London 2012 Olympic participants may have more of their nearest and dearest watching them after all.
Each competitor has been allocated two tickets for family and friends to watch them chase Olympic glory, but UK Athletics today announced it would buy more tickets for British athletes.
The two-ticket allocation was structured by the British Olympic Association, but UK Athletics will now pay for two tickets for every subsequent athletics round.
Niels de Vos, the chief executive of UK Athletics, said: "This is essentially a performance decision - the last thing we want athletes to be worrying about is the cost or availability of tickets for their mum and dad, boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wife.
"But it is also about recognising that without the massive support and sacrifice of friends and family, over many years, most athletes would never have made it to elite level.
"As soon as UKA heard we could access these tickets from the organisers we made the decision to purchase them on behalf of our team, so no athlete need worry about either the availability or cost of getting their loved ones in to the Stadium."
Athletes could receive up to five pairs of tickets, since there is a total of 20 athletics sessions within the London 2012 Olympic Games schedule.
For attendants not related to athletes, a draw will be made on 24 April for the remaining 1.5 million football tickets available.
Some 20,000 people who were mistakenly told they had tickets will be given a 24-hour head start in the sale, which is to include 40,000 athletics seats.
An additional five-day window will enable the one million people who applied but missed out in previous ticket rounds will be given the opportunity to buy on a first come, first served basis.
If there are any tickets left at the end of that period, they may go on general sale but it is considered unlikely.