Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics |
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IOC code | GBR | ||||||||
NOC | British Olympic Association | ||||||||
in London | |||||||||
Competitors | 541 in 26 sports | ||||||||
Flag bearer |
Chris Hoy (opening) Ben Ainslie (closing) |
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Medals Ranked 3rd |
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Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |||||||||
Other related appearances | |||||||||
1906 Intercalated Games |
Qualified for the quarterfinals |
Qualified for the quarterfinals |
Qualified for the quarter-finals |
Qualified for the quarterfinals |
Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012 as the host nation. British athletes have competed at every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, alongside Australia, France and Greece, though Great Britain is the only one to have won at least one gold medal at all of them. London is the only city to host the Summer Olympics on three different occasions, having previously done so in 1908 and 1948.Team GB, organised by BOA, sent a total of 541 athletes, 279 men and 262 women, to the Games, and won automatic qualification places in all 26 sports.
The government agency UK Sport targeted a total of 48 to 70 medals, with a commitment of at least a minimum amount, one more than the team won at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and a fourth-place finish in the medal table. On 7 August 2012, Great Britain had reached its 48-medal target, and surpassed the 19 gold-medal tally from Beijing, making it the most successful Olympics since 1908.
Great Britain left the Summer Olympic Games with a total of 65 medals (29 gold, 17 silver, and 19 bronze), finishing third in the medal table rankings, and fourth in the total number of medal rankings. At least one medal was awarded to Team GB in seventeen sports, eleven of them contained at least one gold. British athletes dominated the medal standings in cycling, wherein they won a total of 12 Olympic medals, including 8 golds, 7 from the 10 track cycling events alone, and in equestrianism, wherein they won 5 medals including 3 golds from 6 events. Great Britain also topped the medal table in triathlon, boxing and rowing. Twelve British athletes won more than a single Olympic medal in London.
Among the nation's medalists were taekwondo jin Jade Jones, triathlete Alistair Brownlee, and slalom canoers Etienne Stott and Timothy Baillie, who won Great Britain's first Olympic gold medals in their respective disciplines. Nicola Adams became the first female champion in Olympic boxing history as her sport made its debut at the Games.