Chef de Mission, Team GB

Mark England was appointed chef de mission of Team GB in April 2014, shortly after the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. His first major event in the new role came last year, when he successfully steered British athletes at the inaugural European Games at Baku.

This summer, he will be the man ultimately responsible for everything running smoothly for Team GB athletes during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Organising everything from training facilities to travel arrangements on the other side of the world can be a tough task, but England has plenty of experience. Before accepting the top role, England served as deputy chef de mission at the last six Olympic Games, including London 2012.

Direction of Travel
England acknowledges that this year’s Games – nearly 6,000 miles from home – will be very different from the London Games on home soil four years ago. There are hints, however, that Team GB travels well.

“2015 saw a tremendously successful Team GB performance at the Baku European Games, where we finished third on the medal table behind Russia and the hosts Azerbaijan,” he says.

“We came away from Baku in better shape in qualifying athletes for Rio and, just as importantly, those Games helped instil the knowledge across British athletes of what it means to be part of Team GB, and how special it is to be part of that multi-Games environment.

“We’ve had impressive performances last year across a range of Olympic sports. Look at the gymnastics World Championships in Glasgow, where British Gymnasts won five medals – a fantastic achievement.

“Extensive planning for Rio has been underway since the London Games. We’ve got a great preparation camp in Belo Horizonte and we’ve already taken our team leaders there on several occasions.

“Our goal is to give these athletes every bit of support they need to be successful and that is all about detailed planning. It’s eight years since we prepared for a summer Games overseas, so this has been a very different experience from London.”

Getting ready
Among England’s responsibilities has been to ensure that the facilities in which final preparations are made in Rio are up to scratch. After assessing all options, Team GB opted for private training facilities and will use two separate locations – The British School and the Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (CRF).

The British School, an English-speaking independent school based across the city of Rio de Janeiro, will allow Team GB use of its Barra site, located just 8km from the Olympic Village.

As well as training facilities for a host of sports – including a 25m swimming pool, 3G artificial pitch and multi-use sports hall – the school will also provide key medical, physio and operational areas as well as housing media and the friends and family of athletes.

The British School is part of Team GB’s partnership with UK Sport and the National Lottery Fund to provide a preparation camp which also includes operations at the city of Belo Horizonte, where the majority of sports will have their pre-Games base before flying into Rio for the Games themselves.

The CRF, sitting adjacent to the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas in the Copacabana cluster, will offer training and will act as a key base for the rowing and canoe sprint athletes, who will compete out on the Lagoa once the Games get going.

“Being able to offer high quality dedicated training facilities close to Olympic sites is a fantastic performance gain for Team GB and our athletes,” England says.

“We saw at London 2012 how these dedicated sites helped tweak those crucial final preparations for the team and we’re delighted to be able to offer similar facilities at an away Games in Rio.

“Both The British School and the Clube de Regatas do Flamengo have been incredibly helpful in our preparations for the Games.”