How much UK Sport funding did each Team GB medal cost in Paris?
Without UK Sport there would be no Team GB at the Olympic Games given the organisation’s role in distributing funding to athletes across the board who are challenging for medals.
After the Toyko 2020 Games three years ago there were calls for drastic changes in the UK Sport funding distribution given the failure of rowing and the success of events such as BMX.
But after Paris 2024 there will be another review to decide where, if anywhere, UK Sport cut and increase funding.
Here’s a breakdown of how much each medal and gold medal equated to in funding. For example: Two medals in one sport which is given £100 in funding would equate to £50 per medal.
No Olympic Games medal
To start off on a negative note, there were some sports with a big funding pot who did not produce a medal at Paris 2024.
Hockey, where the women won bronze in Tokyo but both teams lost this year in the quarter-finals, had a budget of over £13.5m
Modern pentathlon’s budget of £5.7m produced no medals, despite Team GB winning two golds in Japan, and judo package of £6.4m also saw the team return fruitless.
Funding, too, has gone into baseball and softball but this budget relates to other Olympic Games given the lack of inclusion in Paris.
Value for money?
Cycling’s pot of nearly £30m produced 13 medals at a cost of over £2.5m per podium finish. The two golds, using the same formula, cost £14.7m apiece.
Rowing, having had an awful Tokyo Games, saw their UK Sport funding of nearly £24m produce 11 medals, three of which were gold. Each medal cost £3m.
The worst value for money came in gymnastics, however, where three medals were won with a budget of £13.4m at £4.5m a pop.
But the best value for money came in golf. UK Sport data suggests that they don’t fund golf yet Tommy Fleetwood was able to win a silver medal for Team GB.
Of the sports that saw gold medals won, sport climbing came in at £1.6m per gold, with equestrian coming in at £6.2m per gold and triathlon at £7.2m per gold.
The full breakdown (by £ per medal)
| Sport | UK Sport Funding (£m) | Medals Won | £ per Medal (£m) | £ per Gold (£m) |
| Boxing | 12.1 | 1 | 12.1 | NO GOLD |
| Sailing | 22.8 | 2 | 11.4 | 22.8 |
| Taekwondo | 8.3 | 1 | 8.3 | NO GOLD |
| Gymnastics | 13.4 | 3 | 4.5 | 13.4 |
| Swimming | 19.0 | 5 | 3.8 | 19.0 |
| Canoeing | 14.0 | 4 | 3.5 | NO GOLD |
| Shooting | 6.2 | 2 | 3.1 | 6.2 |
| Rowing | 23.8 | 8 | 3.0 | 7.9 |
| Cycling | 29.3 | 11 | 2.7 | 14.7 |
| Equestrian | 12.4 | 5 | 2.5 | 6.2 |
| Triathlon | 7.2 | 3 | 2.4 | 7.2 |
| Weightlifting | 2.3 | 1 | 2.3 | NO GOLD |
| Athletics | 22.8 | 10 | 2.3 | 22.8 |
| Skateboarding | 1.8 | 1 | 1.8 | NO GOLD |
| Diving | 8.9 | 5 | 1.8 | NO GOLD |
| Climbing | 1.6 | 1 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Artistic Swimming | 0.46 | 1 | 0.46 | NO GOLD |
| Golf | 0 | 1 | 0 | NO GOLD |
| Breaking | 0.14 | 0 | NO MEDAL | NO MEDAL |
| Wrestling | 0.28 | 0 | NO MEDAL | NO MEDAL |
| Volleyball | 0.29 | 0 | NO MEDAL | NO MEDAL |
| Handball | 0.36 | 0 | NO MEDAL | NO MEDAL |
| Water Polo | 0.36 | 0 | NO MEDAL | NO MEDAL |
| Basketball | 1.4 | 0 | NO MEDAL | NO MEDAL |
| Table Tennis | 1.4 | 0 | NO MEDAL | NO MEDAL |
| Surfing | 1.4 | 0 | NO MEDAL | NO MEDAL |
| Fencing | 1.5 | 0 | NO MEDAL | NO MEDAL |
| Archery | 2.6 | 0 | NO MEDAL | NO MEDAL |
| Badminton | 3.4 | 0 | NO MEDAL | NO MEDAL |
| Modern Pentathlon | 5.7 | 0 | NO MEDAL | NO MEDAL |
| Judo | 6.4 | 0 | NO MEDAL | NO MEDAL |
| Hockey | 13.7 | 0 | NO MEDAL | NO MEDAL |
| Baseball | 0.18 | NA | NA | NA |
| Softball | 0.43 | NA | NA | NA |