Despite GB Olympic success, some sports funds may be cut for Rio

With London 2012 completed, only those sports showing they can qualify for the...

15:59 15 August 2012

With London 2012 completed, only those sports showing they can qualify for the 2016 Olympics are set to receive funding. 

 

This follows the Government’s recent announcement of £508 million being spent on sport over the next four years.

 

The Chief Executive of UK Sport Liz Nicholl has confirmed some Olympic sports will lose their funding, as reported by the Daily Mail.

 

Those at risk of missing the Rio Games could include volleyball and handball, which received host nation places for London 2012.

 

"There's no point funding sports that are not going to qualify," sports minister Hugh Robertson told the BBC. 

 

"We will fund any sport where we think there is a realistic chance of a medal in Rio or in the 2020 Games. The base cut-off is if a sport does not qualify for an Olympics, that is very important," he added.

 

"But remember that even if there are sports that don't attract funding, they can still get funding through Sport England and so on to develop their talent into a position where they will qualify for a Games in the future." 

 

And Katherine Grainger, who recently won gold in rowing, agreed that funding should be based on the competitor’s ability to succeed. 

 

"This is accountable money, public money," she told the BBC, "It has to be based on performance and it always has been. 

 

"Every athlete comes in knowing that if they perform there's more chance of the support and the funding being there.”

 

It is understood that a final decision will be made by the end of the year with new funding starting January 2013.