Thank you for your email to the British Olympic Association in connection with the Team GB name. I hope I will be able to clarify our position and answer your queries as to why our Olympic Team is referred to as ‘Team GB’.

As I am sure you are aware the British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and the UK Overseas Territories (including the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar) which do not have their own National Olympic Committees. As such, the BOA covers territories which are not constitutionally part of the United Kingdom (such as the Crown Dependencies and some UK Overseas Territories).

Whilst the BOA has always sought to give recognition to the valuable contribution made by all the countries under our Olympic jurisdiction, many of whom have contributed to the success of our Olympic performances, it is the International Olympic Committee which has recognised the British team as “GBR” (in its widest sense) since its inception in 1896 and it is the International Olympic Committee which is solely responsible for determining representation at the Olympic Games.

Regarding the use of the mark “Team GB”, the BOA has created a concise, functional marketing property around the Team and athletes themselves. Sponsors understandably feel there is more intrinsic value in sponsoring the Team and not the BOA and the “Team GB” mark is now a widely respected and successful item of intellectual property which has developed over three Olympic cycles. It is the symbol of success for all our athletes at the Olympic Games. The value of the brand is such that it enables the BOA to generate funds to support all our athletes at the Olympic Games; from the shores of Northern Ireland and beyond.

For all of the above reasons and following consultation with the National Governing Bodies of Olympic sports (including athlete representatives), it was decided that the creation of Team GB as a “trading name” was most appropriate for the Olympic identification of GBR.

I hope this explanation of the development of the ‘Team GB’ concept has been helpful to you. We are very conscious that the brand is not representative of all the territories in the BOA’s jurisdiction; indeed, neither “UK” nor “GB” is an accurate description of the BOA’s remit.

They replied to you that quickly? On a Saturday afternoon? While the Olympics is actually on?

Bloody hell!

They replied to you that quickly? On a Saturday afternoon? While the Olympics is actually on?

Bloody hell!

What Ennis needs to do
What does Jessica "Face of the Games" Ennis need to do to win heptathlon gold? She is 188 points ahead with just the 800m to go, which is a buffer of around 13 seconds (my colleague Simon calculates), and the slower the race is, the bigger the buffer becomes (it's a complicated point system).

If Ennis runs a time of around two minutes 10 seconds in the 800m, nearest challenger Austra Skujyte of Lithuania would need to clock close to 1min 57secs to win, a time which would be good enough to get in the Olympic individual final. Skujyte's personal best of 2:15.92 was set in the Athens Olympics in 2004, while Ennis set hers of 2:07.81 on the way to silver at the World Championships in Daegu last year.

If Ennis equals her personal best (2:07.81), Skujyte would have to run damn near a world record for the distance, and 20 seconds below her personal best, to take gold.

Jess Ennis comfortably wins the 800m race to win the Heptathlon gold!