Lord Moynihan hails Team GB as ‘best ever’
The British summer may so far have been an utter washout, but the nation’s athletes can nonetheless give the country something to smile about in the next few weeks.
That’s the message from British Olympic Association chairman Lord Moynihan, who claimed on Saturday that the crop of athletes that make up Team GB for London 2012 are ‘the best prepared’ in Olympic history.
With the opening ceremony for London 2012 taking place next Friday, Moynihan was speaking at a press conference in East London; and the chairman reckons that the 542-strong Team GB is aiming to land fourth place in the medals list.
"Performance is at a level never seen before," Moynihan told the BBC, adding that the team is "the best prepared and best supported in Olympic history".
"Our aspirational goal is to match Beijing and come fourth, but nobody should be under any illusions how tough an assignment it will be," he continued.
And Moynihan pointed to the success of Bradley Wiggins, who seems certain to claim glory at the Tour De France on Sunday, as a parallel for how Team GB has been organised this year.
“We've been on a long journey and it is appropriate that Bradley Wiggins is closing in on an outstanding success,” the one-time UK Minister for Sport under Margeret Thatcher explained.
"His cycling team is not a team of stars but a star team, and that is the type of approach we have taken to in building this Team GB for the Games."
And Elite performance director of the BOA Sir Clive Woodward also stressed the level of intensity that had gone into the host nation’s preparations. “We've spent three years preparing for this and we are looking forward to the start," said Woodward.
"It's incredibly competitive but we've prepared the athletes as much as we can on what it will be like to compete at a home Olympics so they can perform to the best of their ability."
Bradley Wiggins set to be crowned Tour de France champion
Steve Colton
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