Liz Yelling	2:33:12	26
Johanna Jackson	20 km walk	1:31:33 NR	22

* Qualified for the team, but did not compete in any of the rounds

Field events

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Jade Johnson	Long jump	6.61	11 q	6.64	7
Kate Dennison	Pole vault	4.40	15	did not advance
Philippa Roles	Discus throw	57.44	27	Did not advance
Zoe Derham	Hammer throw	64.74	35	Did not advance
Goldie Sayers	Javelin throw	62.99	5 Q	65.75 NR

Combined events – Heptathlon

Athlete	Event				200 m			800 m	Final	Rank
Julie Hollman	Result	14.43	1.77	12.45	25.41	6.13	39.08	2:22.54	5729	31*
Points	918	941	691	850	890	650	789
Kelly Sotherton	Result	13.18	1.83	13.87	23.39	6.33	37.66	2:07.34	6517
Points	1097	1016	785	1040	953	622	1004

* The athlete who finished in second place, Lyudmila Blonska of the Ukraine, tested positive for a banned substance.^{[22] [23]} Both the A and the B tests were positive, therefore Blonska was stripped of her silver medal, and both British heptathletes moved up a position.

Badminton

See main article: Badminton at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Six British badminton players went to the Games, competing in four out of the five badminton events. They did not win any medals, thus failing to reach the one medal target set by UK Sport. The mixed doubles pairing of Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson, who won silver in the 2004 tournament, progressed furthest amongst the British athletes, reaching the quarterfinals.

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semi-final	Final /
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Andrew Smith	Men's singles	W 10–21, 21–12, 21–15	L 16–21, 21–13, 21–17	Did not advance
Tracey Hallam	Women's singles	W 21–15, 21–17	W 21–18, 21–13	L 7–21, 10–21	Did not advance
Gail Emms Donna Kellogg	Women's doubles	L 19–21, 13–21	Did not advance
Anthony Clark Donna Kellogg	align=left rowspan=2	Mixed doubles	L 15–21, 8–21	Did not advance
Gail Emms Nathan Robertson	W 21–16, 16–21, 21–19	L 19–21, 12–21	Did not advance

Boxing

See main article: Boxing at the 2008 Summer Olympics. A total of eight boxers qualified. David Price and Tony Jeffries both won bronze medals in the super heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions respectively. Middleweight James DeGale won a gold medal in the middleweight class. It was the first time that Great Britain has won more than one medal in boxing in a single games since 1972, and the best result for Great Britain in boxing since 1956.^{[24] [25] [26]}

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Khalid Yafai	Flyweight		L 3–9	Did not advance
Joe Murray	Bantamweight	L 7–17	Did not advance
Frankie Gavin	Lightweight	Withdrew – Failed to make weight^[27]
Bradley Saunders	Light welterweight	W 24–1	L 7–11	Did not advance
Billy Joe Saunders	Welterweight	W 14–3	L 6–13	Did not advance
James DeGale	Middleweight	W 13–4	W 11–5	W 8–3	W 10–3	W 16–14
Tony Jeffries	Light heavyweight		W 5^+–5	W 10–2	L 3–10	Did not advance
David Price	Super heavyweight		W	W 3–1	L 1–11	Did not advance

Canoeing

See main article: Canoeing at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Seven competitors joined Team GB for the canoeing events, with four in the flatwater and three in the slalom. Anna Hemmings and Jessica Walker, in the K-2 kayaking pairs, were added later after complications with the Spanish team.^[28] Three medals were won, two by Tim Brabants, who had previously won a bronze at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. This exceeded the target of two set by UK Sport.

Slalom

Athlete	Event	Preliminary						Semi-final		Final
		Run 1	Rank	Run 2	Rank	Total	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Total	Rank
David Florence	Men's C-1	89.47	7	82.16	1	171.63	3 Q	90.46	4 Q	89.43	2	178.61
Campbell Walsh	Men's K-1	86.72	14	85.72	8	172.44	9 Q	95.74	16	Did not advance
Fiona Pennie	Women's K-1	160.06	19	99.00	7	259.06	17	Did not advance

Sprint

Athlete	Event	Heats		Semi-finals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
align=left rowspan=2	Tim Brabants	Men's K-1 500 m	1:36.338	1 QS	1:42.530	3 Q	1:37.671
Men's K-1 1000 m	3:27.828	1 QF	3:26.323
Lucy Wainwright	Women's K-1 500 m	1:50.103	3 QS	1:52.580	2 Q	1:53.102	7
Anna Hemmings Jessica Walker	Women's K-2 500 m	1:47.435	9	Did not advance

Qualification Legend: QS = Qualify to semi-final; QF = Qualify directly to final

Cycling

See main article: Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Team GB's cycling squad for Beijing totalled twenty five entrants in the four disciplines. Included were two reigning Olympic track cycling champions, Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins, plus a further two medal winners from 2004, as well as several reigning track world champions. Great Britain won fourteen cycling medals (eight gold, four silver and two bronze) in total to top the cycling medal table. The Cycling team won the BBC Sports team of the year award and was nominated for Laureus World team of the year.

On the track Mark Cavendish was the only member of the squad of fourteen not to win at least one medal. Chris Hoy became Scotland's most successful Olympic competitor ever,^[29] and the first Briton to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games since Henry Taylor in 1908.^[30] His success resulted in the velodrome for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow being named in his honour.^[31] Rebecca Romero became the first British woman to win a medal in two different Olympic sports by following her silver medal in the quadruple sculls rowing in 2004 with gold in the women's individual pursuit.^[32]

In the debut appearance of BMX events at the Olympics, world champion Shanaze Reade finished out of the medals after crashing out of the women's final. Reade had been unbeaten all year and was the favourite to win the women's title.^[33]

On the road Nicole Cooke's win in the women's road race provided the first Olympic gold for an athlete from Wales since Richard Meade in 1972.^[34]

Road

Men

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
Jonathan Bellis	Road race	Did not finish
align=left rowspan=2	Steve Cummings	Road race	Did not finish
Time trial	1:05:07	11
Roger Hammond	align=left rowspan=2	Road race	Did not finish
Ben Swift	Did not finish

Women

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
align=left rowspan="2"	Nicole Cooke	Road race	3:32:24
Time trial	37:14.25	15
Sharon Laws	Road race	3:33:17	35
align=left rowspan=2	Emma Pooley	Road race	3:32:55	23
Time trial	35:16.01

Track

Sprint

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Round 1	Round 2	Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Final
		Time Speed (km/h)	Rank	Opposition Time Speed (km/h)	Opposition Time Speed (km/h)	Opposition Time Speed (km/h)	Opposition Time Speed (km/h)	Opposition Time Speed (km/h)	Rank
Chris Hoy	align=left rowspan=2	Men's sprint	9.815 73.357	1 Q	W 10.607 67.879	W 10.636 67.694	W 10.820, W 10.302	W 10.260, W 10.358	W 12.228, W 10.216
Jason Kenny	9.857 73.044	2 Q	W 10.672 67.466	W 10.531 68.369	W 10.546, W 10.595	W 10.594, W 10.335	L, L
Victoria Pendleton	Women's sprint	10.963 65.675	1 Q	W 11.736 61.349		W 11.839, W 11.672	W 11.537, W 11.885	W 11.363, W 11.118
Chris Hoy Jason Kenny Jamie Staff	Men's team sprint	42.950 62.863	1 Q	W 43.034 62.741	W 43.128 62.604

Pursuit

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Semi-finals		Finals
		Time	Rank	Opponent Results	Rank	Opponent Results	Rank
Steven Burke	align=left rowspan=2	Men's individual pursuit	4:22.260	5 Q	4:21.558	3 Q	4:20.947
Bradley Wiggins	4:15.031	1 Q	4:16.571	1 Q	4:16.977
Wendy Houvenaghel	align=left rowspan=2	Women's individual pursuit	3:28.443 NR	1 Q	3:27.829	2 Q	3:30.395
Rebecca Romero	3:28.641	2 Q	3:27.703 NR	1 Q	3:28.321
Ed Clancy Paul Manning Geraint Thomas Bradley Wiggins	Men's team pursuit	3:57.101	1 Q	3:55.202	1 Q	3:53.314

Keirin

Athlete	Event	1st round	Repechage	2nd round	Finals
		Rank	Rank	Rank	Rank
Ross Edgar	align=left rowspan=2	Men's keirin	1 Q		1 Q
Chris Hoy	1 Q		1 Q

Omnium

Athlete	Event	Points	Laps	Rank
Chris Newton	Men's points race	56	2
Rebecca Romero	Women's points race	3	0	11
Mark Cavendish Bradley Wiggins	Men's madison	6	−1	9

Mountain biking

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
Oli Beckingsale	align=left rowspan=2	Men's cross-country	2:01:25	12
Liam Killeen	2:00:14	7

BMX

Athlete	Event	Seeding		Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Final
		Result	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Result	Rank
Liam Phillips	Men's BMX	37.392	28	18	7	Did not advance
Shanaze Reade	Women's BMX	36.882	2	10	5		8

Diving

See main article: Diving at the 2008 Summer Olympics. A total of ten divers were part of Team GB in the individual and synchronised diving events,^[35] including 14-year-old Tom Daley, the 2008 European 10 m champion and one of the youngest athletes to ever compete for Great Britain at an Olympics.^[36]

Men

Athlete	Events	Preliminaries		Semi-finals		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Ben Swain	3 m springboard	390.30	26	Did not advance
Tom Daley	align=left rowspan=2	10 m platform	440.40	12 Q	458.60	8 Q	463.55	7
Peter Waterfield	497.65	4 Q	430.95	13	Did not advance
Nick Robinson-Baker Ben Swain	3 m synchronised springboard	402.36	7
Blake Aldridge Tom Daley	10 m synchronised platform	408.48	8

Women

Athlete	Events	Preliminaries		Semi-finals		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Rebecca Gallantree	3 m springboard	232.75	25	Did not advance
Tonia Couch	align=left rowspan=2	10 m platform	320.40	12 Q	297.20	12 Q	328.70	8
Stacie Powell	313.90	14 Q	301.75	11 Q	303.50	10
Tandi Gerrard Hayley Sage	3 m synchronised springboard	278.25	8
Tonia Couch Stacie Powell	10 m synchronised platform	303.48	8

Equestrian

See main article: Equestrian at the 2008 Summer Olympics. A total of twelve entrants competed for Team GB in the three equestrian disciplines that took place in Hong Kong. Zara Phillips, the reigning world eventing champion and granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, had been included in the squad until her horse, Toytown, sustained an injury, which meant she missed her second successive Olympics.^[37]

Dressage

Athlete	Horse	Event	Grand Prix		Grand Prix Special		Grand Prix Freestyle		Overall
			Score	Rank	Score	Rank	Score	Rank	Score	Rank
Laura Bechtolsheimer	Mistral Hojris	align=left rowspan=3	Individual	65.917	24 Q	67.160	18	Did not advance
Jane Gregory	Lucky Star	63.375	31	Did not advance
Emma Hindle	Lancet 2	71.125	4 Q	70.440	9 Q	74.250	6	72.345	7
Laura Bechtolsheimer Jane Gregory Emma Hindle	See above	Team	66.805	7	66.805	6

(Total scores are the average of qualifying round 2 and freestyle final for the individual competition, and average of individual round 1 scores for the team competition.)

Eventing

Athlete	Horse	Event	Dressage		Cross-country			Jumping						Total
								Qualifier			Final
			Penalties	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Rank
Tina Cook	Miners Frolic	align=left rowspan=5	Individual	40.20	13	17.20	57.40	10	0.00	57.40	6 Q	0.00	57.40	3	57.40
Daisy Dick	Spring Along	51.70 #	37	17.20	68.90 #	24	11.00	79.90 #	24	Did not advance			79.90	24
William Fox-Pitt	Parkmore Ed	50.20 #	34	10.00	60.20	14	4.00	64.20	14 Q	4.00	68.20	12	68.20	12
Sharon Hunt	Tankers Town	43.50	18	47.60	91.10 #	38	4.00	95.90 #	35	Did not advance			95.90	35
Mary King	Call Again Cavalier	38.10	9	18.00	56.10	5	8.00	64.10	13 Q	4.00	68.10	11	68.10	11
Tina Cook Daisy Dick William Fox-Pitt Sharon Hunt Mary King	See above	Team	121.80	4	51.90	173.70	3	12.00	185.70	3	185.70

# – Indicates that points do not count in team total

Show jumping

Athlete	Horse	Event	Qualification								Final					Total
			Round 1		Round 2			Round 3			Round A		Round B
			Penalties	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Rank
Ben Maher	Rolette	align=left rowspan=5	Individual	1	=14	4	5	=13 Q	0	5	6 Q	0	=1 Q	20	20	=20	20	=20
Nick Skelton	Russel	1	=14	8	9	=22 Q	13	22	=31 Q	12	29	Did not advance			12	29
Tim Stockdale	Fresh Direct Corlato	4	=30	4	8	=16 Q	8	16	=18 Q	0	=1 Q	16	16	=17	16	=16
John Whitaker	Peppermill	5	=39	Withdrew – Lame horse
Michael Whitaker	Suncal Portofino 63	Withdrew – Lame horse^[38]
Ben Maher Nick Skelton Tim Stockdale John Whitaker	See above	Team	16	=4	21	37	7	37	6*

* On 21 August, four horses from Brazil, Germany, Ireland and Norway tested positive for a banned substance.^[39] The riders were subsequently disqualified from the individual competition and if the B samples test positive then Brazil, Germany and Norway will be disqualified from the team competition and Great Britain will move into 5th place.

Fencing

See main article: Fencing at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Great Britain qualified three fencers for the fencing competition. Two of these came from the re-allocation of places by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE), the governing body for Olympic fencing, after the withdrawal of other fencers.^[40]

Men

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semi-final	Final /
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Richard Kruse	Individual foil		W 15–6	L 9–10	Did not advance
Alex O'Connell	Individual sabre	L 14–15	Did not advance

Women

Field hockey

See main article: Field hockey at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Men's tournament

See main article: Field hockey at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament. The Great Britain men's team qualified for the men's Olympic field hockey tournament after a must-win game against India in the final of the Olympic qualifying event.^[41] Great Britain was drawn in Group B of the Olympic tournament based on world rankings on 18 April 2008. Having finished 3rd in the pool the team went on to finish 5th overall, beating South Korea in the 5th vs. 6th place playoff. Matt Daly was the top scorer for the team with three goals.

Team roster

Group play

Classification match for 5th/6th place

Women's tournament

See main article: Field hockey at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament.

The Great Britain Women's team qualified for the women's Olympic field hockey tournament during the 2007 Women's EuroHockey Nations Championship. Great Britain was drawn in Group B of the Olympic tournament based on world rankings on 5 May 2008. Having finished 3rd in the pool and proceeded to the 5th and 6th place classification match where they lost to Australia. Crista Cullen was the team's top scorer in the tournament with 3 goals.

Team roster

Group play

Classification match for 5th/6th place

Gymnastics

See main article: Gymnastics at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Team GB entered nine gymnasts into the artistic and trampoline events. Louis Smith, in winning the bronze medal in the men's pommel horse, became the first ever British gymnast to win an individual apparatus medal in gymnastics, and the first Briton to win any individual gymnastics medal since Walter Tysall won men's all-around medal in 1908.^[42] Laura Jones was originally chosen for the artistic gymnastics but, due to a slipped disc in her back, she was replaced by the reserve Imogen Cairns.^[43]

Artistic

Men

Athlete^[44]	Event	Qualification								Final
		Apparatus						Total	Rank	Apparatus						Total	Rank
Daniel Keatings	All-around	14.900	15.175	13.775	15.625	14.900	14.575	88.950	25 Q	14.850	15.700	14.000	15.800	14.425	14.225	89.000	20
align=left rowspan=2	Louis Smith	All-around	13.700	15.325	13.325	15.375	13.425	14.175	85.325	41	Did not advance
Pommel horse		15.325	15.325	5 Q		15.725	15.725

Women

Team

Athlete	Event	Qualification						Final
		Apparatus				Total	Rank	Apparatus				Total	Rank
Imogen Cairns	Team	14.855	14.850	13.475	14.175	57.050	33	Did not advance
Beckie Downie	14.150	15.050	14.650	14.225	58.075	24 Q
Marissa King	13.750	14.875	13.475	14.325	56.425	42
Beth Tweddle	14.950		15.650 Q	colspan=3
Hannah Whelan	14.125	13.500		14.325	colspan=2
Rebecca Wing		14.550	14.575	14.575	colspan=2
Total	57.775	59.325	57.875	57.450	232.425	9

Individual finals

Athlete	Event	Apparatus				Total	Rank
Beckie Downie	All-around	14.100	15.025	15.625	14.700	59.450	12
Beth Tweddle	Uneven bars	16.625			16.625	4

The result of the uneven bars final, in which Britain's Beth Tweddle placed 4th, was called into question after documents were found that seemed to say that Chinese gymnasts He Kexin and Yang Yilin were only 14, and therefore under the age required to compete, at the time of the games. An investigation into their ages was launched by the IOC to determine whether it was necessary to disqualify them, thus Tweddle's standing could have been changed to 2nd, giving her a silver medal.^[45] After a five-and-a-half-week investigation the Chinese athletes were cleared and the original results allowed to stand.^[46]

Trampoline

• Claire Wright was the only British competitor on the trampoline.^[47]

Judo

See main article: Judo at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Team GB was represented by seven athletes in the Judo events.^[48] No British Judoka made it past the quarterfinal stages of competition or through to the medal match of the repechage, meaning the team failed to meet the two medal target set by UK Sport.

Men

Athlete	Event	Preliminary	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Repechage 3	Final /
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Craig Fallon	−60 kg		W 1010–0000	L 0001–0002	Did not advance		W 0011–0000	W 0100–0001	L 0101–0200	Did not advance
Euan Burton	−81 kg		W 0010–0001	W 0010–0001	L 0010–0121	Did not advance		W 0110–0001	L 0010–0100	Did not advance
Winston Gordon	−90 kg		L 0020–0100	Did not advance
Peter Cousins	−100 kg		L 0000–0010	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Repechage 3	Final /
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Sarah Clark	−63 kg	L 0100–1011	Did not advance
Michelle Rogers	−78 kg		L 0000–0001	Did not advance
Karina Bryant	+78 kg		L 0001–0021	Did not advance

Modern pentathlon

See main article: Modern pentathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Team GB sent the maximum allowance of four competitors for the modern pentathlon events in Beijing. For the first time since 1996, the team had entrants in the men's competition.^[49]

Athlete	Event	Shooting (10 m air pistol)			Fencing (épée one touch)			Swimming (200 m freestyle)			Riding (show jumping)			Running (3000 m)			Total points	Final rank
		Points	Rank	MP Points	Results	Rank	MP points	Time	Rank	MP points	Penalties	Rank	MP points	Time	Rank	MP Points
Sam Weale	align=left rowspan=2	Men's	177	25	1060	18–17	13	832	2:02.87	8	1328	164	18	1036	9:21.18	8	1156	5412	10
Nick Woodbridge	160	35	856	14–21	29	736	1:55.96	2	1412	140	12	1060	9:34.46	20	1104	5168	25
Heather Fell	align=left rowspan=2	Women's	185	6	1156	20–15	=11	880	2:12.77	3	1328	56	11	1144	10:19.28	5	1244	5752
Katy Livingston	178	18	1072	17–18	=18	808	2:15.68	7	1292	28	6	1172	10:29.47	10	1204	5548	7

Rowing

See main article: Rowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics. There were 43 rowers in Team GB, the most since qualifying quotas were introduced after the 1992 Summer Olympics.^[50] Crews were fielded in 12 out of a possible 14 events making Team GB the fourth biggest team. Medals were won in 6 events, which meant that GB topped the rowing medal table.^[51] The medals won included gold in the coxless four, for the third successive games, and Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter winning Great Britain's first ever lightweight rowing Olympic medal in the men's lightweight double sculls.^[52]

Men

Athlete	Event	Heats		Repechage		Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Alan Campbell	Single sculls	7:14.98	1 QF	6:52.74	2 SA/B	7:05.24	2 FA	7:04:47	5
Robin Bourne-Taylor Tom Solesbury	Pair	6:59.48	4 R	6:41.43	4 FC	6:46.83	13
Stephen Rowbotham Matt Wells	Double sculls	6:26.33	1 SA/B	6:21.15	3 FA	6:29.10
Mark Hunter Zac Purchase	Lightweight double sculls	6:13.69 OB	1 SA/B	6:29.56	1 FA	6:10.99
Tom James Pete Reed Andrew Triggs Hodge Steve Williams	Four	6:00.59	1 SA/B	5:54.77	1 FA	6:06.57
Richard Chambers James Clarke James Lindsay-Fynn Paul Mattick	Lightweight four	5:52.38	2 SA/B	6:08.75	3 FA	5:52.12	5
Richard Egington Alastair Heathcote Matt Langridge Tom Lucy Acer Nethercott (cox) Alex Partridge Colin Smith Tom Stallard Josh West	Eight	5:25.86	1 FA	5:25.11

Women

Athlete	Event	Heats		Repechage		Semi-finals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Louisa Reeve Olivia Whitlam	Pair	7:29.88	3 R	7:34.54	2 FA	7:33.61	6
Anna Bebington Elise Laverick	Double sculls	7:08.65	3 R	6:54.76	1 FA	7:07.55
Helen Casey Hester Goodsell	Lightweight double sculls	6:55.23	3 R	7:24.23	1 SA/B	7:17.67	5 FB	7:11.24	11
Debbie Flood Katherine Grainger Frances Houghton Annabel Vernon	Quadruple sculls	6:13.70	1 FA	6:17.37
Carla Ashford Jess Eddie Katie Greves Natasha Howard* Alison Knowles* Caroline O'Connor (cox) Natasha Page Beth Rodford Sarah Winckless	Eight	6:08.68	2 R	6:12.10	3 FA	6:13.74	5

Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage

* Substitutes in final because of illness: Louisa Reeve for Howard and Alice Freeman for Knowles

Sailing

See main article: Sailing at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Great Britain entered crews in all 11 sailing events at the Games.^{[1] [53]} The team finished top of the sailing medal table, with six medals won,^[54] thus exceeding the target of four set by UK Sport. Ben Ainslie won a gold medal for the third successive Games to become the most decorated British Olympic sailor of all time.^[55]

Men

Athlete	Event	Race											Net points	Final rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	M*
Nick Dempsey	RS:X	11	9	3	2	1	7	17	5	3	5	14	60	4
Paul Goodison	Laser	15	2	15	1	9	7	1	4	6	CAN	18	63
Jonathan Glanfield Nick Rogers	470	19	5	1	4	9	6	20	30 OCS	2	3	6	75
Iain Percy Andrew Simpson	Star	7	13	3	5	8	2	1	1	2	6	14	49

Women

Athlete	Event	Race											Net points	Final rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	M*
Bryony Shaw	RS:X	4	3	11	6	28 OCS	6	5	3	1	2	4	45
Penny Clark	Laser Radial	2	22	1	22	3	17	18	23	13	CAN	14	112	10
Christina Bassadone Saskia Clark	470	20 DSQ	8	3	4	15	13	8	3	15	5	8	82	6
Sarah Ayton Sarah Webb Pippa Wilson	Yngling	2	3	4	7	4	2	2	5	CAN	CAN	2	24

Open

Athlete	Event	Race																Net points	Final rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	M*
Ben Ainslie	Finn	10	1	4	1	1	10	2	2	CAN	CAN	2	23
Stevie Morrison Ben Rhodes	49er	4	3	5	14	14	15	20 OCS	3	2	8	11	15	CAN	CAN	CAN	6	100	9
Will Howden Leigh McMillan	Tornado	6	8	13	8	14	7	7	2	3	12	2	68	6

M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race; CAN = Race cancelled; OCS = On the course side of the starting line;

Shooting

See main article: Shooting at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Team GB had a total of five competitors for the shooting disciplines at the 2008 Olympics, with four entered in the shotgun events and one in the rifle events.

Men

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Richard Faulds	Double trap	137	5 Q	180	6
align=left rowspan="3"	Jon Hammond	10 m air rifle	589	29	Did not advance
50 m rifle 3 positions	1148	42	Did not advance
50 m rifle prone	589	34	Did not advance
Steve Scott	Double trap	134	14	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Elena Allen	Skeet	66	14	Did not advance
Charlotte Kerwood	Trap	58	16	Did not advance

Swimming

See main article: Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Thirty-seven athletes represented Team GB in the swimming events. Selection followed the 2008 British Olympic Swimming Trials in Sheffield in April, with open water event swimmers selected after performance in the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships, in Seville, Spain. In winning six medals (two gold, two silver and two bronze) the team bettered the target of three medals set by UK Sport. The most successful swimmer was Rebecca Adlington who won two gold medals. Her 400 m freestyle success was Britain's first Olympic swimming title since 1988, and the first swimming gold by a British woman since 1960. Her second gold, in the 800 m freestyle, meant she also equalled the best performance by a British woman, from any sport, at the summer Olympics and was the best swimming performance by a Briton at the Olympics for 100 years.^[56]

Men

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semi-final		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
David Carry	400 m freestyle	3:47.17 NR	15	Did not advance
Richard Charlesworth	1500 m freestyle	15:17.27	25	Did not advance
Chris Cook	100 m breaststroke	1:00.70	15 Q	1:00.81	15	Did not advance
Todd Cooper	100 m butterfly	52.52	29	Did not advance
Euan Dale	400 m individual medley	4:18.60	19	Did not advance
Ross Davenport	200 m freestyle	1:47.13	11 Q	1:47.35	10	Did not advance
align=left rowspan=2	David Davies	1500 m freestyle	14:46.11	5 Q	14:52.11	6
10 km open water	1:51:53.1
Mark Foster	50 m freestyle	22.35	23	Did not advance
align=left rowspan=2	Kristopher Gilchrist	100 m breaststroke	1:01.34	27	Did not advance
200 m breaststroke	2:11.13	15 Q	2:10.27 NR	13	Did not advance
James Goddard	200 m individual medley	1:59.74	13 Q	1:58.63	6 Q	1:59.24	6
Thomas Haffield	400 m individual medley	4:16.72	17	Did not advance
James Kirton	200 m breaststroke	2:15.25	37	Did not advance
Dean Milwain	400 m freestyle	3:48.77	21	Did not advance
Robbie Renwick	200 m freestyle	1:47.82	17 Q	1:47.07	8 Q	1:47.47	8
align=left rowspan=2	Michael Rock	100 m butterfly	52.48	27	Did not advance
200 m butterfly	1:55.55	9 Q	1:55.90	12	Did not advance
align=left rowspan=2	Gregor Tait	100 m backstroke	54.62	16 Q	54.37	12	Did not advance
200 m backstroke	1:57.03	5 Q	1:56.72	6 Q	1:57.00	8
align=left rowspan=2	Liam Tancock	100 m backstroke	53.85	6 Q	53.61	6 Q	53.39 NR	6
200 m individual medley	1:59.79	14 Q	1:59.42	7 Q	2:00.76	8
Adam Brown Simon Burnett Ross Davenport Benjamin Hockin	4 × 100 m freestyle relay	3:13.69 NR	8 Q	3:12.87 NR	8
David Carry Ross Davenport Benjamin Hockin Andrew Hunter Robbie Renwick	4 × 200 m freestyle relay	7:07.89 NR	4 Q	7:05.92 NR	6
Simon Burnett Chris Cook Michael Rock Liam Tancock	4 × 100 m medley relay	3:33.83 NR	5 Q	3:33.69 NR	6

Qualifiers for the latter rounds (Q) of all events were decided on a time only basis, therefore positions shown are overall results versus competitors in all heats.

Women

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semi-final		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
align=left rowspan=2	Rebecca Adlington	400 m freestyle	4:02.24	2 Q	4:03.22
800 m freestyle	8:18.08	1 Q	8:14.10
align=left rowspan="2"	Kirsty Balfour	100 m breaststroke	1:08.30	14 Q	1:09.23	15	Did not advance
200 m breaststroke	2:27.87	18	Did not advance
Ellen Gandy	200 m butterfly	2:08.98	15 Q	2:10.60	15	Did not advance
align=left rowspan="3"	Francesca Halsall	50 m freestyle	24.93	8 Q	24.80	10	Did not advance
100 m freestyle	53.93	5 Q	53.94	5 Q	54.29	8
100 m butterfly	58.70	21	Did not advance
Kate Haywood	100 m breaststroke	1:08.18	11 Q	1:08.36	11	Did not advance
align=left rowspan=2	Joanne Jackson	200 m freestyle	1:58.00	14 Q	1:58.70	14	Did not advance
400 m freestyle	4.03.80	4 Q	4:03.52
align=left rowspan=2	Jemma Lowe	100 m butterfly	58.49	16 Q	57.78 NR	6 Q	58.06	6
200 m butterfly	2:08.07	10 Q	2:07.87	9	Did not advance
align=left rowspan=2	Caitlin McClatchey	100 m freestyle			Did not advance
200 m freestyle	1:56.97	3 Q	1:57.73	7 Q	1:57.65	6
align=left rowspan=2	Hannah Miley	200 m individual medley	2:11.72	4 Q	2:12.35	11	Did not advance
400 m individual medley	4:36.56	8 Q	4:39.44	6
align=left rowspan=2	Cassie Patten	800 m freestyle	8:25.91	8 Q	8:32.35	8
10 km open water	1:59:31.0
align=left rowspan="3"	Keri-Anne Payne	200 m individual medley	2.12.78	15 Q	2:14.14	16	Did not advance
400 m individual medley	4:38.69	15	Did not advance
10 km open water	1:59:29.2
align=left rowspan=2	Elizabeth Simmonds	100 m backstroke	1:00.53	12 Q	1:00.39	10	Did not advance
200 m backstroke	2:08.66 NR	2 Q	2:08.96	7 Q	2:08.51 NR	6
align=left rowspan=2	Gemma Spofforth	100 m backstroke	1:00.11	6 Q	59.79	5 Q	59.38	4
200 m backstroke	2:10.56	16 Q	2:09.19	9	Did not advance
Julia Beckett Francesca Halsall Melanie Marshall^[57] Caitlin McClatchey Jessica Sylvester	4 × 100 m freestyle relay	3:39.18 NR	8 Q	3:38.18 NR	7
Rebecca Adlington Francesca Halsall Joanne Jackson Melanie Marshall Caitlin McClatchey Hannah Miley	4 × 200 m freestyle relay	7:56.16	9	Did not advance
Francesca Halsall Kate Haywood Jemma Lowe Gemma Spofforth	4 × 100 m medley relay	3:59.14	2 Q	3:57.50	4

Qualifiers for the latter rounds (Q) of all events were decided on a time only basis, therefore positions shown are overall results versus competitors in all heats.

Synchronised swimming

See main article: Synchronized swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Team GB was represented by two athletes in synchronised swimming, competing in the duet event.

Taekwondo

See main article: Taekwondo at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Team GB entered three athletes into the taekwondo competition in Beijing. Sarah Stevenson won Team GB's first ever medal in Olympic taekwondo – a bronze in the women's +67 kg.

Athlete	Event	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Repechage	Bronze medal	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Michael Harvey	Men's −58 kg	L 2–3	Did not advance		L 1–3	Did not advance
Aaron Cook	Men's −80 kg	W 7–0	W 5–2	L 5–6		L 1–4	Did not advance	5
Sarah Stevenson	Women's +67 kg	W 3–2	W 2–1*	L 1–4		W 5–1	Did not advance

* After a successful appeal by the British, judges reversed the result of the match, granting Sarah Stevenson two points for a final round kick to her opponent's head which the judges had previously missed. The reversal of the decision, after video footage was considered, is thought to be a first for the sport.^[58] Another British hopeful, Aaron Cook, was also unhappy with the judges after losing out on bronze in the men's −80 kg.^[59]

Tennis

See main article: Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Murray brothers were the sole tennis players on Team GB. Andy Murray qualified due to his world ranking and Jamie Murray was nominated for the doubles by the International Tennis Federation, the governing body of world tennis.

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Final /
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Andy Murray	Men's singles	L 6–7^(5–7), 4–6	Did not advance
Andy Murray Jamie Murray	Men's doubles		W 4–6, 6–3, 6–4	L 1–6, 3–6	Did not advance

Triathlon

See main article: Triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics. A total of five competitors were selected by Team GB for the triathlon events in Beijing, with three in the men's event and two in the women's. Four qualified through the Olympic Qualification rankings of the International Triathlon Union, the body responsible for organising official world championship series races, while Helen Tucker qualified by winning the 2008 World Championships.

Athlete	Event	Swim (1.5 km)	Trans 1	Bike (40 km)	Trans 2	Run (10 km)	Total Time	Rank
Alistair Brownlee	align=left rowspan=3	Men's	18:11	0:27	59:05	0:29	32:07	1:50:19	12
Will Clarke	18:53	0:27	58:23	0:31	32:18	1:50:32	14
Tim Don	18:54	0:26	Lapped on bike (eliminated)
Hollie Avil	align=left rowspan=2	Women's	20:09	0:32	Did not finish
Helen Tucker	19:52	0:31	1:04:17	0:36	37:39	2:02:55	21

Weightlifting

See main article: Weightlifting at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The only British weightlifter to qualify for the games was Michaela Breeze who competed in her second Olympic Games.^[60] She battled through a back injury to finish 15th out of 20 competitors in her event.^[61]

Sports not contested in Beijing

British representatives participated in the qualifying tournaments of a number of other Olympic sports in the lead up to the 2008 games, only for events outside of the athletes' control to prevent their further participation in the games.

Baseball

See main article: Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The GB baseball team finished 2nd in the 2007 European Baseball Championship behind the Netherlands, guaranteeing them a place at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Taiwan. However, a lack of funding forced the team to withdraw, with their place being taken by Germany.^[62]

Football

See main article: Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The award of the 2012 Summer Olympics to London has brought the question of British participation in the football tournaments to the fore, given that there is traditionally no single United Kingdom national team. The British Olympic Association initially refused to rule out the possibility of entry for 2008, but were unable to come to an agreement with the Scottish Football Association.^[63] The 2007 European Under-21 Championship, which served as the European qualifying tournament for the men's competition, saw the England U21 team reach the semi-finals, which would have meant a place at the Olympics. Because at the Olympics the team is representative of the entire UK, England were thus prevented from taking this place, with instead a play-off taking place between Portugal and Italy. A similar situation occurred with the England Women's team who, by virtue of being one of the top three European sides at the 2007 World Cup, would have been granted a place at the Olympics. Instead, there was a play-off between Denmark and Sweden.

Media coverage

The main rights to Olympic coverage in the United Kingdom are held by the BBC, under the Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events. An extensive range of broadcasting options was used to provide over 2,500 hours of coverage.^[64]

For the first time, Olympic coverage was broadcast in high-definition on BBC HD. Digital television viewers had access to up to six streamed channels covering the games on BBC Red Button, whilst the BBC's website permitted British broadband users to view live streams from a variety of events. Live broadcasts ran overnight and throughout the day on BBC One and BBC Two, starting at 0200 daily; a highlights programme, Games Today, was broadcast on BBC One following the close of each day's events.

The opening and closing ceremonies were anchored by Sue Barker and Huw Edwards, whilst general coverage was anchored (at various times of the day) by Adrian Chiles, Clare Balding, Gabby Logan, Jake Humphrey, Sue Barker, Hazel Irvine and John Inverdale. Former Olympic contenders – including gold medallists Michael Johnson, Shirley Robertson, Adrian Moorhouse, Steve Redgrave, Jonathan Edwards and Chris Boardman – provided analysis.^[65]

Eurosport also broadcast coverage of the Games viewable in the United Kingdom.^[66] In accordance with the ITC Code, it can show live events, provided that such events can also be broadcast by the BBC (although the BBC can choose not to do so).

Radio coverage was provided by BBC Radio 5 Live, and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra on digital radio.

See also

• Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Paralympics

Notes

General

• Book: Official report of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games . . 2010 . LA84 Foundation. 16 May 2011 .

Specific

External links

• British Olympic Association – and their Team GB pages

Notes and References

1. Web site: All currently selected Team GB athletes . British Olympic Association . 17 August 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080823052916/http://www.olympics.org.uk/beijing2008/News.aspx?id=2518. 23 August 2008.
2. Web site: Team GB's 311 Athletes Entered for Beijing 2008 . British Olympic Association . 26 July 2008 . 23 August 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080823052916/http://www.olympics.org.uk/beijing2008/News.aspx?id=2518 . dead .
3. Web site: Team GB . 21 August 2008 . . 25 December 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181225174652/https://www.teamgb.com/ . dead .
4. Web site: Full text of the constitution . Department of the Taoiseach . 17 September 2008 . dead . http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20050415121010/http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/attached_files/Pdf%20files/Constitution%20of%20Ireland.pdf . 15 April 2005 .
5. News: GB Olympians power to new heights. 19 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 19 August 2008.
6. News: Britain may aim for third in 2012. 25 August 2008. BBC Sport. 25 August 2008. James. Munro. 22 January 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160122162727/http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympic_games/london_2012/7579901.stm?ad=1. dead.
7. Web site: Medallists GBR – Great Britain . The official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games . 17 September 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090303152247/http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/GL/92A/GBR_T.shtml. 3 March 2009.
8. News: GB target 35 medals from Beijing . BBC Sport . 2 July 2008 . 17 August 2008.
9. News: Brabants wins Britain's 18th gold. 22 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 22 August 2008.
10. News: Schoneborn pips GB's Fell to gold. 22 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 22 August 2008.
11. News: Briton Pendleton wins sprint gold. 19 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 19 August 2008.
12. News: Battling Davies lands 10km silver. 21 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 21 August 2008.
13. News: Wills criticises coach after exit . . 15 August 2008 . 19 September 2008.
14. News: Archery boss keen to hear critics . . 4 September 2008 . 19 September 2008.
15. Web site: 2007 World Outdoor Target Championship Results . 9 August 2008 . archery.org.
16. News: Sprinters in limbo as squad named . 9 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 14 July 2008 .
17. News: Chambers loses Olympic ban case . . 18 July 2008 . 9 August 2008.
18. News: Radcliffe faces race against time . 9 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 14 July 2008 .
19. News: Paula Radcliffe's marathon bid ends in tears . https://web.archive.org/web/20080820013316/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2572474/Paula-Radcliffes-marathon-bid-ends-in-tears---Beijing-Olympics-2008.html . dead . 20 August 2008 . 17 September 2008 . BBC Sport . 17 August 2008 . London.
20. News: Collins leaves UK Athletics post . . 1 September 2008 . 17 September 2008.
21. News: Britons poised for Olympic glory eight years late. The Telegraph. 25 May 2016. Bloom. Ben.
22. News: Blonska thrown out of long jump . 21 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 21 August 2008 .
23. News: Kelly Sotherton welcomes heptathlete Blonska's failed drugs test . 21 August 2008 . . 20 August 2008 . London . Rick . Broadbent . Ashling . Oconnor.
24. News: Price knuckles down to guarantee himself a medal . 18 August 2008 . . 18 August 2008 . London . Kevin . Mitchell.
25. News: Guaranteed bronze for light-heavyweight Jeffries . 19 August 2008 . . 19 August 2008 . London . Pete . Nichols.
26. News: DeGale guarantees third boxing bronze for Britain . 20 August 2008 . . 20 August 2008 . London . Kevin . Mitchell.
27. News: Medal hope Gavin out of Olympics . 7 August 2008 . . 7 August 2008 .
28. News: Kayak pair finally named for GB . 9 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 18 July 2008 .
29. News: Hoy & Edgar claim gold and silver. 17 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 16 August 2008.
30. News: Hoy clinches historic third gold. 19 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 19 August 2008.
31. News: Velodrome honour for golden Hoy . BBC Sport . 19 August 2008 . 19 August 2008 .
32. News: Romero beats GB team-mate to gold . 17 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 17 August 2008.
33. News: Reade crashes out of BMX medals . . 22 August 2008 . 17 September 2008.
34. News: Olympic road race glory for Cooke . 17 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 10 August 2008 .
35. Web site: British divers feel no pressure from dominant China . https://web.archive.org/web/20121023081103/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/30/content_8856521.htm . dead . 23 October 2012 . 9 August 2008 . . 30 July 2008 .
36. News: Brits to watch: Tom Daley . 17 September 2008 . . 4 August 2008 .
37. News: Phillips out of GB Olympic team . BBCSport . 11 June 2008 . 17 September 2008.
38. Web site: Michael Whitaker's Horse Withdrawn . 13 August 2008 . British Olympic Equestrian Team . 13 August 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081011114059/http://www.equestrianteamgbr.co.uk/news-detail.php?id=166 . 11 October 2008 .
39. News: Olympic horses fail drugs tests . 21 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 21 August 2008 .
40. Web site: BOA Announce Another Fencer Selected for Team GB . 9 August 2008 . . 17 July 2008 . 18 July 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080718230418/http://www.olympics.org.uk/beijing2008/news.aspx?id=2499 . dead .
41. News: GB hockey men seal Beijing berth . . 9 March 2008 . 17 September 2008.
42. News: Smith wins historic bronze for GB . 17 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 17 August 2008.
43. News: Injured Jones out of Olympic team . 9 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 18 July 2008 .
44. Web site: Team Gb Selected Athletes in Artistic Gymnastics . 9 August 2008 . .
45. News: International Olympic Committee launches probe into He Kexin's age. 21 August 2008. . 21 August 2008 . London . Tim . Reid . Jane . MacArtney.
46. Web site: 2008 Chinese gymnasts cleared, but 2000 team eyed . . . 1 October 2008 . 1 October 2008.
47. Web site: Team GB Selected Athletes in Trampolining . 9 August 2008 . . 13 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191213092621/http://www.teamgb.com/ . dead .
48. News: Fallon handed Olympic squad place . 10 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 22 April 2008 .
49. Web site: BOA select additional Team GB Modern Pentathletes . 10 August 2008 . . 2 July 2008 . 3 August 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080803215420/http://www.olympics.org.uk/beijing2008/News.aspx?id=2443 . dead .
50. News: Final GB rowers named after trial . 10 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 16 July 2008 .
51. Web site: Medal Standings Rowing. The official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. 17 September 2008. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080921000417/http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/RO/C95/RO0000000.shtml. 21 September 2008.
52. News: GB duo win first lightweight gold. 17 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 17 August 2008.
53. Web site: British Olympic Association > Summer Games > Beijing 2008 > Qualification . 10 August 2008 . . 30 November 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101130184115/http://www.olympics.org.uk/futuregamesqual.aspx?gt=s&ga=48#SA . dead .
54. Web site: Medal Standings Sailing. The official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. 17 September 2008. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080912221851/http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/SA/C95/SA0000000.shtml. 12 September 2008.
55. News: Ainslie claims third Olympic gold . . 17 August 2008 . 17 September 2008.
56. News: Adlington storms to second gold . 17 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 16 August 2008.
57. News: Marshall to double up in Beijing . 7 August 2008 . . 6 August 2008 .
58. News: Reprieved Stevenson takes bronze. 23 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 23 August 2008.
59. News: Video – Heartbroken Cook blames judges. 23 August 2008 . BBC Sport . 22 August 2008.
60. Web site: BOA Announces Weightlifting Member of Team GB . 10 August 2008 . . 15 July 2008 . 12 August 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080812203020/http://www.olympics.org.uk/beijing2008/News.aspx?id=2493 . dead .
61. News: Breeze performance hit by injury . 20 August 2008 . . 12 August 2008 .
62. News: GB's Olympic baseball dream ends . . 5 March 2008 . 17 September 2008.
63. News: Britain looks to Beijing after Scotland's snub to 2012 Games . The Times . 12 November 2005 . 17 September 2008 . London . John . Goodbody.
64. The 2008 Beijing Olympics and Paralympics on the BBC. BBC. 19 June 2008. 20 June 2008.
65. The 2008 Beijing Olympics and Paralympics on the BBC . . 19 June 2008 . 22 September 2008.
66. Eurosport Unveils Beijing 2008 Programming. BBC. 16 June 2008. 20 June 2008. 19 February 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120219071303/http://www.sportcal.com/News/release_article.aspx?articleID=60690&kind=press. dead.