Tuesday, 11 December 2018:

Four-time British Olympian Christian Malcolm has been appointed as the Athletics Australia head of performance and coaching as the team looks to improve its medal haul in Tokyo.

The Welshman, who made the 200m Olympic final in Sydney and Beijing, will work closely with head coach Craig Hilliard and newly-appointed head of high performance systems Andrew Faichney.

Malcolm has been a successful coach over the last few years, overseeing the successful British relay squads, as well as working with the UK Paralympic team and Disability Wales.

He has also worked as a speed coach for the England cricket team and Welsh rugby team.

Athletics Australia chief executive Darren Gocher said Malcolm had the right approach to help lead the Olympic team to Tokyo 2020.

The track and field team won a silver and a bronze medal in 2016 in Rio.

"He has great attributes and his calibre will ensure the future of Australian athletics is strong, and furthermore that our performance leading into the World Championships in Doha next year and into the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2020 is of the highest quality it can be," said Gocher.

AAP