Great Britain believe their stunning success at the Rio Olympics will extend to Tokyo 2020 with a 29 per cent increase in government elite athlete funding in the pipeline.
Off the back of hosting the 2012 Games, Team GB won 27 golds in Rio on their way to a second-placed finish in the medal table, their best haul in over 100 years.
And now the government has reportedly confirmed the huge increase, which was agreed to by the previous administration, will still be awarded.
Vice chairman of the British Olympic Association Sir Hugh Robertson believes the extra cash, which is supplemented by National Lottery funding, will be vital in preparing for the next eight-year cycle to include the Tokyo Games in 2020 and the so far unawarded Games in 2024.
Robertson said: "The National Lottery funding is reasonably secure in any event because that relies on people buying their lottery tickets week in, week out.
"The Exchequer, under the previous Chancellor, offered us an amazingly good settlement at the last public spending review of a 29 per cent increase in elite athlete funding so the combination of those two things will offer us security through to Tokyo and beyond and enable us to invest in athletes in the way that we've done in the past to deliver success.
"We have a system which is now geared to deliver, so a lot of the athletes that were competing in Rio will go on to Tokyo, a lot of the athletes who didn't win a medal in Rio will probably go on and win one in Tokyo.
"We also had athletes in Rio who we expect not necessarily to win a medal in Tokyo but possibly to win one in wherever the 2024 Olympics are held so we invest over this long time period.
"When you look at that, when you look at what is in the pipeline, when you look at the strength of Olympic sport across the piece there is every reason to suggest that we are going to have a very, very strong Tokyo Olympics."
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