Britain "astonished the world" with the way it staged the London Olympics, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday.
"Britain delivered -- we showed the world what we're made of," Cameron said at a press conference at Downing Street.
"We reminded ourselves what we can do and, yes, we demonstrated that you should never ever count Team GB down and out."
Cameron said the Games had reflected the best of Britain' multicultural make-up, taking the example of Mo Farah, the winner of the men's 10,000 title who went on to claim gold in the 5,000m on Saturday.
Farah came to Britain as a refugee aged eight after spending his early years in Somalia and Djibouti.
"It's a Britain where a boy born in Somalia, Mo Farah, can come here, seize opportunities, and run his way into the nation's heart," Cameron said.
"It's a Britain where we cheer ourselves hoarse not just for Team GB but for Team Jamaica or, as people have just done on the Mall, Team Uganda," he added, referring to the winner of Sunday's men's marathon Stephen Kiprotich.
Cameron said: "Over the past couple of weeks, we have looked in the mirror and we like what we have seen as a country."
The prime minister emphasised that the legacy from the Games would take a physical, economic, volunteering and sporting dimension.
He earlier announced guaranteed funding for elite sport of ?125 million (160 million euros, $196 million) over the next four years to take the team up to the next Games in Rio.
"There'll be an economic legacy, with new deals brokered on the back of these Games," Cameron said.
"Crucially there's also got to be a sporting legacy -- that's why we've protected the ?125 million of funding for our elite athletes ahead of Rio 2016."
Cameron praised Team GB's athletes for their impressive medal haul, currently standing at 29 gold, 15 silver and 19 bronze medals -- bettered only by the United States and China -- with a final chance to add to the list in men's boxing final later Sunday.
"That's already the highest ranking in the medals table for more than 100 years," Cameron said.
"These small islands of 60 million people, taking third place behind countries more than five and ten times our size."
Cameron earlier named the Games chief organiser Sebastian Coe as his "legacy ambassador" for the years following the Games.
Coe, a two-time Olympic gold medallist in the 1,500m, will advise the prime minister "on how best to secure the long-term benefits of hosting the Games, particularly focusing on the economic and business benefits", a statement said.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cameron-lauds-hosting-olympics-promises-big-legacy-164324105--oly.html
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