Cavendish switches athletics for triathlon as new performance director

Brownlee, with his teammates Non Stanford, Tom Bishop and Vicky Holland, finished 29 seconds behind the USA to claim the second spot after an impressive team effort. Cavendish was part of UK Athletics for ten years but, following the move of Brendan Purcell to British Rowing, has elected to add a new sport to his repertoire.

He will join in time for the ITU World Championships on the Gold Coast, in September, the focal point of the season at all levels of the squad.

But more pertinently on his radar will be the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the British teams bringing a combined seven medals in the event back from Rio 2016.

"I'm excited to be joining British Triathlon at such a key time for the sport in the approach to Tokyo," said Cavendish.

"They have enjoyed a hugely successful period and I'm looking forward to being able to use my experience from athletics to build upon the successes over the last two cycles, as well as help bring through new talent."

"I'm really looking forward to getting started with an immensely talented group of athletes and staff."

Cavendish's role with UK Athletics saw him work closely with performance director Neil Black, helping with delivery and strategy of Olympic and Paralympic programmes.

He has also been the lead team manager for a magnitude of events since 2011, including all Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as World and European Championships.

British Triathlon CEO, Andy Salmon, commented: "We're delighted with the appointment of Mike Cavendish. His experience and energy made him an ideal candidate as we focus our attention towards Tokyo.

"We're grateful to Brendan Purcell for everything he helped us achieve. He built a strong team of coaches and practitioners, whom I know are looking forward to working with Mike."

Sportsbeat 2018