Ambition running high with 500 days to go as British sport targets increased medal haul in 2011
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UK Sport 14 March 2011
- UK Sport reveal 30 - 61 medals targeted by Summer Olympic sports at 2011 World Championships
- 34 - 52 medals targeted by Summer Paralympic sports at 2011 World Championships
- Positive impact of funding means both Olympic and Paralympic sports targeting more medals across more sports in 2011 than were won in the year before Beijing
With just 500 days to go to London 2012, ambition and confidence within British Olympic and Paralympic sports is running high. UK Sport, the nation’s high performance sports agency, today revealed that the medals sports have targeted for major competitions in 2011 are up on those won at the equivalent point before the Beijing Games.
A range of 30 to 61 medals is targeted at World Championships this year by Olympic sports, and 34 to 52 by their Paralympic counterparts. In 2007, 42 medals were won in Olympic disciplines at World Championships, and while direct comparisons cannot be made in Paralympic sports due to differing competition schedules, 37 were won at Paralympic World Championships.
UK Sport is investing over £100m a year in the four years to London of National Lottery, Government Exchequer and private income from Team 2012, presented by Visa, in Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic sports. UK Sport agrees medal target ranges with these sports as part of their funding agreement and sees them as a necessary part of monitoring the progress each sport is making on the world stage towards London 2012. The top end of the range represents the best possible outcome at the sport’s milestone event for the coming year, while the bottom is the point below which the sport will judge itself to have under-performed.
Liz Nicholl, CEO of UK Sport, said: “British athletes are among the best funded and supported in the world, with record levels of investment through to London 2012. So it is encouraging that, with 500 days to go to the home Olympic and Paralympic Games in London, sports continue to show ambition and confidence in what can be collectively achieved.
“We know that improving on the performances in Beijing is a tough ask and won’t be easy. Medals are not the only means by which performance should be judged and progress assessed. None the less they are the bottom line in high performance sport, and the total of the medal targets we have agreed with sports announced today provide us with positive evidence that the momentum we have seen since Beijing continues as we head towards one of the biggest moments for British sport in all our lifetimes.”
In most cases, outside of Olympic year, the milestone event for each sport is their World Championships and there are 19 Olympic sports with World Championships taking place this year. Nine Paralympic sports will be competing at World Championships in 2011, with others focusing on European Championships or equivalent international competitions. It has already been a fantastic start to the year for British Paralympic sport, with British athletes winning 38 medals at the recent IPC Athletics World Championships, including 12 gold.
Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson said: “The 2011 medal target is higher than the equivalent before the Beijing Games and is an important marker for London 2012. With the funding for our top athletes confirmed after the Comprehensive spending review, Olympic and Paralympic sport is in good shape. So it is right that the targets for both the sport national governing bodies and the athletes are challenging 16 months out from a home Olympics.”
In April, UK Sport will unveil the latest set of ‘Mission 2012’ submissions, which track the current state of play across all areas of the UK high performance system and progression towards London 2012, presented on the tracker boards held at UK Sport’s London headquarters. UK Sport’s Mission 2012 system is now over three years old and helps UK Sport to identify issues and challenges faced by sports, and find solutions to overcome them.
2011 medal targets Olympic sports [PDF, 20k]
2011 medal targets Paralympic sports [PDF, 19k]
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