Source: UK Sport
UK SPORT CONFIRMS ‘TOP FOUR’ AMBITION FOR HOME GAMES
and target of winning more medals across more sports
UK Sport, the nation’s high performance sports agency, has today confirmed the performance expectations for each Olympic sport at the London 2012 Olympic Games this summer. This data has allowed UK Sport to confirm the goal of top four in the medal table and an overall target of at least 48 medals from at least 12 different sports.
Baroness Sue Campbell CBE, Chair of UK Sport, said: “This is a significant milestone for British sport. Thanks to the backing of our Government and The National Lottery over the past 15 years, and more recently the investment we have received from Team 2012, we are able to confirm that our goal of top four in the Olympic medal table at our home Games remains on track.”
This goal is in line with the intentions set out back in 2006, when the Government confirmed there would be a boost to investment for athlete preparations for London 2012 from the Exchequer and the private sector, in addition to existing support from The National Lottery.
Baroness Campbell continued: “I have no doubt that our athletes will do us proud, and am confident that we have created a sustainable high performance system set to ensure that London 2012 marks the beginning, not the end, of our ambitions for British Olympic and Paralympic sport.
“I’d like to wish our athletes, their coaches and support staff a wonderful Games, with the support of a rapturous home crowd, and hope they achieve the recognition they deserve for their commitment and dedication to British sport.”
Hugh Robertson MP, Minister for Sport and The Olympics said: “Team GB goes into London 2012 as the best prepared team in British history. Funding from the Exchequer and the National Lottery has enabled UK Sport to put in place a high performance system that works, as demonstrated in Beijing in 2008 and by numerous fantastic performances since then. Expectations for medal success are high but I am sure our athletes will rise to the challenge. London 2012 is the culmination of many years of training and hard work and I wish all our athletes the very best of luck.”
Dianne Thompson CBE, Camelot Group CEO, said: “As UK Sport makes this exciting announcement, National Lottery players should feel hugely proud of the unique support they’ve given to our athletes over the last 15 years. No-one has contributed more to Great Britain’s medal hopes than our players – with their funding benefitting over 1,200 current elite athletes as they prepare for London 2012 and beyond. By enabling them to train full-time, with world-class facilities and coaches at their disposal, National Lottery players are providing truly life-changing support for athletes across the UK. Our fingers are firmly crossed for them at London 2012 and we have no doubt they’ll make us all immensely proud.”
In return for more than £300 million invested in Olympic and Paralympic sports and athletes over the past four years alone, each sport agreed a performance target range with UK Sport. The performance target range for each sport has been monitored over the past four years and finally confirmed with UK Sport based on skilled analysis of medal prospects. The low end of this range represents a performance below which the sport would judge itself to have underperformed, and the high end of the range represents what is judged to be possible. Today’s announcement reflects the Olympic targets only, as the Paralympic targets will be confirmed in August.
Liz Nicholl OBE, Chief Executive of UK Sport, said: “UK Sport has been on an incredible journey with the Olympic and Paralympic sports since the London bid was won in 2005 and our funding was boosted in 2006. Beijing 2008 was an outstanding Games for British athletes, and we knew at the time that bettering or even matching that achievement would not be easy, and should not be underestimated.
“Since Beijing the performance system has stepped up another gear, and we really believe that the nation will be inspired this summer by our athletes winning more medals in more sports. The Mission is telling us that we can, and we will.
“Our target, therefore, is to win at least 48 medals from at least 12 different sports.”
David Brailsford CBE, Performance Director of British Cycling, said: “At British Cycling, we welcome UK Sport’s medal targets as part of the responsibility to deliver on the public funding we receive to drive elite performance in our sport.
“Today’s announcement does not change our priorities. In London, as in Sydney, Athens and Beijing, our efforts will be concentrated on helping British cyclists perform to the best of their ability.”
John Anderson, Performance Director of GB Canoeing, said: “GB Canoeing is hugely appreciative of the outstanding support we have received from UK Sport and the National Lottery which has allowed us to train and prepare at a level hitherto unheard of in the sport.
“It is with huge pride and optimism I look forward to the London 2012 Olympic Games and we are in good shape to deliver a strong performance.”
UK Sport also today unveiled the latest, and final ahead of the Games, submissions from sports on their Mission 2012 Tracker Boards, showing 28 Olympic and Paralympic sports, the most since the process began back in 2008, rated green. This is in comparison to just 15 sports rated green ahead of Beijing 2008*.
Peter Keen CBE, Special Advisor for Performance at UK Sport, said: “Our ‘no compromise’ approach has helped us make the right, if at times tough, investment decisions and focus our support on our best medal prospects, resulting in the ambitious performance targets released today.”
“With more green than ever before on our Mission 2012 Tracker Boards, I feel confident in the high performance system supporting our athletes to achieve their goals at London 2012, and importantly, that we can continue to aim high for many years to come.”
While the Mission 2012 Tracker Boards show a high performance system in better shape than ever before, certain issues have been highlighted by a small number of sports. UK Sport has confidence that these issues do not present any threat to overall medal potential in London.
Sign up to receive regular highlights from the exciting world of fencing - celebrating the best of our unique and inspiring community
