Team GB can make history in Rio, says Chef de Mission Mark England
By Allan Valente
Last Updated: 02/08/16 8:43am
Chef de Mission Mark England says he is keen to see Team GB create a "new generation of heroes" as they aim to make history at the Rio Olympics.
The team is taking shape out in Brazil with more athletes arriving on Monday, and they are aiming to record their best result at an away Games by topping the 47 medals won at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
With just four days to go until the Games get underway, England says he is confident they can beat that in Rio.
"We are here to make history. We think we have got the best ever chance, we think we have got the most talented team that has ever been to an away Games and it is certainly the largest team we have taken away for over a quarter of a century since Barcelona in 1992," he said.
"We are 366 strong and each and every one of those athletes has a very good chance of doing something special out here.
"I think we have got every chance of making history, making more than those 47 medals and just bringing back a new generation of heroes. We've got a new crop of athletes in the team but we have got over 60 medallists from London so there is a very strong balance.
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"We have got a seven-time Olympian in the team, we have got six-time Olympians, five-time Olympians. There is strength in depth in the team just in terms of its Olympic pedigree and understanding of what it is like to go to an away Games and compete among the best athletes in the world is really important for us and we are pulling together really strongly."
More British athletes have been arriving on Monday and by the end of the evening, 200 competitors from Team GB will be in Rio, with some having described the facilities there as the best they have seen.
England told Sky Sports News HQ: "Chris Froome comes in, Sir Bradley Wiggins comes in, so that is a lot of excitement, the Murray brothers arrive in Rio today.
"There has been a lot of noise around the village about preparations and we have got our marigolds on and we've had our plumbing kit brought in and we've just cracked on with the job and Louis Smith said 'this is the best village we've ever been in'. It is absolutely fantastic.
"We have got control of one big tower block - that's just Great Britain in there and we have done a lot of good stuff in there. So as the athletes arrive from preparation camp they have really been impressed with what we have done and it is a real home from home for them. It's fantastic."
