UK Sport Reveals Record Investment
UK Sport has revealed its goal for Rio 2016, to become the first host nation in recent history to win more medals at the next summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, and will invest a record £347m into elite sports in order to do so.
The total is up from the £313m investment put into Olympic and Paralympic sports by UK Sport in the London cycle, thanks to support from the Government and The National Lottery.
Overall, UK Sport has increased funding to Paralympic sports by 43%, with Olympic sports also up 5%.
42 sports, defined to have ‘credible medal potential’ in 2016 or 2020, will receive funding for Rio, with athletics (£26.8m), canoeing (£19.1m), cycling (£30.6m), diving (£7.5m), equestrian (£17.9m), fencing (£3.1m), gymnastics (£14.5m), rowing (£32.6m), sailing (£24.5m), shooting (£3m) and taekwondo (£6.9m) all receiving a boost in funding.
Rowing has had its funding boosted by over £5m to £32.6m, following a record medal haul at London 2012.
However, Olympic swimming has had its funding cut by nearly £4m to £21.4m after failing to meet its medal target, while basketball, handball, table tennis and wrestling have had funding cut completely and will receive nothing from UK Sport for the Rio 2016 cycle.
Volleyball has also had its funding cut from £3.1m to £400,000, which will be invested into women’s beach volleyball.
Baroness Sue Campbell, Chair of UK Sport, said: ‘Our announcement today is unprecedented, as we increase investment in British elite sport post our home Games and aim to achieve something no other host nation in recent history has before, in surpassing this year’s incredible performance at both the next summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
‘At UK Sport we take our responsibility for the strategic investment of public and National Lottery funds very seriously – the achievements in London simply would not have been possible without this unparalleled support and our ‘no compromise’ approach to investment.’
‘London 2012 was just the beginning, not the end, for Olympic and Paralympic sport in this country, and we plan to continue to make this funding work as hard as it can to help our best athletes achieve medal success at the highest level; to make this nation as proud as they did this summer and to inspire the next generation.’
Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport, commented: ‘We are investing more public money to support our elite athletes in the four years to Rio 2016 than for our home Games, which shows our desire to keep up the momentum from London 2012. The significant increase for Paralympic sports reflects on the extraordinary success and achievements of our Paralympic athletes this summer.’
Liz Nicholl, Chief Executive of UK Sport, added: ‘To ensure a high performance legacy from London 2012, whereby we can aspire to replicate the inspirational performances in London in four years’ time in Rio, UK Sport’s priority for this investment was to get the right resources, to the right athletes, for the right reasons.
‘While these decisions have not been easy to make, we are ensuring that every athlete with medal potential for Rio 2016 or 2020 is supported, whether through their sport’s World Class Performance Programme or through our new, more flexible, small squad investment option.’
UK Sport also announced that it would be increasing its investment in areas such as coach development, talent identification and research and innovation.
On the Paralympic side, there is an overall increase in funding from the London cycle of 43% in reflection of the increasing competitive nature of, and opportunities for international competition available to, Paralympic sport.
A total of £70.2 million has been confirmed to support the following Paralympic sports over the Rio cycle: Archery, Athletics, Boccia, Canoeing, Cycling, Equestrian, Football (5 a side only), Goalball (women only), Judo, Powerlifting, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby, Wheelchair Tennis.
On Monday, Sport England also announced a £493m four-year investment into grassroots sport.
