Rogge urges London to invest in home success

JACQUES Rogge believes the most valuable lesson London can learn from Vancouver is to invest in home team success.

PRICE OF SUCCESS: After Canadian example, IOC president Jacques Rogge urges London to follow suit and invest in success (Getty Images)

The International Olympic Committee president praised Canada for their decision to plough millions into their athletes - a £70 million program that secured them 14 golds medals, the most even won by a single country at the Winter Olympics.

British Olympic Association officials are targeting similar success and are planning to spend £400 million across the 26 summer Olympic sports in the countdown to 2012.

"The home team's performance is of paramount importance because it creates a buzz and an atmosphere," he said. 

"I think their perception of the Games changed when Alexandre Bilodeau won their first gold on home soil.

"They have put in place their ‘Own the Podium' programme and look at it you have to say that is a success and that without it there potentially wouldn't be any gold medals."

In capturing such a medal haul, Canada doubled the number of victories acquired in Turin four years ago but Rogge doesn't believe there was been a shift in the balance of power at the Winter Olympics.

"I don't see many medal trends here in Vancouver. If you compare 2002 and 2006 we still have the powerhouses of winter sports, USA, Canada, Germany and Korea dominating," said Rogge.

"Clearly the Russian Federation are not happy with their results but at the Winter Games we don't see the trend we have in the Summer Games.

"In Athens we saw the rise of Asia and that was confirmed by China topping the medal table in Beijing but there has been no such rise here."