South-west athletes won nine medals at Tokyo 2020

The region’s competitors won three gold medals, one silver and five bronzes, making it the UK's sixth most successful region. 

If the south west was a country eligible to compete in the Olympics independently, it would have finished level with Serbia in 28th place.  

That would put the region just behind Croatia and Iran in the Olympic medal table but ahead of Belgium, Bulgaria, Slovenia and even Turkey (with its population of 82 million).

Great Britain finished fourth in the medal table behind the United States, China and the host nation Japan. 

Plymouth’s Tom Daley is perhaps the best-known Olympian from the south-west, having competed at the Games in Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. 

The 27-year-old diver won his fourth Olympic medal with a bronze in the men’s 10m platform this year after winning gold in the synchronized 10m platform dive with Matty Lee. 

Daley said after his performances: “I am just over the moon with how these Olympic Games have gone. If someone had told me I was going to win a gold and a bronze coming into these Games I would have bitten their hand off for it. 

“And I'm just so happy to think that this is my fourth Olympic medal and I've got one gold as well which is something I've always dreamed of my whole life.” 

Some athletes who are considered as being from the south-west, such as Maddie Hinch, are not classified as such because the data is based on their place of birth.

Hinch, 32, was born in West Sussex but studied at King's College in Taunton. 

She won a bronze medal as part of Team GB’s field hockey team which beat India 4-3 in the third-place play-off. 

The north west of England was the most successful region of the UK at this summer’s Games with 22 medals, including eight golds. 

London comes in second place with 20 medals in total, five of which were gold. 

The Midlands achieved the same number of gold medals as the capital city but comes in third because it received fewer medals in total – 18. 

Three of those medals were secured by swimmer Adam Peaty, who took home two golds and a silver. 

Five members of Hinch’s bronze-winning hockey team are also from the Midlands, meaning the team’s success has inflated the medal total for that region.

Yorkshire and the Humber won eight medals overall, although five of those were gold which is enough for the region to finish fourth in the UK list. 

In fifth place came the south-east with four golds and 18 medals overall. 

The south west finished in sixth above the north east, Wales, Scotland, and the east of England.