London 2012 exceeds 'wildest expectations'

By Antonia De Feo 19.09.12

Nigel Walker says the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games exceeded his ‘wildest expectations’.

The English Institute of Sport’s National Director says the outstanding work delivered buy over 130 EIS practitioners working on the Games was a phenomenal achievement for the organisation, as they ultimately helped British athletes achieve their dreams.

Walker hailed the togetherness of all UK sport organisations involved in contributing to Great Britain’s success, and expressed his delight at the individual efforts of EIS staff in assisting with a staggering number of medal-winning performances.

“I am delighted with the contribution of staff who work for the EIS,” said Walker.

“There were 106 people involved in the Olympic Games either behind the scenes or directly with governing bodies, and 29 people with ParalympicsGB. That’s a phenomenal effort, and when you look at the return of the national governing bodies, 88% of Olympic medals were assisted by EIS practitioners in some way.

“85% of ParalympicsGB medals were delivered with the help of EIS practitioners and staff. That’s a phenomenal achievement, and what we’ve got to do as an organisation now is look forward as to how we can improve that contribution over the next four-year cycle.

“We’ve got a fantastically robust system. People worked together, and with the contribution of EIS and the UK Sport board, governing bodies and the BOA, people came  together to make it right.”

The sheer buzz created across the UK during the Games was a personal highlight for Walker, adding that the atmosphere during the summer will provide a life-long memory. 

“It’s been fantastic,” he continued.

“You have your hopes and your ambitions, but what happened in London over five weeks during the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games exceeded my wildest expectations.

“It’s quite demoralising in a way knowing that I’m not going to live through anything like that again because to witness the high and the spirit amongst people in the UK, whatever sport they were interested in or where ever they lived in the country, was worth every penny.”

The successes this summer have positioned sport in the UK and the EIS in a strong position post-Games, and now Walker is turning his attention to the training and development of staff to help them achieve their potential and to help the EIS continue to achieve its goals in the build-up to Rio 2016.

“The elite sport system in the UK is pretty robust. Yes it needs some tweaks to make the performance impact even greater, so as we’re making those tweaks, but we also need to make sure that we don’t dismantle the bits that have contributed towards our success,” he added.

“From an EIS point of view, we need to work even more closely with our partners and to think about the relationship we have with national governing bodies in particular.

“We need to help them to understand what the performance issues are, and to help play a part in contributing towards finding solutions.”