UK Athletics has asked a Tokyo Olympian to pay to compete for Great Britain at the European Road Running Championships, the BBC reported.
Ben Connor, 32, a gold medal winner at the British Athletics Championships in 2019, said he declined to compete in the half-marathon in Leuven, Belgium, while UK Athletics said the fee is ‘likely to be under £500’ and that ‘athletes were aware of the cost when expressing an interest in competing’.
According to the BBC, as per UK Athletics selection policy, athletes can be asked to pay upto £1,100 to cover things like travel, accommodation, food, kit and staff.
“Representing your country is a privilege, and in athletics it is earned via a qualifying process, which while not always perfect, gives everyone the same chances to gain selection,” Connor wrote on Instagram.
“Coming from a working class background I don’t like the potential precedent being set where people, especially junior athletes of the future, don’t have the same development or competition opportunities because of finances. I wish there was more transparency and honesty regarding the state of our governing bodies finances and about how our sport is being managed for this to be the position.”
In a statement, UK Athletics said ‘it is better to give athletes an opportunity to compete than opt not to send teams at all’.
“Upon selection athletes were also advised that the earlier ‘maximum contribution amount’ of £1,100, was likely to be under £500 and in some cases around the £2-250 mark with a further contribution from their home country athletics organisation,” the statement read.
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“UKA feels it is better to give athletes opportunity to compete than opt not to send teams at all,” the statement added.
Hannah England, a World Championships silver medallist in the 1,500 metres, said that the ‘narrative does not look good’.
“£20m of UK Sport funding goes to UK Athletics and it then asks athletes to pay to compete. That does not look like a good narrative,” England told BBC 5 Live Breakfast.
“But that funding is audited and has to go towards producing Olympic medals. This is a new championship so there is no precedent for Olympians coming from that event. So it is either ask people to contribute or they don’t send a team. And that is really hard for people to stomach.”
