Great Britain at the 1908 Summer Olympics
[United Kingdom of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain], represented by the British Olympic Association, competed as the host nation of the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The British Olympic Association was the National Olympic Committee responsible for organising the United Kingdom's representation. At the time British and Irish athletes competed under the team name "United Kingdom". The British team comprised 676 competitors.
It was the fourth appearance of the country, which has not missed any of the Summer Olympic Games. The country finished in the Olympic table in first place for the first and only time in its history. The Men's field hockey on the 31st of October is the last time that Great Britain swept the medal podium at an Olympics, as of 2022.
Results by event
Archery
In the archery competition, the British team dominated the two events popular in their country, winning both championships and second places as well as one third place, losing only a single bronze medal to the United States. British women were the only ones to compete in the women's event. Great Britain had 41 archers present, 25 women and 16 men; they totalled 42 entries over all three events held.Brother and sister William and Lottie Dod took gold and silver medals, Queenie Newall taking the women's gold to become the oldest female gold medallist in Olympic history, and the only Irish woman present at the 1908 Games won the women's bronze medal.
The British did not do as well in the Continental style, dominated by the French team, with the only Briton taking 12th place. Robert Backhouse, however, shot a score in a friendly demonstration that would have placed him second had he been in actual competition.
Athletics
The British team was the second most successful team in athletics. With 7 first-place finishes, they gathered less than half the championships that the American team did at 16, but still nearly doubled all other teams combined.Jumping
Throwing
Boxing
Great Britain dominated the boxing competitions, taking 14 of the 15 medals including all 5 gold medals.Cycling
Great Britain won 5 of a possible 7 gold medals in the cycling competitions, losing only the men's tandem to France and the men's sprint by exceeding the time limit.Fencing
Great Britain took second in the men's team épée competition, with Montgomerie also making it into a three-way playoff for 2nd, 3rd and 4th places in the individual event despite having been nearly eliminated in both the second round and the semifinals. His bottom placing in that playoff gave France a sweep of the medals. The British were less successful in sabre, with no fencers making it to the final in the individual competition and the team being eliminated in the first round.Figure skating
| Event | Place | Skater | Score |
| Men's singles | 4th | Keiller Greig | 310.9 |
| Men's singles | 5th | Albert March | 232.0 |
| Men's singles | — | Herbert Yglesias | Did not finish |
| Men's special figures | 2nd | Arthur Cumming | 32.8 |
| Men's special figures | 3rd | Geoffrey Hall-Say | 20.8 |
| Ladies' singles | 1st | Madge Syers | 252.5 |
| Ladies' singles | 3rd | Dorothy Greenhough-Smith | 192.1 |
| Ladies' singles | 5th | Gwendoline Lycett | 164.0 |
| Pair skating | 2nd | Phyllis Johnson James H. Johnson | 10.3 |
| Pair skating | 3rd | Madge Syers Edgar Syers | 9.6 |
Football
England national amateur football team represented Great Britain in the football competition.| Event | Place | Players | First round | Semifinals | Final | Bronze match |
| Men's football | 1st | Horace Bailey, Arthur Berry, Frederick Chapman, Walter Corbett, Harold Hardman, Robert Hawkes, Kenneth Hunt, Herbert Smith, Harold Stapley, Clyde Purnell, Vivian Woodward | Won vs. Sweden 12-1 | Won vs. Netherlands 4-0 | Won vs. Denmark 2-0 | Not relegated |
Gymnastics
| Gymnast | Event | Score | Rank |
| S. Walter Tysall | Men's all-around | 312 | |
| Samuel Hodgetts | Men's all-around | 266 | 6 |
| Edward Potts | Men's all-around | 252.5 | 9 |
| George Bailey | Men's all-around | 246 | 12 |
| Franklin Dick | Men's all-around | 233.5 | 16 |
| Arthur Hodges | Men's all-around | 252.5 | 16 |
| William Watters | Men's all-around | 225.5 | 23 |
| James Graham | Men's all-around | 225 | 24 |
| Joseph Cook | Men's all-around | 213 | 31 |
| G. Meade | Men's all-around | 205 | 37 |
| Edgar Dyson | Men's all-around | 195.5 | 42 |
| Sidney Domville | Men's all-around | 193.75 | 45 |
| Robert Hanley | Men's all-around | 193.5 | 46 |
| John Watters | Men's all-around | 187.5 | 48 |
| William Fergus | Men's all-around | 183.5 | 51 |
| Edmund Aspinall | Men's all-around | 177 | 56 |
| C. H. Smith | Men's all-around | 171.5 | 58 |
| Oliver Bauscher | Men's all-around | 149.5 | 73 |
| A. V. Ford | Men's all-around | 141.5 | 79 |
| Leonard Hanson | Men's all-around | 121 | 85 |
| Event | Place | Gymnast | Score |
| Men's team | 8th | Percy Baker, William Barrell, Robert Bonney, Henry Cattley, Mellor Clay, Edward Clough, James Cotterell, William Cowhig, G. C. Cullen, Frank Denby, Herbert Drury, W. Fitt, Harry Gill, Arthur Harley, Albert Hawkins, William Hoare, J. A. Horridge, Henry Huskinson, J. W. Jones, E. Justice, N. J. Keighley, Robert Laycock, Robert McGaw, J. McPhail, W. Manning, W. G. Merrifield, Charles Oldaker, G. Parrott, E. Parsons, Edward Richardson, Irven Robertshaw, George Ross, David Scott, J. F. Simpson, Walter Skeeles, Joshua Speight, Herbert Stell, C. V. Sederman, William Titt, Charles Vigurs, Enos Walton, H. Waterman, Edgar Watkins, John Whitaker, F. Whitehead | 196 |
Hockey
Great Britain sent four teams, one from each of the Home Nations. Scotland and England defeated Germany and France, respectively, in the first round before facing each other in the semifinals. Their victories assured them medals, while Ireland and Wales had been guaranteed medals by receiving byes in the first round. England won in the semifinal against Scotland, while Ireland defeated Wales in the other semifinal. The two losing teams received bronze medals, while England took the gold by winning the final against Ireland, who received silver.Jeu de paume
In the jeu de paume competition, British players took the silver and bronze medals.Lacrosse
Great Britain lost the only lacrosse match played in 1908 to Canada, earning the silver medal.| Event | Place | Players | Final |
| Men's lacrosse | 2nd | Gustav Alexander, J. Alexander, L. Blockey, George Buckland, Eric Dutton, V. G. Gilbey, S. N. Hayes, Frank S. Johnson, Wilfrid Johnson, Edward Jones, Reginald Martin, Gerald Mason, G. J. Mason, Johnson Parker-Smith, Hubert Ramsay, Charles Scott, H. Shorrocks, Norman Whitley | Lost vs. Canada 14-10 |
Polo
Great Britain was the only nation to compete in polo in 1908, with two English teams and an Irish team competing.| Event | Place | Players | Match 1 | Match 2 |
| Men's polo | 1st | Roehampton Charles Darley Miller, George Arthur Miller, Patteson Womersley Nickalls, Herbert Haydon Wilson | Defeated Hurlingham 3-1 | Defeated Ireland 8-1 |
| Men's polo | 2nd | Hurlingham Club Walter Buckmaster, Frederick Freake, Walter Jones, John Wodehouse | Lost to Roehampton 3-1 | Bye |
| Men's polo | 2nd | Ireland John Hardress Lloyd, John Paul McCann, Percy O'Reilly, Auston Rotherham | Bye | Lost to Roehampton 8-1 |
Rackets
The host nation was the only one to compete in rackets in 1908.Rugby
Great Britain lost the only rugby union match played in 1908 to Australasia, earning the silver medal. The British representative was the Cornwall county team, which had won the 1907 county championships.| Event | Place | Players | Final |
| Men's rugby union | 2nd | John Jackett, J. C. Solomon, Bertram Solomon, Frederick Dean, J. T. Jose, Thomas Wedge, James Davey, Richard Jackett, E. J. Jones, Arthur Wilson, Nicholas Tregurtha, A. Lawrey, C. R. Marshall, A. Wilcocks, John Trevaskis | Lost vs. Australasia 32-3 |
Sailing
Great Britain took all four of the sailing gold medals, without contest in the cases of the 7 metre class and the 12 metre class.| Class | Place | Boat | Sailors |
| 6 metre | 1st | Dormy | Gilbert Laws, Thomas McMeekin, Charles Crichton |
| 6 metre | 4th | Sibindi | Johan Leuchars, Wilfrid Leuchars, Frank Smith |
| 7 metre | 1st | Heroine | Charles Rivett-Carnac, Richard Dixon, Norman Bingley, Frances Rivett-Carnac |
| 8 metre | 1st | Cobweb | Blair Cochrane, Arthur Wood, Henry Sutton, John Rhodes, Charles Campbell |
| 8 metre | 3rd | Sorais | Philip Hunloke, Alfred Hughes, Frederick Hughes, George Ratsey, William Ward |
| [Sailing at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Sailing at the 1908 Summer Olympics – 12 metre class|12 metre class|12 metre] | 1st | Hera | T. C. Glen Coats, J. H. Downes, J. S. Aspin, John Buchanan, J. C. Bunten, A. D. Downes, David Dunlop, John Mackenzie, Albert Martin, Gerald Tait |
| 12 metre | 2nd | Mouchette | C. MacIver, J. G. Kenion, J. M. Adam, James Baxter, W. P. Davidson, J. F. Jellico, T. A. R. Littledale, C. R. MacIver, C. Macleod Robertson, J. F. D. Spence |
Shooting
Tennis
Great Britain took all 6 gold medals in the lawn tennis competitions in 1908.Tug of war
Great Britain sent three police teams to compete in tug of war in 1908. They took the three medals, with the Liverpool police eliminating both foreign entrants. The City of London team defeated the Metropolitan police in the other semifinal, going on to defeat the Liverpool squad in the final. The Metropolitan team won the bronze medal by default when the Swedes did not appear for the bronze match.| Event | Place | Athletes | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final |
| Tug of war | 1st | City of London Police Edward Barrett, Henry Duke, Frederick W. Goodfellow, Frederick H. Humphreys, William Hirons, Albert Ireton, Frederick Merriman, Edwin A. Mills, John James Shepherd | Bye | Defeated Metropolitan Police "K" Division | Defeated Liverpool Police |
| Tug of war | 2nd | Liverpool Police James M. Clarke, Thomas Butler, Charles Foden, William Greggan, Alexander Kidd, Daniel McDonald Lowey, Patrick Philbin, George Smith, Thomas Swindlehurst | Defeated United States | Defeated Sweden | Lost to City of London Police |
| Tug of war | 3rd | Metropolitan Police "K" Division Walter Chaffe, Joseph Dowler, Ernest W. Ebbage, Thomas Homewood, Alexander Munro, William Slade, Walter B. Tammas, T. J. Williams, James Woodget | Bye | Lost to City of London Police | Did not advance |
Water motorsports
Great Britain had a boat finish in each of two races in the water motorsports competitions, thereby winning two gold medals in the midst of a gale. No British boat finished in the third race, leaving the final gold medal to France, which competed only in the open class.| Event | Place | Boat | Sailors | Result |
| Class A — Open class | — | Wolseley-Siddely | Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster George Clowes Joseph Frederick Laycock G. H. Atkinson | Race cancelled Ran aground |
| Class A — Open class | — | Dylan | Thomas Scott-Ellis, 8th Baron Howard de Walden A. G. Fentiman | Retired, race cancelled Did not start |
| Class B — Under 60 feet | 1st | Gyrinus | Isaac Thomas Thornycroft Bernard Redwood John Field-Richards | Finished |
| Class B — Under 60 feet | — | Quicksilver | John Marshall Gorham Mrs. Gorham | Did not finish |
| Class C — 6.5–8 metres | 1st | Gyrinus | Thomas Thornycroft Bernard Redwood | Finished |
| Class C — 6.5–8 metres | — | Sea Dog | Warwick Wright Thomas Weston | Did not finish |
Water polo
| Event | Place | Water poloists | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final |
| Men's water polo | 1st | George Cornet, Charles Forsyth, George Nevinson, Paul Radmilovic, Charles Sydney Smith, Thomas Thould, George Wilkinson | Bye | Bye | Defeated Belgium 9-2 |