Its final report has not yet been published, but the independent review of British Cycling's world class programme has already sparked sweeping changes across all funded Olympic sports to put more emphasis on culture, communication and care for athletes. UK Sport has pledged to implement what it calls a cultural "health check" across all sports in the build-up to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
British Cycling will also address alarming cultural deficiencies after allegations of sexism and discrimination arose last year, leading to the independent review. On Thursday it announced a detailed plan and timeline for the next year to overhaul its constitution, management structure, code of conduct and governance.
The announcement comes one day after a Parliamentary hearing highlighted glaring deficiencies in British Cycling's medical records practices in relation to a delivery to Team Sky for Bradley Wiggins at the 2011 Criterium du Dauphine, a case that together with the accusations of sexism has plunged British Cycling into crisis.
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The independent review into the high performance programme, led by Annemarie Phelps, was commissioned by British Cycling and UK Sport after track sprinter Jess Varnish accused technical director Shane Sutton of using sexist language. Varnish had been critical of Sutton's leadership in the programme's failed attempt to qualify the women's team sprint squad for the Olympic Games in Rio and was then dropped from the World Class Programme. British Cycling's internal inquiry upheld one of nine allegations against Sutton, who had resigned from his position but insisted that he was innocent of the charges, vowing to appeal.
However, Varnish's accusations of sexism in the world class programme were backed up by Nicole Cooke, Victoria Pendleton and Emma Pooley, leading to the independent inquiry. The panel collected multiple witness testimonies, but its final report has been delayed due to legal concerns over protection for those who gave evidence.
British Cycling, which expressed its commitment to publishing the review's findings "in as open and transparent a way as possible, as soon as possible", has been provided 'high level themes' from the initial findings, and has created a corrective plan of action head of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo that forms part of a cultural "health check" across all funded sports.
- British Cycling sexism and discrimination crisis - Timeline
- Jess Varnish makes sexism allegations against Shane Sutton
- Pendleton and Cooke claim British Cycling is rife with sexism
- British Cycling announces independent review following sexism allegations
- Shane Sutton resigns amid sexism and discrimination claims
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