It has been announced today by the British Triathlon Federation, that Chris Jones, the Womens' Head Coach, has decided to move on to pursue further opportunities and challenges outside the British Triathlon Federation and to spend more time with his wife Jane and their young family.

Chris joined the BTA in 1999 and was initially based at the Bath High Performance Centre before moving to Swansea in 2003 to set up the Welsh Performance Centre with support from both British Triathlon and the Welsh Sports Council. During his tenure, Chris coached four Olympians and his athletes also contributed eleven European Championship medals, four World Championship medals and one Commonwealth medal.

Chris asked that the following statement be placed with this announcement: “I have enjoyed every moment and opportunity to work with some of the best athletes in Great Britain. I am grateful for all the support in performance sport, coaches, support staff but most of all the athletes I have had the pleasure to coach and learn from.

“I have met some truly charismatic people that have dedicated their lives to the sport of triathlon and I also have the utmost respect and admiration for age group performers and volunteers that give so much to our sport.

I would also like to thank Heather Williams for her support and understanding and wish all the Great Britain performance team and athletes the very best of luck for the Olympic Games in 2008.”

Heather Williams, British Triathlon’s Performance Programme Director said: “Chris is one of the pre-eminent coaches in the world of elite drafting triathlon and his contribution to Britain's success over the last decade has been immense. I'm very sorry to lose Chris and the knowledge and experience that he possesses from our programme. I wish him the best of success in his future endeavours.”