Peter Keen

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(born 1964) is a former cyclist, coach, and now performance director. Keen was born in

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

, Buckinghamshire. In 1980 he won the schoolboy 10-mile time-trial championships. That led selection by the British Cycling Federation for the national track squad, despite having no track experience. Keen was educated at

John Hampden Grammar School John Hampden Grammar School (known colloquially as "JHGS") is a selective state boys' grammar school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is named after the local member of parliament and English Civil War commander John Hampden. In ...

, before completing a sports studies degree at University College Chichester, where he began studying human performance from an academic perspective. He went on to complete a

Master of Philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...

degree in Exercise Physiology at Loughborough University, and devised a research programme on the physical limitations to

pursuit racing Pursuit racing is where two or more competitors (or teams) are either chasing after each other or chasing after a lead competitor or team. Cycling In cycling, pursuit racing is a form of track racing. In individual pursuit, two cyclists begin ...

. He wrote to British Cycling asking if they wanted to get involved in the trials. They agreed to send some junior riders. Simultaneously, Keen was working as a senior lecturer in exercise physiology at University College Chichester and the

University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based in Brighton on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992. T ...

. He was UK national track cycling coach from 1989 to 1992 and was

Chris Boardman Christopher Miles Boardman, (born 26 August 1968) is an English former racing cyclist. A time trial and prologue specialist, Boardman won the inaugural men's World time trial championship in 1994, won the individual pursuit gold medal at the 1 ...

’s coach when he became

Olympic champion This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Sports that will appear in the 2028 Summer Olympics ar ...

in the

individual pursuit The individual pursuit is a track cycling event where two cyclists begin the race from a stationary position on opposite sides of the track. It is held at over for men and women. The riders start at the same time and set off to complete the rac ...

at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

, Britain's first Olympic gold medal in cycling for 72 years. Keen continued to work with Boardman as he started his professional career on to the continent where Boardman would win the prologue at the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

three times and broke the world

hour record The hour record is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle from a stationary start. Cyclists attempt this record alone on the track without other competitors present. It is considered one of the most prestigious record ...

three times. Other riders he coached include

Yvonne McGregor Yvonne McGregor MBE (born 9 April 1961) is a female English former professional cyclist from Wibsey. She was made an MBE, for services to cycling, in the 2002 New Year Honours. Cycling career McGregor competed in running until the age of 28, ...

, who he guided to Olympic and World Championship medals as well as the world hour record,

Caroline Alexander Caroline Sarah J. Alexander (born 3 March 1968) is a cross-country mountain biker and road cyclist born in Barrow-in-Furness. She was a swimmer as a child and did not cycle until she was 20. She first rode a bike in competition in a triathlon: ...

, who won a European Mountain Bike title, and Marie Purvis, who he coached to the British hour record. From 1997 to 2004 Keen was the elite performance director of

British Cycling British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the main national sport governing body, governing body for cycle sport in United Kingdom, Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands a ...

. In 1999 he was awarded the

Mussabini Medal The Mussabini Medal was a sports award recognising the coaches of British sports people and teams, named after Sam Mussabini. Mussabini, who died in 1927, is considered to be the first professional (paid) coach in sport, breaking the occupation's ...

. He was performance director for

UK Sport UK Sport is the government agency responsible for investing money sourced from the National Lottery and the government, into Olympic and Paralympic sport in the United Kingdom. It is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the D ...

prior to the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. At UK Sport as Performance Director Keen was responsible for developing and implementing ‘Mission 2012’ a strategic performance management system and reporting process for Olympic and Paralympic sports in the run-up to the 2012 Olympic Games in London. ‘Mission 2012’ was adopted in preparation for Sochi 2014 and the Rio Olympics in 2016. In June 2012, Keen became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). Keen worked as an interim performance director at the

Lawn Tennis Association The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man founded in 1888. The LTA promotes all levels of lawn tennis. The organization believes tennis can provide ...

, having been appointed in October 2015 and remaining in post for the duration of his 12-month contract. From 2013 has been director of sport advancement at

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keen, Peter Living people 1964 births English male cyclists British male cyclists English cycling coaches Alumni of the University of Chichester Academics of the University of Chichester Academics of the University of Brighton Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople from High Wycombe People educated at John Hampden Grammar School Alumni of Loughborough University English sports executives and administrators