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Liz Nicholl blog: "A thank you from UK Sport, with 200 days to go"

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Grace Cullen 09 January 2012

Today marks 200 days to go to the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, and I can’t quite believe that this momentous year is finally upon us.
 
On the morning of New Year’s Day 2012 I was in Trafalgar Square with the BBC and Ashley McKenzie, a member of the British Judo squad who is working hard to gain selection to Team GB for the London Games. It took me back to 6 July 2005, when I was in the Square to hear the fantastic news that London had won the bid to host the 2012 Games. I reflected on the journey that athletes, coaches and their support teams have embarked on for this once in a lifetime opportunity to deliver exceptional performances, make the nation proud and inspire the next generation.

Seven years on, and we as a nation already have a reason to feel proud about the way we are working together across sport like never before to deliver a shared goal. Results have already demonstrated that the UK high performance system is working well and our athletes are in great shape, having performed better in 2011 than they did in 2007, the year before Beijing.
 
Over the next 200 days, the journey to the Games continues with each of the 900 or so athletes who will be selected to Team GB or ParalympicsGB still having more than 600 hours of training ahead of them. They are backed by the staff at the English Institute of Sport, who have more than 100,000 hours of science and medical service delivery to give. The final straight is by no means clear of potential hurdles; there are no guarantees in performance sport, but UK Sport will continue to work closely with each and every Olympic and Paralympic sport to provide performance solutions in response to calls for help and support.
 
There are so many people working hard to ensure that London 2012 provides the best possible platform to showcase the Olympic and Paralympic movement, but I want to say a special thank you now to Government Ministers and officials from the Department for Culture Media and Sport who have not wavered in their support at challenging economic times.
 
In terms of UK Sport’s investment, the home Games has brought additional funding from Government, but also from the private sector through Team 2012. However, a huge thank you must go to all the National Lottery players who have contributed over the years to this success story. 2012 marks 15 years of investment into Britain’s elite athletes by the Lottery. In buying tickets every week, Lottery players have enabled us to provide sports and their very best athletes with everything they need to train, compete and ultimately succeed on the world stage.
 
On behalf of UK Sport, and all the sports and athletes we invest in, thank you for your support. We’ll keep doing everything we can in the coming 200 days to create those magical sporting moments for you to enjoy and take inspiration from for many years to come. Feel proud of the part you have played.

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