Sports face cash cuts for failing to protect athletes
BRITAIN’S Olympic and Paralympic sports have been warned that their funding could be stripped if they do not properly protect the welfare of their athletes. A Sportsmail investigation yesterday found that UK Sport have not taken money away from any governing bodies on the grounds of athlete welfare in the past two Olympic cycles despite a string of scandals. However, UK Sport chief executive Sally Munday insisted she would not ‘shy away’ from taking that hardline approach, as she looks to restore the reputation of an elite sport system further hit by abuse allegations in British Gymnastics. Munday said: ‘We do have the ultimate power of taking money away and we will take money away if we think that needs to happen. We won’t shy away if we feel that is the requirement. The important thing is how can we help sports to learn and improve. But we will put conditions into funding awards where it is required, and they will have to meet those conditions. We’ll remove funding if we need to.’ Munday, who was speaking at an event to update on the work of UK Sport, also announced the creation of 200 ‘culture champions’ and 300 ‘mental health champions’, and released results from UK Sport’s latest Culture Health Check — a survey first launched in 2017 after an independent investigation found there to be a ‘culture of fear’ at British Cycling. Athlete welfare has come under the spotlight again amid the abuse scandal in gymnastics, now the subject of an independent review. Munday added: ‘We are really disappointed by the stories that have emerged in gymnastics. Such behaviour has got no place at any level of the sport we fund.’ In a separate development, a number of former British gymnasts, including ex-Olympians, have confirmed they are considering taking group legal action against British Gymnastics.
PARKRUN plans to restart in England at the end of October after the Government gave the event the green light to return. The free Saturday morning recreational run attracts more than 200,000 people each week.