UK Sport has denied putting UK Athletics on the “naughty step” after slashing its funding for the Los Angeles Olympic cycle by nearly £1.75m. The shock decision comes despite Team GB’s track and field stars winning 10 medals in Paris – their best performance since 1984.
UKA has struggled with financial and governance issues in previous years, while UK Sport is also understood to have questioned whether UKA’s chief executive, Jack Buckner, is too involved on the performance side.
However athletics insiders were still stunned to see its share of lottery and exchequer money cut from £22.18m between 2020-2024 to £20.45m for 2025-2029 – a fall of 8% – with fears that it will impact on training camps and funding for coaches.
To rub further salt in UKA’s wounds, 44 of 46 Olympic and Paralympic sports funded by UK Sport received either more or the same money to help them prepare for the LA Games, with cycling (£30.13m) and sailing (£23.95m) faring best.
However UK Sport’s chief executive, Sally Munday, dismissed suggestions that UKA had been targeted, and stressed it would still be getting £30m of public money once the £9.8m of money for Para Athletics was factored in.
“We are well aware that UK Athletics have had some challenging times,” she said. “Jack and the team are doing everything that they can to get this sport back on the right footing for the future. If they were on the naughty step, we wouldn’t be giving them £30m. We wouldn’t be investing in the events. We wouldn’t be talking to them about bringing the 2029 World Athletics Championships here.”
Buckner, meanwhile, admitted that UKA was “disappointed” at the news. “We felt the progress we have made in the last few years culminating in 10 medals in both the World Championships and the Olympics, not to mention the wholesale improvements in governance and our events and commercial model deserved a higher level of investment,” he said. “Unfortunately, UK Sport could not be convinced of the merits of our case.”
UK Sport confirmed it would be investing a record £330m of government and national lottery funding into Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic sports for the Los Angeles 2028 cycle .
That includes just over £14m in funding for gymnastics and hockey, while equestrian gets £12m despite Charlotte Dujardin being banned for whipping a horse in a video that emerged just before Paris 2024.
“We were as shocked as everyone else by the video,” said Munday. “And in line with our eligibility policy, Charlotte Dujardin is ineligible to receive public funding while her sanction is in force. But there are a huge number of other talented riders within the British equestrian programme, and we’re seeking to support that sport moving forwards.”
There is also funding for five new and return sports in Los Angeles with baseball/softball and lacrosse receiving £700,000 while flag football, para climbing and squash get £500,000.
Canoeing is the only other sport apart from athletics to see a drop, falling from £13.08m to £12.55m.