The initiative is part funded by the £1.4 million ($2.3 million/€1.8 million) donated to the Army when it provided around 3,500 troops for security at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, when G4S was unable to deliver the number of staff it had promised for the Games.

The Army will now work closely with sport scientists from UK Sport and the EIS, with the aim being to develop athletes that can achieve podium finishes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and beyond.

"Through the experience and expertise of our Performance Pathway Scientists, the EIS aims to help the Army enhance its performance pathways and find and develop more individuals with the potential to join world class performance programmes and win medals at major Championships across a range of sports," EIS national director Nigel Walker said.

"Our sport scientists will be providing a wide range of services - such as testing and benchmarking programmes, educational activities and campaigns - to help the Army improve its ability to identify and develop talented athletes and facilitate their transition into the high performance system."

Assessment days will be held to identify new world class sporting talent
©Army Elite Sport Programme


The Armed Forces already has a tradition of providing Olympic athletes, including Army Captain Heather Stanning, who, along with Helen Glover, won Great Britain's first gold medal of the London 2012 Games.

The Army and British Shooting have also agreed to work closely on a joint development programme and will run a Girls4Gold campaign, which gives female soldiers the opportunity to take part in a number of assessment days to see if they demonstrate the potential to join a world-class programme.

"The Army has traditionally been a great source of top sporting talent but the new Army Elite Sport Programme will take this up a level and help unearth more Olympic stars of the future," Britain's Minister for Sport, Helen Grant, said.

"The chance to represent Team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Games is a fantastic opportunity for our Army personnel and I am sure that this partnership between UK Sport, the English Institute of Sport and the British Army will be a great success."

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