The last two Olympic and Paralympic cycles have seen the UK's high performance system go from strength to strength and at the English Institute of Sport (EIS), we are proud to have contributed the scientific, medical and technological support that has helped our elite athletes arrive in Rio as the best prepared and best equipped in history.

Our close partnerships with UK Sport, the British Olympic Association (BOA), the British Paralympic Association (BPA) and the National Governing Bodies (NGBs), have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to collaboration and mutual support.

It is now time for the EIS - as the team behind the team - to hand over to Team GB and ParalympicsGB to deliver the world class Games-time environment that will allow our athletes to deliver at the greatest show on earth. Of course we will have around 100 EIS staff members in Rio embedded in sports to support athletes and coaches but quite rightly, during the Games, they will be referred to as ‘One Team GB’ across all sports and disciplines as they proudly wear their Team GB kit.

UK Sport has set the ambitious medal target for the Rio 2016 Games to be the best ever away Olympics and the best ever Paralympics. To achieve this, we will need to better the phenomenal Olympic medal haul of Beijing 2008 where our athletes secured 47 Olympic medals and the astonishing Paralympic medal haul of London 2012 where we claimed an unprecedented 121 medals on home soil.

In a world where sporting success is so highly valued by all nations, it is a big understatement to say that achieving at least 48 Olympic medals and 121 Paralympic medals will not be easy. However, the high performance system must have exacting targets in order to thrive and we are confident that the huge amount of work we have put in over the last four years will come to fruition in Rio.

The success of Team GB and ParalympicsGB feels more important than ever for the British public following another disappointing performance from the England football team at Euro 2016 and of course the widespread political uncertainty caused by the seismic Brexit vote. Now more than ever, the nation will value the pride and feel good factor that Team GB is so capable of creating.

We know how proud Britain are of Team GB and ParalympicsGB and how important those iconic medal moments are from the likes of Sir Bradley Wiggins, Jess Ennis, Nicola Adams and Dave Weir. That is why, in the four year cycle to Rio, EIS experts have delivered 950,000 hours of support to Olympic and Paralympic athletes which represents over 4,500 hours each week.

With final athlete preparations almost over and the delivery of Rio 2016 now resting safely in the hands of Team GB and ParalympicsGB, it is the job of the EIS to look to the future as we scan and plan for further success at Tokyo 2020.

To this end, we are in the final stages of crystallising our Tokyo 2020 strategy which will look to ensure we retain our position as one of the global powerhouses of Olympic and Paralympic sport and fully achieve our ambition to be the world leading institute for sport. 

This means evolving in the right way and intensively reviewing our strategic approach across all areas. It is vital that we change what is necessary to stay ahead of the competition, because it isn’t so much finding the competitive advantage that is the challenge; it is sustaining that advantage over a long period of time.

It also means finding the next generation of athletes who can deliver medals at Tokyo 2020 and beyond and that is something our Performance Pathways team are fully focused on.

Earlier this month, at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, the EIS and UK Sport launched #DiscoverYour Gold - the biggest multi-sport talent identification campaign in British history.

With over 20 sports involved, we are targeting talented 15 to 24 year old males and females to be fast-tracked into the exciting world of high performance sport.

As a former athlete and coach myself, I know elite sport can be immensely challenging but for young people with real talent and determination to achieve success, #DiscoverYour Gold is the campaign that can unearth future stars because we now have a high performance system that can make Olympic and Paralympic dreams come true.

#DiscoverYour Gold is just the tip of the iceberg as we look to innovate across the board in the four-year cycle from Rio to Tokyo. We must enjoy Rio because it will be a truly fantastic and vibrant festival of sport and culture. 

Athletes, coaches and support staff must also take the time to rest, recover and recharge their batteries following Rio, but then high performance competition waits for no-one. The rest of the world's Olympic and Paralympic countries will be innovating and driving performance as they quickly turn their focus to Tokyo, and at the EIS we will be seeking to stay one step ahead.