2004 was the year of the Athens Olympics, the year when the biggest sporting competition on the planet went home. The games were not a great success for British athletes, far over-shadowed by recent efforts in Beijing. 2004 was also the year of Euro 2004, and defeat in the quarter-finals on penalties yet again for England.

Yet 2004 was also the year that a British world champion was crowned, not perhaps in what you would call a 'mainstream sport' but a world champion is a world champion.

In 2004 the Interflora World Cup was held in the Australian city of Melbourne. Featuring florists from many parts of the Interflora network a florist named David Denyer from Bournemouth produced a series of stunning designs to take the title.

Now, some might think that a florists World Cup might be the kind of event that is not taken all that seriously. These people are wrong. The Interflora World Cup has been running for over forty years, individuals from around the world compete, and some (like our British champion) prepare for months if not years to make sure that everything is perfect when the competition begins.

So, what does winning the World Cup mean for a florist? Obviously there is the prestige and a surprising amount of press attention, but in terms of cash winning the World Cup is a big thing, not because there's prize money associated with it, but, as demonstrated by our winner, when they return to their day job, sales can go through the roof.

While the Interflora World Cup is obviously an opportunity to demonstrate the skills of individual florists, many also argue that it, and similar events, are important for the development of florists both on an individual and professional level. Each country has a different style of floristry and such competitions allow florists to view each other's works first hand.

And it seems they are right. The exposure to different styles, different methods of working, and different flowers means that the designs that a competition winning florist produces on a day-to-day basis are of a far higher standard than those of their competitors.

Admittedly, winning the Interflora World Cup may not be the kind of thing that every boy aspires to but it's still a big competition in its field, not least because of the sheer scale of the Interflora business network, not to mention that it means that Britain could arguably claim to being the best in the world at something.

Maricruz Tennill, the author of this article, loves to order flowers online at Interflora.co.uk because of the quality and speed of their service.