UK Lottery Players Thanked For Olympics Support

Yet another Olympic athlete has come out to publicly thank UK National Lottery players for its ongoing support of British sports.

Mark Nesbitt, part of Team GB's Olympic archery team, joined his fellow competitors to give a big thanks to the lottery for creating the Team GB Olympic Ambition Programme, of which he is a part of.

Since the National Lottery started funding athletes in 1997, a staggering 438 Olympic and Paralympic medals have been won by lottery-funded athletes.

One only has to examine Team GB's performance before and after the funding began to realise how essential the funding is. The team won only a single gold medal in the Atlanta Olympics of 1996, compared to 19 in Beijing in 2008.

The TeamGB Olympic Ambition programme essentially aims on preparing coaches and athletes to compete in future Olympics such as the 2014 Sochi Winter Games or the 2016 Rio Summer Games.

UK Lottery's £2.2 Billion Olympic Investment

The UK Lottery has spent an incredible amount of money contributing to the success of the London Games, and this can clearly be seen not only in the infrastructure, but also in the team's performance across the board in practically every sport.

"I'd like to thank all National Lottery players for their support," said the Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, former runner, Sebastian Coe. "Not only has the National Lottery invested £2.2 billion into the infrastructure and venues, but they're also helping athletes to be the best they can."

Coe said that funding from organisations like the National Lottery make a big difference to an athlete's life and can help ensure that they go from "having the potential to succeed to actually achieving their dreams."

John Major's Olympic Contribution

As UK lottery players were thanked this week, the chairman of the British Olympic Association reminded the public that it was under John Major's administration that the decision was made to start funding athletes through the state-franchised lottery.

"You cannot unravel in terms of performance all the different elements that when brought together create a medal performance," said Colin Moynihan. "But what you can say about the funding that John Major and the lottery has delivered is that it has provided a platform for athletes with outstanding talents to deliver personal bests."

Moynihan said that the lottery funding enabled athletes to be surrounded by quality coaching and all the support staff necessary to assist them, as well as the technology when applicable.