UK Sport today (Wednesday) announced that Simon Timson has been appointed to the role of Director of Performance.

As Director of Performance, Simon will be charged with the crucial role of shaping the future of the UK’s high performance system to sustain British Olympic and Paralympic success in Sochi 2014, Rio 2016 and beyond.

Simon Timson said: “I’m delighted to be taking up this significant leadership role within UK Sport at such an exciting time, with such a strong performance in London to build upon.

“I feel confident the system possesses the knowledge, expertise and tools required to sustain success into the future and will be looking to the lessons learned from the London cycle to see where there is room for improvement.

“London 2012 certainly inspired a generation, and I’m looking forward to working with UK Sport’s key partners, particularly the Olympic and Paralympic sports, to further develop the high performance system and enable more athletes to achieve the ambitions London has inspired within them in Sochi, Rio and beyond.”

The appointment is made following an extensive recruitment process over the period of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, designed to put the organisation in the best possible position to appoint an outstanding candidate for this role from the world of high performance sport.

Baroness Sue Campbell, Chair of UK Sport, said: “London 2012 was a huge milestone on this incredible journey that British high performance sport is on, and in Simon, we believe we have found the perfect person to build on this success and deliver a meaningful legacy for our future elite athletes.”

Simon’s current position at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), as Head of the England Development Programme and Science and Medicine, has seen him lead strategic direction as well as innovate at the cutting edge of sport to deliver exceptional performance; both key skills to bring to the UK Sport Director of Performance role. 

Meanwhile Simon has also been a highly valued member of UK Sport’s Mission Control Panel since 2011, working across all Olympic and Paralympic sports, evaluating their preparations for London 2012 through UK Sport’s Mission 2012 tool.

Prior to his work at the ECB, Simon was Performance Director to British Skeleton from 2000 to 2006, kick-starting a glittering period for the sport in which they have won medals at every Olympic Games since Salt Lake City in 2002.  

Liz Nicholl, Chief Executive of UK Sport, said: “Simon’s wealth of experience in elite sport and knowledge of our system through his previous work with British Skeleton and UK Sport made him a stand out candidate for this role. I look forward to working with him to maintain our competitive edge and create an even stronger, more sustainable high performance system that will continue to deliver success and make the nation proud.”
 
Minister for Sport, Hugh Robertson, said: “Simon Timson has an excellent track record both in high performance sport and academically in sports science. His experience as an Olympic Performance Director as well as his time at the ECB, where he helped England become the best cricket team in the world, will be a big asset to elite sport in the UK as we look to move forward from the fantastic performances at London 2012.” 

Simon’s responsibilities as the new Director of Performance will include:

•       Driving the development of the UK’s high performance system
•       Shaping UK Sport’s performance investment strategy
•       Working with Performance Directors from Olympic and Paralympic Sports in a mentoring, supporting and challenging role
•       Overseeing the team which delivers world class technical and strategic support services and performance solutions
•       Leading and developing the Performance Directorate at UK Sport
•       Building and maintaining strong relationships with key partners and stakeholders including; Home Country Sports Councils, the network of Institutes of Sport, the British Olympic Association and the British Paralympic Association

Simon will take up his role in January 2013, succeeding Peter Keen who left the role in May 2012 to become UK Sport’s Special Advisor for Performance.