The Debate: Who is Britain's greatest Olympian?

Since the Olympic Movement was founded in 1896, the Olympic Games has witnessed an abundance of remarkable British athletes.

From athletics to swimming, cycling to rowing, some of the greatest Olympic accomplishments have been achieved by those who hail from Great Britain.

We've been extremely spoilt with the vast number of exceptional British sporting stars and writers from the bet365 News team have attempted to answer the impossible and name Britain's greatest Olympian.

Sir Steve Redgrave is a true sporting heavyweight whose name will forever be etched in the annals of Olympic history

Mark Mothershaw

Steve Redgrave's remarkable rowing career transcends far more than mere medals.

Without doubt one of Team GB’s all-time greats, many will be unaware of the fact that the five-time Olympic gold medallist had to come through real adversity at the height of his illustrious career.

Having reigned supreme in Los Angeles in 1984, and then again in Seoul in 1988, hopes were high that Redgrave, together with Coxless pair partner Andrew Holmes, could go all the way once more in Barcelona in 1992.

But on the eve of the competition, Redgrave was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis - a debilitating and crippling illness that requires both immense courage and determination to simply live a normal life, let alone to manage and continue challenging for Olympic gold.

Time and success proved that the man from Marlow was cut from a different cloth to most, however.

A shining beacon of British sporting excellence, Redgrave somehow managed to navigate through one of the most turbulent and challenging periods of his personal life to deliver a third gold medal in Spain.

It was a remarkable achievement for an athlete whose participation at the Games was in genuine jeopardy just a matter of weeks before proceedings got underway on the picturesque Lake of Banyoles.

That triumph landed him his third of five Olympic gold medals, with others to follow in the Coxless pair at Atlanta 1996 and finally the Coxless four, alongside esteemed team members James Cracknell, Matthew Pinsent and Tim Foster, at the 2000 Games in Sydney.

His success Down Under culminated in him becoming the most successful rower in Olympic history, as well as further cementing his legacy by becoming the first male or female athlete to ever land gold medals in five separate Games in an endurance sport.

In a day and age where records are seemingly being broken more frequently than ever before, this remains one of the few that has stood the test of time.

His achievements, both on and off the water, have served to inspire generations of athletes, many of whom will be desperately hoping to emulate his success in Paris in the days ahead.

Sir Steve Redgrave is a true sporting heavyweight whose name will forever be etched in the annals of Olympic history, and somebody, who for me, should be regarded as Britain’s finest Olympian of all-time.

Sir Mo Farah's remarkable 'double-double' is one of the greatest achievements in British Olympic history

Jaquob Crooke

Mo Farah’s extraordinary journey to the pinnacle of distance running is one that will be revered for many decades to come and the manner of his Olympic accomplishments make his tale all the more special.

No British track and field athlete has won more Olympic medals and he etched his name into the annals of sporting greatness by completing the ‘double-double’, where Farah successfully defended his Olympics crown in the 5,000m and 10,000m events.

We had quite simply never seen anything like it.

Who could forget Super Saturday in 2012 as Farah, who had won 10,000m gold in fabulous fashion a week prior, charged down the home straight at the London Stadium with 80,000 people roaring him on?

Any worries of fatigue from his 10,000m exerts were banished as Farah executed his game plan perfectly, cementing his status as one of Britain’s greatest athletes with a second gold medal.

Farah won the hearts of the nation on that evening and he’s served as a constant source of inspiration ever since.

Though the years progressed and his opponents changed, it was still the same awe-inspiring Farah creating history at the Rio Olympics.

His two gold medal triumphs in Brazil were almost identical to his successes in London: content to sit back, before easing through the field and accelerating away on the final lap.

Farah was 33 at the time of his famous ‘double-double’ and yet he showed no vulnerability, no concern that his age may be catching up with him. He was still the frolicsome individual who was winning world titles and breaking British records five years before.

But it wasn’t just the Olympics where he excelled.

He was not beaten in a major final for six year, a stretch that saw him crowned a six-time world champion.

He dominated in the north east, winning six straight titles in the Great North Run.

He claimed a major marathon title by winning the Chicago Marathon, smashing the European record in the process.

The list of achievements is endless.

And who can forget the iconic ‘Mobot’? I imagine no other Olympian on this list has a trademark celebration of that ilk. Case closed.

The face of a golden age of British cycling success, Sir Chris Hoy's mixture of skill, strength and heart makes him the ultimate Olympian

James Wilson

“Hoy looks beaten.”

The famous words uttered in commentary as British cycling sensation Chris Hoy was overtaken on the final corner of his last ever Olympics race by German Maximilian Levy.

In desperate danger of losing out on a sixth Olympic gold medal in the men’s keirin final at London 2012, it would require superhuman strength for Hoy to retake the lead with the finish line in sight.

Thankfully, the Scotsman is superhuman, with Hoy finding one last burst of power in his famously gargantuan thighs to drag himself back in front and clinch gold in front of a vociferous velodrome crowd.

“I shut my eyes and I lunged and drove it all the way to the line. Then I heard this massive roar, and hoped it was for me,” the golden-haired Hoy said following an emotional last appearance on an Olympic podium.

This famous keirin triumph in London marked a dramatic end to a truly legendary career which saw the Edinburgh native claim six gold medals across four Summer Games for Great Britain.

First claiming silver in the team sprint in Sydney in 2000, Hoy would win his maiden Olympic gold medal in the one kilometre time trial in Athens in 2004.

It was in Beijing in 2008 where Hoy’s legend was truly born, with ‘The Flying Scotsman’ winning three gold medals in the best track cycling performance at a single Olympics of any male since American Marcus Hurley in 1904.

By the time of the memorable home Olympics in London in 2012, Hoy was a bonafide British sporting icon, selected to carry the Olympic Torch on behalf of Team GB at the event’s spectacular opening ceremony before winning the last two of his collection of six gold medals.

The face of a golden age of British cycling success alongside the likes of Jason Kenny, Bradley Wiggins and Laura Kenny, the great Hoy’s unparalleled mixture of skill, strength and heart sets him apart as the ultimate Team GB Olympian.