WHY ARE WE FUNDING NO-SHOWS?

BRITISH ATHLETICS are unlikely to field a full men’s sprint team at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow next month. There are two requirements for participants: turn up to the British Indoor Championships in Birmingham, and achieve the qualifying time at least once since the start of the 2018 season. Only three athletes have done this and one, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (right), says he has no intention of competing in Glasgow. So Britain are one short of a team. As it stands the only sprinters qualified are Ojie Edoburun, who finished eighth in Birmingham, and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, who did not make the final. This is the sport, remember, that costs the nation millions each time the London Stadium has to be reconfigured for a summer meeting. Yet if the runners don’t care, and attendances suggest we pretty much don’t care, then who actually cares? What are we funding here?