Athens 2004

10th in medal table

9 golds

British stars: Kelly Holmes. The injury-jinxed army officer made the hairs on the back of our necks stand to attention as she charged back from depression, illness, retirement and the back of the field to win gold in the 800m and then the 1500m.

Back to reality for golden generation

Olympic heroes will discover if the last 17 days has been a life-changing experience or a glorious but brief interlude

• Team GB to be rewarded with gold for gold

• Hard work starts now as British sailors look towards London 2012

• Public support gained from success in Beijing needs to last four years

Background

• How the Brits became world beaters

• London double-decker arrives in Beijing

• Olympics proves capacity for greatness

• New dawn for British sport as Olympic sun sets

Related Links

• Team GB powers to golden glory

• Ohuruogu wins stunning 400m gold

Scientists still have no idea how the British men’s 4x100m relay team snatched gold, but it has been largely forgotten unlike Amir Khan who only won silver in the lightweight boxing.

Best sport: Britannia ruled the waves, taking one medal in diving, two in swimming, three in canoeing, four in rowing and five in sailing.

Sydney 2000

10th in the medal table

11 golds

British stars: Denise Lewis and Jonathan Edwards were the faces of the Games for Britain with gold in those most complex of athletics events - the heptathlon and the triple jump. Audley Harrison was welcomed, briefly, into “household name” territory with victory in the super heavyweight boxing contest.

Best sport: Sailing took the crown as Great Britain’s most successful sport with three gold medals including a first victory for Ben Ainslie. Jason Queally was the best of a strong British cycling outfit but Bradley Wiggins and Chris Hoy were also medal-winning members of the team.

Atlanta 1996

36th in the medal table

1 gold

British stars: Only Matthew Pinsent and Steve Redgrave won gold repeating their success from four years earlier in Barcelona. They were well on the way to legendary status in the midst of a dreadful British showing.

Best sport: two medals each for the sailing, rowing and cycling teams as the power of Britain in the “sitting down sports” began to emerge.

Barcelona 1992

13th in medal table

5 golds

British stars: Gary Herbert’s tears became iconic after he coxed the Searle brothers to gold in rowing, but Linford Christie and Sally Gunnell’s gold medals ensured they were the undisputed king and queen of the British team.

Best sport: British athletics’ fading heyday was still in evidence with Gunnell and Christie joined on the podium by bronze-medallists Kriss Akabusi, Roger Black, Steve Backley and John Regis. The judo team brought home two silvers and two bronzes.

A little earlier. . .

London 1908

1st in the medal table

56 golds

British stars: the City of London police team won acclaim for their gold in the tug of war, but Henry Taylor’s haul of three golds in the swimming pool went unmatched for a century until Chris Hoy won triple gold this year.

Best sport: pretty much everything. Seven golds were gathered by an impressive athletics team, but they were overshadowed by the American tally of 16. Rackets saw the greatest domination by the host nation with all the gold, silver and bronze medals awarded to Great Britain.

The British team even won the football.