The National Lottery has contributed £152million of the total investment of more than £264million which has gone directly in to funding Olympic Sports to prepare for London 2012.
This means 88 per cent of Team GB athletes selected for London 2012 have received National Lottery money through UK Sport’s World Class Performance Programme at some point in their career. Athlete Personal Awards provide financial support to contribute to living and training costs allowing them to devote more time to their passion.
All this investment means Team GB is the best funded and prepared team in the history of British Olympic sport benefitting from world class support including facilities, coaching and technology
The difference this funding has made is not hard to see. National Lottery players have been supporting elite sport in the UK since 1997. At the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, Great Britain finished 36th in the medal table, with just a solitary gold medal. But by the 2008 Games in Beijing, Team GB finished in 4th place in the medal table, with 19 gold medal performances.