British Triathlon celebrates best ever Games
Created On: 15 August 2012
British Triathlon is delighted to have played its part in the
success of Team GB, with 65 medals having been won across nineteen
different sports. It was Britain's most successful Games since 1908
and the first time that a British triathlete has ever won a medal
at the Olympic Games.
Alistair Brownlee memorably became the Olympic Champion, with
Jonathan claiming the bronze medal behind Spain's Javier Gomez.
Helen Jenkins finished fifth despite a less-than-perfect build up
to the Games.
Every British competitor was grateful to the huge crowds that
took advantage of free viewing in Hyde Park and the surrounding
course that saw athletes race past iconic London landmarks
including the south side of the Serpentine, The Wellington Arch,
and Buckingham Palace.
"The race was unbelievable and the crowds were amazing,"
Alistair Brownlee said. "My ears are still ringing from all that
noise."
Estimates vary about the number of spectators that saw the
Olympic triathlon. The BBC has quoted 300,000 as the figure for the
men's race, but this doesn't include the large numbers at Live
Sites around London and the rest of the country.
4.7 million watched the women's triathlon on the BBC, which
resulted in the spectacular photo finish between Nicola Spirig and
Lisa Norden. 5.6million people watched the men's race. This is by
far the biggest TV audience ever to have watched a UK based
triathlon, with the previous highest having been less than two
million.
National newspaper coverage has increased by over 500% compared
with the same period last summer, and the britishtriathlon.org
website smashed its previous high point for visitors by over 300%
on 7 August.
Social media also played a very significant role for the first
time ever at an Olympic Games. British Triathlon's platforms saw
significant increases in traffic, whilst Alistair Brownlee doubled
his number of Twitter followers to nearly 50,000 (still well ahead
of Jonathan with 35,000).
Dr Sarah Springman CBE, British Triathlon President, summarised
the success of Britain's triathletes at the London 2012 Olympic
Games. She said: "The triathlon events have been a fantastic
showcase for our sport.
"Alistair is now the Olympic Champion, and Jonathan an Olympic
bronze medallist, their performances are historic as the first
British athletes to ever win an Olympic medal. Both the women's and
men's events delivered racing that captivated the viewer, whether
as one of the many thousands that cheered on Team GB in Hyde Park,
at a Triathlon Live venue or the millions who tuned in to watch
from home.
"The legacy of the Games is to 'inspire a generation', and with
Helen, Lucy, Vicky, Alistair, Jonathan and Stuart all doing their
country proud, I am confident triathlon will be a great example of
this.
"It is with immense pride in all our Olympic athletes and the
whole triathlon community, including the many thousands of
volunteers, who have helped make our event the most memorable of
the London 2012 Olympic Games."
All of Britain's triathletes have now returned home and are
already in training for the ITU World Triathlon Series events in
Stockholm (25-26 August), Yokohama (29-30 September) and the Grand
Final in New Zealand (20-22 October).
And, they will already have in the back of their minds that the
2013 ITU World Triathlon Series Grand Final will take them back to
Hyde Park next September. Britain will host the world title
deciding event as part of the legacy from the London 2012 Olympic
Games.
Tags: news,london2012
