Golden Towns: Exploring the hometown heroes of Team GB’s Gold Medal winners

New research from Barratt London reveals which towns and cities across the UK have produced the most Gold medallists.

The Welsh capital Cardiff has produced the most Gold medals throughout the history of the games with 10 in total.
Swinton in Greater Manchester has produced the most Gold medals in the Paralympic games, with Mike Kenny single-handedly bringing 16 medals home thanks to his heroic efforts in the pool.
London is the regional champion with 78 medals, followed by Manchester with 30, and Hampshire with 13.
Greater Manchester comes out on top for Paralympic medals with 50, followed by Fife with 30 and London with 25.
New research from Barratt London explores which town and cities have won the most Gold medals in both the Olympic and Paralympic games. By using data from the likes of Olympedia and Wikipedia, Barratt London have traced the birthplaces of our heroic athletes to see where in the UK has produced the most stars. It has split the data by city, region, and sport to celebrate Team GB’s inspiring performances since the games were first introduced in 1896.

Britain’s Golden Towns: Olympics

1st – Cardiff, 10 Golds
2nd – Edinburgh, 8 Golds
3rd – Wimbledon, 7 Golds
Cardiff is the Gold winning capital of the UK, with ten altogether. Four of these have come from cycling events, with Elinor Barker, Geraint Thomas, and Owain Doull all winning top prizes. Paul Radmilovic has also brought three Golds back to Cardiff thanks to his efforts in the men’s water polo.

Edinburgh comes in second place with eight Golds, with Sir Chris Hoy winning six of these during over the course of a 12-year period between 2000 and 2012. Alan Wells and Sophie Hosking have also won a medal in the 100-metre sprint and rowing respectively.

True to its tennis routes, Wimbledon comes in third place with seven Golds, thanks to performances from the likes of Hugh Doherty and Reggie Doherty in tennis events.

Britain’s Golden Towns: Paralympics

1st – Swinton, 16 Golds
2nd – Eccles, 14 Golds
3rd – Cheddleton, Llantwit Fardre, Peterborough, 11 Golds
Swinton’s very own Mike Kenny is responsible for bringing all 16 Golds home thanks to wins in a variety of swimming events.

Next up is Eccles, with Sarah Storey and Sarah Bailey winning multiple Golds across cycling and swimming events.

Three cities tied for third place. 11-time Gold winner Lee Pearson hails from Cheddleton, with medals across equestrian events. David Roberts is responsible for bringing 11 medals back to Llantwit Fardre. As for Peterborough, Christopher Holmes has earned 9 Golds in swimming events over the course of his Paralympic appearances. James Fox and Matt Skelhon have also won a medal in rowing and shooting respectively.

Regional Champions: Olympics

1st – London, 78 Golds
2nd – Greater Manchester, 30 Golds
3rd – Hampshire, 13 Golds
Having been on hosting duties a record three times, it’s no surprise to see that Londoners have picked up the most Golds for Team GB, with icons such as Daley Thompson, Lord Sebastian Coe and Christine Ohurugu all hailing from the city.

Greater Manchester takes silver when it comes to Golds for Britain, with the likes of Jason Kenny, Kate Richardson-Walsh and Charles Sydney Smith coming from the region.

Hampshire takes Bronze, with Arthur Wentworth Gore and Clarence Kingsbury each bringing home 2 Golds in tennis and cycling respectively.

Regional Champions: Paralympics

1st – Greater Manchester, 50 Golds
2nd – Fife, 30 Golds
3rd – London, 25 Golds
Greater Manchester has seen 50 Gold medals brought home over the course of the Paralympic games, with top spots claimed for judo, snooker, archery, and many others.

Next up is Scotland’s Fife, with hometown heroes James Anderson, Aileen Harper and David Stone all hailing from the area.

In third place is London, where an impressive performance from David Weir in the 2008 and 2012 games saw him win six Gold medals.

By Sport: Olympics

London has won the most Golds when it comes to Athletics with 14 Golds. Banaadir in Somalia also makes the list in third place with the iconic Mo Farah being born here before moving to the UK at the age of eight. His historic wins have earned him 4 Golds since his first Olympics.

As for the Cycling, Greater Manchester has won the most Golds for this category, with Lothian and London tied for second place with six each. Glamorgan and Flanders are in third place with five each. Flanders makes the list thanks to the efforts of Sir Bradley Wiggins, who was born in the Belgian region in 1980.

London is also the capital of Rowing, with 14 Gold medal wins across these events since the first games. Buckinghamshire takes second place with eight, and Norfolk in third place with four.

By Sport: Paralympics

Fife takes the top spot when it comes to Athletics with 14 Golds, with triple wins from both Colin Keay and Aileen Harper helping to secure the top spot. West Yorkshire and Northumberland also fared well, with 11 and 9 Golds respectively.

The Greater Manchester area was number one for Cycling, with Sarah Storey brining eight Gold medals home between 2008 and 2016. West Yorkshire comes in second place with seven, and Lancashire and Cheshire tying for third place with three.

Greater Manchester also topped the rankings for Swimming, with an impressive 27 Gold medals won thanks to the efforts of athletes like Mike Kenny and Sarah Bailey. Fife, West Midlands, and Northamptonshire also performed well in these events taking second place and tying for third respectively.