ATHLETICS AUSTRALIA are to appoint a new high performance director who will focus almost exclusively on the country's best track and field talent leading up to the London Olympics after Max Binnington (pictured) stepped down.

LESS British athletes than ever are to receive the top level of National Lottery funding in the build-up to London 2012 after they won only four medals at the Beijing Olympics, including high jumper Germaine Mason (pictured), it was announced today.

August 30 - Dave Collins (pictured), sacked last year as UK Athletics' performance director after Britain failed to reach its medal target at the Olympics, has applied for a top post at the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU).

APPLICATIONS from three cities have been received for the European Athletics Indoor Championships 2011, a major build-up competition to the 2012 Olympics, it was announced today.

ANDY TURNER (pictured), one of Britain's top athletes and a training partner of Olympic 400 metres champion Christine Ohuruogu, is set to protest to UK Athletics after his £18,000 National Lottery funding was cut.

A MAJOR row has errupted in Irish athletics after it emerged Patsy McGonagle (pictured), who heads up the country's high performance committee, was under investigation for gross misconduct.

FEWER of Britain's top Paralympic athletes will receive National Lottery funding in the build-up to London 2012, it was announced by UK Athletics today.

ALAN STOREY (pictured), one of Britain's top distance coaches for more than 30 years, is to leave his post as the senior performance manager for endurance, UK Athletics confirmed today.

FRANKIE FREDERICKS (pictured), one of the greatest sprinters in history and now a senior member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is to run for the presidency of Athletics Namibia in an effort to help shape the sport in the build-up to London 2012. 

CITY businessman Edmond Warner (pictured) was today appointed as the first chairman of UK Athletics and given the task of overseeing the sport's preparations for the 2012 Olympics.

August 29 - John Bowden (pictured), formerly one of the country's top middle-distance runners, has been appointed as the performance manager of Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ), it has been announced.

MAY 10 - MAX JONES (pictured), the former performance director of UK Athletics, has criticised proposals by the European Athletics Association (EAA) to hold a European Championships in the same year as the 2012 Olympics. 

NIELS DE VOS (pictured), the new chief executive of UK Athletics, has today admitted that the sport is Britain is already targetting the 2012 Olympics and is not anticipating much success this year.

JONATHAN EDWARDS (pictured), a member of the Board of London 2012, was today elected to the ruling council of the European Athletics Association (EAA).