We can match Rio haul in Tokyo, says GB chief
THE unprecedented successes at these Olympics can be matched in Tokyo, UK Sport’s performance chief Simon Timson insisted as the British team departed Rio yesterday.
The record haul of 67 medals has been credited to the huge amounts of Lottery money that have been invested in recent years into creating world-class athletes across all Olympic disciplines.
The result has been a steady rise from finishing 36th overall in the medal table in Atlanta 20 years ago to second behind the USA and ahead of third-placed China in Rio.
Many of the medals, however, were delivered by athletes who have replicated their success from the 2012 Olympics in London – with the likes of Mo Farah, Nicola Adams and Scottish rower Heather Stanning all unlikely to retain their pre-eminence on the global stage come 2020’s Tokyo Olympics.
But Timson claims the weighty funds already set aside for achieving results in Tokyo, and the Games beyond, will ensure a smooth transition from this generation to the next one.
“We’ve seen a lot of excellent performances in Rio but they’ve not been a surprise,” he said. “Because we invest National Lottery funds into eight-year pathways not two or four-year projects, that success in breadth is there.
“It doesn’t really give us any concerns about the long-term sustainability of the programme. We’ve got athletes who have been preparing for Tokyo since 2012.”
Even with UK Sport ready to approach the Treasury for additional monies to back their push, more achievement will be asked for from the Scottish system, rather than simply nurturing shoots of promise from within one of the funding national programmes.
“We’ve got an advisory group to look at planning and to make it as easy as possible for talented athletes, no matter where they come from, to progress through the pathway and become world-class athletes and Olympic medallists,” Timson, who will move over to the Lawn Tennis Association later this year, added.
“Scotland has enjoyed huge success here with a record number of athletes on the team and a record number of medallists. If we’re going to sustain that success, we want everyone contributing to Britain’s success.”
MEANWHILE, Katherine Grainger will have a job for life in rowing if she wants to stay involved, British Rowing performance director Sir David Tanner has revealed.
The 40-year-old, five-time Olympics medallist insisted there would be no further comebacks in the boat after the silver medal she secured with Vicky Thornley in the double sculls last week.
Part of her decision is undoubtedly based on the rollercoaster ride from London 2012 that she had to go through to even reach Rio, which saw her results slump and her selection questioned before she came agonisingly close to retaining her Olympic title.
Grainger admits she will take time to pick her next move with media work, academia or furthering her legal career among the available options. But Tanner will look to persuade the Scot to keep one foot in the boat, either in a competitive or coaching role, rather than completely severing her ties with the sport.
“It would be wonderful,” he said. “She has to say she wants to retire properly first. She didn’t after London. I teased her afterwards when she said it was her last Olympic final. I think it’s unlikely she’ll be back [competing]. But she and I have had a trajectory since 1997 and her first year in the senior team so I’ll be talking to her.”