Sudden and unexpected announcement from the governing body with Paris Olympics just nine months away

When Stephen Maguire was named by UK Athletics in June last year as its technical director, the governing body described him as the best person to lead the (world class) programme towards Paris and Los Angeles.

Yet little more than 15 months later he is leaving his post with no immediate explanation.

A brief statement from the governing body said: UK Athletics have announced that Stephen Maguire will leave his role as technical director with immediate effect. An interim head coach will be announced in due course, until then no further comment will be made.

Maguire effectively replaced Christian Malcolm last year after the former sprinter had earlier beaten Maguire, among others, to the job of Olympic head coach at UKA in 2020.

Maguire drew criticism this year for overseeing a selection strategy that left a number of eligible British athletes at home for the World Championships in Budapest. But the overall performance was one of success as the squad earned 10 medals, including two golds, which equalled the best-ever GB medal tally from the 1993 World Championships.

Before his stint at UKA, Maguire worked at Athletics Ireland and Scottish Athletics and was also head of high performance at Sport Ireland.

In the past he has also worked in the United States, whereas his recent spell at UKA will be his second period of working at the governing body after previously being head of sprints and relays.

With the Paris Games now less than a year away, UKA is looking for someone to lead the coaching programme for the Olympics.