Olympic bronze medallist Barbara Kendall has come out strongly in support of the Sports Foundation, despite what many saw as a poor return at the Sydney Olympics.
New Zealand athlete of the century Peter Snell has criticised the foundation, saying he felt some of its funding - of eliteathletes - was misplaced and that resources should be directed towards talent identification.
Kendall said that was a lopsided argument. Athletes such as herself (windsurfing), rower Rob Waddell and cyclist Sarah Ulmer would not have got where they were without the foundation's funding.
"If, as Snell suggested, we should have fulltime jobs we would not have the time for the training we have had to do. It is a lot harder today than it was when he and John Walker were competing.
"Peter Snell needs to know what athletes are faced with today. There are a lot more countries at the Olympics and competition is a lot fiercer.
She was disappointed at the amount of media criticism of the foundation.
"I have had funding since 1988, but from the time I was given elite status in 1996 and received $50,000 a year it has made a big difference."
Kendall felt New Zealand's medal return from Sydney was more than satisfactory.
"There were a number of people, including some swimmers and weightlifters, who turned in personal bests in Sydney," Kendall said. "That is what funding like this has achieved."
She supported the Peter Snell Institute of Sport initiative of making $2000 grants to athletes identified as having outstanding long-term prospects, saying that had she been given such funding at a young age it would have been an added incentive to strive for the top.
