UK Sport has set out its medal ambitions ahead of Rio 2016 next month, with the high performance sports agency aiming to achieve its best ever Olympics performance on foreign soil and to better the Paralympic medal haul from London 2012.
Having initially aimed to become the first host nation to win more Olympic and Paralympic medals at the next Games post-hosting, UK Sport has sought to temper these ambitions somewhat by aiming for 47-79 Olympic medals. The quango says outstripping the London 2012 Olympic medal haul of 65 medals remains a possibility, but believes a best overseas showing “is a more probable target.”
There is no such caution with the Paralympic medal target however, with UK Sport aiming for somewhere between 113 and 165 Paralympic medals – likely to yield a significant improvement on the 120 Paralympic medals won at London 2012.
Having invested a record £350m from government and The National Lottery into Olympic and Paralympic sports and athletes over the past four years, expectations are high for a strong showing from Team GB.
“Our vision at UK Sport is to inspire the nation through Olympic and Paralympic success, and thanks to the ongoing backing of our Government and National Lottery players, the targets announced today show we are on track to make history once again,” said Rod Carr, chair of UK Sport.
“We know these inspirational medal moments live long in the public’s memory and their impact is significant for the whole nation for years to come; uniting us, inspiring us and ultimately making us proud as a nation.”
UK Sport CEO Liz Nicholl added that targeting a record breaking away Olympic Games and a Paralympic medal haul superior to London 2012 shows the “ambition and talent within our high performance system.”
Earlier this week, UK Sport
unveiled its new talent ID campaign. Dubbed “the biggest multi-sport talent identification campaign in British history,” the programme represents an attempt to fast-track aspiring athletes towards glory at Tokyo 2020 and beyond.
