Following events in Beijing, third or fourth certainly sounds feasible, as does a targeted second place in the 2012 Paralympics. And an agreeable thought it is, too, imagining the country once again basking in the glory of an abundance of Olympic gold medals. But just as money doesn't grow on trees, so gold medals are rarely won without proper funding and meticulous preparation over a period of years. Some potential British Olympians are being, and will continue to be, adequately financed through UK Sport, the agency responsible for apportioning lottery money to elite athletes, and third-party sponsorship.

Some, but not all. And this shortfall in funding is a problem that has been somewhat camouflaged by the escalating costs of staging the 2012 Games - almost £10 billion at the last count, against an original estimate of less than £3 billion. That, though, is a figure purely for staging the Olympics - for building the infrastructure and for running the Games themselves. It is a figure that does not include the funding of athletes.

Sport is about athletes competing against each other, not about infrastructures and buildings that are monuments to people's egos. Buildings, moreover, that can have a life span of barely a fortnight when athletes have been single-mindedly preparing for four years or more. People don't remember transport systems and aquatic centres. They remember athletes.

And Be Number 1 has been created with this in mind. It has been established to support sportsmen and sportswomen who are in need of financial assistance to help them fulfil their aspirations. The Be Number 1 athletes are dedicated professional sportspeople, some of them selected for their medal-winning potential, but all of them chosen because of their requirement for financial assistance. They are regarded as ambassadors for their chosen sports and exemplary role models for future generations. Supporters of the athletes range from corporate financiers to schoolchildren who share one common goal - they want to help their athlete 'be number one'.

Gordon Brown, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced in his Budget of March 2006 that an additional £300 million of funding was being made available for elite athletes for the 2012 Olympics during the course of the following six years, thereby bringing the total up to £600 million. Hallelujah? Well, not quite. Of the £300 million of 'new' money, UK Sport has been apportioned a total of £200 million while the other £100 million was to be raised through private-sector sponsorship.

And therein lies the rub, for that 'other' £100 million of private-sector money proved to be no more than a mirage. In the summer of 2008, it was announced that a projected increase in Lottery sales worth £21 million would help to close the funding gap before, in December 2008, it was also confirmed that a further £29 million of Exchequer funds would be made available to UK Sport.

But that still leaves a mountainous shortfall of £50 million, a deficit that will have to be funded through other means if some potential Olympians are to take to the London stage in 2012. And whereas sports such as cycling, sailing, rowing and boxing had their budgets for the 2012 Games increased after performing strongly in Beijing, so underachieving sports like table tennis, volleyball, fencing, water polo, shooting and beach volleyball have been left to fight over scraps.

How all these sports fare in the build-up to London 2012 remains to be seen. What is certain here and now is that the British sailing trio of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson, the "Three Blondes in a Boat", won a gold medal in the Yngling class in Beijing. But they may not have done. After memorably winning the Yngling gold with Shirley Robertson in Athens in 2004, Ayton and Webb, who are both Be Number 1 ambassadors, decided to form their own team. But they were on the verge of quitting within a year of their Athens success because of a shortage of funding. Even the so-called well-funded sports can, and do, fall short of satisfying the financial needs of its athletes.

"I couldn't believe it," says Hugo Ambrose, who became aware of the trio's plight at Cowes Week in 2005 and has since been instrumental in creating Be Number 1. "Here were two British Olympic gold medal winners - and two extremely talented gold medal winners - who were on the very edge of giving it all up because of a lack of finance. They were receiving lottery funding, but it wasn't enough to stop their sailing programme running up debts. Don't get me wrong. The introduction of lottery funding has been extremely welcome, but it hasn't necessarily kept pace with the intensity and development of sport. And therefore extra funding over and above lottery funding is often required.

"Be Number 1, however, is not just about the Olympic movement, although we have a host of Olympic medallists who people can support for as little as £20 by buying a pixel. Take Robin Simpson, the endurance athlete, who has already set a multitude of world records and is gunning for more, including the Deca Ironman Triathlon, which consists of a 24-mile swim, a 1,120-mile bike ride and a 262-mile run. Robin is convinced that, with the requisite support, he can also break that world record, which currently stands at 198 hours.

"We thought - correctly, as it turns out - that there would almost certainly be a shortfall in public-sector backing for the 2012 Olympics, just as there was for 2008. And that is one reason why we have formed Be Number 1. The Yngling girls' programme for 2008 cost about £330,000, but only a third of that was met by lottery funding. If fate had turned out differently, they would almost certainly have been forced to watch the Beijing Olympics on television. And it is precisely that sort of situation which we want to avoid. Britain has some fine sportsmen and sportswomen in its midst and all we want at Be Number 1 is for British potential to be fulfilled."

Ayton comments: "There is no doubt whatsoever that the private support we received on top of central funding enabled us to retain our Yngling title in Beijing. Be Number 1 is a great mechanism for a huge number of people and businesses to get involved in a fun, modern way to help raise money for Britain's aspiring young sports stars, so many of whom lack the financial assistance to fulfil their talent at the highest competitive level."

Webb, for her part, says: "The success of Team GB in Beijing did wonders for the nation's confidence in, and enthusiasm for, its sporting heroes. But there are still a multitude of British sportspeople out there, with an eye on 2012 and/or beyond, who desperately need financial support, so that they can commit the necessary time and effort to improve their performances to the highest possible standard.

"Ultimately we want to feature athletes from all amateur sports on the Be Number 1 website, including summer and winter Olympics and Paralympic Games. The content is designed to be both educational and inspirational, thereby allowing a wide audience to follow and support 'their athlete' as he or she prepares for their next goal. It also allows individuals, clubs, schools, colleges and companies to support their heroes while also informing the community at large about their own sporting deeds."

Ambrose concludes: "It is difficult to quantify precisely how many young people are abandoning sport because of a lack of funding. But one young person who turns his or her back on sport for this reason is one person too many. A recent survey showed that there was no increase in sporting participation in this country in the 15 years after 1993 and that 51 per cent of the population still do no sport at all."

If you are a sportsman or sportswoman who would like to consider becoming a Be Number 1 athlete, or if you are a potential sponsor who shares the ambition of Britain bringing out the best in its aspiring sports stars, please visit www.benumber1.co.uk

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