BEFORE we get too maudlin about our poor British divers who have to flog off their Olympic kit on the street, let's not forget why they did it.

The two were not raising cash for food, or to put shoes on their feet, but, according to Robert Morgan, to "have a night out".

Morgan is 29 years of age. He has chosen to devote his life to diving and is unemployed.

He whinges that he and Tony Ali, 22, also without a job, have no sponsorship. Morgan does, however, get several thousand pounds from the Sports Aid Foundation; one newspaper puts it as high as £15,000 a year. Some team officials have expressed sympathy for the men, saying their action highlighted demands for more Government funding for sport.

There are better ways of doing that than selling off gear emblazoned with the British team logo on the streets of Atlanta.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.