Meanwhile, a group of British athletes has called on the government to find an urgent funding increase to prevent a “pending crisis”.

Athletes are funded through grants, called Athlete Performance Awards (APAs), which are intended to allow them to focus on their sport.

Funding levels for the cycle through to Los Angeles are set to be confirmed by the government after the autumn Budget. It invested £385m of public money – Exchequer and Lottery funding – for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic cycle.

GB hockey captain and 2016 Olympic champion Hollie Pearne-Webb said: “Across sport I’ve seen athletes becoming increasingly reliant on their families to sustain their careers, or quit altogether because they can’t afford to continue.

“A lot held on until Paris, but many won’t be able to sustain themselves for another four years without higher grants, especially athletes from lower-income backgrounds. Over recent years many have become blocked from elite sport because of the personal finance needed to make ends meet now.

“Without urgently addressing athlete funding we’ll force out the next generation of British Olympians and Paralympians, or restrict that honour to only the most privileged.”

Pearne-Webb, who chairs a forum of athletes that feeds into sporting policy, has co-signed a letter with nine other elite athletes that was sent this week to culture secretary Lisa Nandy.

The forum, which includes Olympians like Asha Philip, Grace Reid and Brad Hall, and seven-time Paralympian Dan Greaves, called on the government to find an urgent funding increase.

“Athletes and their families have shouldered the burden of static grants throughout the cost of living crisis,” the letter states.

“Now we are concerned that, with the sporting system under immense financial pressure, they will be asked to do so until at least 2028. Such a demand will have devastating consequences.”