STRONG LINE-UP FOR GB & NI AT THE 2023 EUROPEAN U23 CHAMPIONSHIPS

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.

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 Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the European U23 Championships: 

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