Five for the high jump for axe falls in Olympic funding

Posted: Monday 17th October 2011 | 15:30

IT'S just three years since Great Britain qualified three men for the Olympic high jump final - Germaine Mason winning silver, Martyn Bernard placing sixth and Tom Parsons 12th.

BLOW: Germaine Mason - an Olympic high jump silver medallist in 2008 - now axed from lottery funding with four high jump team-mates. Not a single British high jumper will be funded at podium level in 2012 (Getty Images)

But not a single British high jumper has cleared the most important barrier of the season - and disappointing performances at the World Championships in Daegu mean five have seen their podium level national lottery funding, worth £25,000, axed.

In truth Mason has not challenged since his Beijing breakthrough - his season's best was 2.14 metres against a personal best of 2.34m - while Parsons and Bernard, a bronze medallist at last year's Europeans, both admitted they underachieved at the recent World Championships.

Robbie Grabarz and Samson Oni, who enjoyed funding in 2011, have also been dropped, despite the former setting a new personal best this year.

UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee will make no excuses for being ruthless, insisting only those he believes can medal at London 2012 or make an impact in the top eight, should be funded.

Nothing changes! Goals are still the same! I'm the master of my own destiny!

Former Olympic medallist Kelly Sotherton after being axed from lottery funding by UK Athletics

But to go from five fully-funded high jumpers to none represents a savage blow to the discipline in such a important year.

Dalton Grant, a former European and Commonwealth champion, accused the cut of being a false economy, claiming the legacy of the Games was being risked by a failure to plan ahead.

Andy Turner showed what could be achieved after a funding cut, rebounding from the disappointment to win the European title and establish himself as one of the world's leading sprint hurdlers, winning bronze in Daegu just a few short weeks ago.

But it must be a concern that British field event athletes are not well represented in the funding list - which includes just triple jumpers Phillips Idowu and Yamile Aldama, long jumpers Chris Tomlinson, Greg Rutherford and Shara Proctor, pole vaulters Holly Bleasdale, Kate Dennison and Steve Lewis, discus thrower Brett Morse and javelin's Goldie Sayers.

Then again, a few short years ago the same worries were being expressed about long distance athletes, until Mo Farah's long-awaited breakthrough.

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