Mo Farah included in World Class Programme despite 'retirement'
BySportsbeat
Updated 10/11/2017 at 14:56 GMT
Mo Farah could yet return to compete for Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics after it was revealed he would continue to receive British Athletics lottery funding.
Mo Farah, Birmingham
Image credit: Getty Images
The 34-year-old said he would not compete for Great Britain again after the Birmingham Grand Prix in August, but has been named among athletes who will receive funding to boost the country's Olympic medal haul.
Farah's inclusion in the programme suggests he may represent the nation in his new discipline, the marathon, at Tokyo 2020.
And, as the list of 112 athletes who would receive funding was announced, British Athletics Performance Director Neil Black was not ruling the four-time Olympic gold medallist out for future games.
"It will be Mo's first year committing to performances on the road, and he is still exploring options of how this will progress," Black told British Athletics.
"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 this first year and continue to support him in his ambitions."
The programme offers three different types of Olympic funding – podium, podium potential and relays.
Notable exclusions include former 100m hurdles World Championship medallist, Tiffany Porter, who will not receive funding while her sister Cindy Ofili continues on the programme.
Callum Hawkins, who finished fourth in the men's marathon at the World Championships, has been promoted to podium level.
And Nigel Levine and James Ellington, who were both involved in a motorbike accident while on a training camp in Tenerife in January, have been treated as separate cases when it comes to funding.
Levine will continue to receive relays funding, while Ellington has been left off the list but will continue to receive targeted financial assistance through an Athlete Personal Award.
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