Christian Malcolm Appointed to Help Lead Australian Athletics to Tokyo 2020 and Beyond

Athletics Australia is excited to announce that four-time British Olympian Christian Malcolm has been appointed as the Head of Performance and Coaching. 

Malcolm will help lead Australian Athletics into Tokyo 2020 and beyond, ensuring that the right processes and structures are in place for athletes and their coaches to achieve greatness on the world stage.

He will be working closely with newly appointed Head of High Performance Systems, Andrew Faichney, and Head Coach, Craig Hilliard.

Malcolm was an outstanding athlete, winning medals at World Championships, World Indoors, Commonwealth Games and is a two-time Olympic finalist.  He was also IAAF World Junior Athlete of the Year in 1998.

He has been a successful coach over the last few years, providing innovation to the sport in the UK.  Malcolm has overseen the successful British Relay squads, as well as working with the UK Paralympic team and Disability Wales. 

He won the UK Sports Awards HP Coach of the Year and BBC Wales Coach of the Year in 2017.  He has worked as a speed coach for the England Cricket team, Welsh Rugby team and others.  He is on the Board of Welsh Athletics and Sport Wales and he was on the Board of the British Olympic Athlete Commission. 

Speaking from his home town in Newport, Wales, Malcolm believes that Australian athletics should set the bar high and aim for excellence across the sport’s disciplines.

“Australian athletes have a very strong record at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games but we can achieve even more success by giving our coaches the support, advice and resources they need to do their job well."

“I was on the Gold Coast for the Commonwealth Games with the Wales Team and I saw the deep talent pool that exists in this country. Coaching is always the key factor in ensuring this sort of talent reaches its full potential. I’ll be working first and foremost with Australian coaches to ensure they are nurturing their athletes and creating the best possible training environment,” said Malcolm.

Christian will have a long list of targets to ensure Australian athletics is on the right track into the future, including:

·         Ensuring the Australian athletics coaching structures are world leading

·         Accessing world class facilities and that coaches have a high level of sports science, technology & medicine

·         Working with the High Performance Team at Athletics Australia and the AIS to manage high performing athletes and their personal coaches

·         Working closely with the newly established Coaching Commission and High Performance Advisory Group to identify and implement reforms necessary for the sport

·         Specific athlete campaign plans for the 2019 World Championships, 2019 World Para-Athletics Championships, 2020 Olympic Games, 2020 Paralympic Games, and other championships

The CEO of Athletics Australia, Darren Gocher, said; “Coaching must be at the centre of everything we do. Christian is a great addition to Australian athletics - he has had a very successful career as an athlete and international coach and will be extremely collaborative in his approach.”

“He has great attributes and his calibre will ensure the future of Australian athletics is strong, and furthermore that our performance leading into the World Championships in Doha next year and into the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2020 is of the highest quality it can be,” said Mr Gocher.

Christian Malcolm will be relocating to Melbourne, Australia with his family from his home town in Wales in late January.

BIOGRAPHY - Christian Malcolm

Born Cardiff Wales 3 June 1979

Welsh and British citizen

ATHLETICS CAREER

·         Competed for Great Britain and Wales

·         Competed internationally as a senior athlete from 1997 to 2014

·         Four-time Olympian (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012)

·         Two-time Olympic 200m finalist (Sydney 2000 & Beijing 2008)

·         Personal bests: 100m - 10.11, 200m - 20.08

·         Competed at senior championships: Olympics, Commonwealth Games, European Championships, World Championships, World Indoors, Continental Cup, European Indoors, European Team Championships and European Cup.

COACHING AND ADMINISTRATIVE CAREER

AWARDS