Mo Farah celebrates his two Olympic gold medals. Photo: Jae C. Hong / AP/Press Association Images. All rights reserved. Rio 2016 has made the headlines, and not always for the right reasons. Before the games, there was the backstory of Brazil's lack of preparation, corruption and wasting of billions in a country without basic sanitation and health facilities for millions of its population. As the games got underway, one of the big stories became that of British success – as medal after medal was won, with Team GB achieved second place in the medals table ahead of the Chinese. Its final tally exceeded the number of medals won four years previously in London 2012 (65 then; 67 now).
The tales of success - Jason Kenny and Laura Trott at cycling, Andy Murray at tennis, medals in dressage and swimming - have captivated a nation and even provide a hint of nostalgia by being screened on the BBC without adverts. Whilst in 2012 £264 million of funding worked out at £4,061,538 million a medal, in Rio £355 million of funding produced £5,298,507.46 per medal. Such achievements come at a price: envy, backbiting, and even sour grapes. German track cyclist Kristina Vogel said of British cycle success: "They were cannon fodder when you look at the last few years. Now they come along with a high level." French coach Laurent Gané said: "The recipe should be asked for from our neighbours because I don’t understand."
None of this happened by accident. Ever since the embarrassment of the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 when Britain won its lowest ever tally of medals for years (a solitary gold) there's been a consistent upward trend in the UK's medal tally. This was bolstered by monies from National Lottery under the direction of UK Sport, who had responsibility for administering the £355 million fund for Rio. The most over the top criticism came from curmudgeon Simon Jenkins in The Guardian, comparing British celebrations of success to the Soviet era writing "Soviet bloc nations used sport as a proxy for economic success', when nowadays all nations do. The games represented "the nationalisation of sport" and British success "the hamfisted draping in the Union Jack." Where has he been these last 20 years in the Olympics or World Cup? Clearly not watching very closely.
