http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/4881300.stm
By Saj Chowdhury
Former Olympic medallist Roger Black says some British athletes are failing to produce the performances to match their lucrative funding awards.
He singled out Mark Lewis-Francis, saying he had failed to live up to his early promise in terms of medals.
"To make a living in my day, you had to win big medals. Now you can get a bit of lottery funding and do OK.
“He has the talent and ability, but if Mark was around in my day he would be penniless now,” Black told BBC Sport.
Black spoke out as UK Athletics announced plans to get athletes to sign up to central contracts.
Those tied in to the central contract deal will need to commit to a programme of events, including the domestic AAA trials, championships and British-televised meetings.
Much of the funding for the scheme will come from a £50m six-year sponsorship deal with Norwich Union.
Black, who won gold in the 1991 World Championships, said track and field stars needed to work hard to earn financial support.
“You don’t need the best facilities, the best attention and so on. You should be able to get ready for events wherever you are.”
Lewis-Francis won gold in the 4x100m in the 2004 Olympics, but failed to make the final of the individual 100m at the Commonwealth Games.
Black said many had hoped for much better from the 23-year-old.
“Mark Lewis-Francis was made out to be far better than perhaps he is,” he said.
"The passion is there now, as it was in my day, but I had it much harder.
"I had to re-mortgage my house at one stage. I was injured and up to my eyeballs in debt. That doesn’t happen now.
“I don’t want anyone to go through what I did, but it wakes you up. You have to come back and you have to win.”
Lewis-Francis refused to respond to Black’s comments, according to his agent.
Black believes the central contract scheme for British athletes must be flexible for the sake of the individuals.
“You have to give them the chance to be individual because that’s what makes them champions,” said the 40-year-old Atlanta 1996 400m silver medallist.
“I don’t think we’ll have the scenario, where they will do what they are told.”
Although Black says the system needs to be flexible, he believes athletes should have few gripes with having to comply to it.
“They should be prepared for the events stipulated in the schedule. They know the situation before the start of the season,” he said.
"I think it’s important to compete in major championship-qualification events like the AAAs. Competitions like that really help you ahead of the big championships.
“We won’t get the sponsorship in the future if athletes don’t comply.”
British athletes will be “strictly accountable for their performances” as a result of the new regime.
The additional funding from Norwich Union will also “offer additional performance-related ‘top-up’ packages for leading athletes”.