Top job for Nigel Walker
Thursday 8 July 2010
Former Cardiff AAC club captain Nigel Walker has been appointed the National Director of the English Institute of Sport and will leave Wales to take up his new post later this year.
Nigel was club captain for three years from 1989 to 1992, was Britain's leading 110m hurdler until the arrival of Colin Jackson and competed in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
He also won bronze medals in both World and European Indoor Championships in 1987 at 60m hurdles.
Nigel, now 47, began his athletic career in Cardiff's Young Athletes' League team and quickly made his mark as a popular and talented member of the club. As a senior, he was coached by Malcolm Arnold and quickly became an automatic choice for Britain's international team, following in the footsteps of another outstanding Cardiff hurdler, Berwyn Price.
It was a great tribute to Nigel's character that when the younger Colin Jackson joined Malcolm Arnold's coaching group and started to challenge Nigel's top place, Nigel gave him every help and encouragement. Colin also started his career in Cardiff's Young Athletes' League team.
After retiring from athletics, Nigel was persuaded to "have a bit of fun" in rugby and was so successful so quickly that he was selected for Wales in his first season and became one of the game's most popular players. There is a story that, when Nigel was in the Cardiff rugby team, at the end of a game, autograph hunters would push past spectator Colin Jackson for Nigel's signature.
Nigel has forged a successful career with spells in the Welsh Office and Sports Council for Wales before becoming Head of Sport at BBC Wales in 2001. In 2009 he was appointed to the Board of Management of BBC Wales as Head of Change and Internal Communication.
The English Institute of Sport is an arm of UK Sport and provides medical and sports science advice to all major sports in the UK. Nigel has been a board member of UK Sport since 2006.
The chairman of the English Institute of Sport is former athletic star and TV commentator Steve Cram who said, "Nigel's experience as an international athlete along with his understanding of the high performance system and commercial acumen was obviously important for the EIS but the leadership qualities he brings will be central to his work at the EIS."
We wish Nigel well in this new challenge.