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Page last updated at 14:47 GMT, Tuesday, 27 October 2009

Meadows rewarded with cash boost

Jenny Meadows
A healthier income will help Meadows in the build-up to London 2012

Britain's Jenny Meadows has been promoted to the top tier of the lottery funding programme following her 800m bronze at the World Championships.

Heptathlete Jessica Ennis, triple jumper Phillips Idowu and Paralympian David Weir also make the list of 67 on the programme for the 2009/2010 season.

Meadows, 28, moves up from Development status with her award increased from around £8,000 to a maximum of £26,142.

There are no places for sprinters Mark Lewis-Francis and Christian Malcolm.

Coming on the back of UK Athletics chief executive Niels de Vos setting a target of 10 medals for GB to win at London 2012, the national governing body revealed the latest winners of their investment plans.

The programme, which runs annually from December to November, is split into two levels of funding - Podium and Development - each with strict criteria and standards which must be met in selection and maintained with the support of UKA staff.

Since a disappointing haul of four medals at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Britain's athletes overall have performed impressively over the last 12 months with six medals at the Worlds in Berlin this summer.

The Podium level of funding is split into three categories, including those who have medalled or had a top-eight finish at Olympic or World Championship level or are likely to be major championship performers, and also covers Podium relay teams.

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World heptathlon champion Ennis and World triple jump gold medallist Idowu are at the top level, along with Meadows, 1500m silver winner Lisa Dobriskey and the men's 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams.

Wheelchair racer David Weir, winner of five medals at the 2008 Paralympics and is currently ranked number one in the world, also makes the list of top recipients.

It is fine reward for Meadows, who, two weeks after winning her 800m bronze at the Worlds in August, revealed how she and her husband coach Trevor Painter had struggled for two years on a single wage.

The Wigan runner added last month: "Lottery funding would allow me to stop the stress of how we are going to afford this and it will allow me to go away for a little bit longer to train. I am always having to hurry up because Trevor has a full-time job."

With only 33 athletes receiving funding from the lottery programme last year, UKA head coach Charles van Commenee said the "dramatic" rise in podium athletes was "a direct result of their performances over the last 18 months, which clearly demonstrates increased levels of world class performance".

Andy Turner, 110m hurdler, returns to the top level of funding, while sprint hurdler William Sharman (fourth in Berlin) and Swansea's David Greene (400m hurdles World finalist) were promoted.

Turner, who won Commonwealth and European bronze medals in the 110m hurdles in 2006, was removed from the funding list a year ago and said at the time he had been harshly treated and challenged the decision.

However, the delighted 29-year-old said after the latest announcement: "Last year was a difficult time for me, but it was the wake-up call I needed.

"I definitely over-competed last year and that experience and the impact it had injury-wise made me realise just what a blessing lottery funding is by allowing us to peak for the big events and perform where it counts.

"I am looking forward to embarking on a winter of tough training and repaying the faith shown in my ability in 2010."

Other athletes were not so fortunate.

The 27-year-old Lewis-Francis, part of GB's gold-medal winning 4x100m relay team in Athens in 2004, is missing from the list, as is Welsh sprinter Malcolm, fifth in the Olympic 200m final in 2000 and 2008.

There are 65 athletes on the Development level list, which includes promising middle distance running talents James Brewer, Hannah England and Stephanie Twell.


Full Olympic and Paralympic Funding List (alphabetical order):

Olympic Podium
Harry Aikines-Aryeetey* (Sutton); Larry Achike (Shaftesbury Barnet); Emma Ania* (Shaftesbury Barnet); Andrew Baddeley (Harrow); Victoria Barr* (Rugby & Northampton); Michael Bingham* (unattached); Tasha Danvers (Croydon); Kate Dennison (Sale); Marlon Devonish* (Coventry Godiva); Lisa Dobriskey (Ashford); Montell Douglas* (Shaftesbury Barnet); Nathan Douglas (Oxford City); Tyrone Edgar* (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies); Jessica Ennis (City of Sheffield); Mo Farah (Newham & Essex Beagles); Emily Freeman (Wakefield); David Greene (Swansea); Phillips Idowu (Belgrave); Jade Johnson (Herne Hill); Jeanette Kwakye (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies); Steven Lewis (Newham & Essex Beagles); Germaine Mason (Birchfield); Lee McConnell* (Shaftesbury Barnet); Jenny Meadows (Wigan); Christine Ohuruogu (Newham & Essex Beagles); Marilyn Okoro (Shaftesbury Barnet); Tom Parsons (Birchfield); Jo Pavey (Exeter); Paula Radcliffe (Bedford & County); Martyn Rooney*(Croydon); Greg Rutherford (Marshall Milton Keynes); Nicola Sanders* (Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow); Goldie Sayers (Belgrave); William Sharman (Belgrave); Kelly Sotherton (Birchfield); Rob Tobin* (Basingstoke & Mid Hants); Chris Tomlinson (Newham & Essex); Andy Turner (Sale); Laura Turner* (Harrow); Conrad Williams* (Kent); Simeon Williamson* (Highgate Harriers); Mara Yamauchi (Harrow)

*four relay teams from Berlin

Paralympic Podium
Mickey Bushell (Birchfield); David Weir (Unattached); Elizabeth Clegg (Edinburgh AC); Daniel Greaves (Charnwood AC); Chris Martin (Mansfield Harriers); Stephen Miller (Gateshead Harriers); Ben Rushgrove (Team Bath AC); Shelly Woods (Unattached); Sophie Hancock (Unattached); Katrina Hart (Birchfield); Ian Jones (East Cheshire); Gemma Prescott (Unattached); Hazel Simpson (Jarrow & Hebburn AC); Nathan Stephens (FDSW); Daniel West (Unattached)

Podium Relay
Richard Buck (City of York); Chris Clarke (Marshall Milton Keynes); James Dasaolu (Croydon); Rikki Fifton (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlet); Ashlee Nelson (City of Stoke); Anyike Onuora (Liverpool); Craig Pickering (Marshall Milton Keynes); Andrew Steele (Trafford); Richard Strachan (Trafford); Kadi-Ann Thomas (Marshall Milton Keynes)

Olympic Development
Phyllis Agbo (Thames Valley); Daniel Awde (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies); James Brewer (Cheltenham & County); Niall Brooks (Sale); Eilidh Child (Pitreavie); Lawrence Clarke (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow); Rowena Cole (Coventry); Luke Cutts (Dearnside); Hannah England (Oxford City); Eden Francis (Birchfield); Gianni Frankis (Newham & Essex Beagles); Claire Gibson (Kilbarchan); Curtis Griffith-Parker (Cambridge); Lloyd Gumbs (Shaftesbury Barnet); Louise Hazel (Birchfield); Sophie Hitchon (Blackburn); Sarah Holt (Sale); Johanna Jackson (Redcar); JJ Jegede (Newham & Essex Beagles); Chris Kirk (Newham & Essex Beagles); Thomas Lancashire (Bolton) Jeffrey Lawal-Balogun (Kent); Nigel Levine (Bedford & County); Mervyn Luckwell (Marshall Milton Keynes); Emma Lyons (Sale); Jack Meredith (Liverpool); Brett Morse (Birchfield); Elaine O'Neill (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies); Emma Pallant (AFD); Emily Pidgeon (Stroud); Callum Priestley (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies); Charlotte Purdue (AFD); Michael Rimmer (Liverpool Pembroke); Toby Sandeman (Thames Valley); Sally Scott (Gateshead); Perri Shakes-Drayton (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets); Jemma Simpson (Newquay & Par); Alex Smith (Sale); Peter Smith (Kingston upon Hull); Charlene Thomas (Wakefield); Katarina Thompson (Liverpool); Stephanie Twell (AFD); Benjamin Williams (City of Stoke); Jodie Williams (Herts Phoenix); Rhys Williams (Cardiff); Nathan Woodward (Tamworth); Richard Yates (Trafford); Leevan Yearwood (Victoria Park and Tower Hamlets)

Paralympic Development
Ola Abidogun (Shaftesbury Barnet); Jonathan Adams (Unattached); Hollie Arnold (Cleethorpes AC); James Ball (Federation of Disability Sport Wales); Paul Blake (Dorchester); Hannah Cockcroft (Halifax Harriers); Martin Crutchley (Cannock & Stafford AC); Aled Davies (Federation of Disability Sport Wales); David Devine (Liverpool Harriers); Thomas Green (MMK); Daniel Lucker (Federation of Disability Sport Wales); Jenny McLoughlin (Unattached); Kieron Murphy (Birchfield); Daniel Nobbs (British Wheelchair Athletics Association); Vicky Silk (Ashford AC); Paul Willis (Halifax Harries); Bethany Woodward (Southampton).



see also
Grass is greener for Meadows
29 Oct 09 |  Athletics
GB athletes given 10-medal target
26 Oct 09 |  Athletics
Meadows hopes for funding upgrade
01 Sep 09 |  Athletics
Van Commenee warning for Team GB
24 Aug 09 |  Athletics
GB win two silvers on final day
23 Aug 09 |  Athletics
Turner anger at UKA funding cut
16 Jan 09 |  Athletics
Tyler appointed UK coaching boss
23 Dec 08 |  Athletics
Van Commenee named UKA head coach
23 Sep 08 |  Athletics
De Vos handed UK Athletics post
30 Jan 07 |  Athletics
Athletics on the BBC
21 Apr 11 |  Athletics


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