Olympics: Australia paying the price for a win at all costs mentality

Silver medalist Madeline Groves of Australia poses on the podium during the medal ceremony. Groves withdrew before the Olympic trials last month with a series of explosive social media posts. Picture: Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Medals are not cheap. Australia knows that all too well. In 2021, the federal government will spend $350m (€220m) on sport. That is divided between high-performance and grassroots participation, but heavily weighted towards the former.

Each year the Australian Institute of Sport hands out about $150m (€93m) for high-performance purposes. It is a ravenous system that always demands more. In recent years there are growing demands to feed what is viewed as an underfunded machine.