There used to be a hidden wall at UK Sport’s old London headquarters where senior figures would meticulously plot Team GB’s medal charge before each Olympics. But with every passing Games there was increasingly less space on it, as the 30 medals Britain won in Athens jumped to 51 in Beijing, and the 65 in London was eclipsed by the 67 in Rio. And while the Goodge Street office permanently shut during the pandemic, the ambition inked on that wall remains: for Britain to stay an Olympic sporting superpower.
For Paris, UK Sport has forecast a medal range of 50 to 70. But the absence of most Russians, and an uptick in medal events, should mean that target is achieved with gusto. As its director of performance, Kate Baker, puts it: “On a good day that 70 is really within our grasp.”
