A leading British athlete has turned down a place at the European Road Running Championships after being asked to pay to compete.
Ben Connor, who was part of Team GB in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics, was selected to run the European half marathon in Belgium later this month but pulled out after an initial ‘athlete contribution’ of up to £1,100 for travel, accommodation, food, kit and staff.
Upon selection, UK Athletics did later stress that the final amount was likely to be under £500 – and potentially down to £200 – but Connor, who was also offered a subsidy from England Athletics, believes that the chance to represent Great Britain should not come with financial costs.
“Representing GB shouldn’t come down to who can or cannot afford to pay for it,” he said. “Representing your country is a privilege, and in athletics is earned via a qualifying process, which while not always perfect, gives everyone the same chances to gain selection.
“Coming from a working class background, I don’t like the potential precedent being set where people, especially junior athletes of the future, don’t have the same development or competition opportunities because of finances.
“Running (especially road) is the highest mass participation sport in the UK and we are asking our best to pay to represent this country on an international stage. I wish there was more transparency and honesty regarding the state of our governing bodies finances and about how our sport is being managed for this to be the position.”
