The London Marathon is in talks to help save UK Athletics amid reports the governing body could go bust this year, with the event director, Hugh Brasher, stressing: “We have a responsibility to the sport.”
Other potential funders, including organisers of the Great North Run, are also thought to be open to assisting UKA, which lost £1.8m last year. Its remaining reserves of £400,000 have since fallen further. Last month the governing body was forced to make 10 employees redundant as a result of its financial crisis, while dealing with safeguarding cases has cost it another six-figure sum.
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“This is an amazing sport,” Brasher said. “We had 8,000 kids on Saturday at the Mini Marathon. We have a responsibility to the sport and absolutely we are talking to UK Athletics about how we can help.”
The London Marathon already funds training camps for British athletes in Kenya, South Africa and the Pyrenees, as well as numerous other projects. However Brasher was non‑committal when asked whether the scale of support might include taking over the Diamond League at the London Stadium in July, which is in danger of costing UKA as much as £500,000 despite the sale of 35,000 tickets. “I’m not going to go into what it might be or what it might not be,” he said. “It is a very early stage of conversations. This isn’t just us. There are other ones looking at it.”
Another source of potential assistance is UK Sport’s major events panel, who are in discussion with UKA about helping to plug the Diamond League shortfall. However reports that UK Sport might offer an emergency bailout for UKA are described as wide of the mark, with informed sources saying the money simply does not exist three years into a four-year Olympic cycle.
Brasher has also held clear-the-air talks with Eilish McColgan, after the Scottish star revealed a row with organisers after pulling out of this year’s race through injury. Brasher made it clear that he wanted McColgan, who has twice been forced to miss the marathon, back next year.
“She knows we would love to welcome her here in 2024 or whenever the injury gets sorted out,” he said. “She is going to be a force in marathons and we put the best fields together. We had a really good chat and we hope to welcome her in 2024, 2025 or 2026.”
Brasher explained that the origins of the row were down to a new World Athletics rule allowing an athlete two logos on their vest, as well as the London Marathon’s longstanding deal with Lucozade. “We allow the two logos as long as they are not competing sponsors,” he said. “Integrity is really important to us and really important for her. Can misunderstandings occur? Yes they can. But she explained where she is coming from, and she understands where we are coming from.”
