GB To Select 500 Athletes For 2012

Great Britain is set to be represented by at least 500 athletes at the London 2012 Olympics, allaying fears of potential funding problems.

The figure is just short of the 550 that the Brisitsh Olympic Association initially planned to take but is considerable increase on the 311 athletes sent to the Beijing games in 2008.

BOA chief executive Andy Hunt revealed in October that the organisation had only half the £8m needed to fund a team of 550 athletes.

But the expansion was agreed at a meeting of the National Olympic Committee which also sets the qualifying criteria.

As the host nation Great Britain has the luxury of taking up automatic places in the majority of the sports, however, athletics, swimming and tennis are among the events that require qualifying.