UK Sport chiefs have defended their shock decision to slash athletics funding ahead of the 2028 Olympics, insisting the sport is not “on the naughty step”.
Spearheaded by 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson, Britain’s track and field stars won 10 medals at the summer’s Paris Games, their best Olympic haul in 40 years.
However, in the latest round of investment confirmed on Monday, the sport has seen its funding reduced from £22.2million in the run up to Paris to £20.5m in the cycle through to Los Angeles in four years’ time, a fall of around 8 per cent.
UK Athletics (UKA) said it was “disappointed” by the decision, which comes as part of UK Sport’s greatest-ever investment in Olympic and Paralympic sport, totalling around £330m across more than 50 disciplines.
An increase in Paralympic funding to £9.8m means athletics’ total grant is worth just north of £30m, but it is one of only two sports – along with canoeing – to see its Olympic programme cut. However, UK Sport CEO Sally Munday insisted the decision was not a rebuke of athletics or UKA.
“I’m responsible for public money so we wouldn’t be giving them £30million [if it was],” she said. “We wouldn’t be investing in the events, we wouldn’t be talking about bringing the World Championship here [in 2029]. If they were on the naughty step, we wouldn’t be giving them £30m.
In October, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a 10 per cent increase in funding for UK Sport to support British athletes in the lead in to LA 2028.
Athletics’ cut looks strange both in that context and when compared to other major sports, none of which are seen to be as globally competitive.
