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Jason Kenny is the most decorated British Olympian of all-time
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Team GB has enjoyed a surge of Olympic success in the 21st century
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Read below for the list of the most successful British Olympians ever
The Olympics are a chance for sports fans to engage in something new. It gives names that aren’t usually at the forefront of betting a chance to shine.
Whether in the pool, velodrome or on the water, the Olympics is an opportunity for athletes to become national heroes. Success at the Olympics is the ultimate goal for so many sportspeople around the world.
Only taking place every four years, the tension of Olympics live betting is hard to beat. There are only so many shots at Olympic glory, and it’s a long wait if the outcome isn’t as hoped.
Compared to the wild riches in football, basketball and Formula One, Olympians are often lesser-known, less-well paid public figures.
Rebecca Adlington net worth, for instance, falls far short of many of her peers in other sports. Here are the 10 most successful British Olympians of all-time.
Mo Farah – four medals
Quite simply one of the greatest distance runners of all-time, Mo Farah did the double-double by defending his 5,000 and 10,000-metre titles in Rio.
Farah is also a six-time world champion. He waved goodbye to the track to take on marathon running, and he set a European record with a time of 2:05:11 in the 2018 Chicago Marathon.
Named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2017, his Mobot celebration is an everlasting image from the 2012 Games, and he’s cemented himself as a British icon for decades to come.
We may never see another distance runner like Farah in the colours of Team GB.
Matthew Pinsent – four medals
Matthew Pinsent won four medals between 1992 and 2004, all of which were gold.
The duo of Pinsent and Steve Redgrave was dominant, picking up gold in the coxless pairs in 1992 and 1996, followed by another brace of first places in 2000 and 2004 in the coxless fours.
Also a 10-time world champion, Pinsent retired in 2004 and moved into a career in the media. He’s frequently been seen on BBC’s sports coverage, and even had a go at Celebrity Masterchef in 2020.
Paolo Radmilovic – four medals
A name you’re less likely to have heard of, Paolo Radmilovic was a Welsh swimmer and water polo player who competed in four Olympics.
All four of Radmilovic’s medals were golds, three of which came in water polo in 1908, 1912 and 1920.
At the home games in 1908, Radmilovic was drafted into the 4x200 relay squad when a swimmer was unwell. He swam the second leg as the Brits won in sensational fashion, overtaking the Hungarians on the anchor leg.
Radmilovic’s haul of four golds was a British record until he was toppled by Steve Redgrave in 2000. Alongside his success, Radmilovic broke numerous records for longevity, including competing at six Olympic Games.
Adam Peaty – five medals
All-conquering swimmer Adam Peaty has five medals to his name already (three gold, two silver), and at just 29 years old, he’s bound to add more to his collection. The 2024 Games in Paris are an opportunity for the Uttoxeter native to add to this medal collection.
Peaty holds the breaststroke world records over 50 and 100 metres, and he’s the two-time reigning Olympic champion in the 100-metre breaststroke.
Ben Ainslie – five medals
Four of Ben Ainslie’s Olympic medals are of the gold variety. He’s unquestionably the greatest British sailor of all-time and has the rare distinction of having medalled in five consecutive Games.
With 11 World Championship golds to his name too, Ainslie was near enough unstoppable from the 1990s through to the 2012 Games in London.
The increase in Ainslie’s profile among the British public shows what the Olympics can do for niche sports – he would be recognised around the country.
Steve Redgrave – six medals
You’ve got to have done something special to be the flag bearer at two separate Olympics. Steve Redgrave was the most successful British Olympian of all-time from 1996 until 2012.
He finished with five golds and a bronze and became the first Brit ever to medal at five consecutive Olympic Games between 1984 and 2000.
Redgrave has remained involved with rowing post-retirement, including assuming a director’s role with the Chinese Rowing Association in 2018.
Laura Kenny – six medals
Laura Kenny is a sensation. Her tally of five golds and one silver makes Kenny not only the most successful female British Olympian, but the most decorated female cyclist in the history of the Games.
Then known as Laura Trott, she burst onto the scene at the 2012 Games in London, landing golds in the Omnium and Team Pursuit. Both titles were defended in Rio before adding a fifth gold in the Madison in Tokyo.
After the birth of her second child in 2023, Kenny announced her decision to retire from cycling in spring 2024.
Chris Hoy – seven medals
Succeeding Steve Redgrave as the most decorated British Olympian, albeit for a short period, Chris Hoy won seven medals between Sydney and London, the last six of which were all gold.
Hoy was in many ways the face of the dominant Team GB cycling group.
He was the senior figure in the team sprint golds in 2008 and 2012, but he thrived in individual competition too, winning the sprint in Beijing and going back-to-back in the Keirin.
Since retiring from cycling in 2013, Hoy has tried his hand at motorsport and has often been seen on BBC's cycling coverage.
Bradley Wiggins – eight medals
Although Bradley Wiggins’ legacy is most closely tied to his Tour de France triumph in 2012, he also collected eight Olympic medals, five of which were gold.
The time trial gold in the same year as his Tour victory is perhaps most memorable.
Wiggins also had enjoyed glory at the previous two Games, winning a gold and a silver in Athens and standing atop the podium for the team and individual pursuits in Beijing.
Jason Kenny – nine medals
Jason Kenny was always in line to succeed Hoy atop the British medal table. He won a gold and a silver in Beijing, followed by a pair of sprint golds at London 2012.
A hat-trick of gold medals at Rio and another first place in Tokyo secured Kenny as the greatest British Olympian in history.
He always seemed to find his best form when the Olympics come round – he won seven Olympic golds in the velodrome compared to three golds at the World Championships.
Kenny retired in 2022, despite stating that he had hoped to 'carry on' until the Games in Paris in 2024. He took up a position as a podium sprint coach with British Cycling, and was knighted in the 2022 New Years Honours list.
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
