The Royal Borough's top Olympic connections

It’s summer 2024 and for sports lovers, all eyes are on Paris for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.  It brings back happy memories of London 2012 and some of the Royal Borough’s even older Olympic connections!

Legoland Miniland Going for Gold scene! (image LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort)

Our attractions have been getting into the Olympic spirit!  If you are visiting The LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort this summer, drop by Miniland and check out their ‘Going for Gold’ scene!  This new display, a tribute to the British athletes arriving in Paris, took three model makers over 60 hours and 2,024 LEGO® bricks to create!

Olympic Torch leaving Windsor Castle (image Gill Heppell)

1. Memories of London 2012

Olympic fever came to the Royal Borough in the summer of 2012.  Prior to the games opening, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip welcomed the Olympic torch relay at their home, Windsor Castle before it was carried along the famous Long Walk in Windsor Great Park to the delight of the thousands of spectators that had flocked to see it.  Later the Olympic torch arrived at Ascot Racecourse and was carried on horseback by jockey Frankie Dettori.

Cosmo Sarson mural under Royal Windsor Way bridge (image Windsor & Eton PhotoArt)

Walk along the river between Windsor and Dorney Lake and you’ll be following in the footsteps of the many thousands of people who walked the ‘Olympic Way’ to watch the rowing, canoe sprint and paralympic rowing events taking part there.  You’ll still see artwork installations that were commissioned for London 2012, such as the striking black-and-white mural by Cosmo Sarson underneath the Royal Windsor Way Bridge and the thought-provoking Poetry Bridge over Cuckoo Weir.

Golden postbox in Maidenhead (image Windsor & Eton PhotoArt)

2. Golden postbox

Maidenhead has its own golden postbox to celebrate the three Gold medals won by Sophie Christiansen in the Paralympic equestrian events at Greenwich Park. Sophie, who was born in Ascot and lives in Maidenhead, takes her place alongside rower Katherine Gainger MBE, who won the Women’s Double Sculls Olympic rowing event at Dorney on 3 August 2012 along with her rowing partner Anna Watkins.  You’ll find the golden postbox at the junction of High Street and Park Street.

3. Three times for Windsor

The 2012 Games were the third time that the Olympic Games had been hosted by Great Britain and the third time events had taken place in Windsor.  In 1908 the marathon started at Windsor Castle; in 1948 the cycling took place in Windsor Great Park and in 2012 the rowing and canoe sprint events took place at Eton Dorney.

4. William Henry Grenfell, Lord Desborough

Local man, William Henry Grenfell, Lord Desborough, organised the 1908 Games.  He lived at Taplow Court near Maidenhead and his sporting accomplishments include rowing in the University boat race, rowing across the English Channel, climbing the Matterhorn by three different routes, winning the national putting championships, swimming across the bottom of Niagara Falls (twice) and winning a silver medal in fencing at the 1906 unofficial Olympics. He was elected an MP at 25, married an heiress, was Mayor of Maidenhead, became a peer in 1905 and served as a Knight of the Garter. Taplow Court can be seen from the Eton Dorney venue.

5. The Marathon race distance is set in Windsor

In 1908 Windsor hosted the Marathon which started outside the castle.  At the time the actual race distance wasn’t fixed. Moving the starting point from Queen Victoria’s statue to East Terrace so that spectators wouldn’t hinder the athletes added 700 hundred yards to the total distance. A few changes at the White City finishing point meant the eventual race distance was 26 miles 385 yards and this was officially adopted as the length of the Marathon in 1924.

6. A Right Royal Start to the Marathon

On the day of the Marathon the Princess of Wales (later Queen Mary) and her children decided to come from Frogmore House to the Castle to see the start.  The Crown Prince of Sweden was due to start the race but protocol dictated he should defer to her so an elaborate plan was devised to keep all happy. The Princess of Wales pressed a button on a table which connected by electric cable to Lord Desborough’s car. He fired a pistol and the Crown Prince of Sweden shouted “Go”.

Eton's Marathon Marker (image Windsor & Eton PhotoArt)

7. Eton's 1908 Marathon Marker

Eton High Street has the only 1908 marathon route marker still in existence.  It’s high up on a house on the College side of Barnes Bridge, just beneath the Slough Road sign and marks the “25 miles to go” point.

8. The Burning Bush, Eton High Street

The1948 Olympic torch came through Windsor down Kings Road, Sheet Street, High Street and over the bridge to Eton where the hand over was at the ‘burning bush’ outside Eton College’s school hall.  This famous meeting point is made of wrought iron and was designed by architect Woodyear in 1864. It was lit by gas and stood on a central island but was moved in 1963 on safety grounds and is now illuminated by electricity.

9. 1948 Road Cycle Race, Windsor

The 1948 road cycle race was moved to Windsor from the originally planned venue, Richmond Park, when it was discovered that any activity at more than 20 miles an hour was prohibited.  The race was held on Friday 13th August and was started in a torrential downpour on Smith’s Lawn, Windsor Great Park, by HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. The race distance was 120 miles, comprised of 17 laps which took approximately 18 minutes each to complete.

10. Britain won silver in the 1948 cycling team race

Competitors suffered punctures due to the loose gravel on the roads.  Of the 91 who started, 52 suffered punctures and only 28 finished. One of the team speaking to Prince Philip afterwards said “I got a medal despite your dirty old park”.  “Jolly good show” replied the Duke.

Dorney Lake (image Windsor & Eton PhotoArt)

11. Dorney Lake

Dorney Lake is a 2,200m, eight-lane course with a separate return lane constructed to international standards by Eton College.  Set in 450 acres of parkland which includes an Arboretum and Nature Conservation area, up to 30,000 spectators a day enjoyed the Rowing, Canoe Sprint and Paralympic Rowing events at Dorney Lake, assisted by 3,500 staff and volunteers.

12. The Austerity Games

London had been selected as the host city for the 1944 Games, however these were postponed due to World War Two.  Eventually taking place only three years after the end of the War, the 1948 Games became known as the Austerity Games, due to the ongoing rationing and post-war conditions.  Most countries brought their own food and athletes were housed in army barracks and transported to venues in double-decker buses.

13. Rowing

Rowing has been an event at every modern Olympic games; a women’s competition was added in 1976.

With an oar stroke rate of up to 47 strokes per minute rowing is known for its display of stamina and strength. Physiologists say rowing 2,000m is equivalent to playing back-to-back Basketball games.

At London 2012 the host nation won nine medals at Eton Dorney, with three of them – all of them gold – coming in the women's events.

Rowing images projected on to Windsor Castle (image Gill Heppell)

14. Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle featured on the cover of the 1908 Marathon official programme rather than the main stadium or an athletic representation.

The Great Western Railway put on a special train from London’s Paddington Station to Windsor and allowed the runners to change in the waiting room at Windsor Station.

In 2008 Queen Elizabeth II held a reception at Windsor Castle to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1908 marathon.

In 2012, in celebration of the haul of medals won by GB rowers, Queen Elizabeth II gave permission for these wonderful rowing images to be projected on to Windsor Castle’s walls.

15. Royal Borough Olympic Heroes

The Royal Borough has special reason to be proud of Great Britain’s Olympic squad in Paris as five members of Team GB are from, or live in, the Royal Borough.

Maidenhead resident Helen Glover, MBE, is two-time Olympic champion, triple World champion and multiple European champion along with numerous other rowing records. She was awarded the huge honour of being a Flag Bearer for Team GB in the Olympic Opening Ceremony in Paris and won silver in the Women's Four in Paris 2024.

Maidenhead swimmer Tom Dean, MBE, along with the rest of the men’s relay team, successfully defended their Olympic title from Tokyo, and won gold in the men’s 4x200m freestyle in Paris.

Great Britain's most successful female canoeist, Mallory Franklin from Windsor, won a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 games.

After Tokyo Mallory maintained her fine form with a gold and a silver medal at the 2021 World Championships, adding two bronze medals the following year.

Amber Rutter, from Windsor, took up shooting aged 10 and became the youngest ever Skeet World Cup gold medalist at 15.

At 18 she made her Olympic debut, missing out on Tokyo 2020 due to a positive Covid test. Since then, she’s claimed four European titles and three World Championship medals.

And just three months after giving birth to her son, Rutter was back on the Olympic scene at Paris 2024 and shot to silver in the women's skeet.

Charlotte Purdue, also from Windsor, is making her Olympic debut in Paris, representing Great Britain in the Women’s Marathon.

She completed her first marathon in London in 2016 and was the first British woman across the line at the World Athletics Championships the following year.

Charlotte crashed through the Olympic standard with a time of 2 hours 22 minutes and 17 seconds at the 2023 Berlin Marathon, taking her to second on the British all-time list behind only Paula Radcliffe.