Mo Farah has been named among the list of British athletes to be funded by the National Lottery, UK Athletics has announced.
Having stepped away from the track following a gold and silver at London 2017, it was expected he would be culled from the lottery funding programme.
But earlier this week, the Farah was named on the list of funded athletes, suggesting he is not done with running for Britain with the potential of taking a shot at the Olympic marathon in Tokyo in 2020, by which stage he will be 37-years-old.
In response to Farah’s decision, performance director Neil Black said: “It will be Mo’s first year committing to performances on the road, and he is still exploring options of how this will progress.
“There is the possibility that he could represent the British team at a major championship over the marathon distance in the future, so we will monitor the first year and continue to support him in his ambitions.”
Farah receives no Lottery funding due to the money he makes commercially but being on the programme will give him free access to technical and medical support.
Mr Black added: “On the back of the most successful World Para Athletics Championships in the modern era, and achieving our medal targets and finishing fourth in the placings table at the IAAF World Championships this summer, our World Class Programme reflects upon the criteria for medal potential as we progress through the Tokyo cycle ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020.”
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It is understood that UK Athletics is also set to tighten its rules to ensure more elite athletes attend the national trials.
This year’s event was marred by a large number of withdrawals, many at short notice, and the British sport’s governing body will insist funded athletes consult a doctor 48 hours before the event if they intend to miss it due to injury.
