IN the wake of Team GB’s gold rush at the Rio Olympics, it can be hard to remember what it felt like to be losers.
But just 20 years ago, the British Olympic team had more zeroes than heroes and suffered humiliation at the Atlanta Games.
A squad including Jonathan Edwards, Denise Lewis, Chris Boardman and Ben Ainslie managed just 15 medals.
There was a single gold, for Matthew Pinsent and Steve Redgrave in the coxless pair.
Branded the “team of shame”, the Brits finished a miserable 36th on the medal table, beaten by the likes of Belgium and Ethiopia.
In 1994 Prime Minister John Major launched the National Lottery and in 1997, UK Sport was established to distribute Lottery funds to athletes.
To date, £4.4billion of funding has been raised by the sale of tickets.
For the period 2013 to 2017, UK Sport has pledged almost £350million to Olympic and
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Paralympic sports — up 11 per cent on the run-up to London 2012.
Today, 1,300 elite athletes get their wages from Lottery funding, and more than 600 have gone on to win Olympic and Paralympic medals since 1997.
On average, each medal at the Rio Olympics has cost £5.5million.
But with the motto “Better Never Stops”, Team GB refuses to compromise.
The aim is to ensure Great Britain becomes the most successful nation at its first “away” games after being the host nation.
Already Team GB has more medals than at the equivalent stage in London, so we are on track for our most successful Olympics on foreign soil.
Simon Timson, UK Sport’s director of performance, said he was “incredibly confident” about Britain claiming at least 48 medals by the end of this week.
He added: “This is not happening by chance. This is success by design. It’s the result of 18 years of consistent National Lottery investment.”
With this in mind, it’s no wonder expectations are higher than ever.
Here, KATE JACKSON and EMILY FAIRBAIRN look at how the Lottery has transformed the fortunes of different Olympic sports.
ROWING
UK Sport funding
TOTAL: £106m
RIO: £32.6m
IN Rio, Team GB scored more medals in this sport than any other country.
The culture of success is down to legendary coach Jurgen Grobler and the fact British Rowing recruits individuals with no prior experience.
James Cracknell, an ambassador for Karrimor, said: “When I started out, you had to have a job and train but then athletes started getting funding.
“It’s no coincidence that we went from one Olympic gold in 1996 to 11 in 2000.”
ATHLETICS
UK Sport funding
TOTAL: £100m
RIO: £26.8m
SUPPORT for big names such as Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis-Hill is in sharp contrast to that enjoyed by athletes in the 1990s.
Heptathlete Clova Court, for example, worked as a petrol station manager and fitted in five hours of training a day around her shifts.
Triple jumper Jonathan Edwards, who won gold in Sydney in 2000, said: “Lottery funding has given more of a team feel. Being funded by the public brings athletes closer.”
CYCLING
UK Sport funding
TOTAL: £92.5m
RIO: £30m
THE velodrome is known as “Britain’s medal factory” and an increase in funding means the team now has access to the latest technology.
For example, BAE engineers designed an ergometer for Team GB to maximise performance.
Cycling coach Sir Dave Brailsford said: “There was a clear moment in ti
me when the success of the British team changed significantly – and that was the advent of Lottery funding.”
SWIMMING
UK Sport funding
TOTAL: £79.9m
RIO: £20.8m
SWIMMING was one of the few sports to have its funding cut after London 2012 – but the Rio Games have seen Team GB’s biggest medal haul in the pool since 1984.
British Swimming focused on a smaller squad for Rio, introduced uncompromising training standards and backed promising youngsters.
GB’s head coach Bill Furniss said: “We will just keep doing what we are doing and look forward to the next four years.”
LOSERS
UK Sport funding removed completely
NOT all sports are winners when it comes to funding.
Volleyball, basketball, handball and water polo are among those which have all seen their funding cut to zero.
Craig Figes was the captain of the water polo team but now runs sport programmes for children.
He said: “I wish our funding worked like it does in other countries, where they don’t just look at the medal count but value sports on how they impact communities.”
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