Homepage

We use cookies to track and analyse visitors to our website

These cookies help make the website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation. They are necessary for our website to function and cannot be switched off.
These cookies gather information to understand how visitors interact with the website, such as how many people are using our website of which pages are popular to help us improve user experience. Switching off these cookies will mean that we cannot gather information to improve the user experience.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by a third party provider whose services we have added to our website. Switching off these cookies mean that areas of our website cannot work properly.

Cookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user's experience more efficient.

The law states that we can store cookies on your device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site.

For all other types of cookies we need your permission.

This site uses different types of cookies. Some cookies are placed by third party services that appear on our pages.

You can at any time change or withdraw your consent from the Cookie Declaration on our website.

Learn more about who we are, how you can contact us and how we process personal data in our Privacy Policy.

Skip navigation
  • About us
    • Our Directors team
    • Our Board and panels
    • Strategic plan 2021-31
    • Annual reports
    • Our funders
    • Who we work with
    • Tenders
    • Contact us
  • Our work
    • Investing in sport
    • Investing in events
    • Powering positive change and social impact
    • International relations
    • Learning and development
    • Protecting and Transforming Olympic and Paralympic sport
    • Leadership and governance
    • Coaching
  • Events
  • News
  • Sports
    Olympic sports
    • Archery
    • Aquatics
    • Artistic Swimming
    • Athletics
    • Badminton
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Bobsleigh
    • Boxing (Amateur)
    • View all
    Paralympic sports
    • Boccia
    • Goalball
    • Para-Archery
    • Para-Athletics
    • Para-Badminton
    • Para-Canoe
    • Para-Climbing
    • Para-Cycling
    • Para-Equestrian Dressage
    • View all
  • Resources
    • A Code for Sports Governance
    • Organisational Health
    • Para performance strategic framework
    • Board minutes
    • Complaints and whistleblowing
    • Eligibility
    • Fraud, corruption and bribery
    • Transparency and open data
    • HR policy templates
    • Pregnancy guidance
    • Reports and research
    • The Whyte Review
  • Jobs in sport
    • Working at UK Sport
    • Explore career pathways
    • Find jobs in sport
    • Advertise sport jobs
  • About us
    • Our Directors team
    • Our Board and panels
    • Strategic plan 2021-31
    • Annual reports
    • Our funders
    • Who we work with
    • Tenders
    • Contact us
  • Our work
    • Investing in sport
    • Investing in events
    • Powering positive change and social impact
    • International relations
    • Learning and development
    • Protecting and Transforming Olympic and Paralympic sport
    • Leadership and governance
    • Coaching
  • Events
  • News
  • Sports
    Olympic sports
    • Archery
    • Aquatics
    • Artistic Swimming
    • Athletics
    • Badminton
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Bobsleigh
    • Boxing (Amateur)
    • View all
    Paralympic sports
    • Boccia
    • Goalball
    • Para-Archery
    • Para-Athletics
    • Para-Badminton
    • Para-Canoe
    • Para-Climbing
    • Para-Cycling
    • Para-Equestrian Dressage
    • View all
  • Resources
    • A Code for Sports Governance
    • Organisational Health
    • Para performance strategic framework
    • Board minutes
    • Complaints and whistleblowing
    • Eligibility
    • Fraud, corruption and bribery
    • Transparency and open data
    • HR policy templates
    • Pregnancy guidance
    • Reports and research
    • The Whyte Review
  • Jobs in sport
    • Working at UK Sport
    • Explore career pathways
    • Find jobs in sport
    • Advertise sport jobs
Popular content on our site
Prepare to “Find Your Greatness” as search for UK's future athletes gets underway The National Lottery operator Allwyn launches ChangeMakers fund for athletes as they make a difference back home Breadth of success targeted as British Olympic and Paralympic performance aspirations confirmed for Paris Investing in sport Strategic plan 2021-31
News

Tall and Talented hopefuls face anxious wait

Published 11 February 2010

Having travelled the length and breadth of the UK throughout January in search of ‘tall and talented’ undiscovered potential, the UK Talent Team, along with Olympic coaches from GB Rowing and British Basketball, are now undertaking the difficult task of making selections for phase two of the Talent 2016: Tall and Talented programme.

Talent 2016: Tall and Talented was launched in October last year, in a bid to identify individuals from the British public, aged 15 to 22, over 180cm (female) or 190cm (male) tall, with the potential to be developed in time for Olympic glory at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. While height is no guarantee of success in the two targeted sports of rowing and basketball, it is certainly a good place to start when trawling the nation for otherwise hidden athletic potential.

1500 applications were received for the initiative, and throughout January over 750 athletes attended and completed a phase one talent assessment in Bath, Gateshead, Loughborough, Stirling or London. Whilst the athletes were certainly tall (the tallest male and female athletes tested were 210cm and 194cm, respectively), the testing team also witnessed some outstanding displays of athleticism and determination, with several new testing records being set.

Olympic medallists and Talent 2016: Tall and Talented ambassadors Katherine Grainger and Andy Hodge were on hand at the London assessment event to share their Olympic experiences with the 2016 hopefuls.

Katherine Grainger said: “The athletes here today have a fantastic opportunity ahead of them. I started rowing by chance; someone at university spotted me because I was tall and persuaded me to join the rowing club. Tall and Talented is proactively finding athletes with the potential to achieve in rowing and basketball, which is great.

“The Olympic journey is definitely challenging but the buzz of competing and winning medals for your country is an amazing experience and somebody here today maybe taking the first step on that journey.”

Steve Gunn, the GB Rowing Team's Start Manager, said: "We've been delighted with the phase one testing, it has provided us with the opportunity to test hundreds of athletes we may otherwise never have come across. The stadard has been high and we believe we have identified some exciting prospects for 2016."

“The athletes here today have a fantastic opportunity ahead of them."

Katherine Grainger

Now that phase one has drawn to a close, the coaches and talent identification scientists are in the process of analysing each athlete’s testing data (collected from anthropometric, strength, endurance, power and agility tests) and sporting background, and benchmarking against data collected from successful Olympians over many years.

Natalie Dunman, lead Talent Identification Scientist for Tall and Talented, said: “Talent identification is complex, but we use all of the data and information available to us, including each athlete’s testing data and sporting history, along with the coaches’ expert opinions, to piece together a profile of each individual and select the applicants with the most potential to thrive in a world class training environment.

“Those that progress to phase two will still have a long way to go, with plenty more testing and trialling, but for the lucky few this could be the start of their journey towards success in 2016.”

The wait is nearly over for the 750-plus Olympic hopefuls, who will find out before 1 March whether they are being invited back for sports specific testing with either GB Rowing or British Basketball. 

Meanwhile, the Talent 2012: Fighting Chance and Paralympic Potential initiatives are currently still in the phase one testing phase. Updates on both of these exciting new programmes to find athletes capable of representing Great Britain in just over two years time at the Olympics and Paralympics right here in London will follow in the coming weeks.

Related Links

  • Talent
  • British Rowing
  • British Basketball 
Share
  • X
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

News

Participants of the UK Sport Athlete To Coach programme taking part in a fireside conversation
UK Sport launches new programmes to support coaching across the high-performance community
21 May 2025
Headshot of Professor Nick Webborn CBE
Professor Nick Webborn CBE appointed new Chair of UK Sport
19 May 2025
Decoration image with the logos of UK Sport and Weirdo
Transforming fan experience: UK Sport introduces new engagement strategies for Olympic and Paralympic sports
15 May 2025
Looking to work in sport?
Find or advertise sports jobs in the UK
Search now
Our funders
  • Funded by UK Government
  • TNL partners
Who we work with
  • British Olympic Association
  • Paralympics GB
  • Logo of the UK Sports Institute
  • Sport England
  • Sport Northern Ireland
  • Sport Wales
  • Sport Scotland
  • Logo of the British Elite Athletes Association
  • Logo for UK Coaching
  • Logo of Sport Resolutions
Sitelogo
Sitemap
  • Homepage
  • About us
  • Our work
  • Events
  • News
  • Sports
  • Resources
  • Jobs in sport
  • Website terms and privacy policy
  • Editorial policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility
  • Freedom of Information
  • Welsh language scheme
  • FAQs
Contact
UK Sport
6th Floor
10 South Colonnade
London
E14 4PU
E: info@uksport.gov.uk
T: +44 (0) 20 7211 5100
Follow us
Twitter Youtube Instagram LinkedIn

© Copyright UK Sport 2025