No limit on honours for Rio Olympians

Downing Street has given its backing to a bumper honours list to recognise more of Team GB's medal-winning athletes following its best ever Olympic performance in Rio.

Gold medalist Andy Murray of Great Britain poses on the podium during the medal ceremony for the men's singles. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Theresa May’s spokeswoman said the Prime Minister was “extremely proud” of the “phenomenal” achievement of UK athletes, and stressed there was no formal limit on the number of honours that could be handed out in “special circumstances”.

“We’ve had an amazing fortnight at the Rio Olympics, and we should be looking at the differing ways that we can recognise and reward the athletes for all they’ve achieved,” she said.

The backing from the Prime Minister will raise expectations that athletes with multiple Olympic medals, such as Mo Farah, Andy Murray and Katherine Grainger, will be recognised in the 2017 New Year honours list.

There have been calls for Farah to be knighted after he became only the second Olympian in history to defend two track titles, making him the UK’s most successful track and field athlete with four golds.

May’s spokeswoman added that the UK’s record-breaking medal haul, the first time the host of the previous games has gone on to beat their total, helped make the case for retaining the Union.

The performance at Rio, which was also Scotland’s best ever games, “reflect what the union can achieve when we’re all on the same team”, the Prime Minister’s spokeswoman said, adding: “We are greater than the sum of our parts.”

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