UP394 Athletics CEO: 'The Olympics are in far more trouble than most people realise'

Unofficial Partner Podcast

Jack Buckner is the former two Olympic Games athlete and 5000 metre European Champion who is now CEO of UK Athletics, the governing body for track and field in Britain. Buckner has held the same position at British Triathlon and more recently British Swimming. This followed a career in sports marketing at Adidas, in the UK, Germany and the US.

The impetus for our conversation was a recent announcement that UKA was entering a three way partnership with London Marathon Events and the Great North Run, to create a new group, called Athletic Ventures.

This new organisation is set against the backdrop of the governing body reporting a record annual loss of £3.7m in 2023. Most of that deficit was due to the staging of major events. UKA was awarded up to £150,000 by UK Sport to help stage the Diamond League meeting last year, after it approached the funding agency for help. Despite it being a sellout, UKA is reported to have lost between £100,000 and £500,000 from the flagship event.

In this interview, Buckner talks candidly about the future of track and field, World Athletics recent decision to pay athletes at this summer’s Olympic Games and his aspiration to create the Glastonbury of Track and Field.

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