UK Sport announces extra investment to support Paris Olympic and Paralympic preparations
UK Sport has today confirmed an additional £4m of funding into summer Olympic and Paralympic sport as preparations gear up for the Paris 2024 Games.
The increased investment across 33 sports will support athletes in their preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including allowing athletes to attend extra competitions that have been added to the international calendar and are essential to qualification for the Paris Games, in addition to training camps.
Following last year’s significant uplifts of £11.2m of additional investment in summer sports on top of the original Paris cycle awards the latest round of investments prioritised support on activities and requirements that will have a direct impact on Paris 2024 qualification.
Within the additional £4m of funding, 26 World Class Programmes will benefit from £3.5m of extra investment. A further half a million pounds of investment will be invested across Progression sports, those with identified long-term medal potential and National Squads Support Fund sports, where funding is designed to support the costs associated with forming and fielding squads for competition on the Olympic and Paralympic qualification pathway.
These additional investments come following the summer sports 2022 Annual Review. A full breakdown of the investments is available here.
Kate Baker, Director of Performance at UK Sport said:
“With the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games less than 18 months away, the additional investments we are making - which are possible thanks to the support of The National Lottery - are aimed at supporting our sports in the lead in to Paris, while also keeping one eye on the longer term.
“It is vital that we focus our resources on supporting our brilliant athletes and staff - with major championships and Paris qualification requirements obviously at the forefront of our minds – and also ensure we continue to strengthen the system going forward.
“Building on the breadth of success we saw across both our Olympic and Paralympic teams in Tokyo and on the excellent results achieved last year, these investments are designed to power our ambition to remain in the top five of both medal tables and to reach, inspire and unite the nation here at home.”
The increased funding announced today does not include Athlete Performance Awards, which are managed separately of individual sport investment.
Ed Barney, Performance Director at Great Britain Hockey, said:
“This vital investment will support our teams in undertaking an extensive calendar of international competition ahead of Paris in order to secure qualification and best equip our teams for Olympic success next summer.
“We are absolutely delighted to receive this additional support from UK Sport and The National Lottery at such an important time on our journey to Paris 2024. Following the Commonwealth Games Gold medal for England women and some truly exciting performances by the men, we are now very well placed to capitalise on what is an intense and exciting 18 months ahead.”
Andrew Scoular, CEO British Judo Association, said:
“Since Tokyo British athletes have delivered podium success at Grand Slam competitions, so it is brilliant news that thanks to this investment we can give our athletes the best possible chance of success in the Paris qualification period and at the Games.
“This additional investment will enable us to support our athletes to attend key qualification events and training camps, as well as ensuring we can put in place the key support staff that our athletes need to thrive.
“The entire GB Judo team would like to thank UK Sport and everyone who plays The National Lottery for this support as we look to fulfil our ambitions in Paris.”
Gary Hall MBE, Performance Director at GB Taekwondo said:
“Thanks to this investment from UK Sport and The National Lottery we can now ensure our athletes are prepared to achieve their dreams and compete for medals at the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, building on their inspiring achievements in Tokyo.
“The resources will help ensure the essential needs of these athletes are met, whilst enabling us to pursue new innovations that may make the critical difference when competing for medals at the highest level.”
“We are also delighted to have received funding to initiate a new long-term talent strategy, enabling us to sustain success and support the Olympians and Paralympians of the future.”
Chris Stott, Head of Athlete and Coach Pathways at British Shooting said:
“We are delighted to receive this investment from UK Sport and The National Lottery supporting our plans for an innovative and pioneering talent ID campaign to open up shooting to new para shooters.
“As we work hard to bring new people into the sport and develop talent for the future, this support will enable us to identify new shooters and support more athletes on their journey to being Paralympians.”
