UK Sport has today confirmed an additional £11.2m of funding into summer Olympic and Paralympic sport to support preparations for the Paris 2024 Games.
These investments have been made possible by the increased Comprehensive Spending Review settlement announced by the Prime Minister in the wake of the Tokyo Olympic Games earlier this year. The news also means that the indicative funding for Paris, announced in December 2020, can now be confirmed for all sports.
A full breakdown of the investments is available here.
The increased investment will be spread across 33 sports and will help further support them in their preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The increased investment will allow over 100 athletes to be added to World Class Programmes, which not only has positive implications for Paris, but also helps sports to strengthen the pathway of young athletes who are targeting success at the Los Angeles Games in 2028. The additional funds will also help sports increase access to international competition and training camps for their athletes among other things.
Today’s news comes after the success of Tokyo 2020, where Team GB won 65 medals in 25 disciplines and then ParalympicsGB followed that up by winning 124 medals across a record-breaking 18 sports.
Sally Munday, CEO of UK Sport said: “The collective pride of what our brilliant Olympic and Paralympic athletes achieved in Tokyo this summer still shines brightly. The most exciting element of Tokyo was the breadth of success we saw across both our Olympic and Paralympic teams. To now be in a position to strengthen our investment across so many sports for Paris will undoubtedly help us in our ambition to reach, inspire and unite the nation.
“Seeing first-hand the way our athletes brought the nation together in Tokyo after such a difficult period was uplifting, whether it be the family and friends of Tom Dean cheering him to gold from Maidenhead or the brilliant story of our Wheelchair Rugby squad winning gold.
“While today’s news is about supporting our summer sports on their journey to Paris, fans have just a few weeks to wait for their next Olympic and Paralympic fix as our winter athletes limber up for what promises to be a thrilling Winter Games in Beijing.”
Dame Katherine Grainger, Chair of UK Sport said: “We are extremely grateful to the Prime Minister and Government for continuing to back our sports and athletes. Together with The National Lottery, their support of Olympic and Paralympic sport is the fuel which allows our inspirational athletes to perform and succeed on the world stage.
“We have an ambitious mission to create the greatest decade of extraordinary sporting moments and we know that we have a brilliant cohort of dedicated and hardworking athletes and coaches who can help us achieve that.
“To know that Government share our belief that the iconic moments sport creates can play a powerful and positive role in wider society is a huge boost for everyone working in Olympic and Paralympic sport.”
British Cycling, Performance Director Stephen Park OBE, said: “The success of British Cycling in Tokyo, where we were more competitive across more disciplines with first medals in mountain-biking, BMX freestyle and BMX racing as well as track and road, meant we were able to engage more people in our sport. This additional investment – thanks to the National Lottery and the recent Government spending review – will enable us to maintain support for British riders to achieve their best over the Paris cycle, strengthen our plans to nurture the next generation of talented athletes for future success, and continue our track record of inspiring more people to get active by getting on their bikes.”
Jason Brisbane, CEO of Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby said: “GBWR are delighted to be able to increase the number of funded athletes we have on our world class programme. Talent development is a priority for us so being able to support more athletes on their journey to being Paralympians will go a long way to helping us build on the success we had at Tokyo. We appreciate the support The National Lottery and UK Sport continues to provide us on our journey to Paris 2024.”
Ashley Metcalfe, CEO of British Weight Lifting said: “After a hugely successful Tokyo Paralympics, British Weight Lifting is delighted to receive such positive news. We remain extremely grateful to The National Lottery and UK Sport for their continued support and confidence in our team that allows our athletes the opportunity to achieve their sporting ambitions.”
Andrew Scoular, CEO, British Judo Association said: “We welcome the additional support from UK Sport and the National Lottery with great pleasure as we head into the Paris Olympic and Paralympic cycle.
“In what has been a difficult year for everybody, we are grateful for the increase in funding which will enable us to put in place plans to further support our athletes to realise their dreams and win medals at Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“We have seen positive progression following the Tokyo Games with the GB Judo team recently setting a medal record at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, in addition to seeing our athletes on the top step of the podium at Grand Slam competitions. These are all positive signs as we head into the Paris qualification period next year.
“I would like to express my gratitude to all who play The National Lottery, as they have now given us the opportunity to fulfil our ambitions as we enter the Paris qualification period. I would also like to thank UK Sport for their additional investment in our sport and the entire GB Judo team is excited to build upon our recent positive results.”
Minister for Sport, Tourism and Civil Society, Nigel Huddleston, said: "Team GB and ParalympicsGB are one of the nation's greatest success stories, making us an Olympic and Paralympic powerhouse and inspiring people across the country to get active.
"The government is right behind our athletes which is why we've increased our funding by over 40 percent ahead of Paris 2024. We will continue to work with the National Lottery so that our athletes have all the financial support they need to build on their outstanding success in Tokyo."