UK Sport has rated 13 Olympic Sports in their 'green' category, showing that progress is going well, and 15 amber, indicating a sport with challenges being addressed, while none were rated red – a sport where help was needed.

Rowing and cycling are likely to provide the highest medal hauls according to this year's World Championships results.

In all 44 medals were picked up in World Championships across all Olympic sports in 2011, with a further 12 in equivalent World Championship events.

In 2008 at the Olympic Games Britain picked up 47 medals in total, and Peter Keen, UK Sport's performance director, told insidethegames that they were on target to beat that next summer.

"Looking at who has won a medal this year we are in a better place [than Beijing 2008]," he said.

"There are a number of unknowns; we can talk with some confidence about medals, speculation about gold medals is difficult."

A number of sports have made progress in recent months, with athletics, basketball and synchronised swimming moving from amber to green, and just one sport going backwards – handball.

The Mission 2012 tracker says that athletics is on track to achieve its London medal target after picking up seven medals in Daegu at the World Athletics Championships earlier this year, whilst the basketball teams performed well at this year's European Championships, indicating that good progress was being made in the sport.


Swimming was also praised, with the "depth of talent reflecting at the World Aquatics Championships with 21 semi-finalists, though five medals, such as the 50m backstroke gold won by Liam Tancock (pictured) overall was at the lower end of their target".

Equestrian was also praised, and UK Sport chief executive Liz Nicholl emphasised the positives overall with eight months to go until the Olympic Games.

"The record level of funding into elite sport through the National Lottery, Exchequer and Team 2012 has contributed to the success of British athletes over recent years," she said.

"I am confident that we are in a fantastic position to deliver success not only in London, but also at the Winter Games in Sochi in 2014 and subsequent summer Games in Rio in 2016 and beyond."

Nicholl added that she wanted Britain to "do what no-one has done before", and become the first ever host country to maintain performances at the next Games and win as many medals in Rio 2016 as in London next year.

Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson added: "These are enormously encouraging results which show the benefit of the increase in Lottery funding made available by Government in May 2010."

Specific medal targets for London 2012 will be set in the New Year.

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