The host country of the London 2012 Games came into the Olympics with high expectations. As host country, the United Kingdom had the opportunity to allow the most athletes to participate of any of the two-hundred-plus participating nations. Immediately after the opening ceremonies finished, both the United States and China established themselves at the top of the medal table. Three days into the games, the UK still lacked a gold medal. Enter stage left: national hero Bradley Wiggins.
If Bradley Wiggins wasn’t already immortalized by the British people before 2012, he certainly is now. A 32-year-old professional cyclist affectionately referred to as “Wiggo,” Wiggins is the face of British professional cycling.
On August 1st, led by a fearless Wiggins (pictured above), the UK finally broke through to join the select group of countries to earn a gold medal. Wiggins was the champion of the 44-kilometer Mens Time Trial, winning by a margin of 44 seconds over the defending world champion German Tony Martin (Fotheringham).
I make sure to give credit where credit is due, and in this case I have to admit that Wiggins did not win the first gold for the host country. Just a few hours earlier, the women’s rowing pair of Helen Glover and Heather Stanning broke through to strike gold for the Brits (Kemp). However, the Wiggins story goes further than standing on the highest step of a podium.
Wiggins entered the Olympics this year already a national hero. Just a month earlier he became the first man from the United Kingdom to ever wear cycling’s most coveted crown: the maillot jaune of the Tour de France. A country proud of its cycling tradition, the Brits never broke through on the world’s biggest stage until Wiggins in 2012.
This breakthrough on top of his performance at the 2008 games. In Beijing, Wiggo took home two golds, to add on to his total of four medals from the 2000 and 2004 games (wikipedia.org). With his victory this year, Wiggins is now considered by many to be the greatest British Olympian of all time, in addition to the greatest cyclist in the country’s long history.
Overall, this August 1st was a day of celebration for the UK. A day to celebrate victory in the country’s greatest showcase, and a day to celebrate the fantastic career of a British sporting legend. It was days like these, were past met present, where the 2012 Olympics were defined, and inspired the generation of the future.
Photo Credit: http://www.kilburntimes.co.uk/
“Bradley Wiggins.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Web. 19 Sep. 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/Bradley_Wiggins/
Fotheringham, William. “Bradley Wiggins wins trial gold to become Britan’s most prolific Olympian.” The Guardian. 1 August 2012. Web. 19 Sep. 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/aug/01/bradley-wiggins-gold-medal-olympian
Kemp, Stuart. “London 2012: Britan Wins First Gold in Front of Royal Audience.” The Hollywood Reporter. 1 August 2012. Web. 19 Sep. 2012. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/london-2012-britain-wins-first-357231