Boxing and coxing - the Katherine Grainger interview
6 min read
Can Team GB cling on to its spot near the top of the Olympic medal table, or will funding cuts start to show in Paris this summer? The woman in charge of the country’s medal factory tells Tom Scotson of her hopes and fears
Katherine Grainger knows what it’s like to win Olympic gold – and what it costs. Now 48, Grainger won five medals in five consecutive Games as a rower.
That, she readily admits, gives her a confidence and authority in leading the effort to keep Team GB near the top of the medals table as chair of UK Sport, the government agency responsible for investing in Olympic and Paralympic sport in the United Kingdom.
But as the start of the Paris Games approaches, some inside elite sport fear belt-tightening will see the country overtaken by other nations that have invested more heavily.
Disagreements with the International Olympic Committee over issues such as the participation of Russian nationals have cost the UK influence.
The delicate and inflammatory issue of transgender competitors, meanwhile, haunts sports administrators who have been left trying to figure out a way through the minefield.
Grainger, a graduate in law from Edinburgh University and currently chancellor of the University of Glasgow, now in her eighth year in the role, navigates these waters with the practiced ease one might expect of such a decorated oarswoman.
“Twenty years as an athlete in the Olympic team gave me a confidence that I hadn’t expected to become so useful,” she tells The House.
“Having been there myself, it gives a credibility to this role. To know exactly what it’s like in those changing rooms and [on those] playing fields.”
One of the challenges for today’s Olympians is funding. Grainger’s career, starting in 1997, benefitted from the generosity of the national lottery and Treasury, which helped bankroll the future success of British Olympians.
“I’ve always known the phenomenal difference that public investment has made,” she admits.
It helped transform Britain from “plucky losers” to a nation that expects success. But circumstances are “getting harder”.
“Everyone that I came on the team with had never experienced funding like that [from 1997]. Especially on the women’s team, there was very little sponsorship, very little support.
“And you saw the difference that suddenly equal-gender money made, but also, again, this longer term decision making.”
In April this year, UK Sport confirmed it would have to cut 25 per cent of its staff jobs and 50 per cent of its directors by July. Does Grainger think this a political decision by a Conservative government which could have consequences?
“Irrespective of whichever government we’ve had, we’ve had incredible support for the national teams,” she says.
“But everyone’s finding life expensive. The cost of living has gone up, travel has become more expensive. Competition therefore becomes more expensive.
“Every sport we work with is feeling pinched tighter and tighter financially.”
Grainger believes sport provides fantastic value for money and has important cultural impact, with a unique ability to inspire “every community” across the UK.
The cost of living has gone up, travel has become more expensive. Competition therefore becomes more expensive.
She suggests France, Japan, China, the United States and a host of Middle Eastern nations are examples of other countries which fund their Olympic teams. Many have recently, or will soon, host a summer Olympics.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said he would like London to hold another Games by 2036 or 2040. Is this realistic, given the capital only hosted in 2012?
“I don’t sit in a lot those discussions,” Grainger says. “There’s a lot of things that come into play… The International Olympic Committee ultimately make the decision. But they do want to see it move around.”
In an ideal world, would she like it to be brought back?
“I think, if it was as simple as ‘we’d like them, please can we have them?’, that’d be fine. But it’s a lot more complicated than that.”
Another very complicated issue is transgender inclusion. Guidance from the UK’s five sports councils suggests there are differences in “strength, stamina and physique” between women and transgender women.
The authors and researchers of the report told Grainger they had never dealt with an issue as “emotive” as this.
“We all know it’s a very complex area, a very sensitive area as well. And I think... you’ve got a lot of extreme viewpoints across all sides of the debate.”
Asked to elaborate, she adds: “I think you’re probably very aware of the extreme opinions on transgender. Sport is no different from other parts of society.”
Grainger is more evasive on this issue and careful not to raise her head above the parapet and take a definite line: “Sports – depending on their individual competition levels or layers or makeup – need to prioritise within that, and that’s for every sport to decide,” she says. “So, it’s not as simple as one answer.”
A recent development which athletes have to face is the wrath of social media. Grainger is thankful platforms such as X were did not exist when she started, and only began to be used by more people during the twilight of her career.
Having said that, she believes platforms that give athletes more of a voice represent a positive change.
“We have seen there’s a lot of evidence that athletes are a group of people in society that the general public want to hear from.
“Go back to football: the likes of Marcus Rashford making really important changes in people’s lives [is] good.”
Grainger says there is now a “much better understanding” that athletes are not defined by their sporting prowess.
“I think we have moved past where an athlete should stay in their lane and just be an athlete. I think society has shifted; I think young people certainly have shifted.”
With the Paris Games fast approaching, how does she feel about Great Britain’s prospects at this tournament? The last three Olympic Games in London, Rio and Tokyo were the country’s most successful ever.
Grainger admits there are certain in-built advantages to this year’s competition for Team GB: Paris has a similar climate to London and is only a short flight away. But she is cautious about setting a public target.
“We are up against huge nations still. So, I think Britain should take pride in how competitive we repeatedly are.”
The curse of success is that the public has become used to seeing Team GB sitting in the elite positions of the gold medal table.
Failure or any disappointment may come as a huge shock to the public who have not been observing the challenges up close.
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