John Steele, UK Sport's chief executive, said that with less than a year to go before the Beijing Olympics there had been a noticeable improvement in a number of sports not traditionally seen as being able to compete creditably on the European or world stage.

 

British athletes won 41 medals in World Championship competition this year in Olympic disciplines, 12 more than at a similar stage before the 2004 Athens Olympics.

 

Steele said: "Beijing next year will provide unique challenges to our athletes, and so we must always accept that there are some unknowns.

 

"Nevertheless, this summer has seen our most successful sports continue to produce medal winning performances, and they have been joined on the podium by some new sports on the block such as archery, boxing and gymnastics.

 

"Encouragingly, we have also seen evidence of sports coming through - the achievement of the women's hockey in qualifying early for Beijing after failing to get to Athens or of the water polo and basketball teams in taking significant steps towards qualification for 2012 - comibined with a number of excellent performances from the next generation in junior and youth events.

 

"All this means that our athletes can go into winter training in good heart.

 

"For UK Sport it is evidence that the changes being implemented across the high performance system are having impact, and things are getting better.

 

"'Mission 2012' is our next step, the means by which we will ensure we understand the full picture and make sure we maximise both our investment and the chances sports have to succeed in five years time."

 

Mission 2012 is designed to evaluate the progress of every Olympic and Paralympic sport using a traffic light system.

 

The first round of reports that will be published are due to be in February or March next year.

 

Steele said: "'Mission 2012' is not about interference - though as our success with British Performance Basketball proves, we are not afraid to intervene when required.

 

"Mission 2012 has been devised to put the emphasis on talking rather than reporting, encouraging all sports to take a fresh look at the way they are working and spot potential barriers to success.

 

"It is a cultural shfit in the way we all operate, and one that I am sure will pay a significant dividend for next year and particularly 2012 if we get it right."