No athlete has lost their place on the programme; Sir Mo Farah, Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson all included in Olympic podium funding while Hannah Cockroft, Jonnie Peacock and Sammi Kinghorn remain on Paralympic programme.
Thursday 12 November 2020 16:08, UK
British Athletics has kept all current athletes on its world class funding programme for next year.
No athlete has lost their place on the programme as the sport battles the coronavirus crisis.
Sir Mo Farah, a four-time Olympic champion, 200m world champion Dina Asher-Smith and world heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson are all included in Olympic podium funding.
Hannah Cockroft, Jonnie Peacock and Sammi Kinghorn remain on the Paralympic programme while Jemma Reekie and Andrew Pozzi are included in Olympic podium potential funding.
This year's Tokyo Olympics was postponed until 2021 because of the pandemic and athletes will be supported, having been before it was rescheduled.
World class programme director Steve Paulding said: "The last few months have provided many challenges for everyone, so we are pleased to be able to retain all the athletes who were on the world class programme last year, for 2021.
"Additionally, we are delighted to be looking at creating alternative ways to support several athletes via a Tokyo Support Package.
"These discussions are taking place following a year in sport which has been like no other we have experienced.
"We want to engage and support as many athletes as possible who have shown real potential for Tokyo during the disrupted season, but we have not been able to add to the Olympic WCP.
"So, we will aim to support a limited number of athletes in accessing the support which will help them achieve this."
