Sir David Tanner has announced he will step down as the performance director of British Rowing after overseeing GB Rowing Team’s richest ever period of success.

Tanner has held the post since 1996, developing 27 Olympic medal-winning crews, who won 12 golds, and eight Paralympic medal-winning crews, who won six golds.

“This has not been an easy decision but one I have thought about for some time,” Tanner said.

“I’ve had a fantastic journey as rowing’s performance director and I feel now is the right time to step away, leaving what I believe is a strong high-performance programme behind me.”

The 69-year-old will leave the post at the end of February.

Tanner is credited with building the women’s high-performance rowing programme, resulting in GB winning its first Olympic women’s rowing medal, in 2000, and first Olympic women’s gold, in 2012.

And in 2002, he introduced the World Class Start programme, a talent identification and development initiative, which produced five of Great Britain’s 10 Olympic champions in 2012.

He also established the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake at Caversham, an elite training centre which opened in 2006.

British Rowing chair Annamarie Phelps said: “David’s desire and determination to produce winning teams and his dedication to British Rowing, the GB Rowing Team, Team GB and Paralympics GB has been truly remarkable.

“He’s overseen a golden period for rowing in Great Britain and helped so many athletes and coaches achieve their goals and dreams over many Olympic and Paralympic cycles.”

UK Sport chair and five-time Olympic rowing medallist Katherine Grainger added: “I’ve known David for over 20 years in his role as performance director and in that time he’s led fearlessly and fought passionately for the sport he cares so deeply about.

“His leadership will be missed but the legacy he’s created will live on. That legacy is one of success built on hard work, passion, unrelenting high standards and the love of the sport.”

Tanner's successor is yet to be announced.