Belfast athlete Gareth Turnbull has had his appeal rejected

The Belfast middle distance runner joins Ballymena sprinter Paul Brizzel in failing to secure funding.

Ballymena and Antrim sprinter Anna Boyle was successful in her appeal and will receive 4,600 euro.

Sonia O'Sullivan and Eileen O'Keefe also had appeals upheld but Olympic 1500m runner James Nolan missed out.

The funding squeeze has partially been caused by the Irish Sports Council's decision to only accept the IAAF performance list as a source of world ranking, and not the overall ranking list, which is based on the six best performances.

The Sports Council has also reviewed the eligibility of athletes who have been receiving grants for the past five years.

This included their progress in recent years, their current status and their prospects in the coming years.

Nolan said the decision to turn down his appeal was a "disgrace" and believes the funding policy will fail to produce future success.

"We're not going to win medals at the Olympics this way, anyone can tell you that," Nolan told the Irish Times.

"And still there is nothing being done to improve coaching or facilities or anything like that."

Karen Shinkins and the Irish 400m relay squad also had their appeals rejected.