The gold rush: Team GB scoop major medals

Thursday proved to be a great day for Team Great Britain at the Olympics after ...

12:27 05 August 2012

 

Thursday proved to be a great day for Team Great Britain at the Olympics after it scored two gold medals within five minutes of each other and three golds overall on the same day.

 

Etienne Stott and Tim Baillie triumphed to gold glory in the two-man canoe slalom while with fellow Britons David Florence   and Richard Hounslow winning silver at the Lee Valley White   Water Centre allowing the British to dominate the results   podium. 

 

The result was unexpected and the disbelief was followed with another gold medal just minutes later! 

 

Britain's sharp-shooting expert Peter Wilson shot to gold at the Royal Artillery Barracks in a suspenseful double trap men's finals. After opening up a four point lead towards the end Wilson missed both shots and in doing so halved his lead. The final moments were extremely tense but Wilson, despite this one major error at the end, kept his cool and triumphed. 

 

After a nailbiting match, Wilson eventually finished two clear of Sweden’s Hakan Dahlby with a total score of 188 out of 200 shots fired.

 

Wilson, 25, is a farmer's son from Dorset and the world number one after scoring 198 out of 200 shots at the Arizona World Cup in 2012. He only took up the sport competitively after a shoulder injury sustained during snowboarding dashed his squash and cricket chances. 

 

Wilson was coached by Ahmad Mohammad Hasher Al Maktoum, who in addition to being a member of the ruling family of Dubai also took gold at the same event in the 2004 Summer Olympics. And then it was Chris Hoy's turn to add more gold to Team GB's cabinet. The fifth gold of his career, Hoy wowed the cycling arena with a scorching ride. 

 

Speaking after his victory, the 36-year-old national treasure said: "I was trying hard not to look like a big baby and not cry.

 

"It’s hard to put into words just how happy I am right now and how much this means to me.

 

"I always felt that Athens 2004 would be the highlight because that’s when I achieved my lifetime’s ambition of becoming an Olympic champion.

 

"I never thought I would top that feeling until tonight. But when I threw my bike over that line it was the most memorable gold medal of my career.

 

"There was such a roar from the crowd when I crossed the line, I didn’t even have to look at the scoreboard. I knew we’d won."

 

As of Sunday morning, the British team have scooped 29 medals at London 2012. 

 

The medal count as of Sunday AM is: 

 

Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
United States	26	13	15	54
China	25	16	12	53
Great Britain	14	7	8	29
South Korea	9	3	5	17
France	8	6	8	22
Germany	5	10	6	21
Italy	5	5	3	13