In what has been an incomparable year for British sport, we congratulate every athlete who competed for Team GB and ParalympicsGB – along with their coaches, training partners and National Governing Body personnel – for their record-setting success at the London 2012 Games. Congratulations on being selected as Team of the Year at this year’s BBC Sport Personality of the Year Awards show.
Congratulations also to Bradley Wiggins on being honoured as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year; Dave Brailsford for receiving the 2012 Coach of the Year Award; and our new Chairman, Lord Sebastian Coe, who received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. The accomplishments of all the honourees and finalists are the result not only of remarkable talent, but the unwavering determination, drive and commitment that it takes to become a champion.
We also congratulate our colleagues and friends at the BBC for their coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games, which was crucial in providing fans throughout the United Kingdom with a direct connection to Team GB.
In 2012, as never before, we witnessed the unmatched power of sport to unite and inspire our nation. We felt a wave of support from every corner of the UK that lifted our country’s athletes to unprecedented heights of success. And within each of us, we rekindled the spirit of camaraderie, friendship and mutual understanding that is at the heart of the Olympic Games.
From the British Olympic Association and Team GB, to everyone who made 2012 a year none of us will ever forget, we offer our heartfelt congratulations and thank you.