No Compromise

In putting together its investment strategy for first Beijing 2008 and then London 2012, UK Sport has developed a 'no compromise' approach to funding and support.

'No Compromise' is about being honest about the mission. UK Sport's prime responsibility is to support the winning of medals at the world's biggest multi-sport competitions. With that aim, no element of the training and preparation of our medal hopes can be compromised if they are to succeed - a fact borne out in Athens where four of Team GB's gold medals were won by a combined margin of less than half a second.

The 'no compromise' strategy was developed as a result of the lessons learned from the Sydney and in particular Athens Olympiads. Winning medals is incredibly tough and we have to be ruthless about our podium potential in every event, studying every aspect - medals available, athletes, coaches, current performance, future potential, talent selection, cost and above all the opposition - and invest accordingly.

Other nations are surrounding their best hopes with all the support they need. To do this ourselves we have to recognise that we must reinforce the best, support those developing and provoke change in the under-performing. The result is UK Sport's 'no compromise' investment strategy, which targets resources solely at those athletes capable of delivering medal-winning performances. Individual sports are allocated funding based on a combination of past performance and future potential.