Sticking to his pre-Olympics pledge, Charles van Commenee will step down from his post as head coach of UK Athletics after the British track team failed to meet his medals target at the London Games.
Van Commenee, who will leave in December at the end of his contract, set a target of at least eight medals including one gold. Britain won four golds - three of which came in the space of an hour in the middle Saturday of the games - in a total of six medals.
“(UKA chief executive) Niels (de Vos) and I have worked hard to implement accountability as it is vital to the culture of elite sport,” the 54-year-old Dutchman said. I believe my decision has the interests of British athletics at its heart in sustaining this culture.”
De Vos praised Van Commenee for doing an “excellent job” since taking up the position in 2009, adding: “We are confident that our long-term plan will enable us to continue building on the success we achieved in London.”
The tough-talking Van Commenee, whose outspoken comments led to a public disagreement with world champion triple-jumper Philips Idowu in the run-up to the Olympics, had two spells with UKA - the first in 2001 when he was hired as multi-events and jumps performance director.
He took on the bigger role of head coach after the Beijing Olympics in 2008, when Britain won just one gold in track and field.
“I am happy the future is looking promising with the talent that is about to break through now,” Van Commenee said. “But now it needs the new energy and approach by the new leadership team through to 2017.”
Long-jumper Greg Rutherford, one of the three gold medalists on “Super Saturday” along with heptathlete Jessica Ennis and long-distance runner Mo Farah, said Britain’s athletes needed to take some of the blame for missing the medals target.
“In the build-up, Charles did everything he could have done to get us where we needed to be,” Rutherford said. “It’s not just down to Charles, it’s down to the athletes to perform.”
UKA said the management team to lead Britain through the next Olympic cycle and onto the 2017 world championship, staged in London, will be announced soon.