By Duncan Mackay

Matthew Curtain profileOctober 31 - Australian Matthew Curtain, the weightlifting competition manager at London 2012, has been appointed as the first-ever director of sport by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), it was announced today.


The 39-year-old Curtain is currently the weightlifting competition manager at Glasgow 2014 and has been involved in a number of multi-sport events.

These include the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where he was the competition manager for weightlifting, and the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, where he was the International Paralympic Committee's technical delegate for powerlifting.

In addition, Curtain was a member of Australia's delegation at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

While his background is mainly in weightlifting - he was chief executive of the Australian Weightlifting Federation between 2002 and 2009 - he will be responsible for the development of all sports in his new role at the CGF, which he will officially start on January 20.

Curtain's responsibilities will include managing all aspects of the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games sports programmes and their development as well as maintaining relations with all international sports federations, future host and bidding cities.

Anti-doping and the coordination of the activities of the CGF's Athletes Commission and Sports Committee will also fall under Curtain's areas of responsibility.

New Commonwealth Games Federation sports director Matthew Curtain (right) pictured with Tamas Ajan, President of the International Weightlifting FederationNew Commonwealth Games Federation sports director Matthew Curtain (right) pictured with Tamas Ajan, President of the International Weightlifting Federation

"I'm delighted to be taking up this new role within the CGF," said Curtain.

"It comes at a time when the Games movement is in a strong position with the Gold Coast following [Glasgow 2014] in 2018 and positive early interest already expressed by a number of countries for 2022.

"I look forward to contributing to the continued growth of the Games ensuring that the sports programme continues to be reflective of sport in the Commonwealth."

Curtain's appointment was hailed as a major step forward in the evolution of the CGF by Mike Hooper, the organisation's chief executive.

"Glasgow 2014 is going to be a huge milestone in the story of the Commonwealth Games and in Matthew; I believe we've found the right person to make a significant contribution to the Games position in world sport," he said.

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