UK Sport has announced its funding levels for Triathlon and Paratriathlon which means that the sports will receive a combined figure of over £10million for the Paris 2024 cycle.

The funding agency signalled its intent for the UK to become successful in a wider range of sports and build a high-performance sports community which reflects the diversity of British society.

The shift is supported by a plan for investment of £352m into an increased number of sports (43) in the build up to the postponed Tokyo Games, through to the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond.

The news provides certainty of funding for Triathlon and Paratriathlon in the build up to the Tokyo Games, ensuring athletes can focus on their preparations, ready to take their place on the start line in Japan.

The support provided by Government and The National Lottery also allows UK Sport to look to the athletes of the future who are targeting success at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond.

Andy Salmon, British Triathlon CEO, said: “We are delighted that UK Sport has again decided to invest in our performance programme. We have confirmed four strong athletes for Team GB and more athletes are working hard to ensure they can secure their places at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“We understand that difficult decisions need to be made and we want to thank the team at UK Sport for their continued support. While triathlon is a relatively new sport for the Games, our athletes have enjoyed outstanding achievements to put Great Britain at the top of the Olympic and second in the Paralympic medal table for triathlon and paratriathlon. We look forward to getting back to the start line in Tokyo and putting the building blocks in place for the Paris 2024 Games.”

Sally Munday, UK Sport CEO said: “Today’s decisions signal our future ambition to broaden the areas in which we achieve global success and deepening our societal impact.

“This means supporting more sports via the World Class Programme and Progression Funding than ever before, as well as welcoming more athletes and staff from varied backgrounds into our high-performance sporting community so we better reflect the diversity of the country we represent.

“As a sector we must be better at reaching, connecting and inspiring the British public in order to deepen our societal impact in communities across the country, using the exceptional power of sport and our platform in the British conscious.

“I’m really pleased that we’ll be launching a new fund next year which will be open to any summer sport not on World Class Programme or Progression Funding.”