The achievements of Britain's sportmen and women in Beijing is nothing short of sensational and the weekend eclipsed the lot.

Our sporting summer up until now had been as big a disappointment as the weather.

We failed on the cricket pitch and not a single home nation was competing at the European Football Championships.

Now we have gold medals from Becky Adlington, Rebecca Romero, Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins and Ben Ainslie to name a few and the promise of more.

There is no doubt the funding British sport has received through the National Lottery has helped make this breakthrough, which augers well for the 2012 games in London.

Our stars now have access to the very best coaches and facilities. Just like the Americans, the Chinese and the Russians.

And, is it just us, but has anyone else noticed the shift in expectation. Not from the public. That has always been there.

But from our competitors. They want to win. And that is a healthy and productive attitude.