Aussie minister to wear Team GB shirt after losing bet

By Georgie Keate

The Australian sports minister has "cheerfully conceded" to row down Eaton Dorney clad in a Team GB shirt after losing a bet with Hugh Robertson.

The pair laid the wager over which country would win the most gold medals with Robertson dribbling a hockey ball into central London wearing an Australian shirt if he lost.

"I think Great Britain will be exceeding our tally in gold medals", loser Kate Lundy admitted.

As patron of the Canberra Rowing Club, Lundy is no stranger to the sport and hoped Robertson "would be waiting at the end with a drink" for her after the forfeit.

The UK's sport minister was wary of tempting fate however, telling the BBC: "You never count your chickens before they are hatched in sport. We have not won it yet but it is looking promising."

So far the UK has won 22 gold medals whereas Australia has four, with Team GB performing at their best in the modern Olympic era.

Despite her country's underperformance, Lundy said: "We have got a swag full of silver medals and we are very proud of our athletes for that."

However, she added that the Aussies "needed to keep innovating" if they were to improve their sporting prowess and would be "taking stock" of their results at the Games.

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