Tokyo 2020: UK government Aspiration Fund met with mixed response by unfunded sports

 

MEDALS: Langridge and Ellis' bronze didn't save badminton funding
(Team GB photo)

By Steven Oldham

Team GB sporting bodies reacted in a variety of ways to last week's announcement of a £3m government-funded 'Aspiration Fund' for Tokyo 2020's Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

Announced by Sports Minister Tracey Crouch, the fund is open to applications from sports not currently backed by UK Sport's World Class Programme, which is heavily weighted towards teams with the most medal potential.

Perhaps the most controversial exclusion from the current funding cycle was badminton, which lost all funding despite delivering a bronze medal in the men's doubles through Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis at Rio 2016.

Badminton England Chief Executive, Adrian Christy, said: "This is fantastic news for those sports that were left unfunded following the Tokyo 2020 investment decisions." 
"It is a really strong indication that, even when funds are tight, every sport does matter and we now look forward to developing a compelling application to UK Sport to support our players, maximising our qualification chances for 2020."

Funding will be capped at £500,000 for team sports and £275,000 for individual events, with the possibility of applying sports still missing out. 

Badminton, and Great Britain's archers, earnt a partial reprieve in March with the announcement of UK Sport's 'Medal Support Programme' which saw some athletes provided with funding. 

However, not all reaction is positive. Despite acknowledging any extra funding is welcome, the timing of the announcement has come too late for some sports. 

British Handball Chairman Paul Bray said: “While we welcome any new money for unfunded sports, as far as handball is concerned this announcement comes much too late. We will continue to lobby UK Sport to take a fairer long-term approach to funding and look forward to the outcome of the recent consultation”

British Handball also pointed to the timing of the announcement with qualification for Tokyo already underway, and the lack of funding they have received since being cut adrift after the London 2012 cycle. 

As well as a plan to improve sporting prowess, sports must demonstrate their ability to inspire greater participation and benefit local communities.

This bodes well for basketball, which despite high participation numbers, particularly among the young generation, receives no funding. British Basketball received a one-off £195,000 payment earlier this year from UK Sport; in order for them to fulfil World Cup qualifying fixtures amid ongoing concerns about the squad's financial viability. 

Other likely applicants include wheelchair rugby, fencing and weightlifting. The sports making their Olympic debut in Tokyo - including skateboarding, climbing and surfing - are also eligible to apply.

More reading: 

Olympics: Five cult heroes from Rio 2016

Tokyo 2020: UK Sport axe badminton funding despite first Olympic medal in 12 years

Olympics: How will Agenda 2020 change the future of the Games?

Tokyo 2020: UK Sport axe badminton funding despite first Olympic medal in 12 years

 

Bronze winnners Chris Langridge & Marcus Ellis (The Telegraph)

 By Steven Oldham 

A first Olympic medal in 12 years in Rio wasn't sufficient enough for Team GB's elite badminton players as UK Sport today surprisingly withdrew all financial support for the Tokyo 2020 cycle.

The controversial decision to cut badminton's comparatively modest £5.7m funding (in contrast, GB's rowers gained £32.6m towards Rio) leaves the team's top players looking at uncertain futures leading to the next Olympiad. 

Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis became the country's first badminton players to secure an Olympic medal in over a decade by winning bronze in the men's doubles in Rio. 

UK Sport had only set the team a target of 0-1 medals at this Games, and their statement today gave no reason as to why badminton funding was removed regardless of Langridge and Ellis' success. 

Archery, fencing, weightlifting and wheelchair rugby also became victims of UK Sport's successful but ruthless policy which rewards sports with 'podium potential' only.  

The policy definitely gets results, but at what cost?  The much-discussed legacy of London 2012 in Great Britain will again be debated as the list of non-funded sports grows ever longer. 

Team sports including handball, basketball and synchronised swimming were jettisoned as soon as London was over. The 'Inspire a Generation' tagline will be a failure if children see no progression to the top in these sports.  Basketball is one of the country's most popular sports by participation but the national team will only go so far without solid financial backing.

In contrast, 42% of UK Sport funding now goes to just 4 sports - rowing, athletics, sailing and cycling.

Any potential funding for the new sports to the Olympic programme - including karate, surfing and sports climbing - will be decided at a later date. 

WINNERS AND LOSERS:

Rowing continues to be the best funded Olympic sport, at £32.1m over the next four years. This is down roughly £500,000 on the Rio cycle. Many sports take a small hit as overall funding is reduced by £9m to £265m. 

Britain's shooters are the big winners in this round of funding, with their figures bucking the trend, leaping to £7m from £3.9m. Two bronze medals in Rio could be considered a lesser haul than Peter Wilson's solitary gold medal from London 2012. 

Hockey and gymnastics both receive an extra £2m, with the gold-medal winning exploits of the women's hockey team and double-champion Max Whitlock.

British Cycling, however, has lost over £4m despite dominating once again in Rio, a Games in which Laura Kenny became the most successful British female Olympian of all time.

In the Paralympics, the loss of wheelchair rugby funding is compounded by rises for the majority of other disability sports, including an eye-catching 342% increase in wheelchair fencing funding to £668,000. Para-athletics takes over from swimming as the most funded sport with £11.8m to swimming's £11m.

MORE READING:

Badminton's Olympic legacy boosted by creation of NBL

Olympics: Five cult heroes from Rio 2016 

"Legacy? What legacy?" ask British basketballers, weightlifters and water polo players as UK Sport funding withdrawn

Olympics: Five cult heroes from Rio 2016

By Steven Oldham
Rio 2016 saw existing legends cement their place in sporting history; Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Mo Farah and so on. New stars such as Simone Biles and Nafissatou Thiam took centre stage and will look to build on their Brazilian success in four years time at Tokyo 2020.

But what about those lesser known athletes whose achievements might be overshadowed by the megastars? Here's five cult heroes from Rio.

Mónica Puig (Costa Rica)
Gold (Tennis, women's singles)


Puerto Rico's Monica Puig celebrates her gold-winning performance

22-year-old Puig upset the formbook by capturing the women's singles by defeating world number two Angelique Kerber in three sets, winning her country's first ever Olympic gold medal in the process. Unseeded Puig richly deserved her gold medal, defeating the much fancied Garbine Muguruza of Spain in straight sets ahead of eliminating double Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova in the semi finals. There were murmurs that Puig benefitted from the shock early exit of reigning champion Serena Williams but given her form, the result would be far from guaranteed. Never beyond the fourth round of a Grand Slam, more eyes than ever will focus on her progress in next week's US Open.

Nick Skelton (Great Britain)
Gold (Equestrian, individual showjumping)



Nick Skelton & Big Star on their way to gold in the individual jumping

A veteran of seven Olympic Games, Nick Skelton is living proof that it's never too late to achieve your dreams. He took his first individual Olympic gold on Big Star this month at the age of 58; having recovered from a broken neck in 2000, he retired briefly back in 2001 before returning to the sport a year later. A team gold winner in London four years ago, his run to glory in Rio wasn't trouble free, and was way down the leaderboard in the third round. In the final however, with the scores reset, he and Big Star - who he recognises as the best horse he's worked with - produced three flawless runs and took gold in the six-rider jump-off ahead of Sweden's Peder Fredricson.

Joseph Schooling (Singapore)
Gold (Swimming, men's butterfly)



Singapore's first Olympic champion, swimmer Joseph Schooling

Even the great Michael Phelps was left in the wake of Singapore's first ever gold medal winner. Schooling - at 22 with more surely still to come - became Olympic champion and broke his hero Phelps' Games record and beat the American into second place all in one race. His success was no fluke - he topped the timesheet in the heats ahead of Phelps and other better known swimmers including the reigning 200m champion in the same event, South Africa's Chad le Clos. A photo of the young Schooling meeting Phelps at the Beijing 2008 Games spread quickly across the internet following his success His attention will now settle on translating Olympic glory into World Championship gold next summer in Hungary.

Osea Kolinisau (Fiji)
Gold (Rugby sevens, men's competition)



Fiji captain Osea Kolinisau celebrates leading his team to victory

Rugby sevens proved to be a great addition to the Games and it's future on the Olympic programme should be secure past Tokyo 2020 given the positive reception from fans. The men's competition was dominated by World Series champions Fiji. Captain Osea Kolinisau led from the front, laying in with four tries and nine conversions, ending the tournament as his country's top points scorer. His opening minute try in the final vs Great Britain set the tone for a masterclass in sevens rugby, and, more crucially, helped secure his country's first ever Olympic medal of any colour.

Katie Ledecky (USA)
Gold x 4 (Swimming, freestyle. 200m, 400m, 800m, 4x200m relay)



Five-time Olympic champion Katie Ledecky of the USA

If Katie Ledecky was any other nationality than American, her achievements would be even bigger news than they are. If it's possible to be a victim of Phelpsmania, then Katie was it. Her four gold medals, adding to her success at London 2012, takes her to five gold medals at the age of 19. She destroyed the competition in Rio, finishing her 800m some 12 seconds ahead of her nearest rival. She set new world records in both the 400 and 800m - replacing herself as the fastest woman over these distances. She is already sixth on the all time list of female Olympic medal winning swimmers and it's surely only a matter of time - four years perhaps - when she overtakes compatriot Jenny Thompson who has eight gold medals.

In a Games packed with great stories, whose was your favourite story? One of my featured athletes? Someone else? Let me know in the comments.

Can Qatar use home advantage to break Europe's domination of the World Handball Championships?

Have Qatar got the potential to upset the European sides and add to their continental successes of 2014? (QatarHandball2015.com)

By Steven Oldham

The men's World Handball Championships start this Thursday in Qatar and the host nation look the most capable outside bet to end Europe's total domination of this competition.

All 23 previous world titles have gone to European teams since the Championships began in 1938. Spain are the reigning champions having made the most of home advantage two years ago, but France - current European and Olympic champions - go into the tournament as favourites.

While much has been made of Qatar's suitability to hold the FIFA 2022 World Cup, handball is a sport in which their reputation and trophy cabinet are growing in equal measure.

Under Valero Rivera López - who coached Spain to their world title triumph two years ago - they won both the Asian Championships and Asian Games in 2014.

The hosts are ranked fifth favourites behind France, Spain, Denmark and Croatia - and will need to maintain the same sort of free-scoring form that took them to continental success last year to stand a chance of matching these lofty expectations.

For Qatar, a home tournament gives them ample opportunity to record their best ever performance at a World Championships - they've made the knockout rounds once before - and failure to qualify from the group stages this time is unthinkable.

The 24 team tournament consists of four groups of six, with the top four from each group qualifying to a straight knockout format. After being paired with Spain, Slovenia, Belarus, Brazil and Chile, the Qataris stand a good chance of securing a winnable tie in the last 16.

Home advantage is well proven to be a true phenomenon in sport and handball is no exception. Germany, Sweden, France and Spain have all won titles on their own turf, while Tunisia have only ever got anywhere near the semi finals once - when they hosted the tournament back in 2005 - eventually finishing fourth.

Realistically, Qatar will find it difficult to topple the real big boys, even in Lusail or Doha. That they are being spoken about in the same breath as these teams however is testament to their massive improvement in recent years. It will also be an interesting side note to see how Rivera López sets Qatar up to face his old team Spain, who still include many of his title winning team within their squad.

Artist's impression of the new 15,300 seater Lusail Multipurpose Hall
(QatarHandball2015.com)

The bid to host this tournament four years ago was well received by fellow International Handball Federation members and they beat other bids from the French, Poland and Norway to secure another entry in the ever-growing scrapbook of sporting events held in the Gulf state.  The purpose-built, 15,300 capacity Lusail Multipurpose Hall is the focal point for this tournament and will see the first action of the Championships' between the hosts and Brazil on Thursday.

The Championships remain frustratingly Europe-centric however, with the next edition in two years in France followed by the 2019 tournament which will be jointly held by Denmark and Germany. Both France and Germany have hosted the tournament since the turn of the century. 

In this respect, handball runs the risk of lagging behind fellow Olympic sports, which are trying to grow outside of their traditional heartlands and develop bigger fanbases worldwide - see the Judo World Championships being held in Astana, Kazakhstan later this year.

Moving back to Qatar, their marked improvement means hopes of a first Olympic qualification for Rio 2016 are rising. Momentum appears to be on their side and a creditable showing in the forthcoming competition could act as a springboard to reaching this goal.

MORE OLYMPIC SPORTS READING:

 

Olympics: How will Agenda 2020 change the future of the Games?

 

No Olympics? No problem! Championships galore in minority and developing sports in 2015 as road to Rio continues

 

"Legacy? What legacy?" ask British basketballers, weightlifters and water polo players as UK Sport funding withdrawn

 

Badminton's Olympic legacy boosted by creation of NBL

 

Rowing's struggle for sponsorship despite Golden Games is a big worry for minority sports

England's Helen Clitheroe not retiring after Commonwealth Games...but risks being 'strung up' if she guns for Rio 2016!

By Steven Oldham

CLICK HERE FOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES HOMEPAGE

England's veteran distance runner Helen Clitheroe is adamant she will continue to be an athlete past the Commonwealth Games where she is set to race in the 5000m this weekend.

The 40-year-old has no intention of hanging up her running spikes just yet, as Glasgow 2014 is the culmination of a lengthy return from injury to top class competition that ruled her out of London 2012.

She is realistic however, when it comes to carrying on until the next Olympics in Brazil in two years time.

Helen said:"I wanted to prove to myself that I could get fit again and get back to competing.

I hope I can inspire older athletes. There's me and Jo Pavey both in the distance running team, we're both 40 - to have one of us that age is pretty unusual - two of us is pretty unheard of.

I had my best year in athletics at 37. Most athletes have retired by that age - if I can inspire people to carry on that would be great."

So what about her own future?

"After the Commonwealths I want to get another few another 5000m races and I will assess from there.

Rio 2016?! I think my husband would string me up if I went home and said I wanted to go for that!," she joked, before adding: "It's not easy being an athlete financially these days and at this stage of my career I have to justify what I'm doing. So I've not definitely ruled it out but I'd say it was very, very unlikely."

Helen after winning European championship gold in 2011

Helen - a European indoor 3000m champion and a Commonwealth bronze medallist from her home Games in Manchester twelve years ago - is heading into her fifth Friendly Games and it is obviously a competition that is close to her heart.

" The Commonwealths have been a massive part of my career. Kuala Lumpur '98 was my first senior international meet, I won a medal in Manchester, and I captained the woman's team in Delhi four years ago.

Glasgow 2014 was a real motivation when I was injured. I missed London 2012, and after seeing how amazing it was, I realised how special it was to perform in front of a home crowd. It meant so much to get the phone call to say I'd been picked, so I'm definitely still excited for the Commonwealth Games," she said.

The Preston-born runner is up against strong competition from Kenya's women, in the shape of Mercy Cherono and Janet Kisa. Distance running has again proved to be the African's trump card in these Commonwealths with Kenya's women taking four of their country's five gold medals to date. They also locked out the podium for 10,000m.  

"There's two really strong girls from Kenya in my race. It's a straight final - no heats - so anything can happen and I have to be ready for that. You never know what will happen in distance running and I need to be up in the mix.

I'd like to think I can beat my PB - but to be honest, that doesn't really matter in these competitions - it's all about where you finish. I certainly won't be running around looking at the clock. Obviously, it would be nice to beat my PB, but I'm more focussed on getting the performance to be competitive and I'm also determined to enjoy the moment."

"I can't wait to start competing now. You start to realise how close it is watching everyone in the holding camp and seeing the excitement."

I'm the world champion, but I want Paralympic gold too says British powerlifter Ali Jawad

By Steven Oldham

British powerlifter Ali Jawad still has unfinished business with the Paralympics despite becoming world champion earlier this month.

The Londoner became the -59kg champion by lifting 190kg at the Powerlifting World Championships in Dubai, setting a new world record in the process.

Jawad admits after winning his first world title his thoughts are now firmly fixed on the Rio 2016 Paralympics - and putting some past demons to bed once and for all.

He came fourth at London 2012, missing out on the medals after having a lift that would have seen him won silver thrown out, reinstated and then thrown out again by the jury, who ordered him to relift 189kg minutes after he had done so the first time.  He couldn't, and missed out on the medals due only to being heavier than the eventual bronze medallist from China.

He said: "It hasn't really sunk in that I'm the world champion yet.  It doesn't seem like I am.  Nothing has really changed for me.

A lot of people have asked me if being world champion has made up for what happened at London 2012.  My first thought was that I need to win in Rio.  My focus is definitely now on 2016."

Competing in Dubai (thanks to Ali for photograph)

Jawad - Lebanese born but London bred - went into his latest competition in Dubai as world record holder in his weight class but momentarily lost it to Iranian lifter Hamzeh Mohamaddi, who lifted 186kg in the first round, 0.5kg than Jawad's record.

The 25-year-old responded with an unmatched lift of 190kg in the next round and reclaimed his world record, an impressive feat given he weighs less than a third of what he lifted.

"Our plan was to go in at the world record, but he went in higher in the first round.  We weren't expecting that!", he said.

Next in Ali's sights is the final qualifiers for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the summer.  He is set to compete in the qualifiers in Coventry on 11 May at the Ricoh Arena, having already gained 160 points towards a place in Team England.

Only three powerlifters are able to go forward to the Games for England and Jawad reckons it will take a big effort from other lifters to make the 160 points target.

"I've already reached 160 and so has another lifter.  It will be a big ask for anyone else to reach it.

In the grand scheme of things, the Commonwealths are not that important - they are in the same four year cycle as the Worlds which have to take precedence.  It's still a competition I'm training hard for and it will be very difficult to win.  I reckon my main competition will be from Nigeria."

Nigerian lifter Anthony Ulomman took bronze in Dubai to underline his podium credentials for Glasgow, albeit having lifted 7kg less than Jawad, who is relishing performing in front of a British crowd once more.

"I still see Glasgow as a home Games.  Hopefully I can do well and if I medal it might start to make up for what happened in London," he said.

You can follow Ali's progress via his Twitter page, @AliJawad12

More Olympic and Paralympic sport:

Badminton's Olympic legacy boosted by creation of NBL

Wheelchair fencing, football and goalball all lose funding despite big increase for other Paralympic sports

"Legacy? What legacy?" ask British basketballers, weightlifters and water polo players as UK Sport funding withdrawn

Wheelchair fencing, football and goalball all lose funding despite big increase for other Paralympic sports

By Steven Oldham

Great Britain's Paralympic sailors and canoeists were the big winners today as UK Sport announced the results of their Annual Investment Review, but three sports lost funding all together.

Wheelchair fencing, five-a-side football and goalball will receive no backing in the Rio 2016 Paralympic cycle, in contrast to sailing and canoeing's rises of over £800,000 and £750,000 respectively.

All other Paralympic disciplines have either retained the same level of funding or had small increases.  The swimming and athletics teams top the funding table, with £11.7m and £10.8m respectively.

Athletes in the sports where funding has been axed now face the daunting prospect of self-supporting their way to Rio.  The sports were deemed unrealistic medal hopes at both Rio and Tokyo 2020 and have had funding removed as a result. 

The Annual Investment Review was the most detailed ever undertaken by UK Sport and consisted of 16 different elements including athlete performance, operations and programme strategy.

For my take on the Olympics funding cycle, click here

Follow @spoldham on Twitter

"Legacy? What legacy?" ask British basketballers, weightlifters and water polo players as UK Sport funding withdrawn

By Steven Oldham

UK Sport's announcement of Rio 2016 funding cycles has today brought bad news for some Olympic sports.

Great Britain's basketball, weightlifting, water polo and synchronised swimming teams will not receive any central funding at all for the next Olympic Games in Brazil.

These sports join handball and wrestling on the scrapheap, shut out by UK Sport's commitment to awarding medal potential in future Games.

These latest cuts are in contrast to other sports who are celebrating receiving a bigger slice of £350m in funding - the winners include hockey, judo and taekwondo.

Unfortunately, the future is not so bright for the sports without funding - GB teams were entered for the first time at London 2012 in basketball and handball, and the water polo teams entered for the first time in over 50 years.

It was obvious without the experience, infrastructure and pedigree of their rivals the British teams would struggle in these events.  The athletes are not miracle workers - it's the equivalent of expecting Gibraltar to win Euro 2016 despite never having entered continental competition before.

While funding cuts are nothing new to underachieving sports, the promised legacy of London 2012 will be pretty non existent in these sports now.  It's a vicious circle - under performance leads to lower funding, which leads to less money to invest in improving existing talent and attracting newcomers.

Other top-level British Olympic teams have struggled to attract outside commercial sponsorship including rowing, as I blogged last year.  If they found it hard to get a deal with all their medals and extra TV coverage, what chance have a group of synchro swimmers got?

It was commendable for the home nations to be represented in every sport at our home Games two years ago.  It is equally galling for these smaller sports to be swept under the rug now the Olympic goodwill factor has subsided.

Follow @spoldham on Twitter

Rowing's struggle for sponsorship despite Golden Games is a big worry for minority sports

By Steven Oldham

Despite picking up their biggest ever haul of medals in last year's Olympics, Great Britain's rowers will be flying cattle class to this year's World Championships in South Korea.

The lack of a title sponsor backing GB Rowing since Siemens quietly pulled out last December have left the bean counters cutting back on goodies such as first class travel and bonuses for medallists in August.

In the six months since Siemens withdrew their support, no replacement has been found and that means one of Team GB's most consistent and successful teams have lost out on £6m of funding.

Don't get me wrong - rowing is still very well funded compared to the majority of it's Olympic contemporaries - and the success at London 2012 saw an increase of National Lottery funding of over £5m for the next cycle to the Rio 2016 Games to £32.6m.

Compared to other minority sports such as handball, basketball and men's water polo which have lost all funding, rowing is still doing very well for itself.

But the fact that one of, if not the best team in the world, cannot find a sponsor is very worrying for all Olympic sports, particularly considering it's less than a year since London 2012 enthralled the world.

Siemens are not alone in tightening their belts as the world economy still continues to drag its heels along the road to growth.  Aviva shocked UK Athletics and the watching interested by dropping their title sponsorship of the Olympics' blue riband event not long ago. 

The lack of commitment and desire shown by big business to be associated with GB Rowing is a kick in the teeth for the heroes and heroines of London 2012 with many of them treading water to stay afloat financially.  And with no sponsor for rowing, the likes of handball have no chance.  The GB team played what looks like their last game against Italy last month and with no funding available, players unable to afford to travel to games and no backing for the sort of legacy hoped for, handball sadly looks likely to be a one-summer wonder with few remembering the action from the Copper Box last summer.

Follow @spoldham on Twitter