BA - The Club - Ten of Britain’s most iconic Olympian moments

Simmonds swims to success

At the age of 13, Ellie Simmonds was the second youngest Paralympian in British history to win a medal when she competed at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, following up with two gold, one silver and one bronze at the London 2012 Games, smashing two world records. In 2016, Simmonds snatched yet another world record in the 200m individual medley by swimming it in under three minutes and securing her fifth Paralympic gold.

Wheelchair wins for Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson

Multi-Paralympic wheelchair racer Tanni Grey-Thompson is one of the UK’s most decorated female Paralympians thanks to her 11 golds, four silvers and one bronze over five Games, an achievement only outdone by swimmer-turned cyclist Sarah Storey at Rio 2016. “If I had to pick one medal out of the 11 golds that I won, it would be the 100m in Athens 2004, which was my final Games, my fifth Games,” says Grey-Thompson. “It was just technically one of the most perfect races that I’ve done and the one that gave me more pleasure than anything else.”

Storey trades the pool for the cycle track

After claiming two golds in the pool as a 14-year-old at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics, Sarah Storey went from strength to strength over the next three Games. Her swimming career was stopped short as a result of a chronic ear infection, but the upper body strength she had amassed meant she was able to compete as a world-class cyclist both inside and outside of disability sport. Her two golds at the 2008 Paralympics would have placed her in the top eight of the Games of that year.

Sir Lee Pearson dominates UK dressage

Known as ‘The Godfather’ of British Paralympic dressage, Sir Lee Pearson (pictured leading the squad) has 14 medals under his belt including 11 golds, and was the UK’s first openly gay Paralympic champion. Making his Paralympic debut in Sydney in 2000, where he won three golds, he found the media attention surrounding his sexuality strange to experience. “I went into the sport unashamed, but I think the whole world has changed generally in a positive way since Sydney,” he said. Pearson was the first Paralympian to receive a knighthood in 2017 for his accomplishments and charity work serving as an ambassador for several organisations.

Steve Redgrave takes gold in five consecutive Olympics

With five gold medals from five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000, Sir Steve Redgrave is one of rowing’s greats. “If anyone sees me go near a boat, you’ve got my permission to shoot me,” he famously quipped, after winning his fourth Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996, a statement soon undone when he returned to compete in the 2000 Olympics at the age of 38, taking his final gold medal before hanging up his oars.

The return from Rio

Bringing Team GB back to the UK after a record-breaking Games in Rio was always going to involve some fanfare. That’s where British Airways came in – with flight ‘BA2016’ delivering the champions back on home soil on a gold-nosed aircraft appropriately named ‘victoRIOus’ by the public. Gold medallists Nicola Adams and Max Whitlock were the first to walk off the aircraft, as Captain Steve Hawkins waved a union flag out of the cockpit window in time-honoured tradition.

Laura Trott cycles to victory

Laura Kenny CBE first won the nation’s hearts at the London 2012 Games, where she scooped up gold medals in both the women’s team pursuit and women’s omnium. Most dazzling of all, she was just 20 years old at the time. Since then, Kenny (formally Trott) has become one of the most successful British female Olympians, winning two more golds at Rio four years later. These days, she’s preparing for Tokyo and Olympic-power-coupling with husband and fellow track cyclist, Jason Kenny.

Nicola Adams becomes the first female boxer to win gold

The lass from Leeds made history at London 2012 when she became the first ever female to win gold in boxing, following up at Rio to become the first female boxer to defend her position with yet another knockout win. Thirty-three years old at the time, Adams won a unanimous points decision to beat France’s Sarah Ourahmoune in the women’s flyweight final. Since retiring in November 2019, Adams represented the best of Britain in the BA100 advert here:

British Airways goes golden

In a show of support for Team GB and ParalympicsGB during London 2012, nine British Airways A319s were repainted in the design of a golden dove, as drawn by Brighton-based designer Pascal Anson, who came up trumps against hundreds of entries sent in as part of a wider campaign to promote British talent. One A319 – the Firefly – was turned a special yellow as it prepared to transport the Olympic Flame from Athens to the Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall.

Sir Ben becomes king of the seas

Already a three-time Olympic sailing champion at this point, Ben Ainslie kicked off the London 2012 Olympic torch relay in front of more than 3,000 cheering fans in his home county of Cornwall at edge-of-the-world Land’s End. He then went on to win his fourth and final gold (before retiring to focus on the America’s Cup). This makes Sir Ben Ainslie the most successful sailor in the Games’ history, with four consecutive wins from 2000-2012.

Read Ben’s My Club interview here

Ten of Britain’s most iconic Olympian moments

Simmonds swims to success

Wheelchair wins for Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson

Storey trades the pool for the cycle track

Sir Lee Pearson dominates UK dressage

Steve Redgrave takes gold in five consecutive Olympics

The return from Rio

Laura Trott cycles to victory

Nicola Adams becomes the first female boxer to win gold

British Airways goes golden

Sir Ben becomes king of the seas

Simmonds swims to success

Wheelchair wins for Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson

Storey trades the pool for the cycle track

Sir Lee Pearson dominates UK dressage

Steve Redgrave takes gold in five consecutive Olympics

The return from Rio

Laura Trott cycles to victory

Nicola Adams becomes the first female boxer to win gold

British Airways goes golden

Sir Ben becomes king of the seas

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