Adam Gemili and Jack Green have been bumped up to the top level of funding for 2013 as part of the UK Athletics World Class Performance Programme.

Gemili and Green, who turned 19 and 21 respectively earlier this month, will receive Podium level support from UKA, joining fellow Kent Olympian Lisa Dobriskey in the top tier of UK funding for athletes deemed to have a genuine medal chance at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Longfield Paralympian Stephen Osborne - who was fifth in his 100m wheelchair class - will receive the second tier of funding, for Podium Potential athletes, despite being aged 49.

Both groups will have to meet strict performance targets to keep their funding the following year. The previous four year cycle saw athletes selected on the basis of their potential to reach an Olympic final, rather than their potential for a podium place.

Gemili, from Dartford, was crowned World Junior Champion in July and missed out on a place in the Olympic 100m final by just 0.4 seconds, finishing third in his semi-final.

Hythe's Green crashed out in the semi-finals of the 400m hurdles, but has been bumped into the top-tier after his storming performances in the 4x400m relay team, which saw Great Britain finish an agonising fourth, just 0.1secs outside a bronze medal.

Dobriskey, 29, from New Romney, remains Britain's top 1,500m runner and will seek to add to her World Championship silver from Berlin 2009 in Moscow next year.

New UKA Performance Director Neil Black said: "Being part of the World Class Performance Plan is a privilege and not a right and athletes selected will be expected to fulfill tough performance criteria.

"We have identified a very talented group of athletes for support over the coming year and I am confident that we can build on the success of the last Olympic and Paralympic cycle starting with the European Indoors in Gothenburg in March."

He added: "Accountability is at the heart of this programme and athletes who have not met performance criteria over the last year will not receive continued support. It is undoubtedly tough, but that is performance sport."

"I’d like to thank UK Sport and the National Lottery for their ongoing commitment to elite sport. This public investment ensures our athletes are among the best prepared and best supported in the world."

UKA Paralympic Head Coach Peter Eriksson said: "We have had to take a number of difficult decisions in this funding cycle, but this is the strongest group of athletes we have selected to the Paralympic Programme since I arrived in 2009.

"We had an outstanding Paralympic Games in London and our focus is now on bettering that in four years time."