Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be represented by a strong team at the European U23 Championships in Espoo, Finland next month (13-16 July).
Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson (coach: Trevor Painter, club: Leigh), European 100m bronze medallist Jeremiah Azu (Marco Airale, Cardiff) and world U20 champion Yemi Mary John (Alan James, Woodford Green Essex Ladies) are among those athletes selected to compete at the Championships.
Hodgkinson posted a 400m personal best of 52.24 to win the England U23 title last Saturday and will focus on the one-lap distance at the Championships. She will be joined in the 400m by compatriot Yemi Mary John who sealed the world U20 title last year, as well as relay bronze.
🚨 TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
— British Athletics (@BritAthletics) June 21, 2023
Olympic silver medalist @keelyhodgkinson and European bronze medalist @Jeremiah_Azu are amongst the athletes named in a strong GB & NI team for the European U23 Championships 👏
See the full squad heading to Finland next month ⤵️#WhereItStarts
Azu won senior European bronze in Munich last summer and heads to Espoo looking to retain the European U23 100m title that he won in Tallinn two years ago.
A stacked team is further enhanced with European cross country champions Will Barnicoat (Aldershot Farnham & District) and Charles Hicks (Shaftesbury Barnet) who are selected for the 5000m. The former has stepped up to the U23 age group this year having won U20 gold in Turin in the winter, while Hicks won the U23 cross-country title in Italy.
After sealing the U23 title at the European Throwing Cup earlier this season, Serena Vincent (Mike Winch, City of Portsmouth) will compete in the women’s shot put, while Charlotte Payne (Paul Dickenson, Reading) – who has improved her PB to 72.51m this season – goes in the hammer.
Performance Pathway Manager at UK Athletics, Dan Wagner, said, “We are pleased to have selected such a strong team for the European U23 Championships. We have several athletes who are highly ranked in Europe across all the event groups, so we are looking forward to seeing the athletes perform in this Championship environment. This is an important part in the development and preparation of these athletes who are progressing through the pathway in the sport.”
The GB & NI team for the Mannheim International on 24-25 June
Women
100m
Alyson Bell (Anne Scott, Glasgow Jaguars)
Aleeya Sibbons (Coral Nourrice, Newham & Essex Beagles)
400m
Keely Hodgkinson (Trevor Painter, Leigh)
Yemi Mary John (Alan James, Woodford Green Essex Ladies)
1500m
Sarah Calvert (Lewis Walker, Livingston)
Shannon Flockhart (Mark Vile, Cambridge & Coleridge)
Alex Millard (Bill Foster, Invicta East Kent)
5000m
Megan Keith (Ross Cairns, Inverness)
Eloise Walker (Trevor Painter, Edinburgh)
10,000m
Alice Goodall (Mark Nixon, Edinburgh AC)
3000m Steeplechase
Sarah Tait (Linda Smith, Glasgow Jaguars)
Elise Thorner (Joe Franklin, Wells City)
100m Hurdles
Abigail Pawlett (Ashley Bryant, Trafford)
Pole Vault
Jade Spencer-Smith (Richard Humby, Harrow)
Triple Jump
Temi Ojora (Daniel Sawyers, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow)
Shot Put
Serena Vincent (Mike Winch, City of Portsmouth)
Hammer
Charlotte Payne (Paul Dickenson, Reading)
Javelin
Lauren Farley (Mark Chapman, Blackheath & Bromley)
Heptathlon
Jodie Smith (Ashley Bryant, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow)
4x100m Relay
Alyson Bell (Anne Scott, Glasgow Jaguars)
Alannah Fashanu (Ryan Freckleton, Shaftesbury Barnet)
Amy Hunt (Joe McDonnell, Charnwood)
Cassie-Ann Pemberton (Clarence Callender, Birchfield)
Aleeya Sibbons (Coral Nourrice, Newham & Essex Beagles)
Men
100m
Jeremiah Azu (Marco Airale, Cardiff)
Louie Hinchliffe (Rudolph Paul Hohn, Sheffield & Dearne)
200m
James Hanson (Jake Awe, Woking)
400m
Brodie Young (James McMenemy, Glasgow Jaguars)
800m
Ethan Hussey (Andrew Henderson, Leeds City)
Sam Reardon (Nigel Stickings, Blackheath & Bromley)
Reece Sharman-Newell (Dave Ragan, Basingstoke & Mid Hants)
1500m
Matthew Stonier (Sonia and Chris McGeorge, Invicta East Kent)
5000m
Will Barnicoat (Aldershot Farnham & District)
Charles Hicks (Shaftesbury Barnet)
Henry McLuckie (Geoff Watkin, Shaftesbury Barnet)
10,000m
Rory Leonard (Morpeth)
Tomer Tarragano (Dean Miller, Brighton & Hove)
3000m Steeplechase
Thomas Bridger (Mark Vile, Cambridge & Coleridge)
400m Hurdles
George Seery (Stewart Marshall, Blackheath & Bromley)
Triple Jump
Archie Yeo (Lukasz Zawila, Kingston upon Hull)
Discus
Chukwuemeka Osammor (James Taylor, Sheffield & Dearne)
Hammer
Kenneth Ikeji (Paul Head, Basildon)
Decathlon
Jack Turner (Kevin Skinner, Exeter)
4x400m Relay
Emmanuel Agyare (Enfield & Haringey)
Ethan Brown (Blackheath & Bromley)
Isaac Cory (Sandra Woodman, Yate)
Edward Faulds (James Wright, Rugby & Northampton)
Brodie Young (James McMenemy, Glasgow Jaguars)
Team Staff
Team Coaches: Femi Akinsanya [Jumps & Combined Events], Leon Baptiste [Sprints & Relays], Jenny Meadows [Endurance], Nick Ridgeon [Throws], Kate Rooney [Pole Vault], Dan Stepney [Endurance] and Laura Turner-Alleyne [Sprints, Hurdles & Relays]
Team Support Staff: Joe Amissah-Arthur, Patrick Esson, Becky Knight, Sharon Morris, Alex Nwenwu, Ethan Walker and Dan Wagner