I Say, That’s Not Very British

What happened to the plucky, but gallant loser, that British sport was so well known for?

There was a time when Britain hardly ever won any medals at World Championships. This year’s World track Cycling Championship in Manchester was one of the most dominant performances by any country.

World Cycling Track Championship 2008 Medal Table

1. Great Britain 9 gold 2 silver 0 bronze
2. Nederlands 4 2 2
3. Belarus 2 0 1
4. France 1 2 4
5. Denmark 1 1 1

Amongst Britain’s Gold medalist included:

• Bradley Wiggins individual pursuit and Team Pursuit
• Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish in Madison
• Rebecca Romero Individual and Team pursuit
• Victoria Pendleton. Individual sprint and team sprint
• Chris Hoy. Individual and Keirin Title

The medal tally of 9 gold medals beats last year’s performance in Palma Mallorca of nine golds.

One of the highlights of the World Championship for Team GB was the World Record set of 3 minutes 56.318 seconds. in the 4Km Team pursuit final. Video at BBC