The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) is looking to Britain’s example to turn around our recent Olympic disappointment.

Australia returned from Rio last month with eight gold and a total of 23 medals – its poorest result in 24 years – finishing 10th on the overall tally.

Britain has followed up its impressive home performance of 2012 with a massive 27 gold medals and 67 in total at Rio to finish second on the medal tally behind the United States.

Most involved with the various sporting bodies agree that funding is essential to Olympic success and the ASC believes Britain has found the solution.

ASC chairman John Wylie says a British-style national lottery would help to solve Australia’s sports funding dilemma.

Britain derives some 70 per cent of its sports funding from a lottery system.

“The UK this year will invest around 60 per cent more than Australia in high-performance sport, made possible in large measure due to its national lottery,” Wylie told a media conference in Melbourne on Thursday.

“It’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that the British model is better and smarter than ours.”

Wylie praised the efforts of the Australian Olympic team, but admitted Australia “fell short of expectations” at the Rio Games.

“We at the ASC want to see an online national sports lottery introduced here, which we believe does not encourage irresponsible gambling,” he said.

Maintain the Winning Edge 

Despite the Rio disappointment, Wylie said the ASC would retain the Winning Edge funding model launched after the London Games.

Winning Edge weights funding toward traditionally successful sports for Australia such as swimming and cycling.

“Australia’s Winning Edge is built on evidence-based funding decisions, high aspirations for achievement, sports taking responsibility for their own high performance programs and improved leadership and governance in sports organisations,” Wylie said, adding that the program was part of a 10-year plan.

“It needs to be understood that these changes strengthen sports but don’t produce results overnight,” he added.

The ASC also suggested a merger between the Canberra-based Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and state institutes.

AIS director Matthew Favier said a panel had been established to consider the AIS’s role into the future.

“One of the matters that will be considered further is a much closer relationship between the AIS and the state-based institutes and academies of sport,” he said.

In a statement, Swimming Australia welcomed the continuing commitment to the Winning Edge strategy.

Swimming Australia CEO Mark Anderson said that the support of Winning Edge had enabled swimming to make significant progress both in and out of the pool.

“Australia’s Winning Edge is a 10-year strategy, and since 2012 we have made significant progress across all areas of our sport in collaboration with our high performance partners,” Mr Anderson said.

– with ABC