Great Britain and Ireland at the 1908 Summer Olympics
| Great Britain at the 1908 Summer Olympics |
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| IOC code | GBR | ||||||||
| NOC | British Olympic Association | ||||||||
| in London | |||||||||
| Competitors | 676 in 24 sports | ||||||||
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Medals Ranked 1st |
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| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |||||||||
| Other related appearances | |||||||||
| 1906 Intercalated Games | |||||||||
The United Kingdom was the host nation of the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The British Olympic Association was the National Olympic Committee responsible for organizing the United Kingdom's representation. At the time British athletes competed under the team name "United Kingdom". The British team comprised 676 competitors.
A number of Irish athletes boycotted the games in protest at British refusals to grant Irish Home Rule. During the opening ceremony, American athletes did not dip their flag to the British royalty in support of the Irish boycott, a tradition the U.S. continues to this day.
It was the fourth appearance of the country, which has not missed any of the Summer Olympic Games. The country finished in the Olympic table in first place for the first and only time in its history.
In the archery competition, the British team dominated the two events (one for men, one for women) popular in their country, winning both championships and second places as well as one third place, losing only a single bronze medal to the United States. British women were the only ones to compete in the women's event. Great Britain had 41 archers present, 25 women and 16 men; they totalled 42 entries over all three events held.
Brother and sister William and Lottie Dod took gold and silver medals, Queenie Newall taking the women's gold to become the oldest female gold medallist in Olympic history (a record she holds through the 2004 Summer Olympics), and the only Irish woman present at the 1908 Games won the women's bronze medal.
The British did not do as well in the Continental style, dominated by the French team, with the only Briton taking 12th place. Robert Backhouse, however, shot a score in a friendly demonstration that would have placed him second had he been in actual competition.
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