Summary England has won in cycling, tennis, golf, rugby or cricket ahead of London Games anniversary.
LONDON (AP) - A year after Britain s golden Olympic summer of 2012, the country is basking in yet another run of global sporting success.
Whether it be in cycling, tennis, golf, rugby or cricket, athletes and teams from Britain or England have made this another summer to savor just as the nation prepares to mark the anniversary of the London Games this week.
Britain s sporting surge started a year ago when Bradley Wiggins became the first British rider to win the Tour. Then came the London Games, where the host nation raked in 29 gold medals and 65 overall to finish third in the table and piled up another 120 medals at the Paralympics.
With British sport seeming to feed off the momentum of 2012, the last few months have brought a flurry of new achievements on the playing fields:
Justin Rose became the first English golfer to win the US Open since Tony Jacklin in 1970.
Andy Murray won Wimbledon, finally ending Britain s quest for its first men s champion at the All England Club since Fred Perry in 1936. Murray also won the US Open in September.
The British & Irish Lions won their first rugby test series against Australia in 16 years.
England has won the first two tests of the Ashes cricket series against Australia.
Sunday had offered British fans the tantalizing possibility of an improbable trifecta: victories in the Tour de France, the Ashes test and the British Open golf championship. It was close, but not to be.
Froome crossed the finish line on the Champs-Elysees in Paris with the yellow jersey as Britain s second consecutive Tour de France champion.
England crushed Australia by 347 runs at Lord s to take a 2-0 lead in the five-test series. But England s Lee Westwood, who started the final round of the British Open at Muirfield with a two-shot lead, couldn t hold up his end of the bargain. He faded down the stretch as Phil Mickelson claimed the claret jug.
British bookmakers are jumping on the bandwagon: Ladbrokes offers odds of 50-1 that England will sweep the Ashes series 5-0, Murray will successfully defend his US Open title and a British golfer will win the PGA Championship.
The England men s team lies second behind Montenegro in its qualifying group for next year s World Cup in Brazil. While England is likely to qualify, it is not considered a top contender for a title it has only won once at home in 1966.
And if there is one championship that England covets above all others, it is the World Cup. Yet, overall, there is a sense that Britain is flying high and the image of the lovable loser is over.
One of the keys to Britain s upsurge has been money. Funding from the National Lottery has poured tens of millions of dollars into elite sports programs. Sports science has also played a part. Cycling, in particular, has used high-tech training methods to turn Britain into a power on the track and on the road.
The burst of pride comes ahead of a series of events marking the Olympic anniversary. A Diamond League track and field meet featuring the return of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and British gold medalists Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis will be held at the Olympic Stadium on Friday and Saturday, the first competition at the flagship venue since the games.
Britain hopes to recreate some of the magic of a year ago, but is determined to make sure the much talked about "legacy" is not short lived.
Overshadowing the sporting euphoria Monday was news that Kate, the wife of Prince William, had gone into labor. But the bookies could even find a sports angle in the royal baby stakes.
"As for our future king or queen, it s a 5,000-1 shot they play professional football, cricket or rugby for England," Ladbrokes said. "It s only 100-1 that the heir to the throne participates for Britain at any future Olympic Games."
