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Fourth is still target despite funding cuts
BRITAIN'S Olympic team will still target fourth place in the London 2012 medals table following an injection of £29m from public funds, but some sports will still face cuts.
Click here to read Rotherham gold medallist Paul Goodison's reaction.
The move by the Government reduced the funding shortfall for elite Olympic athletes from 79m to 50m in the run-up to the 2012 Games.
Funding body UK Sport say the money means no potential medals in London will be jeopardised, that all sports will get some money – but those with no medal prospects in 2012 will still face significant cuts.
UK Sport's ambition is still for all sports, including the likes of handball and volleyball, to be represented in 2012, but whether they do have teams competing in London is a decision for governing bodies to take once they have discovered their exact level of funding later today.
Athletics is also likely to face a cut from its Beijing level after it failed to reach its medal target in the summer.
Culture secretary Andy Burnham, who announced the 29m to UK Sport's board yesterday, insisted no sport would be "cut adrift" despite the remaining 50m funding gap which arose after the Government's plan of attracting 100m private sector investment failed to bring in any money at all.
Burnham said those sports that are not a medal hope in London would be funded to use 2012 as a launchpad for the future.
He added: "We are saying no sport will be cut adrift.
"(For) some of the sports in more of a developmental stage, we are going to identify a way forward so they can really use London to act as a springboard for more success."
Burnham admitted the changed economic circumstances had been a factor in the amount of funding offered and said he believed private sector sponsors would still come forward.
"The global economy has changed significantly and the job I faced was to give sport certainty in this era. People can get on now and build for London," he said.
"Having reached the limit of what we can give from public funds ... the public contribution is now topped up by private sector contributions and I see no lack of appetite out there for companies to get involved and support budding young sports people."
The Government say the new money means 40m more will be spent overall up to London than was done in the run-up to Beijing, where the British team finished fourth in the medals table.
But shadow Olympics minister Hugh Robertson insisted the Government should have honoured the original commitment.
Robertson said: "While any extra funding is clearly good news, this still falls 50m short of what the Government unconditionally promised sport that it would get two years ago.
"This will have a clear effect for London 2012."
In response to the announcement, UK Sport chair Sue Campbell said sports likely to win medals would get full funding.
Campbell said: "This is welcome news and we greatly appreciate the efforts of the Secretary of State in securing this funding package in what is a very tough economic climate. We see this as a significant further investment in high performance sport which will allow us to build on the superb performances in Beijing.
"This means that all Olympic and Paralympic sports will receive some funding ahead of the Games, and that we are able to confirm the full funding figures for those sports most likely to deliver medals at London 2012."
Cyclist Chris Hoy, triple gold medallist in Beijing, welcomed the announcement.
He said: "Sport needs to keep getting funded to keep the success going. Money's not everything but it's a big part of it, so it'd be good news if most or all the sports are able to keep receiving the funding they were going to get in the first place."
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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