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Olympics: Team GB's most decorated female Olympians including Laura Kenny & Rebecca Adlington

Great Britain's athletes have enjoyed a golden age of success at the last four Olympic Games, finishing fourth on the medals table at Beijing in 2008, third on home soil in London in 2012, second four years later in Rio de Janeiro and fourth at the most recent Games in Tokyo.

Some of Britain's most successful female Olympians have emerged in that time across a number of different sports.

Here's a rundown of the eight most decorated female Olympic athletes in Team GB's history.

Olympics

1 - Laura Kenny

Track cycling
- Five gold medals
- One silver medal

Over three Games, track cyclist Dame Laura Rebecca Kenny (nee Trott) has become one of the greatest British Olympians in history.

Kenny took up the sport alongside her sister and mother, who had started cycling in order to lose weight, and quickly rose through the ranks.

An Olympics debut at London 2012 as a 20-year-old yielded gold in both the team pursuit and multi-discipline omnium - titles she went on to successfully defend in Rio de Janeiro four years later.

Kenny, who is married to fellow Olympic cyclist Jason, gave birth to her first child in August 2017 but returned to the velodrome for the 2020 Games in Tokyo and won two more medals.

She took home silver in the team pursuit before claiming the fifth Olympic gold of her career in the Madison with long-time ally Katie Archibald.

2 - Charlotte Dujardin

Equestrian
- Three gold medals
- One silver medal
- Two bronze medals

Like Kenny, eventer Charlotte Dujardin has also collected six medals from three Olympics appearances.

Gold in both the team and individual dressage disciplines at London 2012 was followed by another gold in the individual and silver in the team event in Rio four years later.

Dujardin's first four medals were all won on the great Valegro, who was retired at the end of 2016.

Five years later in Tokyo, Dujardin was back for more with Gio, with whom she won bronze in both the individual and team events, and she heads to Paris this year with the chance to overhaul Kenny as Team GB's most successful female Olympian of all-time.

3 - Katherine Grainger

Rowing
- One gold medal
- Four silver medals

Dame Katherine Grainger's association with the Olympic Games goes back to Sydney in 2000, when she won silver in the quadruple sculls.

The rower came second again in both 2004 in Athens (Coxless pair) and Beijing in 2008 (Quadruple sculls), before her crowning glory on the waters of Eton Dorney in 2012.

Alongside Anna Watkins, Grainger stormed to victory at her home Games in the double sculls to joyous scenes. 

The Scot couldn't quite follow up in Rio, finishing second with Victoria Thornley in the same event.

Since retiring from rowing, Grainger has been the chair of UK Sport since April 2017.

4 - Kathleen McKane Godfree

Tennis
- One gold medal
- Two silver medals
- Two bronze medals

Tennis player Kathleen "Kitty" McKane Godfree was a two-time Wimbledon singles champion and also won five doubles Grand Slam titles during a distinguished career.

Her five Olympic medals were won at only two Games, taking home gold in the women's doubles, silver in the mixed doubles and singles bronze at the 1920 Games in Antwerp, before claiming doubles silver and bronze in the singles once again in Paris four years later.

5 - Rebecca Adlington

Swimming
- Two gold medal
- Two bronze medals

Cyclist Kenny and eventer Dujardin are the only female British athletes to have won more Olympics golds than swimmer Rebecca Adlington, who claimed double gold at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

The Mansfield-native became the first British woman to win an Olympic title since Anita Lonsbrough in 1960 in the 400m freestyle and then the first Brit, either male or female, to claim more than one gold at the same Olympics in a century when she followed up in the 800m.

Adlington came third in both events four years later at London 2012.

6 - Christine Ohuruogu

Athletics
- One gold medal
- One silver medal
- Two bronze medals

Londoner Christine Ohuruogu became Britain's first female Olympic champion in the 400m in 2008. 

In winning gold in Beijing, where she produced a trademark late surge to beat pre-race favourites Sanya Richards and Shericka Williams, Ohuruogu claimed Britain's 50th medal in athletics at the Olympics. 

Richards gained her revenge in front of Ohuruogu's home crowd in London four years later as the latter was forced to settle for silver.

In addition to her success in the individual event, Ohuruogu also claimed two bronze medals in the 4x400m relay in 2008 and 2016.

7 - Ginny Elliott

Equestrian
- Two silver medals
- Two bronze medals

Eventer Ginny Elliott (nee Holgate, formerly Leng) was a three-time world champion but couldn't quite make the top spot on the podium at an Olympic Games.

Elliott still won four medals, claiming team silver and individual bronze at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles and in Seoul four years later.

8 - Joyce Cooper

Swimming
- One silver medal
- Three bronze medals

Swimmer Joyce Cooper claimed three medals at the 1928 Games in Amsterdam - one silver and two bronzes - and added a fourth to her collection in the form of relay bronze in Los Angeles in 1932.

Olympics

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