Warner leads fight for equal funding
Ed Warner has urged UK Sport to create funding parity for governing bodies for Olympic and Paralympic medal success.
Warner, the UK Athletics chief, told The Daily Telegraph: “We care passionately about para athletes being given equal status and opportunity, in terms of funding, government support, lottery support, to their able-bodied counterparts. Look at the numbers and see how much UK Sport invested in para sports and able-bodied sports and there’s still masses of clear water between the two. I don’t think any of us should rest until medals are regarded of equal value by the funding agency.”
Individual Olympic and Paralympic athletes have funding parity, but not governing bodies. UK Athletics has £27million of funding for the Rio-tokyo cycle for Olympians and £11.8million for Paralympians. GB athletes won two gold, one silver and four bronze medals in Rio. GB Paralympians won 33 medals in Rio, 15 of which were gold.
Warner, also vice-chairman of the London World Para Athletics Championships, said: “There are more medals on offer in para sport because there’s so many classes, but if we’re talking about lottery funding providing inspiration, then someone with a gold medal around their neck is inspiring. And then you look at para athletes and think about some of the adversity they have overcome to achieve what they have. It has even greater value.
“If there comes a day where there might be less money available from central government supporting elite sport, I’d like to see the strongest defence being given to the funding of para sport because I think it has huge social value.”
A UK Sport spokesperson said last night: “The UK is one of the biggest supporters of its Paralympic athletes in the world. UK Sport refutes any suggestion that there is not absolute parity in terms of how UK Sport invests into Olympic and Paralympic success.”
Meanwhile, renowned Paralympians such as GB’S Hannah Cockroft and Brent Lakatos, of Canada, have urged organisers to bring the championships back to London in 2019. Lakatos tweeted: “The UK is the birthplace of the Paralympics. The London 2017 worlds are the best ever. Let’s make London the permanent home of the Para World Championships.”
Cockroft told The Daily Telegraph: “There’s nowhere that can put on a para event like this. Athletes are telling us Britain is the place to come because of the support for our sports and the organisation of it all. It would be great to come back in 2019. It’s a no-brainer for many.”
The International Paralympic Committee could be open to the possibility of a return in two years’ time, confirming that no contract is currently signed for a host city.
At 280,000, more tickets have been sold for London 2017 than the previous seven editions of the World Championships combined.