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 57 medals has been pegged as the zenith of the returns from investing huge sums of Lottery money into creating world-class performers, resulting in a steady rise from finishing 36th overall in the medal table in Atlanta 20 years ago to second in Rio.
Many of the medals, however, were delivered by the generated who have held on since London 2012 with the likes of Mo Farah, Nicola Adams and Scottish rower Heather Stanning all unlikely to retain the pre-eminence come 2012.
But Timson claims the weighty funds already set aside for achieving results in Tokyo, and the Games beyond, will ensure a smooth transition for the generation to come.
“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 who we have been investing in. You have ambitious, driven coaches – plus science, medicines – who are not going to let up for a minute after Rio. And we’ve designed our investment processes so that sport can start the Tokyo cycle the minute they step off the plane – which for many is on Tuesday morning.”
Even with UK Sport ready to approach the Treasury for additional monies to back their push, more will be asked from the Scottish system which has finally been tasked with some of the elite drive rather than simply nurturing shoots of promise that will bloom, ultimately, 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 Great Britain’s success.”
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