ONE of Huddersfield’s sporting heroes has spoken of her concerns over cuts in funding which could threaten Britain’s future hopes of more medals in swimming.

Olympic gold medallist Anita Lonsbrough-Porter said the sport’s funding cut was due to Team GB’s “disappointing” show in the pool at London 2012.

While UK Sport announced a record £347 million to be invested in the four-year build-up to the 2016 Rio Games, swimming’s funding was slashed by almost 15 per cent.

Instead of £25 million, the sport will only receive £21 million.

Anita, who found success in the sport while living in Huddersfield in the 1960s, said the cuts were bound to have an impact.

“What we don’t know at the moment is where the axe will fall,” she said.

“Will they cut the money going to individual swimmers, will they reduce the number of competitions or will the facilities face reductions? We have four centres of excellence and will there be cuts there?”

Anita, who won gold at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, worked as a clerk at Huddersfield Town Hall during the height of her career.

Now athletes are paid professionals and Anita said: “It was very different in my day.

“At that time we weren’t allowed any money and they were very strict on expenses. It meant having to rely on parents.

“At least now the pressure on parents has been taken away and people can at least save for their futures.”

After Team GB’s triumphant summer Olympics, the most successful sports such as cycling, boxing, athletics, canoeing, diving, equestrian, fencing, gymnastics, rowing, sailing, shooting and taekwondo all cashed in.

But sports that were perceived to be “failures” – missing their medal targets – are set to lose millions in funding.

Basketball, supported to the tune of £8.5 million pre-London, has been stripped entirely of its funding.

Other sports told to pay their way to Brazil were table tennis, volleyball, handball and wrestling.

In swimming Rebecca Adlington, who won two golds in Beijing in 2008, was hotly tipped to follow up at the London games but she had to settle for two bronzes.

Long-distance swimmer Keri-Anne Payne narrowly missed out on a medal when she came fourth in the 10km and Fran Halsall, rated a big gold medal hope, was kept off the podium due to injury struggles.

Anita said: “I think the news about the funding cuts is very disappointing but the team just didn’t match up to expectations.

“We will have to see where the axe falls.”

Another sport to have seen a big cut in funding was badminton but the sport’s rulers were relieved that the 20% chop wasn’t worse.

Huddersfield’s Marcus Ellis, 23, said: “As a sport we were expecting a cut but I think the outcome is the best we could have hoped for. Our association is very happy with the level of funding.”

Badminton hasn’t delivered any medals in the last two Olympics so the pressure is on and some players may lose their support.

Marcus, from Bolster Moor, has been having a good season so far and has his sights firmly set on the future.

“Having the funding helps you focus 100% on your sport,” he said.

“I am still only 23 and still have a lot of maturing to do in the sport.

“In badminton players reach their peak later and I feel I can play for another 10 years.

“I have at least two Olympics in my sights.”

Marcus, now based in St Albans, has a new mixed doubles partner in Alyssa Lim, who replaces Gabby White with whom he had much title success.

The new duo head out to Korea on January 4.

Rugby League has also lost out in the funding round.

The sport which was founded in Huddersfield’s George Hotel has lost £10m from its previous funding.

Rugby Football League chief executive Nigel Wood has expressed his disappointment at the cut in funding for the sport.

Sport England announced that the funding made available to rugby league over the next four years would be £17.5m, a reduction of £10.1m on the previous award.

Wood said the sport would now address how that money was spent across the rugby league community, accepting that the reduction represented the end of spending on “large capital projects” between 2009 and 2013.

Wood said: “We will now be looking carefully at the award details of the new Whole Sport plan to see how we take our important community and talent development work forward with the support of Sport England.

“Naturally we are disappointed that Rugby League has not been able to maintain the previous level of funding.

“Over the last four years Whole Sport funding has enabled us to undertake some outstanding development work, helping to create a situation where more people than ever before have actually played the sport in the past 12 months.”

RFL Director of Participation David Gent said: “Sport England has recognised that we have already taken decisive action to increase the number of people playing Rugby League and improve the experience by moving the playing season to summer.

“We remain committed to developing Rugby League across the country. The focus of the new plan 2013-2017 will be on retention of current players, but we also have a growth target.”

Liz Nicholl, chief executive of UK Sport, said the funding body's “no-compromise approach” was aimed at making Britain “the first nation in recent history to be more successful in the Olympics and Paralympics post-hosting.”