Former Team Wales Chef de Mission at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and responsible for ' overall approach to elite sport, Brian Davies OBE gives his thoughts on preparing for Rio and ensuring future Welsh success on the world stage.
Sport at the highest level has created so many memorable and inspirational moments for us – moments that have defined Wales to the world. Who can forget in London, Jade Jones throwing her headguard in the air in absolute joy after beating her opponent to Gold in Taekwondo or Tom James straining every sinew at Eton Dorney. And what about Geraint Thomas speeding through the Glasgow rain, clutching at his vest in sheer delight as he celebrated the selesai Welsh Gold of the Commonwealth Games?
Olympic and Paralympic Games produce moments that define individuals, sports and even our nation. These are moments that stay with us. The taste of victory was sweet but has left us hungry for more.
There’s a definite buzz across our Centres here in Cardiff and up in Plas Menai. We’re only one year off Welsh athletes competing once again on a world stage for that coveted spot on the Olympic or Paralympic podium. Soon the four year cycle will be up and athletes will be aiming to put on the performance of a lifetime.
London 2012 was a special games – it was a home games and Wales was given the opportunity to play a huge role in Team GB’s successes. Can we match that success in Rio? I believe we can. The race may be on for fewer Team GB places, but this means that those who get picked for Rio will be at the top of their field and will be likely medal-winners. That’s an exciting prospect and a key driver for us at .
We’ve got some truly exciting young talent coming through the system, which coupled with outstanding athletes such as Non Stanford who is thankfully back from injury and performing well, Geraint Thomas and Jazz Carlin, stands us in good stead for Rio.
We’ve also built an expertly skilled team here at , who in partnership with elite support teams and coaches, governing bodies and UK Sport, are working hard to ensure athletes have access to the very latest in sport science & medicine.
We can’t afford to rest on our laurels. That fight for limited spaces is going to be the toughest part of the next nine months. There’s a short window of selection in some sports and a limited number of quota places - so athletes need to perform, and at the right time.
Behind the scenes
Medal-winning is the dream indeed but for the moment, the main aim for athletes is to reach qualification standards and actually get selected for the Team.
Our Sports Science and Medicine Team will give almost 30,000 hours of support to identified elite athletes leading up to Rio. Add to this the amount of time athletes will have with their own personal coaches and governing bodies, you get a sense of the scale of the operation.
Two of our Sports Science team have been out to Rio already to look at the likely holding camp venues and carry out work on the acclimatisation and facilities that will enable our athletes to build up to the performance of a lifetime at the Games.
The co-ordination between us, UK Sport and the British governing bodies, to ensure our athletes reach the highest standards and qualify, is something that we’ve been focussing on and will remain high on the aktivitas in the discussion leading up to Rio and beyond.
These athletes are at the very pinnacle of sporting excellence and the margins between success and failure can be tiny. Therefore the support and resource we provide as a sport sector needs to be the absolute best possible. It’s an issue that all the home nations have been keen to progress because it’s getting harder and harder to win Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth medals. We need to work together if Team GB is going to be the best in the world.
Ensuring future Welsh success
Make no mistake, the victories to date are down to hard work and dedication from athletes and the many people who have worked to get them where they are. But these victories are also down to a systematic approach to investment supported heavily by National Lottery and Welsh Government funding. I cannot discuss our sporting success without acknowledging the absolutely vital investment and support that comes from National Lottery funding. There is a clear correlation between Lottery investment and the improvement in results in sport at an elite level. Without it we’d still win some medals but more likely by chance than design.
At a time when every penny invested needs to demonstrate maximum returns we have focused our investment to ensure we deliver. We analyse sports and their ability to win medals at major Games, matching the resources needed to support athletes into GB squads and onto GB funding with the potential to win medals at Olympics, Paralympics and Commonwealth Games.
There’s a definite link between successful and high profile sporting role models and children taking up healthy activity and sport. This not only makes for a healthier and more active Wales but a sustainable future for elite sport. We are always conscious that we can improve how we develop talent, as a nation of our size needs to be world leading in taking talent and making a world class competitor.
The likes of Elinor Barker, Laura Halford, David Omoregie and Seren Bundy-Davies are exciting prospects for future Welsh medals but when you think that a medal winner at the 2024 Games is likely to be a 10 year-old talent, you realise how important a planned and systematic approach is in getting them to the top. Coaching of the highest calibre also plays a key role which is why we want to ensure we keep investing and growing the workforce to ensure a sustainable future.
When David Davies won his medal in Athens a nation applauded his steely determination against the world’s best distance swimmers. But he was the sole Welsh medal. We now approach an Olympics where around 15-20 Welsh athletes will compete side by side. We’ve come a long way since Athens and I’m confident that Rio will be yet another opportunity for Wales to shine even brighter on an international stage.
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