Niels deVos, the Government's UK Sport-appointed chief executive officer of UK Athletics, believes that British athletes can win 10 medals at the 2012 London Olympics and expects that they will be represented in every event and appear in at least 50 per cent of all finals.

This would be our best ever Olympic performance and is only to be expected after 12 years and around £200 million ($310 million) of public and commercial sponsorship which has enabled the formation of a highly professional body put in charge of the sport by the government - with 120-plus staff - to provide the very best in support for our elite athletes.

A new head coach from Holland was brought in on a million-pound contract three years ago, following a rather dismal GB performance in Beijing, to replace the previous performance director and is being hailed by Athletics Weekly's editor, as "Mastermind, the man with the Midas touch" for all his apparent successes. His job for GB is to oversee and determine all aspects of our elite athletes' coaching, preparation and competition programme.

Specifically staffed high performance centres were set up across the country where our best athletes have access to the best facilities and can be under the supervision of highly-paid appointed coaches, including foreign coaches brought in from Canada, the US and Australia.

The very best in sports science and medical and physiotherapy support has been made available to all these designated "podium potential" lottery-funded athletes, who are also individually funded to free them from the stress of having to work and therefore able to concentrate wholly on achieving medals or at least a top eight (final) position.

Regular trips over the winters to warm weather and altitude training camps in South Africa, Australia, United States, French Pyrenees and Kenya have provided the perfect environment for optimum training leading to expected maximum performance in the Government's Sport Minister's designated global medal targets of the biannual World Championships and Olympic Games.

In addition to all the support and financial payouts to our elite athletes, groups and individuals together with their coaches have been sent by UK Athletics to the finest IAAF sanctioned international meetings, outside of the championships, to ensure the very best competitive opportunities.

British athletics has never had it so good.

No stone has been left unturned in the pursuit of the goal for GB's success in London 2012 and the media, the Government and not least the public can look forward to a great British bonanza for athletics in the principal sport of the 2012 London Olympics.

For a daily event-by-event analysis (according to the Olympic athletics programme) of our current medal and top eight prospects click here.

John Bicourt was an English record holder and represented Britain in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics. He has coached, advised and managed a number of Olympic and World Championship athletes from Britain, Australia, South African, Kenya and the United States, including medallists and world record holders. He is an elected officer of the Association of British Athletics Clubs