Team GB will match their medal total from London 2012 on the final day of the Tokyo Games.
Track cyclist Jason Kenny’s historic gold medal moved GB up to 64 medals on Sunday – and boxer Lauren Price is guaranteed either a silver or a gold when she fights in the women’s middleweight final later.
That puts Britain on 65 medals – equalling their performance as hosts nine years ago and making Tokyo their second-most successful overseas Olympics after Rio 2016.
Britain won 67 medals at the Rio Games – finishing second in the medal table – and UK Sport had set a medal target range of between 45 and 70 medals in Japan.
Simon Gleave, head of sports analysis, Nielsen Gracenote said: “At Rio 2016, Great Britain became the first country to improve on its medal tally in the Olympics after being the host – and Team GB have now become the first to equal or win moremedals at each of the next two Games.”
The Team GB performance in Tokyo has exceeded pre-Games predictions of 52 medals and 14 golds – despite high-profile setbacks including a shock first-round taekwondo defeat for Jade Jones; injury issues for Dina Asher-Smith, Adam Gemili and Katarina Johnson-Thompson, and the withdrawal of potential gold medal shooter Amber Hill with Covid-19 before the Games started.
Team GB’s medal aspirations were revised down by the governing body to take account of the “extraordinary circumstances” presented to athletes and staff in the build-up to the Games. UK Sport said success would also be measured in a “broader and more holistic” way than just medals.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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