The 2024 Paris Olympics felt euphoric for numerous reasons. Not only was it a refreshing change from 3 years ago, but the grandeur enthralled the world. The dust may have settled on the Summer Games, but we certainly can’t seem to move past the quadrennial event. Nothing can beat watching your favorite athletes compete on the world’s grandest stage. However, Great Britain had something monumental to celebrate this year. 

During the 1908 London Games, GB nabbed the highest medal haul with 146 medals. They then clinched 67 medals in Rio, which happened to be their second-highest. But that number was reduced by just a bit in Tokyo, where they bagged 64 medals, a number that isn’t terrible by any means. Yet, the nation hoped to turn things around in the Paris Olympics, and they had some additional help to make that happen. What are we talking about?

Great Britain offered additional aid to their athletes

In 2023, UK Sport confirmed that they would be funding a significant amount towards the preparation for the Paris Olympics. The 275+ million pound ($300 million) investment across 33 sports was meant to support athletes. They attended extra competitions added to the international calendar, which are required for the Summer Games qualification. However, they also reiterated that this may vary due to the underspend that was carried forward after the 2020 T0kyo Olympics and Paralympics.

The initial funding was for 26 World Class Programs, with half a million pounds spread across numerous progression sports, those that identified long-term medal potential, and National Squads Support Fund sports. However, the numbers have increased since then. This amount was directly paid to the athletes, focusing on their living and sporting expenses. An overall cycle of 70 million pounds had been in the APAs. 

In the initial statement from 2023, the Director of Performance at UK Sport, Kate Baker, stated that the additional investments were solely possible due to The National Lottery’s support. They aimed to support the sports in the lead-up to Paris. But they also kept one eye on the longer term. Sure, winning medals is extremely essential. However, the focus on strengthening the system was just as important. Great Britain named 327 athletes for the Paris Olympics, bringing back a whopping 65 medals from the French capital. But here’s the kicker. It happened to be one medal more than what they won in Tokyo. 

However, this funding wasn’t just for Paris. It would cover the preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. In fact, this is part of the 330 million pounds in Government and National Lottery funding for the sport. A significant chunk of these funds will be for all aspects of the Great Britain national team. This includes equipment and competition costs for track, BMX, road racing, and mountain biking. Sports like Athletics, Aquatics, Triathlon, Cycling, Archery, and more were part of the 18 World Class Programs in British sports. But was this funding a recent installation?

Tokyo Games was a game changer for the funding

Before 2020, about 274 million pounds were invested during the Rio Olympics along with 264 million pounds for the London Games. However, leading up to the Tokyo Summer Games, a whopping 345 million pounds was poured into Olympic sports programs. Before these findings were put into place, numerous athletes had to go into debt, compete, or both just in order to compete.

Who is UK Sport? The organization is responsible for assessing what athletes have future medal potential at future Olympics and Paralympics ahead of the BOA selecting athletes for the next Games. However, the agency has a “no compromise” approach to funding in the best-performing sports would be to guarantee more medals in the Olympics.

This approach came about slightly after certain sports saw unrealistic expectations from coaches to win. This, in turn, resulted in them getting the funding. On the other hand, this doesn’t just focus on the athlete alone. It also pays for large support teams for Olympians. This includes nutritionists and coaches. They are provided by the English Institute of Sport (EIS), which is a subsidiary of UK Sport.

They work with the EIS to scout athletes of the future. This ranges from 11 to 23-year-olds for the Olympics. Ultimately, UK Sport decides how much lottery money goes to each Olympic discipline. However, there is more than one way for athletes to benefit from the funding. A little over 5,000 elite athletes have received a significant amount from the National Lottery funding. This is due to the public playing the lottery. Regardless of how things work out, what did you think of Great Britain’s performance in the Olympic Games?