Stand by for chip and run as McCain step in to sponsor UK Athletics

Then again, healthy living and athletics hardly seem to go hand in hand after a year in which the use of banned drugs has seen sprinters Marion Jones and Dwain Chambers end up in court.

But just days after Chambers deep fried the premier Olympic event's reputation at the High Court, the company famous for making potato chips oven-ready decided there was nothing wrong with putting athletics and chips on the same menu.

Food for thought: athletes Marilyn Okoro (left), Nicola Sanders, Montell Douglas and former Olympic champion Sally Gunnell

McCain will spend £10million over the next five years promoting the link. Half of that will be given to UK Athletics for persuading young people to take up the sport and become involved in competitions for the teen age group.

'We want to make Britain a healthy country,' said McCain UK chief executive Nick Vermont. According to the McCain publicity, while the fat content of the average takeaway chip is 12 per cent, the oven-ready variety consists of only five per cent fat.

Whether nutritionists would recommend oven chips to the aspiring Olympic athlete is another matter, but amid fears that another slew of doping scandals could frighten off the corporate classes, UK Athletics was not about to bite the hand prepared to feed it.

'This is a partner that shares the same vision as UKA, that of a healthier Britain,' claimed its chairman Ed Warner on Monday.

Indeed, for UKA this is a case of out of the frying pan and into the oven. The previous sponsor of its UK Young Athletes League was burger giant McDonald's. So is McCain not worried about the less savoury image of athletics?

'It didn't really enter our thinking,' said Vermont. 'Yes, there has been publicity but I think the British population at large believe in our athletes. 'The British athletics body and the British Olympic Association have shown real leadership on a global scale on the issue and we are happy to support them.'

At least McCain is backing up its promotional talk with practical thinking. The company will use roadshows to try to encourage more people to get involved in athletics. These will be followed by four 'Track and Field' days with a family fitness theme and free introductory sessions at athletics clubs.

'We hope that by giving families a taste of athletics and showing them how easy it is to get involved, people will be encouraged to sign up to their local club and new, talented athletes will start to emerge,' said a McCain spokesman.