No country had ever increased their medal tally at the Games after hosting until Team GB did just that in Rio a decade ago.
After the highs of London 2012, the bar had been raised to almost unprecedented levels, but somehow, GB athletes managed to clear it.
Over the course of 16 days in the shadow of Mount Corcovado, a total of 67 medals were won, two more than London, including gold medals in 15 different sports, the most of any nation.
That was enough for second on the medal table behind the United States, with history made in a trio of sports, golf, gymnastics and diving, as Team GB won its first gold medals in those sports.
Ten years on from the success of Rio, here are some of the highlights:
Here come the girls
The post-Atlanta era produced levels of consistent success not seen in a century but the one thing that had previously eluded Team GB was a team sport gold medal.
But that changed in the most dramatic of circumstances in Rio, as Maddie Hinch’s heroics paved the way for women’s hockey gold.
It was the first time in 28 years that Team GB had won a gold medal in a team sport, the men’s hockey team having been the last to do so in Seoul 88.
For those back in the UK, the drama of the final against the Netherlands will go down as one of the abiding memories of those Games, as Kate Richardson-Walsh captained them to gold four years after she had recovered from a broken jaw to win bronze in London.
The women’s hockey team was far from the only female success for Team GB, as Laura Trott – who would become Laura Kenny immediately after the Games – won team pursuit and omnium gold to take her tally to four and become the most decorated female athlete in Team GB’s history.
She was one of four British women who successfully defended their Olympic titles, a feat never previously achieved.
Jade Jones, Nicola Adams and Charlotte Dujardin also backed up their London successes, in taekwondo, boxing and dressage respectively.
Dominating the velodrome
Team GB topped the medal table in five different sports, but one stood out from the rest.
In the velodrome, they were unstoppable, winning a remarkable 11 medals including six golds, while Chris Froome brought the cycling tally up to a round dozen with his men’s time trial bronze.
Jason Kenny won a hat-trick of golds, in the keirin, individual sprint and team sprint, moving level with Sir Chris Hoy for the most gold medals by a Team GB athlete – he went clear on his own five years later in Tokyo.
Meanwhile, Sir Bradley Wiggins returned to the track after his exploits on the road four years previously, joining forces with Ed Clancy, Stephen Burke and Owain Doull to claim team pursuit gold, his fifth Olympic triumph and eighth medal overall, the latter a record at the time.
There was also a long-awaited first Olympic medal for Mark Cavendish, the legendary sprinter on the road bringing home silver in the men’s omnium.
Breaking new ground
Rio will be remembered for the medal rush in existing strongholds, but it also marked a breakthrough in a trio of sports.
In London, Team GB’s gymnasts had won four medals including team and pommel horse medals for Max Whitlock.
And he followed that up with an historic performance in Rio where he won Team GB’s first-ever gymnastics gold medal, before doing it again less than two hours later. The historic first gold came on the floor before he completed a one-two ahead of Louis Smith on the pommel horse – Smith’s third individual Olympic medal.
Like Smith, Tom Daley had been the trailblazer in his sport before seeing someone else claim that elusive first diving gold.
Jack Laugher and Chris Mears combined to win 3m synchro gold, with Laugher then following that up with silver in the 3m springboard, which remains the best-ever placing by a British diver in an individual event.
And completing the hat-trick of new sport golds, Justin Rose claimed the first gold medal in golf 112 years, and the first-ever for Team GB, when he triumphed in Barra da Tijuca, making the first hole-in-one in Olympic history along the way.
Encores after London
With 18 of the 29 gold medals from London successfully defended, there was no question that Team GB had been able to kick on from hosting the Games.
Some of those triumphs were particularly resonant, as Andy Murray became the first person ever to retain an Olympic tennis singles title.
In an epic final, Murray got the better of Juan Martin del Potro in the final, four years after his emotional victory at Wimbledon to win his first Olympic gold medal.
Mo Farah completed the 'double double' on the track as he won 5000m and 10000m gold to become Team GB’s most successful athlete at the Olympics.
And there was also history for Alistair Brownlee, who became the first triathlete to successfully defend an Olympic title.
He did so ahead of younger brother Jonny, realising that his sibling was starting to struggle on the run and pouncing to race clear for gold.
Birth of a superstar
There are countless other stories to tell, including Nick Skelton’s showjumping gold that made him Team GB’s oldest Olympic gold medallist in 108 years.
But in the pool, one man stood taller than the rest. Adam Peaty (now Ramsay-Peaty) was already the world record holder over both 50m and 100m breaststroke, and with only the latter an Olympic event, he lowered his own best time in the heats.
In an absolute class of his own, Peaty set another world record in the final, touching home in 57.13 seconds, more than a second and a half clear of the field to claim his first Olympic gold medal and the first by a British male swimmer since Adrian Moorhouse in Seoul, also in the 100m breaststroke.
Peaty was also part of the men’s 4x100m medley relay team that won silver, and kicked on from his Rio success with further world titles, world records and two more Olympic gold medals in Tokyo, making him the most decorated swimmer for Team GB with six medals in all.
Sportsbeat 2026