THE projected tally of medals for Team Great Britain was thrust firmly under the spotlight yesterday as sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe admitted that athletes need to prove they are value for money at this month's Olympic Games in Beijing.
Some predictions have Britain doubling their gold medal tally and finishing fourth in Beijing, following their tenth place finish in the Athens table with nine gold medals. However, funding body UK Sport's target remains a more realistic 10 to 12 gol
ds and 35 medals, and an eighth place finish in the table.
Even an eighth place finish overall in the Olympic medal table would – boycotted Games apart – require the best medal performance by a British team since 1920.
But British Olympic chiefs have been quick to play down bold predictions that they could overhaul Australia to finish as the fourth-best nation in Beijing. The British Olympic Association is refusing to set a specific target for the Games, saying it is concentrating on making fourth place in the table four years down the line at London 2012.
BOA chairman Colin Moynihan said at the British team's pre-Games launch in Beijing yesterday: "We do have a very strong team, better financed and better resourced than ever, and I believe this will deliver the goods and we will move significantly forward from 10th. For a number of sports we also want to see real progress towards 2012.
"We are confident we will move forward from tenth but it would be unwise to speculate how close we will get to fourth."
UK Sport, the body that distributes National Lottery funding to Olympic sports, is keeping its target of 35 British medals at Beijing.
A spokesman said: "The target of 35 medals, and eighth place in the medals table, remains the same. We do have a 'stretch target' of 41 medals that we would hope to achieve if everything goes right and that also remains the same."
Unprecedented levels of funding granted by UK Sport across the sporting spectrum has allowed Team GB to ensure it will take the best-prepared team in Olympic history to Beijing.
That financial backing has allowed the majority of sports to introduce full-time programmes as well as a full compliment of support staff with the wider goal of claiming Britain's highest-ever medal haul at the 2012 Games in London.
It has also enabled Team GB to set-up a specialised holding camp in Macau with many sports indicating they have enjoyed their best build-up to an Olympics in terms of facilities and preparation.
However, Sutcliffe conceded that while there is a certain amount of focus on four years' time, given the majority of UK Sport's money comes from lottery funds there is also a responsibility to produce more short-term success.
"If you look at it from public finance, we've put £500 million into elite sports and what we've got to try and do is make sure there's a recovery of that in terms of the outcomes," he said.
"It wasn't a target that we put to UK Sport, UK Sport themselves decided that's what we should expect from the amount of investment that's gone in.
"Every Games is a Games in its own right and you want to see success. I think that we would hope to see that expectation met.
"People have recognised the amount of investment that has gone into sport over the last ten years but they will certainly measure that by outcomes and that's why these Games will be important because we've handed the opportunity to give the athletes time to train."
Sutcliffe, who confirmed he would be attending the opening ceremony in Beijing along with minister for the Olympics and London Tessa Jowell, also indicated that poor performances by individual sports in Beijing could see their levels of funding affected in the future.
"I went to Mission 2012 with UK Sport a few weeks ago and we've said to sports that public investment needs a return. It's a very strict contract that exists between UK Sport and each of the individual sports.
"Obviously we have to evaluate what the reasons are but if we came well short of that 41-medal haul we'd be very concerned about that and we'd look to the future.
"We will have a review immediately after Beijing on the investment that we put in with UK Sport and looking at those sports that have been successful and those that haven't."
Whatever the outcome of an Olympic Games that opens in two days' time, Sutcliffe is convinced Britain has nevertheless adopted the right approach in its bid to increase its medal tally.
"Very much so. You look at cycling, cycling decided 10 years ago to have a fresh look at their sport, what they needed to do and I think that's been true of most sports," he said.
Chris Hoy and his cycling team-mates are clearly tipped to bring home a sizeable share of Britain's medal haul, and other golds are tipped to be won in sailing, equestrian, boxing, rowing, canoeing and in the triathlon.
Triple jumper Philips Idowu appears to be Britain's greatest gold medal hope in track and field events, although Christine Ohuruogu is a realistic contender for the 400 metres and Paula Radcliffe – if fully fit – has a chance in the marathon.
Radcliffe's amazing recovery from a stress fracture in her left thigh continued yesterday as she stepped up her training and the marathon world record holder admitted that burning desire to add an Olympic medal to triumphs at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games was driving her on.
"I'm the type of person that if you say you can't do this and you make it harder, it kind of makes me more determined anyway," she said. "It gives me a boost to come this far and confidence that things are going to go well."
If Radcliffe was to pull out a triumph it would represent an amazing feat, and her team-mates will be required to perform similar heroics if they are to reach that 'stretch' tally of 41.
The bookies believe they fill fall short, however. William Hill issued odds of 1-2 yesterday morning that GB will fail to reach the magic figure of 41.
The full article contains 1058 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
