This was the first Summer Olympics in which athletes from the newly independent Irish Free State competed separately.

Following the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927, the name changed (officially) to 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' but the Olympic team competed as Great Britain from the 1928 games onwards.

Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, two of the British Olympic champions in the sport, would later be the subjects of the film Chariots of Fire for their competition in Paris.

Abrahams took the gold medal in the 100 metres, matching the Olympic record in three of the four rounds.

Clarke's bronze in the plain high diving competition resulted in Great Britain winning a single medal for the third consecutive Games.

Bowden-Smith matched the country's best result to date with a fourth-place finish in the jumping event.

Great Britain was one of six nations to have competed in each edition of the Olympic modern pentathlon to that time.

Great Britain was the only nation to send poloists to each Olympic polo tournament.

It was the nation's sixth appearance in the sport; Great Britain was one of three countries (along with Denmark and France) to have competed in each Olympic shooting contest.

Mackworth-Praed took a pair of silver medals in the individual running deer competitions and led the British team to the gold medal in the double shots running deer event.

Great Britain made its fifth Olympic water polo appearance (having missed only the 1904 tournament).