Skip to main content
BBC SPORT / ATHLETICS
Graphics Version | BBC News Home
Sport Homepage | Football | Formula 1 | Olympics | Cricket | Rugby Union | Rugby League | Tennis | Golf | Athletics | Cycling | Motorsport | Boxing | Snooker | Horse Racing | Disability Sport | Other sport... | Sports Personality | TV/Radio Schedule | Sport Academy | Fun and Games | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales
Athletics Contents:  Skills | Get Involved

20:32 GMT, Wednesday, 3 December 2008

Athletics upbeat despite cash cut

UK Athletics boss Niels de Vos says he is happy with funding ahead of the 2012 Olympics despite a £1.4m cutback.

GB athletes won only four medals in Beijing, and UK Sport has trimmed its allocation from £26.5m to £25.1m.

It is the only sport which won medals in Beijing to have had funding cut, while 17 sports have had increases.

"We've already made changes to our programme, both in terms of tightening up the management of it and the numbers of athletes we fund," said De Vos.

"It's absolutely as expected - there's no surprises."

"Athletics is never going to be a sport that delivers an avalanche of gold medals because no country does"
Niels de Vos

Niels de Vos believes UK athletes will perform well at the 2012 Olympics.

That number of funded athletes was cut by 20% last month - a decision which followed the appointment of Charles van Commenee as national head coach of UK Athletics.

De Vos said: "The bottom line is I guess I'm grateful to UK Sport for supporting us because there were changes that needed to be made.

"I've been discussing those with them since pre-Beijing. I made the changes and they've backed me and given me the money I need to make it happen, so overall, I'm pleased.

"Athletics will be the showcase sport of 2012. The key thing is Britain's performance within that showcase and all the changes I've made have been geared towards 2012."

De Vos added that the appointment of Van Commenee would be key to reviving British athletics after the disappointment of Beijing.

"Charles is a 2012 appointment and he and I are working closely with UK Sport to make sure we get as many Brits into finals as possible and from that as many medals as possible.

"We're pushing on all fronts and I'm very determined that we have a good show in London, both in terms of the number of finalists and the number of medals.

MATT SLATER BLOG
"If we are going to take on billion-pound projects like the Olympics we should stop trying to do them on the cheap "
"Athletics is never going to be a sport that delivers an avalanche of gold medals because no country does. Even the mighty America only delivered six in Beijing."

De Vos believes Britain can aim for six medals at next summer's World Championships in Berlin but refused to set a target for London.

"I think we will surprise people between now and London, but I'm going to keep my powder dry and not hang myself by giving an aspirational figure now."



E-mail this to a friend
Related to this story:

Sports handed London 2012 budgets (03 Dec 08 |  Olympics )
Olympic funding reaction (03 Dec 08 |  Olympics )
2012 funding sport-by-sport (03 Dec 08 |  Olympics )
Funding boost for GB Paralympians (03 Dec 08 |  Disability Sport )
GB athletes hit by funding cuts (05 Nov 08 |  Athletics )
Van Commenee named UKA head coach (23 Sep 08 |  Athletics )
Athletics on the BBC (28 Oct 08 |  Athletics )

RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
UK Athletics
International Athletics
Find an athletics club in the UK
Video tips - BBC Sport Academy
How to get involved in athletics
Running tips and tools - Runners World
Have your say on athletics on 606
Athletics on the BBC Olympics Blog
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites



SEARCH BBC SPORT: 

Sport Homepage | Football | Formula 1 | Olympics | Cricket | Rugby Union | Rugby League | Tennis | Golf | Athletics | Cycling | Motorsport | Boxing | Snooker | Horse Racing | Disability Sport | Other sport... | Sports Personality | TV/Radio Schedule | Sport Academy | Fun and Games | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales
Athletics Contents:  Skills | Get Involved

^ Back to top | BBC News Home | BBC Homepage | Feedback | Help | ©