Chapter 4
Sport
The UK's most popular sports, the major events held each year, the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, and notable British sportsmen and women.
By the end you should know
- Know the years the UK has hosted the Olympic Games and where the Paralympics began
- Match famous sportspeople to their achievements
- Know which sports started in Britain and their main competitions
- Know where major events such as Wimbledon, the Grand National and Royal Ascot take place
Sport matters a great deal to many people in the UK. Big events are held at major stadiums such as Wembley Stadium in London and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff (renamed the Principality Stadium in 2016). Local councils and private companies provide swimming pools, tennis courts, football pitches, dry ski slopes and gyms. Cricket, football, lawn tennis, golf and rugby all began in Britain.
The Olympic and Paralympic Games
In which years has the UK hosted the Olympic Games?
Key factThree times: 1908, 1948 and 2012. The main 2012 site was in Stratford, East London, and the British team finished third in the medal table.
Where do the Paralympic Games have their origins?
Key factIn the work of Dr Sir Ludwig Guttmann, a German refugee, at Stoke Mandeville hospital in Buckinghamshire. He developed new treatments for people with spinal injuries and encouraged patients to do sport.
London hosted the 2012 Paralympic Games as well as the Olympics.
Notable British sportsmen and women
What is Sir Roger Bannister famous for?
In 1954 he became the first man in the world to run a mile in under four minutes.
Who was Bobby Moore?
The captain of the England football team that won the World Cup in 1966, a tournament hosted in the UK.
The handbook calls this England's only international tournament victory. That is still true of the men's team, but England's women's team has since won the European Championship (2022 and 2025).
What did Sir Steve Redgrave achieve?
He won rowing gold medals at five Olympic Games in a row and is one of Britain's greatest Olympians.
What did Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson achieve?
A wheelchair athlete, she won 16 Paralympic medals (11 of them gold) over five Paralympic Games, won the London Marathon six times and broke 30 world records.
What did Bradley Wiggins achieve in 2012?
The cyclist became the first Briton to win the Tour de France. The handbook says he has won seven Olympic medals, including golds in 2004, 2008 and 2012.
He won an eighth Olympic medal (team pursuit gold) in 2016, after the handbook was written.
What did Mo Farah achieve at the 2012 Olympics?
The Somali-born distance runner won gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres — the first Briton to win Olympic gold in the 10,000 metres.
What did Andy Murray achieve in 2012?
The Scottish tennis player won the men's singles at the US Open — the first British man to win a Grand Slam singles title since 1936. In the same year he won Olympic gold and silver and was runner-up at Wimbledon.
The handbook describes him as he was in 2012. He went on to win Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016.
- Sir Jackie Stewart — Scottish racing driver, Formula 1 world champion three times
- Sir Ian Botham — captained England at cricket; holds English Test records for both batting and bowling
- Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean — ice-dancing gold at the 1984 Olympics and four world championships in a row
- Dame Kelly Holmes — two running golds at the 2004 Olympics
- Dame Ellen MacArthur — yachtswoman; the handbook says that in 2004 she became the fastest person to sail single-handed round the world (her record voyage actually ended in February 2005)
- Sir Chris Hoy — Scottish cyclist with six Olympic golds and one silver, and 11 world titles
- David Weir — wheelchair Paralympian with six golds over two Paralympic Games; the handbook says he has won the London Marathon six times (he has since won it eight times)
- Jessica Ennis — 2012 Olympic gold in the heptathlon (seven track and field events)
- Ellie Simmonds — Paralympic swimming golds in 2008 and 2012; youngest member of the British team in 2008
Exam tip: questions often pair a person with a sport — Redgrave (rowing), Hoy and Wiggins (cycling), Ennis (heptathlon), Torvill and Dean (ice dancing), MacArthur (sailing), Stewart (Formula 1), Botham (cricket), Simmonds (swimming).
Cricket
Cricket is played in many countries but started in England. Its complicated laws are said to reflect British fair play, and phrases from the game — 'rain stopped play', 'a sticky wicket', 'playing a straight bat', 'bowled a googly', 'it's just not cricket' — are used in everyday speech.
What is the Ashes?
The most famous cricket competition: a series of Test matches between England and Australia.
Cricket began in England. A game can last up to five days and still end in a draw.
Football
The English Premier League has a huge international audience and many of the world's best players. UK clubs also play in European competitions such as the UEFA Champions League, and the national teams compete in the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championships. Many people play amateur football in parks every week.
What is the UK's most popular sport?
Football. The first professional clubs were formed in the late 19th century. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own leagues and national teams.
Rugby
What are the two types of rugby and their best-known competitions?
Rugby union and rugby league. The most famous union competition is the Six Nations (England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy); the Super League is the best-known league club competition.
Rugby began in England in the early 19th century. Northern Ireland plays together with the Irish Republic.
Horse racing
Horse racing has a long link with royalty, and there are racecourses all over the UK.
Where are the UK's famous horse-racing events held?
Royal Ascot — a five-day meeting in Berkshire attended by the Royal Family · the Grand National — Aintree, near Liverpool · the Scottish Grand National — Ayr
The National Horseracing Museum is in Newmarket, Suffolk. Racing in Britain goes back to Roman times.
Golf and tennis
Which place is known as the home of golf?
St Andrews in Scotland. Modern golf can be traced back to 15th-century Scotland.
The Open Championship is the only 'Major' held outside the USA; it moves to a different course each year.
What is special about the Wimbledon Championships?
Held every year at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, it is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and the only Grand Slam event played on grass.
Modern tennis evolved in England in the late 19th century; the first tennis club was founded in Leamington Spa in 1872.
Water sports, motor sports and skiing
Sailing reflects Britain's long history as a seafaring nation, and rowing is popular both for fun and in competition.
Which British sailors achieved famous round-the-world firsts?
Sir Francis Chichester was the first to sail single-handed around the world (1966/67). Two years later Sir Robin Knox-Johnston was the first to do it without stopping.
The most famous sailing event is at Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Oxford and Cambridge Universities hold a yearly rowing race on the Thames.
Motor-car racing in the UK began in 1902, and the UK is still a world leader in motor-sport technology. A Formula 1 Grand Prix is held in the UK every year; recent British world champions include Damon Hill, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. Skiing is increasingly popular: there are dry ski slopes across the UK, five ski centres in Scotland, and Europe's longest dry ski slope near Edinburgh.
Places to remember: Wimbledon (tennis, on grass), St Andrews (golf), Aintree near Liverpool (Grand National), Ascot in Berkshire (Royal Ascot), Ayr (Scottish Grand National), Cowes on the Isle of Wight (sailing), Stratford in East London (2012 Olympics), Stoke Mandeville (birthplace of the Paralympics).