Team GB's gold medal winners at London 2012 Olympics - Telegraph Team GB's gold medal winners at London 2012 Olympics A salute to Team GB's gold medallists at the London 2012 Olympics.

Image 1 of 6 Number one: Sir Chris Hoy struggles to maintain his composure after becoming the most successful British Olympian of all time Photo: GETTY IMAGES Image 1 of 6 Streaking away: Mo Farah on his way to winnig the 5,000m - his second gold medal of the Games Photo: GETTY IMAGES Image 1 of 6 Katherine Grainger (left) celebrates getting her hands on an Olympic gold alongside Anna Watkins Photo: GETTY IMAGES Image 1 of 6 Proud: Ben Ainslie became the most successful sailor in Olympic history and was then chosen to be Great Britain's flag bearer at the closing ceremony Photo: GETTY IMAGES Image 1 of 6 Through the pain barrier: Alistair Brownlee crosses the line to win the triathlon in Hyde Park Photo: GETTY IMAGES Image 1 of 6 Tearful triumph: An emotional Luke Campbell celebrates winning bantamweight boxing gold after defeating Ireland's John Joe Nevin Photo: GETTY IMAGES Rowing, women’s pair Glover, who will have a homecoming parade in Penzance next week, was in a state of disbelief after winning Britain’s first gold of the Games with Stanning.

The former PE teacher even slept with her medal by her pillow. “I think I only had an hour’s sleep the first night,” she said. “I haven’t had a drink for the past four years, so I imagine I will be quite a liability when I do.” The triumph marked the culmination of an extraordinary journey for Glover, who had never stepped foot in a rowing boat until 2008, when she was identified by UK Sport’s Sporting Giants programme. Related Articles Silver and bronze heroes 16 Aug 2012 The 26 year-old recalled: “I remember sitting in a room in Bisham Abbey and someone saying, 'A gold medallist in 2012 could be sitting in this room.’ It was quite surreal.” For Stanning, a captain in the Royal Artillery who may soon be on duty in Afghanistan, the sensation was similarly other-worldly. Her school friends at Gordonstoun voted her the girl most likely to be an Olympic champion. “I was into all sports – a jack of all trades but master of none.

But maybe somebody saw something in me.” Anthony Joshua Boxing, super-heavyweight Joshua’s first priority after winning his gold medal on the last weekend of the Games was to return to Golders Green, to find his cousin, amateur boxer Benga Ilyemi, who had encouraged him to take up the sport four years ago. Ilyemi had given 'Big Josh’ a start by handing him a pair of borrowed shorts and lending him £25 to buy boots. “My cousin convinced me to box, that’s how I got started,” Joshua said this week. “He is the novice amateur 91kg champion of England. He is not as big as me, he’s a shorter, more powerful guy, like Mike Tyson was. “I’m hoping to persuade him to be competing with me in the heavyweight division for GB in Rio in four years. It would be great to go there together in the team.” As he reflects on his dramatic victory in London’s Excel Centre, Joshua will doubtless take in another viewing of the film, 300, which tells the story of the Spartan king Leonidas and a his tiny force taking on the Persians at Thermopylae in 480BC.

Joshua said that watching the film again and again inspired him to remain defiant in the Olympic final. Andrew Triggs Hodge, Tom James, Peter Reed and Alex Gregory Rowing men's four For Britain’s victorious men’s quartet, the giddy days since they won their gold medal at Eton Dorney have brought an overdue reacquaintance with loved ones. “I neglected my responsibilities as a husband,” Triggs Hodge said of his quest for Olympic glory, and in the seconds after victory he pointedly kissed his wedding ring. Reed completed a momentous Olympics by proposing to his fiancée, Frauke Oltmanns, at the closing ceremony, with his team-mates watching. “While everyone was having a big party, I managed to find my way into the crowd and did it all properly. I knew where she was sitting. It was wonderful and we are both thrilled.” James has been busy too, returning to his alma mater of King’s College, Chester, to display his gold medal. Looking back at the four’s dramatic win, which was secured only after a compelling duel with the Australians, he said: “Words can’t describe the atmosphere.

It was epic.” Gregory, winning his first Olympic gold, admitted: “There is just this sense of massive relief.” Sir Chris Hoy Keirin and team sprint It was, perhaps, the defining image of the London Games: Hoy, Edinburgh’s man of granite, blubbing like a baby on top of the velodrome podium after winning his sixth Olympic gold medal. The emotion was shared by those squeezed inside the stifling velodrome – fans and riders – and millions of TV viewers who understood the enormity of Hoy’s achievement in surpassing Sir Steve Redgrave’s record medal haul. Hoy, typically, insisted that Redgrave, with gold medals at five consecutive Games, was the ultimate Olympian. His memories of the keirin are mainly concerned with dragging back a win from the jaws of defeat around the final bend. “I put everything I possibly could into it, the race drained me hugely. It’s almost a desire to do yourself and your coaches and everyone that’s helped you justice. “You reflect just before your race on what you’ve gone through to get here. You’re not willing to let it disappear.

I just thought, 'I am not going to shift’.” Silver medallist Max Levy perhaps put it best when he said of Hoy: “No man is harder to beat. He is never beaten – he is a champion.” Bradley Wiggins Cycling, individual time trial For Wiggins, victory at a sun-drenched Hampton Court was a fitting climax to a spectacular sporting summer. Not only did he storm to victory in the Tour de France, the first Briton to win the most prestigious cycling race of all, but this victory meant he had won more medals than any athlete in British Olympic history. “It was amazing and still hasn’t sunk in properly,” he said. “We came straight back from the Tour, stayed low profile in our hotel and then we had the experience of all those incredible crowds cheering us in the road race. They were there again all along the TT course. I never thought I would experience that in my own country. “The Olympics have been a huge part of my life, it’s why I took up cycling and I have been proud to represent Great Britain in four Games.” Wiggins’s win was capped by one of the most touching celebrations, as he was enveloped in a bear-hug by his wife, Cath, and children.

“As a wife where’s the sacrifice in helping your other half fulfil their dreams?” Cath said. “And it’s not forever. It’s not like we are a services family who are apart year after year.” Mo Farah Athletics, 10,000m and 5,000m He began the Games as a bit of a hero; he ended it as an icon, with even Usain Bolt an admiring courtier, paying tribute by imitating Farah’s 'Mobot’ celebration after winning the sprint relay. The little fella still cannot quite believe how Mo-mania swept the nation and as he protested, “I’m still the same old Mo”, you had to hope he was right. Like Ennis, Hoy and Wiggins, he offered the reassurance that nice guys can be pure gold as athletes. With Farah, following his amazing double triumph, there was the added sensation that he was perhaps a trailblazer as well as a champion. Asked about being a symbol of the uplifting multiculturalism of the home team effort, he said he was happy to play that role. “As a kid growing up in London coming from Somalia was a big thing for me,” he said.

“It just shows you no matter what or where you come from, if you work hard at something you can achieve.” Farah, for instance, marvelled at the labours that went into the gymnastic ability of Beth Tweddle. “I thought: 'Wow, how on earth can she do that?’” while the rest of the world was asking the same about him. “An achievement of extraordinary magnitude,” was how Lord Coe described Farah’s double. To the nation, it was the best of the best of British. Nicola Adams Adams, who became the first woman ever to win an Olympic boxing gold medal, is now a genuine sporting superstar, according to her team-mate and fellow London 2012 gold medallist Anthony Joshua. It is hard to disagree with the super-heavyweight champion’s verdict. In the aftermath of her win, Adams said she wanted to go to Nando’s, and then she was whisked off in a Rolls-Royce to The Savoy for tea. She has met Russell Brand, Dizzee Rascal and Lennox Lewis, and she has been presented with a watch worth several thousand pounds by Omega.

There have been appearances on The One Show on BBC 1 alongside Mo Farah and Boris Johnson, and a civic reception in Leeds, her home town. Yet this proud Yorkshirewoman – who made a reunion with her beloved pet Doberman puppy Dexter, who stayed in kennels during her Olympic adventure, her top priority – is unlikely to lose the grounded attitude that made her such a hit. “I like being the normal Nikki Adams, walking the dog, doing day-to-day things,” she said. And a few drinks? “Why not?” Katherine Copeland and Sophie Hosking Rowing, lightweight double sculls Her face a picture of wide-eyed wonderment, Copeland said that all she could think about after winning this improbable gold was being honoured by the Royal Mail. “The first thing I said to Sophie on crossing the line was, 'We’ve just won – we’re going to be on a stamp’.” For crewmate Hosking, the win has given her a satisfying piece of one-upmanship on father Peter, a world champion in 1980. “My dad used to coach me in the double when we were younger, and I remember him saying I had what it took to be a champion.

I am not sure I believed him, but it is an incredible moment to share this with him now. “Dad was always winding me up, saying that I had never won the worlds, but now I can tell him, 'You haven’t won the Olympics’.” The pair joined forces just six months before the Games, and had a solitary World Cup silver to their name, but they won their gold with a superb demonstration of sculling. Copeland, pictured above with the Duchess of Cambridge, said: “Two months ago I never would have dreamed of this. I tried to convince myself that it was just another regatta.” Jason Kenny Cycling, individual sprint and team sprint Kenny won his toughest race before the Olympics had even started, coming out on top after a three-year battle to earn selection over Sir Chris Hoy, who won the title so memorably in Beijing. The selection dilemma arose when cycling’s world governing body, the UCI, decided that there should be only one rider per country in individual events.

Kenny said: “I hadn’t thought about it until that last ride in the final against Grégory Baugé and then it dawned on me, the battle I had to get here with Chris, knowing that you’ve got someone that definitely would not give that second sprint away. I was thinking, 'I had better not mess this one up’.” Baugé, the defeated world champion, hijacked Kenny’s post-race press conference, with dark mutterings over Britain’s knack of peaking for major championships. But Kenny was unflustered and was photographed later kissing fellow track star Laura Trott. Hoy was hugely complimentary about Kenny’s achievement. “Jason can overtake me,” he said. “I am sure he will go on to become one of the greatest sprinters of all time.” Jessica Ennis Athletics, heptathlon The woman who achieved the most difficult trick of all; to be the one who burst out of the poster and brought the Olympics to vibrant life. Sheffield’s steeliest handled the pressure as the home hero like Michael Johnson did at Atlanta 1996 and Cathy Freeman at Sydney 2000 and admitted with relief afterwards that it had not been easy.

There were times in the endless build-up, admitted Ennis, when her fiancé Andy Hill had to take the brunt of her anxiety as she fretted about the prospect of failure. Ultimately, however, like the rest of the nation, Andy watched his girl win the final heptathlon event, the 800 metres, to prove herself the greatest all-round athlete in the world and laughed: “Isn’t she wonderful? I’ve done well for myself, haven’t I?” Sheffield embraced her with a warm homecoming celebration and, typically, the selfless Ennis thought only of how her victory might rub off on the next generation of budding athletes in her beloved home city. “It is so important we create great role models and we’ve done that with these Games,” Ennis said. She was, of course, too modest to reflect that she has established herself as the most striking role model of them all. Laura Trott, Dani King and Joanna Rowsell Cycling team pursuit Going into the Olympics this was Great Britain’s banker. It was impossible to see this World Championship-winning and world record-breaking trio being beaten and so it proved as they smashed their own world record in all three rides en route to the gold medal.

So complete was their dominance, they came close to lapping the United States squad in the final. “We have all grown so close in the last couple of years, training and racing and spending so much time together, we are like sisters really,” said King. “I suppose we were the form team but there is still a lot pressure, you have still got to go out there and perform, it was such a relief when we pulled it off.” King, like Trott, started life with the British academy as a sprinter but failed to make the grade. She persuaded the British coaches to give her a chance on the endurance programme and immediately found her niche. For Rowsell it was a doubly poignant win, coming as it did on International Alopecia Day. The Surrey-born rider now proudly champions all youngsters who, like her, have suffered traumatic hair loss early in life. Etienne Stott and Tim Baillie Canoe slalom, C2 Life has been a blur for Stott and Baillie since becoming two of Team GB’s unlikely heroes with gold in the C2 canoe slalom.

Stott, who only moved into the Olympic Village the day after winning gold, has been bewildered by being recognised on the street for the first time , while the mayor of his hometown of Bedford has suggested renaming a bridge in his honour. Baillie’s new-found fame, meanwhile, has brought an appearance on the National Lottery show. Thoughts are now turning to the future and whether Rio 2016 is a realistic target. Stott has committed to paddling for another year and will review the situation on an annual basis, but another Olympics, and a further four-year training cycle, is unlikely. The same applies to Baillie, 33, who will now take a break and talk to his coaches before assessing the future, which in 2015 includes the World Championships at Lee Valley. First though he has promised to buy himself a mountain bike as reward for his gold. Andy Murray Tennis, singles Murray is unique within the sweep of Team GB’s 29 gold medallists because his sport chugs on without any sense of let-up now that the Games are over. Indeed, he will be contesting a Grand Slam title in New York as soon as Monday week.

The immediate legacy of his victory over Roger Federer on the middle Sunday of the Olympics was a sense of exhaustion, manifested in his withdrawal after one round of the Toronto Masters citing a sore knee. But Murray is playing again in Cincinnati this week and should go into the US Open with his self-belief – and prospects – at an all-time high. To win the Olympic tennis event, he beat the two highest-ranked players in the world in successive matches. And do not underestimate how seriously the world’s elite players take this tournament: Novak Djokovic came off court almost speechless with despair, and promptly admitted that his sense of disappointment was greater than it had been after losing to Federer in the semi-final of Wimbledon proper. “That was No 1 for me, the biggest win of my life,” Murray said. “I had watched athletics the night before and it gave me such a boost. The momentum the team had was amazing.” Jade Jones Taekwondo, under-57kg By winning Britain’s first-ever gold medal in taekwondo, 19-year-old Jones instantly became Flint’s biggest sporting star since Ian Rush.

Yet Jones, who avenged last year’s World Championship final defeat by China’s Hou Yuzhuo to win the -57kg category, does not intend to let her newly-found fame prove a distraction. On her Twitter account, which now has over 30,000 followers, she has tweeted pictures of the golden postbox in Flint, a chocolate bar named after her and revealed she has had any number of marriage requests since becoming Olympic champion. After a well-earned break, Jones already seems to have set her sights on defending her title in Rio. “I’m going to have some time out and get mentally hungry again,” she said. “Then I’ve got the World Championships next May, so I’ll see where that takes me. “I don’t want to be one of those one-hit wonders, I want to be performing at that level all the time and I know how hard it is in my category. My coach says the amazing thing about me is I’m doing so well but I’ve still got so far to go. I still make loads of mistakes and I’m only 19.

I can get so much stronger as well, my muscles aren’t fully developed yet.” Ed McKeever Canoe sprint, K1 200m The first thing on McKeever’s mind now the Olympics are over is his wedding, which is due to take place next month. His wife-to-be, Anya Kuczha, is keen to avoid a kayaking theme and McKeever has promised not to take his gold medal to the ceremony for fear of taking attention away from the bride. McKeever promised to have a holiday by the seaside to celebrate his win but was unsure of his long-term future in the immediate aftermath of his gold medal last Saturday. “I haven’t made any long-term plans. I’m 28, so it could go either way. I’m just so happy I could contribute to the medal table,” he said. His coaches were telling a different story. Brendan Purcell, the national sprint coach, believes he can go on until Rio and build an Olympic legacy of his own. “Physically and mentally he can go on for as long as he wants and he has that drive. That’s the kind of guy he is,” said Purcell.

McKeever is a hard-working and dedicated athlete peaking in his career. He has accountancy exams in December and is keen to keep up his studies because canoeing does not offer long-term financial stability. Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester and Laura Bechtolsheimer Great Britain enjoyed some golden moments in the spectacular setting of Greenwich Park, including this triumph – their first in an Olympic dressage event. But there are now doubts over whether the nature of the legacy the sport will enjoy. Valegro, Uthopia and Alf – the horses that delivered gold for Britain’s trio of riders – are now expected to be auctioned off in an effort to raise around £20 million, which could dent the chance of the squad repeating their success in Rio. Carl Hester plans to sell the animals to raise funds for his business partner Sasha Stewart, whose work in Ireland has been hit hard by the downturn. “It was always the plan to ride them until the Olympics and then they would be sold,” Hester said.

“I’d like to say thank you to the other owners for taking the risk and letting us keep them that long.” Hester, born in Sark, won the Channel Islands’ second Olympic medal, and interest in the tiny location was reported to have increased after his victory with official website traffic up 150%. A spokesman told the BBC most interest had come from “the UK, Europe and especially Canada”. Victoria Pendleton Cycling, keirin gold and individual sprint silver There has rarely been a dull moment in Pendleton’s track racing career and her penchant for drama was maintained during her final days as a competitor at the velodrome. There was disqualification when she looked set for a certain silver medal, and maybe better, in the women’s team sprint with Jess Varnish, a glorious gold medal in the keirin and a showdown with her old nemesis Anna Meares in the individual sprint. “I’m glad that it was me and Anna in the final even if this time the result went against me,” said Pendleton. “It was the way it should have been. She was and is a fantastic competitor.” Her retirement after the race can be seen as a massive changing of the guard.

“If you look for every aspect of a true champion, Vicky possesses them,” said British performance director Dave Brailsford. “I’m sure she’ll take that into the rest of her life. I’d like to say thanks on behalf of British Cycling, because British Cycling owes Vicky Pendleton a huge amount.” Pendleton insists she will not race competitively again: her thoughts are trained on her marriage to fiance and personal coach Scott Gardner, and more humdrum pursuits. “I’d really like to do a cake-decorating course, and a pattern-making course with my mum,” she said. Peter Wilson Shooting, double trap Already merging into the background after his brief moment in the limelight, the 25 year-old from Dorset was on the tube heading to the Olympic Park unnoticed last Saturday when he overheard two youngsters debating whether Mo Farah had a chance in the 5,000 metres. He leaned forward into their conversation and, taking from his pocket the gold medal he won in the double trap shooting, asked if they had ever seen one up close before.

Recounting how the boys’ mother had given him the sort of look that flashed 'stranger danger’, he nevertheless reckoned that the look of astonishment and excitement on the boys’ faces was one of his experiences of the Games. “All the talk is of inspiring a generation,” he said. “I really hope to inspire a handful of people as a more realistic goal.” Wilson recalled the encounter at a homecoming party in the hamlet of Wootton Glanville on Monday night. Despite there only being 120 people registered as living there, double that number crammed into the village hall. Wilson, who had lost his voice in the days after victory, had initially planned to head to Dubai after the Olympics to train with his coach Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Hasher Al Maktoum. But he put the trip on hold to enjoy his victory. Greg Rutherford Athletics, long jump The man from Milton Keynes knows he was considered one of Britain’s surprise gold medallists of the Games, even though he went into the long jump as the world number one on 2012 form. But he always believed he could emulate Lynn 'the Leap’ Davies, and so did his family.

“I had my parents [Tracy and Andy] there watching, as well as my girlfriend, her mum, brother and sister and a few friends as well,” he said. “To have them all there just after I’d won was a bit tearjerking. You forget your mum and dad are probably more nervous than you – somebody needed to be there with a de-fib for my dad just in case! – but I just felt so happy I could reward them now and give them back a gold medal for all their help and support down the years. “It made me think of how supportive my family had been through the years, how through all the sports I tried they were there pushing me on, driving me to Eton for track or to Birmingham for football. They always gave me everything I needed.” Rutherford, who had been so promising but had so often been the nearly man because of injuries, wonders if the triumph might just be the making of him. “There’s never going to be anything bigger than winning a home Olympics,” he admitted. “But now I want to win as many major medals as I can.” Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins For Grainger, gold signalled catharsis.

After three successive silvers, she finally clutched the prize she most coveted as she embraced great friend Sir Steve Redgrave, the five-time Olympic champion, on the shore. “To be honest he wasn’t saying much,” she said. “I don’t know how he coped with five amazing moments like that – just one has filled me up with joy.” She conceded, having shed her status as the eternal bridesmaid, that her career would have felt incomplete without the adornment of Olympic gold. “I wouldn’t have felt any less of a person, but from an athlete’s point of view I would have seen it as a very obvious missing link.” Watkins, who like Grainger is continuing to combine her rowing training with studying for a doctorate, said: “There was pressure from ourselves, because we only wanted one medal. But there was so much trust and confidence in each other.” Grainger, 36, claims she does not know if she will carry on for a fifth Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but is content to bask in the satisfaction of a lifetime’s ambition fulfilled. “It has been a long, long wait.

I’ve had a great few years, and this is the culmination of a lot of hard work.” Team show jumping Nick Skelton, Scott Brash, Peter Charles and Ben Maher Skelton’s return, together with his horse Big Star, to his yard in Alcester on Sunday, sparked huge celebrations locally. As word leaked out across social networking sites, one friend drove four hours from Aberystwyth to be there to help the great survivor of British show jumping celebrate his gold medal success. According to those who were there, drink was taken. Returning with team-mate Brash, Skelton was thrilled by the reception – which included the local post box being painted gold in his honour. It made the 54-year-old veteran – Britain’s most senior gold medallist – even more determined to press on for another stab in Rio. "It was wonderful,” he said. “Retire? No definitely not. Big Star’s only young. As for me, get my back fixed and I should be good as new.” His team-mate Charles is also home in the Hampshire village of Bentworth, near Alton, while Maher headed back to Essex lamenting the fact the arena in Greenwich is being dismantled.

“We were in an amazing setting with very high set-back stands and people all rooting for their own country, it was a completely different feeling from any other horse show,” he said. “It’s sad we don’t get to keep it.” Alistair Brownlee Triathlon For Brownlee, the small matter of completing a 1,500m swim, 43km bike ride and 10km run was a doddle compared to the gruelling experience of being an Olympic gold medal winner. “I had done 20 interviews by the next morning,” he revealed. “I didn’t realise that there were so many news channels.” The interest in Brownlee was understandable: not only was he Great Britain’s first ever triathlon Olympic champion, he stood on the podium alongside his brother Jonny, who won bronze, becoming the first siblings to win an Olympic medal in the same event since the Searle brothers in the men’s eight in 1992. Yet for the champion himself, the experience was strangely underwhelming. “You spend so much time dedicating yourself to winning an Olympic gold medal and actually I didn’t feel any different at all,” he said.

“I don’t know how I expected to feel.” Brownlee now plans to return to his native Yorkshire, for more gruelling runs on the local fells as he prepares to tackle the 10,000m, as well as the triathlon, at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. “That would be a dream - it would be nice to have a bit of a different challenge,” he said. In the mean time, Brownlee has a Masters to complete at Leeds Metropolitan University: “I’ve got a dissertation in finance to do at some point.” Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny, Sir Chris Hoy Cycling, team sprint Of all Britain’s golden moments in the velodrome, this was the glorious surprise – at least to the cycling world at large, who had watched GB being consistently beaten by both Germany and France during the four years after Beijing. Going into the Games, however, there were rumours emanating from the British camp of some exceptionally fast times by the trio. “We had trained well since the World Championships and knew it was possible,” Hoy recalled. “It didn’t come right out of the blue, but it was still overwhelming when it happened. We enjoyed it and we gave it our all.

I dug deeper than ever before; I didn’t want to let the boys down.” Hoy’s contribution was immense, as always, but it was the performance of Hindes, who was riding at man one, which was the real revelation, according to former Olympian Chris Boardman. “With Jason Kenny and Chris Hoy on board it was all about giving them a launching pad and suddenly this 19 year-old is drafted in late on,” he said. “He had to deliver the ride of his life on the night. That’s exactly what he did and after that GB were flying.” Laura Trott Cycling, omnium and team pursuit The velodrome was rightly saluted as the most boisterous venue at the London Games, and there was no louder cheer than when Trott, the new golden girl of British cycling, claimed victory in the elimination race on day one of the omnium and then clinched gold in the 500m TT 24 hours later.

Although Trott was already a world champion and, indeed, an Olympic gold medallist from the women’s team pursuit event, her individual triumph in London represented the coming of age for an athlete who will form the cornerstone of the women’s squad for years to come, and cemented her reputation as the new Victoria Pendleton. The attention will take some getting used to. “I suppose the strangest thing was just the enormity of suddenly becoming a double Olympic champion,” she said. “My feet hardly touched the ground as I got whisked from one interview to another. I enjoyed the experience but I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so full on.” Proof of her new-found fame came on the final day of track cycling, when she was snapped sharing a kiss with boyfriend and fellow cyclist Jason Kenny: the image promptly made front pages nationwide. Charlotte Dujardin Equestrian, individual dressage Dujardin helped win Britain’s first medal of any colour in the history of Olympic team dressage. Not content with one, she then picked up another gold in the individual event, celebrating both victories on a riverboat on the Thames.

The achievement put her in the most elite of sporting sisterhoods, up with Kelly Holmes and Laura Trott in the pantheon of British women who have won more than one gold in a single Games. The niece of the talent show judge Nigel Lythgoe, her immediate plan is for a short holiday on the Isle of Sark with her trainer, British team-mate Carl Hester, who has invited 60 friends to visit his birthplace. She believes it will be a good place to get away from all the hubbub and to work out what her success is going to mean to her. “It’s a bit of a surreal feeling. I think it will probably take a few weeks for it all to sink in,” she said. “It’s going to be great to just have four days of chill-out and relaxing. This has all been the most unbelievable experience.” Britain won more equestrian medals that at any other Games, and topped the medal table above Germany and Holland. Ben Ainslie Sailing, Finn The 35 year-old has been a busy man since securing that historic fourth gold medal to become the most decorated Olympic sailor of all time.

He was handed the honour of being the flag bearer for Team GB at the London 2012 closing ceremony. But he has not had much time to take it all in. It has, he admits, been a whirlwind. Today he sails his Olympic dinghy Rita up the Thames, in the shadow of Westminster, before heading off for 12 months in San Francisco where he is joining defending America’s Cup team Oracle at the same time as starting his own team, Ben Ainslie Racing, with a view to a full-blown assault on the oldest active trophy in international sport. “I’m sure that in 10 years’ time I will look back and remember this period as an incredible experience – carrying the flag at the closing ceremony was one of the proudest moments of my life – but at the moment it feels slightly surreal. You’re so exhausted and yet so conscious of trying to take everything in.

It helps that I already have my next challenge about to begin.” Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Peter Kennaugh and Geraint Thomas Cycling, team pursuit Considered the blue riband event of the sport, the British squad had been under huge pressure after under-performing since taking gold in Beijing but suddenly started to turn a corner during the winter and entered the Olympics off the back of their first significant win over Australia in four years at the World Championships in April. At the Games there was no stopping them, as Great Britain broke their own world record both in qualifying and the final. “It was wonderful to see such a hard-working bunch of lads rewarded for their efforts,” reflected coach Dan Hunt. “When you see them flog themselves through the winter and give up so much you want something good for them. “GB were awesome on the day but don’t think it came easy, far from it. We didn’t fire for a couple of years, we couldn’t get the mix right, we had injuries and we had days when it just wasn’t happening. But they are special blokes and they kept plugging away and the back-up staff gave them every support we could.

The end result was the performance we always dreamed of.” Luke Campbell London 2012 Olympics: sport-by-sport guide to Team GB's strongest medal hopes - Telegraph Advertisement London 2012 Olympics: sport-by-sport guide to Team GB's strongest medal hopes Hundreds of athletes across the country are engaged in cut-throat competition to earn the right to appear in the greatest show on Earth. Leader of the pack: Mo Farah, after his triumph in the World Championships, is a strong contender for Olympic gold Photo: PA Athletics Britain met its seven-medal target at the World Championships in Daegu last summer, spearheaded by Mo Farah’s 5,000 metres gold and 10,000m silver, and Dai Greene’s 400m hurdles triumph, but there were worrying signs about the country’s lack of strength in depth. Beyond Britain’s seven medals, the country managed just six more top-eight finishes. The stars will have to perform at their best if Britain are to achieve their eight-medal target in London and two of those face new and imposing threats.

Daegu sounded a warning bell for heptathlete Jessica Ennis in the shape of the Russian Tatyana Chernova, who took the Sheffield athlete’s world crown, while Phillips Idowu was upstaged by American newcomer Christian Taylor in the triple jump. Key dates March 9-11: World Indoor Ch’ships (Istanbul); April 22 Virgin London Marathon; May 4-7 British Universities Ch’ships (Stratford, Olympic test event); June 22-24 UK Ch’ships & Olympic trials (Birmingham); June 27-July 1 European Ch’ships (Helsinki). Olympic prediction 8 medals. Cycling The form of Mark Cavendish, Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome on the road bodes well for early Olympic success while on the track Sir Chris Hoy, who won a world championship silver in the keirin and bronze in the sprint, appears to be getting stronger and faster. The form of the other male sprinters, however, has been patchy. Lucy Garner was an outstanding world junior champion in the road race but neither Lizzie Armitstead nor Nicole Cooke made the podium in the senior women’s race.

On the track, the stand-out squad last year was the women’s pursuit team who won the world title in Holland and have dominated the World Cup series. Vicky Pendleton won a silver and bronze at the worlds, while Shanaze Reade is on target for gold in the BMX after winning the world title and Olympic test event. Key dates Feb 17-19: London World Cup (Olympic test event, Feb 17-19); April 4-8: World Track Cycling Ch’ships (Melbourne). June 30-July 22: Tour de France. Olympic prediction 9 medals. Rowing Britain’s rowers are on course to dominate at Eton Dorney this summer after topping the medals table at the World Championships in Slovenia in September. In Olympic class events, Britain won three golds, three silvers and four bronzes, and added four more golds in non-Olympic and Paralympic events. Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter, the Olympic champions in the lightweight men’s double scull, retained their world crown while the men’s four of Alex Gregory, Ric Egington, Tom James and Matt Langridge also claimed gold.

Completing the winning triumvirate was the women’s pair of Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins, who have yet to be beaten since they linked up at the start of the 2010 season. After three Olympic silvers, Grainger’s long quest for Olympic gold must surely reach fruition at London 2012. Key dates March 8-11: Senior Trials (Eton Dorney). May 4-6: World Cup 1 (Belgrade). May 25-27: World Cup 2 (Lucerne). June 15-17: World Cup 3 (Munich). Olympic prediction 10 medals. Sailing The Finn class is dominated by Britain, although only Ben Ainslie will compete in Weymouth as Games qualification is limited to one entry per class. Ainslie and the other British Finn sailors won almost a third of the 44 medals won by the British squad in 2011, which was substantially up on 2010 (33) and proof that the country is on course for a successful Games.

The 470 men’s team of Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell and the women’s match racing team of Lucy and Kate Macgregor and Annie Lush showed their potential by picking up world silver medals. The 470 women’s pair of Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark also won world silver and earned Olympic selection, despite only teaming up in February. All but three of the 10 selections were announced in September, with only the 49er, the men’s 470 and the Laser Radial still to be decided. Key dates March 31-April 2: Trofeo SAR Princess Sofia MAPFRE Majorca (Palma). April 20-27 French Olympic Week (Hyeres). May 23-27 Delta Lloyd Olympic Classes Regatta (Medemblik, Holland). June 4-9 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta (Weymouth). Olympic prediction 7 medals.

Swimming Golds in the 800 metres freestyle for Rebecca Adlington and in the 10km open-water race for Keri-Anne Payne were the highlights for Britain at the World Championships in Shanghai last July, though the overall tally of five medals in Olympic events was at the lower end of British Swimming’s target range. Liam Tancock did add an extra gold in the non-Olympic 50m backstroke, and there were silvers for Adlington in the 400m freestyle, Ellen Gandy in the 200m butterfly and Hannah Miley in the 400m individual medley, but their success was tempered by the failure of some of their team-mates to live up to their potential. The consolation is that there were three fourth-places finishes, which British Swimming will hope to convert into podium finishes this summer. Key dates March 3-10: British Ch’ships & Olympic Trials (Olympic Park, test event); May 21-27: European Ch’ships (Antwerp); June 20-23: ASA Ch’ships (Sheffield, final Olympic qualifier). Olympic prediction 6 medals.

Boxing British boxers have already qualified for the Olympics in five men’s categories, with further opportunities at the final European qualifier in Istanbul in April. The women’s places will be decided at the World Championships in Qinhuangdao, China, in May, and Britain have high hopes of qualifying in all three female categories. The British squad achieved their best medal tallies at the men’s European and World Championships last year, which included a gold for Nicola Adams at the Europeans. The men won three world silvers through flyweight Andrew Selby, bantamweight Luke Campbell and super-heavyweight Anthony Joshua plus a bronze for light-welterweight Tom Stalker to add to the two golds, one silver and one bronze at the European Championships in Ankara. Key dates April 13-22 European Olympic qualifier (Istanbul); May 21-June 10 Women’s World Ch’ships, Qinhuangdao, China. Olympic prediction 5 medals. Canoeing The sprint team exceeded their qualification targets at the World Championships in Hungary in August, winning two silver medals in Olympic events and a further medal in a non-Olympic event.

Jon Schofield and Liam Heath won the silver in the K2 200 metres (after winning gold at the Europeans) and Ed McKeever narrowly failed to retain his world title, winning silver in the K1 200m. The women’s K4 500m was fourth, just 0.072sec off third place. More importantly, the team qualified seven athlete places outrigh. Selections will be based on performances early this year and all eyes will be on Beijing Olympic gold medallist Tim Brabants, who is focusing on the K1 1000m. The slalom team have secured five places Key dates April 23-15: GB Olympic slalom selection event (Broxbourne). May 11-13: Slalom European Ch’ships (Augsburg, Germany). May 16-17: Sprint European Olympic Qualifier (Poznan, Poland). June 22-24: Sprint European Ch’ships (Zagreb). Olympic prediction 3 medals.

Equestrianism Britain boasts the world’s No 1 and No 2-ranked eventers in Mary King and William Fox-Pitt, as well as the European title-winning dressage team of Laura Bechtolsheimer, Charlotte Dujardin, Emile Faurie and Carl Hester. Hester won silver in both the grand prix special and grand prix freestyle sections last year, with Bechtolsheimer collecting a bronze in the grand prix special. Britons also picked up bronze medals in the team show jumping and team eventing at the Europeans as well as an individual bronze for show jumper Nick Skelton. Key dates April 25-29: Dressage, Hagen (Germany). April 25-29: Eventing, Kentucky. May 3-7: Eventing, Badminton. June 20-24: Show jumping, Rotterdam. July 3-8: Show jumping & Dressage, Aachen (Germany). Olympic prediction 3 medals. Taekwondo Just four gold medals are available, and Britain could well be challenging for all of them.

Last year’s World Championships in South Korea underlined the country’s strength as Sarah Stevenson claimed her second world title while Welsh teenager Jade Jones took silver and Martin Stamper won bronze. Aaron Cook was eliminated in the first round but is now world No 1. Key dates: March 3-4: German Open. May 3-6: European Ch’ships (Manchester). Olympic prediction 3 medals. Archery Britain only partially met its 2011 targets but has qualified in five Olympic archery events by right, with a sixth place in the women’s team event highly achievable. Indeed, Britain’s best medal hopes may well lie in the team competitions. At the Olympic test event at Lord’s, the British women conquered world champions Italy before narrowly losing to Japan in the bronze-medal play-off. Key dates Feb 5-9: World Indoor Ch’ships (Las Vegas). March 31-April 1: GB Olympic Selection Shoot 1 (Lilleshall). April 14-15: GB Olympic Selection Shoot 2 (Lilleshall). April 20-21: GB Olympic Selection Shoot 3 (Lilleshall).

May 21-26: European Ch’ships & Olympic Qualifier (Amsterdam). Olympic prediction 1 medal. Badminton Imogen Bankier and Chris Adcock were the revelation of last year’s World Championships, winning a silver. They are currently ranked 16th in the world, two places above fellow Britons Robert Blair and Gabrielle White and seven places above Nathan Robertson, the 2004 Olympic silver medallist, and Jenny Wallwork. Key dates Jan 10-15: Malaysian Open (Kuala Lumpur). 3-5 Feb: English National Ch’ships (Bolton). March 6-11: All England Open (Birmingham). April 17-21: European Ch’ships (Karlskrona, Sweden). May 20-27: Thomas & Uber Cup Finals (Wuhan, China). Olympic prediction 1 medal. Diving Britain returned from the 2011 World Championships with Tom Daley no longer world champion after he could only muster fifth place, well short of the outstanding Qiu Bo, of China.

Daley entered the tournament just seven weeks after losing his father to cancer but even he admitted that his performances were lacking the consistency that earned him a global title in 2009. He faces a significant struggle to overcome Bo, who won the individual 10m platform event with a massive score of 584.45 points, but he remains a strong contender for silver. Daley and his synchro partner, Pete Waterfield, remain outside medal prospects while their female equivalents could also challenge. Tonia Crouch and Sarah Barrow finished just outside the medal places at the worlds but face a battle for selection from Megan Sylvester and Monique Gladding. Key dates Feb 20-26: World Cup (Olympic test event, London). March 16-17: World Series (Dubai). March 23-24: World Series (Beijing). April 13-14: World Series (Moscow). April 20-21, World Series (Tijuana, Mexico). May 14-20, European Ch’ships (Eindhoven). June 8-10: British Ch’ships & Olympic trials (Sheffield).

Olympic prediction 2 medals. Football Stuart Pearce’s selections for the men’s squad are set to dominate the headlines in the build-up to London 2012. How many non-English players will defy their home associations and line up for Team GB, and will David Beckham be deemed good enough to take one of the three permitted over-age places in the under-23 squad? The women’s team will receive far less coverage but may be the ones to deliver a medal. Key dates June 8-July 1: Euro 2012 (Poland & Ukraine). Olympic prediction 1 medal. Gymnastics While the women’s artistic squad have qualified the full quota of five, the men missed the opportunity to do likewise at the World Championships in Tokyo and face a crucial test at London’s 02 Arena next week when they have a second chance to qualify. Beijing bronze medallist Louis Smith was Britain’s sole medal-winner at the worlds, taking bronze on the pommel horse. World Series champion Dan Purvis and former world champion Beth Tweddle cannot be discounted. Kat Driscoll could be a decent outside bet in the trampoline event.

Key date Jan 10-18: Olympic Test Event & Qualifier (02 Arena, London). Olympic prediction 1 medal. Hockey With Olympic qualification guaranteed, both the men’s and women’s teams have had the luxury of testing their younger players on the international scene and experimenting with tactics. Both teams have retained their world No 4 ranking. Last May England’s women finished their Champions Trophy campaign in fifth place, while the men came sixth in New Zealand in November — a disappointing performance which included a worrying 8-1 drubbing at the hands of Spain in what was the last high-profile international event before London 2012. Key dates Jan 28-Feb 5: Women’s Championships Trophy (Rosario, Argentina). May 2-6: Olympic Test event (London). June 5-10: London Cup. Olympic prediction 1 medal. Modern Pentathlon Two young British athletes have already achieved the Olympic qualifying standard for London 2012 – Jamie Cooke, 20, who was fourth at the European Championships, and Freyja Prentice, 21, who finished eighth in the same competition. Cooke also took the junior world title in November.

Neither is certain to compete at 2012 as there are two further qualifying opportunities for other British athletes, with a maximum of two men’s and two women’s places available per nation. Mhairi Spence, ranked fourth in the world, won a silver and a bronze medal during the 2011 World Cup series, while Prentice won her first World Cup medal, a bronze. Both are pushing the Beijing Olympic silver medallist, Heather Fell. Key dates May 7-13: World Ch’ships (Rome). May 26-27: World Cup Final (Chengdu, China. July 4-10: European Ch’ships (Sofia). Olympic prediction 2 medals. Shooting The British squad surpassed expectations by winning four medals at major championships in 2011 and they have also qualified four Olympic quota places. Peter Wilson is Britain’s outstanding medal hope, having climbed to No 1 in the double-trap world rankings last August after a superb season which included his first gold medal on the World Cup circuit. He was also a member of the British double-trap team that won gold at last year’s European Championships.

Key dates April 18-28: World Cup & Olympic test event (Woolwich). June 17-26: European Ch’ships (Larnaca) Olympic prediction 1 medal. Tennis Andy Murray, who again missed out on a grand slam title in 2011 when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final, is Britain’s only realistic medal contender. Elena Baltacha remains Britain’s top female player with a world ranking of 51. Only the top 56 qualify for the Olympics as of right. Key dates Jan 16-29: Australian Open. May 27-June 10: French Open. June 25-July 8: The Championships (Wimbledon). Olympic prediction 1 medal. Triathlon If the success of 2011 is repeated, British Triathlon will exceed its stated Olympic ambition of securing one Olympic medal. Alistair Brownlee and brother Jonny dominated the World Championship series, finishing first and second overall.

Welshwoman Helen Jenkins also underlined her Olympic credentials when she regained her World Championship crown with series of consistent results, starting with her emphatic victory at the Olympic test event in Hyde Park. But one small cautionary note: none of the previous World Championship winners has gone on to win the Olympic gold. Key dates World Championship Series, April 14-15: Sydney. May 12-13: San Diego. May 26-27: Madrid, Spain. June 23-24: Kitzbühel. July 21-22: Hamburg. Olympic prediction 2 medals.

Question: Which British male athlete won an olympic gold medal in London 2012, at age 24 winning the Triathlon event ?
Answer: ALISTAIR BROWNLEE