We need funding for grassroots AND elite sport to continue to inspire the nation
IT is a time when we should be basking in the success of our biggest sporting stars.
British athletes have enjoyed a remarkable run, from London 2012 through to the phenomenal Olympic Games in Rio a year ago and the London 2017 World Athletics Championships, which finished on Sunday.
Yet some people still question the funding they get.
A rather misleading survey recently suggested only four per cent of the population backed UK Sport’s funding strategy for more medals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
It said the public would prefer more grassroots investment and more community sports centres.
Of course, we all want this. I would choose the same. But why do we have to choose?
The fact is that we can — and should — have both, because one feeds the other.
For some there is no bigger incentive to try something new than seeing a fellow Brit triumph on the world stage.
The first ever GB Olympic women’s rowing medal was won in Sydney 2000. And the first school talk I gave was as part of that crew sharing our experiences.
A few years later one of the schoolgirls who was in that room competed alongside us in the GB team.
Never underestimate the power of inspiration.
Another incorrect assumption from this survey is that pretty much all of our Olympic and Paralympic athletes went to private school.
That is simply untrue. Just like I did, 85 per cent of the Rio 2016 team went to a state school.
And the vast majority of our athletes rely on National Lottery funding as their sole source of income.
Olympians and Paralympians don’t just turn up on the TV every couple of years.
They are training hard and are out in their communities to inspire young people.
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Since London 2012, our elite athletes have made more than 24,000 volunteer appearances in schools and communities across the UK.
Following the London Games when a State of the Nation survey asked the public what aspects of British society made them most proud to be British, Team GB was third behind the NHS and the Armed Forces.
A more recent poll suggests that Team GB is now joint second.
Our hero athletes are something that can unite us.
At Rio 2016, we came second in the medal table and our top athletes know they could not have done it without your support.
And this weekend they want to say thank you.
On Saturday, 100 of our top athletes, including sprinter Adam Gemili and long jumper Greg Rutherford, will act as tail walkers at local Parkruns across the UK as part of #teamparkrun.
You have been right behind the athletes and now they want to get behind you.
STATE SCHOOL HALL OF FAME
JESSICA ENNIS-HILL
Introduced to athletics at ten by parents Vinnie, a painter and decorator, and Alison, a social worker, Jessica – who won heptathlon gold at London 2012 – went to King Ecgbert School in Sheffield.
MO FARAH
His talent was spotted by his PE teacher at Holloway School in North London. The four-time Olympic champ moved to the UK from Somalia at the age of eight.
REBECCA ADLINGTON
The four-time Olympic medallist attended The Brunts Academy in Mansfield. Her dad runs a steel fabrication business and her mum gave up part-time office job to focus on Rebecca’s training.
AMIR KHAN
Juggled boxing with his studies at Smithills School in Bolton. He’s the UK’s youngest medal winner aged 17 with silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Mechanic dad set up his own garage.
NICOLA ADAMS
The double Olympic champ grew up on a Leeds council estate. Mum took on multiple jobs to support Nicola’s training. Attended Agnes Stewart C of E High School and started boxing at an after-school club.
SALLY GUNNELL
The hurdling gold medallist grew up on a farm in Essex. Went to West Hatch High, where she would slow down in races to not win by too much.
VICTORIA PENDLETON
Dad was a cycling champion who worked as an accountant and mum a bookkeeper. The double Olympic gold ace went to comprehensive Fearnhill School in Letchworth, Herts.
LAURA KENNY
Her family took up cycling after her teaching assistant mum wanted to lose weight. The four-time Olympic champ went to Turnford, a comprehensive in Herts.
Join Parkrun to meet the stars
PARKRUNS are 5k events that take place every Saturday at 9am in England and Wales and at 9.30am in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
They offer a free and easy way to take your first steps to becoming more active. Whether you walk, jog, run or volunteer, everyone is welcome.
This Saturday, top athletes will volunteer as Parkrun tail walkers to thank the public for their support through the National Lottery. See .