It started with a barb from the British contingent about trouncing their rivals from Down Under. Andy Burnham, the UK's culture secretary, predicted at the start of the Beijing Olympics that Team GB would top its Australian counterparts in the gold-medal tally. And as his prediction steadily turns into a reality, Australians thousands of kilometres from home in the UAE appear to be taking the matter to heart by staying away from venues showing their heroes being defeated.
As the war of words between the two nations escalates - and with just two medals separating the long-standing sporting rivals last night - it has been left to Britons to celebrate their surprise success in bars screening the action. They yesterday outnumbered most nationalities, filling venues broadcasting the Olympics on large screens yesterday while Australians were notable by their absence. "It is fantastic," said Simon Walster, 40, a British-born water board assessor from Abu Dhabi, who was watching live footage in the Sheraton Hotel on the Corniche.
"I just hope we have not shot our bolt before we get the games in 2012. I was not sure how many medals we were going to get at the start of the Olympics and it is certainly a bit of a change to beat the Aussies for once. "If I happen to meet any, I might have to rub their noses in it." Bill Arthur, 50, an engineer from Abu Dhabi who left the UK 15 years ago, said: "Abu Dhabi is very pro-British anyway and there are a lot of Britons living here, so there is a real groundswell of support for our team.
"I am not surprised there are no Aussies out watching the Olympics. We are doing excellently. This is the most medals we have won in a long time and it makes you proud to be British. "I have just returned from a trip to the UK and everyone there was watching it. There was a real buzz about how well we are doing." Another British sport fan, who did not want to be named, said: "I think it is amazing. This is the new generation of Steve Redgraves, but most of them we had not heard of before now.
"It has certainly segregated the British and the Aussies, but most of it has been lighthearted competitive banter. We are one of those nations capable of laughing at themselves." But Australians based in the Emirates were refusing to take the knocks lying down. Gerard Bush, 34, the Perth-born chief steward of Emirates Racing Authority in Dubai, said: "We have not got a chance of overtaking the Brits now, but we will restock and beat them on their home turf in four years.
"There were many sport for which the British did not qualify. "I am cheering for the Russians now in the hope they will steal their spot. The jibes between the two countries go a long way back. As a former British colony, we kicked the British out and now want to show the motherland how good we are. "There has been a lot of banter in the office between the Brits and the Aussies, but it is all very tongue-in-cheek. One country pushing another makes better sport."
The British successes have seen the nation soar to third place behind China and the US, surprising many competitors - not least Britons themselves. As the nation secured its best Olympic performance in a century, jubilant Britons have been holding street parties on home turf to celebrate their 40 medals, which have left Australia trailing behind with 38. With just three days to go, it is looking increasingly unlikely that Australia, which has won 11 gold medals, will be able to match Team GB's 17 golds. Australia has slipped to fifth place overall, behind Russia.
The two nations have long been foes on the sporting field, particularly in rugby and cricket. Gerry Sutcliffe, the UK sport minister, declared he planned to wear an Australian sport shirt in public if the British team won fewer medals than Australia. Kate Ellis, his Australian counterpart, retaliated by saying she would undergo the same humiliation if her team took fewer trophies. Meanwhile, John Coates, the head of the Australian Olympic Committee, said Britain's performance was "not bad for a country that has no swimming pools and very little soap" after Rebecca Adlington, 19, won the top honour for the 400m and 800m freestyle, making her Britain's most successful swimmer of the past century.
Coates admitted ruefully earlier this week: "They are certainly serving it up to me. Their new-found cockiness has got some substance to it." Bolstered by the knowledge the next Olympics will be held on home turf and with an annual training budget of Dh690 million (US$187.8m) for its competitors, Team GB has left previously successful rivals in its wake. Just 12 years ago, Britain collected one title in Atlanta. Now, four years after finishing in 10th place with 30 medals from Athens in 2004, the British contingent is leaving others trailing with a glut of medals.
The winners have included Tom James, Steve Williams, Pete Reed and Andy Hodge, whose efforts in the men's coxless four rowing competition pushed Australia into second place, Ben Ainslie, Britain's most successful sailor with three gold medals in three Olympics, and Victoria Pendleton, dubbed Queen Victoria after she scooped gold in the women's sprint cycling race. About one-third of Team GB's medals have been won in cycling events, and the successes justifiy the Dh152m in funding that has been given to the sport in the past 11 years.
Bradley Wiggins, a cyclist who won two gold medals, said: "I think it is just a level we have got to. I suppose you get greedy in a way, but there is nothing wrong with being greedy in sport." @Email:tyaqoob@thenational.ae
