Grainger will start her initial four-year term after the completion of her second and final term with UK Sport in early 2025. (BOA imagery)

The British Olympic Association (BOA) has announced Katherine Grainger as its new chair.

The 46 members of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) voted for Grainger, who is replacing the incumbent Hugh Robertson, making her the first-ever female chair of the BOA since its establishment in 1905.

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A major focus for Grainger will be on supporting the chief executive and executive team to secure the commercial income necessary for the BOA to ensure athletes have the resources and support they need to prepare for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, and then for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

In terms of Grainger’s career up to this point, after retiring from a professional rowing career spanning over twenty years, she was appointed as chair of UK Sport in April 2017, and then re-appointed for a second term in 2021.

She will start her initial four-year term at the BOA after the completion of her second four-year stint with UK Sport in early 2025.

Grainger said: “It is a huge honor to be elected chair of the BOA as the Olympics has been central to my life for nearly 30 years. As an athlete, I felt first-hand the incredible influence and impact sport has on people’s lives.

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“During my time as chair of UK Sport, I have learned the power of collaboration as part of this impressive ecosystem that enables Olympic sport to flourish in the UK, and so I look forward to embarking on this next chapter with the BOA."

British Olympic Association chief executive Andy Anson added: “Katherine is an esteemed figure in high-performance sport, recognized in the British sporting community as a steadfast leader as well as one of our greatest ever Olympians. We are looking forward to working with her in the build-up to and during Milano-Cortina 2026 and Los Angeles 2028.

“We also say goodbye to Hugh, who has steered the BOA through an extraordinary period. On behalf of everyone at Team GB I’d like to thank him for his commitment and dedication to Team GB’s continued success. I would also like to thank Annamarie Phelps for all the support she has given to the BOA during this period, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with her as we go forward.”

Robertson, who is also an IOC member, commented: “It has been a huge honor and privilege to lead the British Olympic Association and Team GB for nine years since I started standing in for Lord Coe in 2015. My thanks go to the board, executive, and of course, our athletes who have outperformed expectations at successive Games.”

Robertson was last re-elected unopposed in 2020 to serve his second term.

Robertson, a former UK minister for sport, succeeded Sebastian Coe as the permanent chairman of the BOA in November 2016, having first taken up the role on a temporary basis in 2015.