Steve Cram MBE is to step-down as Chairman of the English Institute of Sport (EIS) after more than 10 years as the head of the organisation which provides sport science and sport medicine to over 30 Olympic and Paralympic sports.
UK Sport will lead the process to recruit a new Chair and expect to make an appointment in the Autumn when Cram will handover to his replacement.
Cram explained: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as the Chair of the EIS and am extremely proud of the way that we have grown it from two people to a world-renowned provider of sport science and sport medicine to elite athletes, employing more than 200 practitioners. The services provided by the EIS are now widely recognised as having a significant impact on the performance of the athletes it works with and it has played an important role in Great Britain’s march up the medal table at successive Olympic Games.
“So many athletes win an Olympic medal by the tiniest of margins and they do so because someone, somewhere, a week, a month or even a year before has done something, which possibly didn’t seem significant at the time, but which made that tiny difference. That’s the role the EIS has played – and will continue to play – and whilst it is right that the athletes should get the glory, the EIS can be very proud of its contribution to those successes.
“After the superb achievements of London 2012, the high performance system is going through a period of evolution to help ensure that Great Britain can maintain its success and I think that now is the right time to move-on and pass-the-baton to someone else to guide the EIS in the next stage of its development.
“I would like to personally thank the members of the EIS board who have provided invaluable support in the past 10 years and to the staff at all levels whose commitment to the athletes and their coaches has been, and continues to be, immense. I will continue to fully support the hugely successful UK high performance system in whichever way I can and am looking forward to further Team GB success in Sochi, Rio and beyond.”
The Rt Hon Hugh Robertson MP, Minister for Sport and the Olympics said: “Steve Cram has shown great leadership and vision as the Chairman of the EIS and helped grow it into an organisation recognised internationally for its expertise in sport science and medicine. As a former athlete who competed and excelled at the very highest level, Steve brought vast experience to the position. He can be extremely proud of his achievements with the EIS, including the successful role it played in supporting our athletes in the build up to and during last summer’s Games.”
The EIS has more than 200 practitioners delivering an average of 4,000 hours a week of sport science and medical support to athletes and worked with 86% of those that won a medal for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Under 67kg Taekwondo World Champion, Sarah Stevenson said: “Over the last 10 years, under his chairmanship, the EIS has developed into a fantastic support network for athletes and has definitely contributed to improvements in performance.
“I first came across the EIS in 2003 when I was having treatment on a knee injury and at that time it really felt like the start of something new and very exciting. Before retiring, the Manchester site was like my second home and the practitioners were key members of the team supporting me. They not only helped to put me back together after injury but influenced many aspects of my performance and helped to ensure I had everything I needed to be at my absolute best when it came to the big competitions.”
UK Sport Chief Executive Liz Nicholl added: “I would like to thank Steve on behalf of everyone at UK Sport for all he has done over the past decade for high performance sport in this country.
Under Steve’s leadership the EIS has gone from strength to strength on its journey to becoming a world leading provider of sport science and medicine in support of sports and athletes striving for medal success on the world stage.
“We will now begin the process of appointing a replacement and will be seeking someone who can build on Steve's good work.”
The new Chair will lead the Board of the EIS and be responsible for the future development of the organisation. He or she will be work with National Director, Nigel Walker and his Senior Management Team to shape the way the EIS works with national governing bodies in continuing to provide performance solutions to their athletes and coaches.
Steve Cram MBE is one of Great Britain’s most successful ever middle distance athletes who won six gold medals at Commonwealth, European and World Championships and an Olympic Silver medal.
Since retiring as an athlete, Steve has channelled his energy into improving sport in the UK at all levels from the grassroots to the elite level. Alongside his work for the EIS he is actively involved with a number of charities in particular COCO, which he founded in 1998 and works predominantly with children and young people to reduce barriers to education worldwide.
He is a successful broadcaster and is a commentator and presenter for BBC Sport’s coverage of athletics and major sporting events. Born in Sunderland, Steve is the Chancellor of Sunderland University which he inherited from Lord Puttnam in 2008.