but because national sporting heroes give a lift to the sport itself and to the whole country."The academy, which will have around 300 residential places, will focus on 20 sports, including football, athletics, cricket, gymnastics, judo, rowing, swimming and squash. The Government will also provide scholarships for athletes worth pounds 35m a year from lottery money, and aims to double the number of places in universities.The academy and specialist colleges will be open to gifted athletes, for long- and short-term residential courses, from very young gymnasts to players and squads who are already established in their fields.Derek Casey, chief executive of the Sports Council, said: "Looking at the countries doing well in world sport, including Australia and Canada, they have a 15-year head-start on us in funding from their lotteries ... Bids will close in October and a winner will be chosen in January.The Prime Minister said: "What I would like to see is the very best in British sport becoming the best of anywhere in the world, not just because we like winning ... Its doors are due open in 1998 in time for the build-up to the next Olympics in Sydney to create an elite stable of British sporting stars, including disabled athletes.Mr Major announced the search for a suitable 100-acre site yesterday from the garden of 10 Downing Street.

But they only think about swimming and gymnastics every four years when the Olympics come round."Palmer's call has apparently been heard. The centrepiece of John Major's plan will be a pounds 100m national sports academy for Britain's top athletes, which will be funded by money from the Lottery. Palmer, 21, has struggled like so many British athletes who rise to the top despite inadequate facilities and poor funding. But he won his medal on the day that the Prime Minister took the first steps towards national sporting excellence by laying out a pounds 300m-a-year vision to transform Britain's neglected sports facilities for everyone, from the most mediocre to the most gifted. Paul Palmer is a classic example of success against the odds.