Resignation sparks hunt for new UK boss
UK ATHLETICS have confirmed that Niels de Vos will step down as CEO at the end of the month, with plans for his successor to be in place before 2019.
Sportsmail revealed yesterday that De Vos had decided to go after 11 years. Nigel Holl, UKA’s strategy and partnerships director, will take over while a search for De Vos’s successor begins. UKA insiders believe Holl, former head of Scottish Athletics, could be a contender for the permanent job. John Ridgeon, 1987 world hurdles silver medallist who previously helped lead UKA out of bankruptcy in 1997, also has admirers in the organisation. Former European 5,000m champion Jack Buckner, British Swimming’s CEO, is another who could be in the frame. De Vos, 51, will leave a mixed legacy. He brought the world athletics and para championships to London in 2017, and this year established the Anniversary Games and launched the Athletics World Cup. But he was criticised for falling attendances at the national championships and for staging the first Athletics World Cup on the same weekend as the FIFA World Cup final and Wimbledon finals.