Athletics: Moorcroft tips Cram and Ridgeon to take over at the helm

The former athletes Steve Cram and Jon Ridgeon have been named by the outgoing UK Athletics chief executive David Moorcroft as his possible successors when he steps down in six months after nine years in the job.

Cram, an Olympic 1500m silver medallist and a former world record holder, is head of the English Institute of Sport and has ambitions in sports administration - he made an unsuccessful bid to be the chairman of UK Sport.

Ridgeon, a former hurdler, now works for Fast Track sports marketing agency and, like Cram, as a BBC pundit.

Moorcroft, who announced last week his intention to step down, said: "If they want a famous leader, someone with a profile, then people like Steve Cram in the sport have got that image, as has Jon Ridgeon. But a range of skills are needed and to have just one person maybe is not the right way forward."

Sebastian Coe, a UK Athletics board member and the chairman of the London 2012 Olympics, has also backed Moorcroft's views. Coe said: "Steve Cram has widespread experience at Sport England and Jon would also be a very strong candidate.

"There are a number of former competitors in well-placed career positions outside of sport. We are going to meet on 4 September to start the ball rolling and look at the kind of structure we need. We need to make this as attractive a position as there is in sport."