UK Sport has begun an unprecedented comprehensive review into UK Athletics after admitting it had “major concerns” following a series of crises, scandals and poor decisions that have plunged the organisation into disarray. The independent review, which comes only five months before the Tokyo Olympics, will examine “the strategy, leadership, governance, operation, culture and connectivity of UK Athletics” to ensure it is “fit for the future”. Running reaches crossroads as Nike-led footwear arms race infects mainstream Jonathan Liew Jonathan Liew Read more UK Sport, which has funded UK Athletics to the tune of £27m since 2017 in its role overseeing all Olympic sports in Britain and Northern Ireland, has taken the step despite two independent reviews already having been recently commissioned to look at the actions of the organisation. In recent months UK Athletics lost its chief executive Zara Hyde Peters before she started in the role when she stepped down after failing to disclose to her local athletics club her husband’s “inappropriate relationship” with a 15-year-old girl. The governing body also faced intense criticism over its relationship with the coach Alberto Salazar, who is appealing against a four-year ban for doping offences. To make matters worse, UK Athletics has also lost its performance director and chair, failed to hit its medal target at the recent world championships, and has a £2m hole in its finances following the decision to stage the 2018 World Cup on the same weekend as the Wimbledon finals and football World Cup. The competence of UK Athletics was also questioned after it named a reserve shot putter into the line up of the men’s 4x400m team at the 2019 European Athletics Team Championships – leading to the team to be disqualified from the race. The sport’s governing body also suffered an embarrassing logistics failure ahead of last year’s world championships after hammer thrower Nick Miller had to relocate away from the team holding camp in Dubai because there were inadequate facilities. Announcing the review, UK Sport said UK Athletics had faced a series of significant challenges that had “had an adverse impact on both the sport and the reputation of the sport”. Sign up to The Recap, our weekly email of editors’ picks. In an unusually strong statement the UK Sport chief executive, Sally Munday, said: “Issues raised in recent months regarding the sport are of major concern to both UK Sport and to the leadership team at UK Athletics. Both organisations are committed to delivering long-term improvement and ensuring the sustainability of the sport while acting in the best interests of its athletes, staff and the wider athletics family.” UK Sport said the initial review would be led by Dame Sue Street, a former permanent secretary at the department for digital, culture, media and sport, and would be completed by April. “Our aim in commissioning this first stage review is to ensure we have a full understanding of the priority issues and any next steps required to help the sport move forward,” Munday said. Last month UK Athletics’ first performance director, Malcolm Arnold, said the sport was in its worst state for 60 years having largely squandered the legacy of London 2012 and people needed to “wake up” to the scale of the problem. Mondo Duplantis in pole position to lead athletics’ new wave of talent Sean Ingle Sean Ingle Read more Arnold pointed out that while Britain has a handful of exceptional athletes such as Dina Asher-Smith, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Laura Muir, the talent pool has shrunk significantly owing to the “dreadful neglect” of elite athlete and coaching development by UK Athletics and poor decisions. Advertisement UK Athletics recently announced independent reviews into safeguarding in the sport as well as its controversial decision to allow Mo Farah to continue working with Salazar despite a BBC Panorama documentary in June 2015 raising questions about the coach’s practices at the Nike Oregon Project. At the time an internal UK Athletics investigation found there was “no reason to be concerned” about Salazar and cleared Farah, who denies any wrongdoing, to remain with him. In a statement UK Athletics said it welcomes the latest review. “We are pleased to have the support of UK Sport on a wide range of issues and the review will sit alongside and complement this work and is a further step in building a strong future for the sport.” As 2020 begins… … we’re asking readers, like you, to make a new year contribution in support of the Guardian’s open, independent journalism. This has been a turbulent decade across the world – protest, populism, mass migration and the escalating climate crisis. The Guardian has been in every corner of the globe, reporting with tenacity, rigour and authority on the most critical events of our lifetimes. At a time when factual information is both scarcer and more essential than ever, we believe that each of us deserves access to accurate reporting with integrity at its heart. You’ve read 16 articles in the last four months. More people than ever before are reading and supporting our journalism, in more than 180 countries around the world. And this is only possible because we made a different choice: to keep our reporting open for all, regardless of where they live or what they can afford to pay. We have upheld our editorial independence in the face of the disintegration of traditional media – with social platforms giving rise to misinformation, the seemingly unstoppable rise of big tech and independent voices being squashed by commercial ownership. The Guardian’s independence means we can set our own agenda and voice our own opinions. Our journalism is free from commercial and political bias – never influenced by billionaire owners or shareholders. This makes us different. It means we can challenge the powerful without fear and give a voice to those less heard. None of this would have been attainable without our readers’ generosity – your financial support has meant we can keep investigating, disentangling and interrogating. It has protected our independence, which has never been so critical. We are so grateful. As we enter a new decade, we need your support so we can keep delivering quality journalism that’s open and independent. And that is here for the long term. Every reader contribution, however big or small, is so valuable. Support The Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.