Timson is one of several new names on the Panel,·which is responsible for overseeing the performance progress of all the funded sports in the build-up to next year's event and which includes UK Sport's new chief executive Liz Nicholl and director of performance Peter Keen.

But there are also some notable personalities stepping down.

These include Sir Clive Woodward, England's coach when they won the rugby World Cup in 2003, who is now the director of performance at the British Olympic Association (BOA).

Timson is the man credited with the remarkable success of Britain's bob skeleton programme, introducing a system which has saw competitors from this country win medals in three consecutive Winter Olympics, culminating in Amy Williams' surprise victory at Vancouver last year.

He left the skeleton programme in 2006 and has since been working for the ECB, first as head of science and medicine and, since last August, with the development programme with responsibility for finding talented young cricketers and then helping them become world-class.

"I'm delighted to have the opportunity to be part of the Mission 2012 Panel and support the partnership between UK Sport and both Olympic and Paralympic sports to help deliver their goals at London 2012 and beyond," said Timson.

"I hope I can contribute in some small part to this process using the experience I've gathered from my work at the ECB and previously within Winter Olympic sport developing high performance talent identification/development·systems."

Sir Clive (pictured) has stood down, along with former world mile record holder Steve Cram and 11-time Paralympic champion Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, "in order both to allow new members to take the work forward and to recognise their need to focus on their individual roles elsewhere in the run up to 2012", UK Sport claimed.

But Sir Clive's decision will inevitably fuel speculation that he is preparing to return to rugby under the new head of the Rugby Football Union, John Steele, the former chief exeuctive of UK Sport.

The new Panel, which will meet three times a year, will now be made up of ten professionals from the high-performance sporting community, each bringing a unique wealth of knowledge and experience, UK Sport said.

The original Mission 2012 process was expanded in December 2010, to cover not just preparations for London 2012 but also plans for the year-by-year support provided for the Winter Games in Sochi 2014 and early thinking for the next Summer Games in Rio 2016.

This extension of responsibility means that the original expert Panels formed for Mission 2012 – one for Olympic and one for Paralympic sport – has been refreshed and merged into one single Panel, with an increase in membership to cover the additional expertise required.

The new Panel includes 2004 Olympic modern pentathlon bronze medallist Georgina Harland and adapitve rowing Paralympic bronze medallist Vicki Hansford.

"Having been on the Olympic panel for the last 18 months I recognise the·importance·of the Mission 2012 process to Olympic sport," said Harland, who last October joined the BOA as one of its new sport engagement team.

"The changes to the panel reflect UK Sport's ambition to make a real performance difference through process across all Olympic and Paralympic sport, both Summer and Winter.

"As a recently retired athlete with experience of working within an International Federation and, in my current role, working across a number of different Olympic sports, I hope·that I can offer a unique insight at the panel discussions and I look forward to joining up with my fellow panel members at our first meeting in March."

Sailing, Britain's most successful Olympic sport, is well represented on the Panel.

Rod Carr, the former chief executive of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), who is now a Board member of UK Sport, is a member as is John Derbyshire the Performance Director and Racing Manager at the RYA.

"I am looking forward to working with the rest of the Panel and UK Sport. With each Olympic Games the margins required to win medals, gets smaller," said Derbyshire.

"As a Performance Director, I hope my involvement on the panel will give other PD's confidence in the process and enable the Mission to really focus where it will have best effect, sharing gold standard practice and providing interventions that have a direct impact."

Derek Mapp, the former chairman of Sport England, who is now head of the British Amateur Boxing Association is also drafted in - recognition of the outstanding progress his sport has made in recent years.

"I am delighted to be appointed as a new Mission 2012 Panel member and this will enable me to continue my commitment to help UK Sport in its efforts to improve elite sport in the UK," he said.

"Since being appointed chairman of the British Amateur Boxing Association it has given me firsthand experience of the results that can be achieved by a successful elite programme with appropriate funding.

"I hope my business experience, experience of leading the restructuring and development of GB Boxing and my knowledge of sporting infrastructure will prove to be of benefit to the panel."

The make-up of the Panel is completed by Penny Briscoe, the Performance Director of the British Paralympic Association, and Craig Hunter, the Deputy Chef de Mission of Team GB at London 2012.

The new Panel's first meeting will take place early next month and will provide important monitoring and updates on the progress sports are making on their journey to London 2012 and Sochi 2014.

"Mission 2012 has changed the way we work with sports and the way in which we deliver support to the high performance community," said Nicholl, who will chair the Panel.

"I am absolutely delighted that we are able to call on the expert knowledge and wisdom of this group of talented individuals.

"They are undoubtedly going to add value to the process and will, in turn, help us deliver the necessary support to sports in order that they are able to achieve success in London, Sochi and beyond.

"Now that we have fully aligned all our sporting investments and judge each sport on its potential to deliver success regardless of whether they are competing on water, grass or ice, it was important that our Panel had the same flexibility."

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January 2011: UK Sport extends scope of Mission to cover Sochi and Rio