By Sarah Holt

Collins must reduce the number of elite athletes who receive funding

Britain's top athletes will be fighting for funding as well as medals at the World Championships in Helsinki.

UK Athletics will receive less lottery cash from the end of 2005 and must decide which athletes deserve it most.

Performance director Dave Collins has already unveiled plans to cut the number of elite athletes from 50 to 40.

"Current funding is used to support people getting to the podium," he said. "That funding ends in December and then we'll be supporting about 40 athletes."

Collins embarked on his financial overhaul in the wake of last year's Foster Review, which demanded radical changes in the sport's structure.

At the helm since March, the former sports psychologist is also faced with a �1m drop in lottery cash, which means he must use the money he does have available - �7.2m over four years - in a more effective manner.

"The job I am tasked with by the government is to secure medals at World and Olympic level," Collins told BBC Sport.

"At a high point in 1997, we funded 247 world-class athletes. If we had that number now my job would be easy, but we don't.

"With the money that I'm given, I have to get people to the podium."

Collins must deliver his proposals to UK Sport and Sport England by 1 November, which means the onus will be on the athletes to prove themselves in Helsinki.

"It's not just their achievements we're interested in but the manner of their achievement," he said.

"However, whether we have a good or indifferent Helsinki will change absolutely nothing in terms of what's planned.

"It will still be an extremely busy winter in terms of changing the culture of preparation in athletics, and we are focused on that."

Under the new proposals, UK Athletics will have an average of �45,000 to spend on each of their elite performers.

That money will be spent on warm-weather training, coaching, physiotherapy travel and medical back-up.

Kelly Sotherton's funding rose after her Olympic heptathlon bronze

Under the current system, an elite athlete also gets as much as �22,000, which goes towards living expenses and other sporting expenses, such as kit, equipment and club fees.

Although the core number of elite athletes will be reduced, the make-up of that group will not be set in stone.

Individuals on the world-class programme are already reviewed annually to determine their level of personal funding.

That also means they can be demoted from the elite group to make way for other rising stars, like teenage sprinters Craig Pickering and Ashleigh Nelson.

Collins is keen to focus on identifying and nurturing talent as much as possible.

"Our eyes are very much on Beijing 2008 and London 2012," he said. "The talent is there and we have to make sure we have a good enough conversion system to support them and get them to the highest level."