Olympic gold is no guarantee of a gong: Winning is not enough, athletes warned, it's what you give back that really counts

• Some of Team GB's 43 champions could be snubbed in New Year's Honours
• Athletes must have shown 'sustained effort' and 'put something back' into the community to be considered
• Lord Coe's hands are tied by rules of main honours committee
• Repeated success may also not lead to an upgrade of previous award

By Tim Shipman



Britain's Olympic gold medal heroes were told yesterday they have no automatic right to an honour after a controversial rule change.
Officials were fighting a frantic damage-limitation exercise last night amid fears that some of Team GB's 43 Olympic champions will be snubbed in the New Year's Honours List.
A senior Whitehall mandarin sparked anger after telling athletes who had trained hard for four years that winning alone was not enough. Instead they must show 'sustained effort' and have 'put something back' into the community.

Campaign: Supporters, politicians, and fellow sportsmen alike called for Bradley Wiggins to be honoured following his gold medal performance at London 2012

National hero: DOuble Olympic gold medal-winner Mo Farah has had his chances of a knighthood rocked by recent revelations about honours rules

And double gold medallist Mo Farah's chances of a knighthood were rocked by revelations that Whitehall officials on the Honours Committee have imposed a quota of just one sporting knighthood a year. Last night the man who masterminded Team GB's record-breaking success urged them to junk the rules and give every gold medallist a gong.
Lord Moynihan, who has just quit as head of the British Olympic Association (BOA), told the Mail: 'Every single gold medallist has achieved both objectives. They have shown a lifetime of commitment and inspired a generation. They all deserve recognition.'

 

Sporting honours are chosen by the sport honours committee, led by Lord Coe, the architect of London 2012. But his hands are tied by rules drawn up by Sir Bob Kerslake, the boss of the civil service who is chairman of the main honours committee.
They must now 'take account how the candidate has used their profile for the benefit of the wider community and/or development of sport'. That could lead to 'a silver medallist who has competed at the highest level over a long period getting an award, when an 18-year-old winning gold at their first competition might not'.

Contenders: Victoria Pendleton and Ben Ainslie, both gold medallists at the Games, are among those who could be honoured

Repeated success may also not lead to an upgrade of a previous award.
Under the plans there is supposed to be just one sporting knight or dame, four CBEs, 20 OBEs and 38 MBEs from the world of sport.

Golden girl: Heptathlete Jessica Ennis became a national favourite after her Olympic performance

But the quotas take no account of the runaway success of the London Games, which saw 43 gold medallists in 29 events. That figure is expected to hit three figures once the Paralympic Games have finished.
Yesterday Jonathan Stephens, the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, defended the rules, saying: 'It's the contribution over career and over a lifetime, it's how that's sustained, it's whether you put something back.
'But also all those behind the scenes: the volunteers, the organisers, the coaches, both at the elite level and at grassroots level.'
He said the decisions would be taken by experts. 'It's chaired by Seb Coe, it has other Olympians and Paralympians on it like Tanni Grey-Thompson and Tessa Sanderson. I'm sure they will not in any way underplay the achievement of our athletes.'
The rules put the Honours Committee on a collision course with the BOA which is expected to nominate every gold medallist for an honour.
They were rewritten this spring after criticism of the way 35 members of the England rugby set-up were honoured after the 2003 World Cup win and the decision to give an MBE to every member of the England cricket team after they reclaimed the Ashes in what is essentially a two-horse race in 2005.
Earlier this year, Sir Bob told a committee of MPs that it 'no longer seems right' that all Olympic champions should get honours 'given the move away from “automaticity” in other fields'.
Downing Street is backing at least four sporting knighthoods – Bradley Wiggins, Ben Ainslie, Mo Farah and Dave Brailsford.
Sailor Ainslie is considered a shoo-in after becoming just the third British athlete – after Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent – to win four golds in as many games.

Wiggins won his fourth gold this year and became the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France, while Brailsford ran both Team GB's cycling team that won nine golds and Team Sky, which finished 1-2 in the Tour. He has a CBE, so the next honour has to be a knighthood.
In winning two gold medals on the track, Farah has matched the achievement of Dame Kelly Holmes in Athens.
A source close to the Honours Committee hinted that Farah would get a gong: 'Part of this is about community engagement and Mo runs a charity. He does a lot of charity work.'

Former head of the British Olympic Association, Lord Moynihan (left) has led calls for gongs for every gold medallist, but rules drawn up by chairman of the main honours committee, Sir Bob Kerslake (right) could affect the final decision

Lord Moynihan said all the winners should be honoured. He said: 'They inspired a generation. They have brought great pride to the country and they should be honoured.'
Former sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe agreed, telling the Mail: 'This is an extraordinary time. This Olympics was a unique event for the country.
'The rules should be relaxed for the London Games.'
A Culture Department source said ministers would push for as many gongs as possible.

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