This blog post was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

James Barbour

James Barbour

Press Secretary and Head of Communications

Part of UK in USA

24th July 2012 Washington DC, USA

Yellow Jerseys and Gold Medals

Cycling has always been one of the sports that Great Britain has hung its hat on. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, 14 of our 47 medals came on two wheels. The legendary Chris Hoy won three gold medals, making him the first British Olympian to win three gold medals in a single Games since 1908, and—along with his gold in 2004 and silver in 2000—Scotland’s most successful Olympian ever.

So with the London 2012 Games starting Friday, what better time could there be for another British cycling milestone?

Bradley Wiggins wore the yellow jersey down the Champs Elysees on Sunday, becoming the first Brit to win the Tour de France. And better yet, his teammate and countryman Chris Froome finished second.

Both Froome and Wiggins will be part of the Team Great Britain Olympic road racing team. For Wiggins, the Games will be a chance to add onto his already impressive Olympic haul: he’s won six medals since 2000, including two gold in Beijing.

It wasn’t this summer’s only win for British Olympic hopefuls. Andy Murray made it all the way to the finals at Wimbledon—the first Brit to advance to the finals in more than 70 years. Andy and his brother Jamie will carry the mantle for men’s tennis, with a chance to win gold on the same court where Andy came oh-so-close against Roger Federer.

Hopefully the success of sporting Britons over the last few weeks continues once the Games begin. The spectacle kicks off on Friday night. See you at the Games!

1 comment on “Yellow Jerseys and Gold Medals”

  1. I’ll be watching with great interest along with everyone else. If the US gets the honor of hoasting a games again, I dearly hope we can borrow a page from your book (or better yet the entire book, if you’ll pardan) on how to prepare for the games with an eye toward potential transformative use of the facilities and public transportation once the olimpic flame is extinguished!! Your passion for the UK’s long term benefit and zeal for making the most of these games to aid in that pursuit is truely inspirational!

    I enjoy your posts; you should blog more often! Good luck team GB!!!!

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About James Barbour

James Barbour is the Press Secretary and Head of Communications at the British Embassy in Washington. He joined the FCO in 1997, having studied Politics at the University of Edinburgh.…

James Barbour is the Press Secretary and Head of Communications at the British Embassy in Washington. He joined the FCO in 1997, having studied Politics at the University of Edinburgh. Roughly half of his career has been spent in London, in a range of jobs covering the OSCE and the Balkans, corporate social responsibility and corporate governance, press work and public relations. From 2000 to 2004 James was posted to the British High Commission in Cape Town, and more recently spent 2007 to 2011 in Moscow. In Washington James is responsible for managing and portraying the Embassy’s – and the British Government’s – public presence in the United States, engaging in debates in the US media environment on policy issues of importance to the UK, and contributing presentational perspectives to the Embassy’s policy discussions. James is keen to help the FCO make the most of social media; this is his third blog, and he often dabbles with Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter. James is joined in Washington by his wife Carrie and their two children.

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bradley wiggins cycling great britain London 2012 olympics Sport Sports Team GB tour de france uk