By Matt Hardy
UK Athletics are plotting successful Paris 2024 and LA 2028 Olympic Games with its latest funding round throwing cash at 17 “podium potential” athletes.
A total of 67 athletes have been handed funding heading into the Olympic year and each individual has been categorised into one of “podium, potential, relay and confirmation”.
Those with the highest level of funding will be expected to be in, or close to, the medals come the summer showpiece in either 2024 or 2028.
Included in the highest roll call are world champions Katarina Johnson-Thompson (heptathlon) and Josh Kerr (1,500m) but Alex Bell, an Olympic finalist at Tokyo 2020, has been stripped of all funding.
Athletics funding
Sprinters Dina Asher-Smith and Zharnel Hughes, as well as Keely Hodgkinson and Jake Wightman, are among the other names who were expected on the list.
To qualify for the funding, UK Athletics says it “must be confident that any athlete nominated has the realistic potential and demonstrable performance capability and capacity to make the necessary progress to achieve a medal at least in one of the next two Olympic Games”.
Tokyo 2020 was the only Olympic Games this century in which Great Britain and Northern Ireland did not get a gold medal in athletics.
Tokyo 2020 was the only Olympic Games this century in which Great Britain and Northern Ireland did not get a gold medal in athletics.
The team picked up two silver medals and three bronze medals but just once (Beijing 2008) before Tokyo have the team not got at least two gold medals in athletics.
Other athletes without a spot on the funding charter are hurdler Andrew Pozzi, Commonwealth gold medal winning hammer thrower Nick Miller and sprinter Reece Prescod.
UK Athletics go on to say: “As per previous years, the nomination for World Class Programme membership is subject to UK Sport ratification and a signed athlete agreement between the athlete and UK Athletics.”
