Heather Williams, performance director for British Triathlon, met UK Sport’s recently appointed Head of Coaching, Graham Taylor, earlier this week to discuss her plan to centralise the sport’s operation in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics.

"We had an over-arching discussion about what she wanted to implement in British triathlon,"  Taylor told insidethegames today.

"She is trying to put a centralised system in at Loughborough, which will be a three-year programme.

"Our meeting started the ball rolling on that."

UK Sport has been closely monitoring the set-ups with both triathlon and hockey to see whether their progress could be further assisted.

Williams, a former elite triathlete who worked as British Triathlon’s performance programme director following the resignation of Graeme Maw in 2006 before taking over her current post in January of last year, will need to be at her most persuasive to bring all her elite performers under the same tent.

Earlier this year, Britain’s world champion Alistair Brownlee (pictured), who won the third leg of the ITU World Championships series in Madrid earlier this month after returning from injury, told insidethegames how much he relished being able to train in his home in Otley Chevin, in Yorkshire.

"As a triathlete you spend so much time on outside training, so the environment you are in is really, really important," he said.

"You want to be inspired by your surroundings, and you want to go out and be motivated training in nice places.

"I like to run anywhere around Otley Chevin.

"I suppose my favourite run would be on a great hill called Great Whernside, which is at the top of Wharfedale."

Clearly Williams has her work cut out here - as Taylor acknowledged.

"It’s a big job to do, and she has a lot of work to do in convincing coaches and athletes," he said.

"But she’s worked on it and she’s got a plan.

"I will be very interested to see how she handles the challenge."

Meanwhile Brownlee has announced he will team up with younger brother Jonathan to spearhead Great Britain's assault on the European Championships in Athlone, Ireland next month.

The 22-year-old suffered a femoral stress fracture back in February but has now picked up from where he left off last season, having topped the podium in each of the five races he entered, including the grand final in the Gold Coast.

The one major race Brownlee failed to win last year however was the European Championships where arch rival Javier Gomez of Spain beat him to gold in the Netherlands.

"I've been very pleased with how things have gone since returning from injury," he said.

"I genuinely didn't expect to win in Madrid and I'm excited by the prospect of another battle with Javier Gomez in Ireland for the European title.

"European athletes are doing very well this year, and the event has attracted a very strong field.

"It's going to be tough, but there are no easy wins in triathlon and I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Brownlee junior, 20, meanwhile, is the current European junior champion but makes the step up to senior level, as does fellow Brit and Beijing Olympian Hollie Avil, the reigning world under-23 champion.

To read a full exclusive interview with Graham Taylor click here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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