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He showed them the way, and they
built on his success.
Second, Team GB is trawling the
nation on the search for talent.
Talent spotters are paid for with the
lottery money and find raw talent
for the machine. Often, these are not
people committed to a single sport.
They can be moved around to find the
best fit. And you can bet there is a numbers
guy right beside them tracking response times
and projecting future success.
Future success can also be detected in results
from the Paralympics. ParalympicsGB came a
competitive second behind China with a total of
147 medals. This, despite being funded by £200
million less than the Olympic team.
Their 64 golds are more than double of that won in London,
and again is the result of the National Lottery’s support. This
year, the British team competed in all but three of the sports
on offer.
Both at the Olympics and Paralympics, the British teams have
shown how money can be spent strategically to win medals.
But when the starter’s pistol cracks, the athletes are on their
own.
And they rose to the challenge. Mo Farah managed a “double
double”, defending both his previous marks in the 5km and 10km.
Cycling’s power couple Jason Kenny and Laura Trott have become Britain’s
most successful Olympians by picking up golds to make their overall records
six and four respectively. The gymnasts, divers and the ParalympicsGB
wheelchair tennis team have all excelled.
Success breeds success, and in Rio Great Brittan couldn’t stop winning.