After two fascinating weeks of sport, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games drew to a close last Sunday. Following on from the incredible spectacle of London 2012 was always going to be tough, but the Rio games captivated the whole nation once again. London had been the most successful performance at the Olympics by a British team in over 100 years, but incredibly Team GB bettered those results in Rio.
The performance of all British athletes has been outstanding, easily passing our pre-Games target of 48 medals, making Rio 2016 the most successful away games ever. As in London, we beat our traditional rivals in the medal table, but for the first time ever Team GB finished ahead of China, second only behind the USA. This is a phenomenal achievement and one we can be truly proud of.
Contributing to the astonishing tally of 67 medals, 27 of which were Gold, were two local Olympians. Charlotte Dujardin became the most successful British dressage rider in history, successfully defending her Individual Dressage Gold Medal from London 2012. Carl Hester also added to his medal collection, picking up an impressive silver in the Team Dressage event. Both riders are based in Newent, and I am delighted for everyone involved with the equestrian team.
The medal haul from Rio 2016 is in stark contrast to that of Atlanta 1996, when Team GB picked up just one Gold medal. Over the last 20 years we have seen huge improvements in our Olympic programme. We must, in part, pay gratitude to the fantastic National Lottery programme, initiated by Sir John Major during his time as Prime Minister. This combines funding with a rigorous focus on performance, which has allowed so many promising athletes to reach the top of their field. It is great to see this having such a positive impact, and I hope we will see even more success in future games.
While the Olympic Games may be over for another four years, our attention now turns to the Paralympics, which begin in just two weeks. I look forward to watching the Forest’s Andy Lewis and Piers Gilliver compete on the biggest stage of all, and I wish them and all our Paralympians the best of luck in their final preparations. I am sure we will be continuing to celebrate Olympic and Paralympic success through the rest of the summer.