Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

, represented by the

British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It is responsible for organising and overseeing the participation of athletes from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team, at both ...

(BOA), competed as the host nation of the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were o ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The

was the

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

responsible for organising the United Kingdom's representation. At the time British athletes competed under the team name "United Kingdom". The British team comprised 676 competitors.Telegraph.co.uk
Team GB first nation entered into London 2012 Olympics
De Wael counts 682

It was the fourth appearance of the country, which has not missed any of the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

. The country finished in the Olympic table in first place for the first and only time in its history. The Men's field hockey on the 31st of October is the last time that Great Britain swept the medal podium at an Olympics, as of 2022.

Medallists

Results by event

Archery

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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. 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 William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and Lottie Dod took gold and silver medals,

Queenie Newall Sybil Fenton Newall (17 October 1854 – 24 June 1929), best known as Queenie Newall, was an English archer who won the gold medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. She was 53 years old at the time, still the oldest female gold medal winne ...

taking the women's gold to become the oldest female gold medallist in Olympic history (a record she holds through the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

), 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 French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

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.

Athletics

The British team was the second most successful team in athletics. With 7 first-place finishes, they gathered less than half the championships that the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

team did at 16, but still nearly doubled all other teams combined (4 gold medals).

Running

Jumping

Throwing

Boxing

Great Britain dominated the boxing competitions, taking 14 of the 15 medals including all 5

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

Cycling

Great Britain won 5 of a possible 7 gold medals in the cycling competitions, losing only the men's tandem to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the men's sprint by exceeding the time limit (though a French cyclist finished first in that event as well).

Diving

Fencing

Great Britain took second in the men's team épée competition, with Montgomerie also making it into a three-way playoff for 2nd, 3rd and 4th places in the individual event despite having been nearly eliminated in both the second round and the semifinals. His bottom placing in that playoff gave

a sweep of the medals. The British were less successful in sabre, with no fencers making it to the final in the individual competition and the team being eliminated in the first round.

Figure skating

Football

England national amateur football team The England national amateur football team was the amateur representative team for England at football. It was formed in 1901, due to the growth of the professional game which meant that amateur players could no longer easily find places in the ...

represented Great Britain in the football competition.

Gymnastics

Hockey

Great Britain sent four teams, one from each of the

Home Nations Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...

. Scotland and England defeated Germany and France, respectively, in the first round before facing each other in the semifinals. Their victories assured them medals, while Ireland and Wales had been guaranteed medals by receiving byes in the first round. England won in the semifinal against Scotland, while Ireland defeated Wales in the other semifinal. The two losing teams received bronze medals, while England took the gold by winning the final against Ireland, who received silver.

Jeu de paume

In the jeu de paume competition, British players took the silver and bronze medals.

Lacrosse

Great Britain lost the only lacrosse match played in 1908 to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, earning the silver medal.

Polo

Great Britain was the only nation to compete in polo in 1908, with two English teams and an Irish team competing.

Rackets

The host nation was the only one to compete in rackets in 1908.

Rowing

Rugby

Great Britain lost the only

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

match played in 1908 to

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologic ...

, earning the silver medal. The British representative was the Cornwall county team, which had won the 1907 county championships.

Sailing

Great Britain took all four of the sailing gold medals, without contest in the cases of the 7 metre class (where only one boat entered) and the 12 metre class (where both boats were British).

Shooting

Swimming

Tennis

Great Britain took all 6

s in the lawn tennis competitions in 1908.

Tug of war

Great Britain sent three police teams to compete in tug of war in 1908. They took the three medals, with the Liverpool police eliminating both foreign entrants (the United States in the only quarterfinal match and Sweden in the semifinals). The City of London team defeated the Metropolitan police in the other semifinal, going on to defeat the Liverpool squad in the final. The Metropolitan team won the bronze medal by default when the Swedes did not appear for the bronze match.

Water motorsports

Great Britain had a boat finish in each of two races in the water motorsports competitions, thereby winning two gold medals in the midst of a

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, which competed only in the open class.

Water polo

Wrestling

Notes

References

Sources

* * * {{Top Summer Olympics medal-winning nations Nations at the 1908 Summer Olympics 1908

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...