Michael Scott will continue as British Swimming's Performance Director four years from London 2012 through to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games but head coach Dennis Pursley will leave Britain immediately after London 2012.

 Scott, who joined British Swimming in late 2007 when the roles of head coach and performance director were split in the wake of the departure of Bill Sweetenenham, said: “While our immediate focus is on the challenges and opportunities of the home Olympic Games, I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to continue to work with British Swimming over the next four years as we strive to continue our good performances on the Commonwealth, World and Olympic stages.

 “The journey doesn’t end in London and there is still a lot of work to be done as we look beyond to Rio de Janeiro. It’s an exciting time for British Swimming with a new generation of talent on the horizon and I’m looking forward to helping to nurture and develop this pool for the future.”

During his time with British Swimming, Scott took up Sweetenham's plans and introduced the British Gas Intensive Training Centre network at five 50m pools in Britain. Those centres now account for the majority of swimmers on the Britain team and serve as support for those such as rebecca Adlington and Hannah Miley who have worked in home programmes throughout their careers.

Pursley, like Sweetenham inn his return to Australia in late 2007, has decided to return to the US for family reasons. He said: “I will be forever grateful to British Swimming for the opportunity to that was presented to me during the past four years.  It has been a genuine pleasure to work for this world class organisation.

"I have been privileged to have been associated with many exceptional organizations and people in my professional career, but none more so than the athletes, coaches and staff of British Swimming.

"Although I am not looking past the Olympics today, family commitments will require that I return to the U.S. after the Games. I will do so with many fond memories of my British tenure and with the assurance that a bright future is on the horizon for British Swimming.”

 The process of identifying a suitable person to assume the coaching leadership role going forward will be undertaken by British Swimming soon.