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Team England athletes selected for Birmingham

Seventy-two athletes have today (Wednesday 22 June) been confirmed for selection to represent Team England at this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The list of names includes the two marathon runners previously announced and, together with the 21 para-athletes nominated and announced in May, makes an overall Team England squad of 93.

Current world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith has been selected for the women’s 100m and 4x100m, the latter in which she won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Fellow world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson will also be defending her heptathlon Commonwealth title from 2018. Tokyo Olympic 800m silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson and pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw who won bronze at the same Games are also included.

Asher-Smith will be joined in Birmingham by sprinters Daryll Neita and Imani-Lara Lansiquot who together won relay bronze in Tokyo. Neita will be running the 100m, 200m and 4x100m, and Lansiquot the 100m and 4x100m.

Other selected athletes looking for a repeat of their golds in Gold Coast are hammer thrower Nick Miller along with Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Zharnel Hughes, Asha Philip and Lorraine Ugen, who were successful in the relays. Ugen will be competing at the Alexander Stadium in her specialist long jump event in which she won bronze at the recent World Indoor Championships, as did Marc Scott in the 3000m. Scott will be doubling up in the 5000m and 10,000m along with Sam Atkin and Patrick Dever.

Other notable inclusions in Team England are Max Burgin, who recently went to No.4 on the UK all-time 800m rankings, Matthew Hudson-Smith, current European 400m champion and British record holder, along with Adam Gemili and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake who, along with Hughes, won world relay silver in 2019.

Birmingham-born athlete and Birchfield Harrier Matthew Hudson-Smith can’t wait to experience the noise of a packed and partisan Alexander Stadium. He said:

"It’s a great honour to be selected. It’s my third Commonwealth Games selection and I think this one means the most especially as it’s a home championship. It will mean a lot to be able to compete at home in front of friends and family and represent England again."

"I’ve been training at the Alexander Stadium since I was ten so it will be quite an emotional rollercoaster for me, but with all the training and the experiences that I’ve gone through I feel like I am a lot more prepared than I’ve ever been. It’s going to be fun, exciting, scary but I am looking forward to it!"

Long jumper Jazmin Sawyers will be going for a hat trick of Commonwealth Games appearances for Team England, following on from Gold Coast in 2018 and Glasgow in 2014, when she won silver. The City of Stoke athlete said: "I’m absolutely thrilled to be selected for my third Commonwealth Games. This year is particularly special as it’s at home, and after the incredible reception the England team received in Glasgow 2014, I can’t wait to get in a stadium full of home fans."

"Birmingham is one of my favourite places to jump in ordinary circumstances, but these Commonwealth Games are going to be anything but ordinary - we’re about to see the athletes lifted to some really special performances by the support of a home crowd and I can’t wait to be a part of it."

Max Burgin, who was just 10 years old when England last hosted a major multi-sport event in 2012 with the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, said: “I wasn’t even running at that age, I just remember watching the Games and being impressed and amazed by all the athletes."

"To have the opportunity to be one of them now is special. To have the support of a home crowd really does give you a bit extra as an athlete, it pushes you on more and gets the best out of you and is certainly an advantage for any of the British athletes that are going to be competing. It means a lot to me to be selected for Team England."

"I feel over the last three years I haven’t really been able to show what I can do because of my injury problems so I feel that this is finally my chance to show that I can run at world class level and to be able to do that in front of a home crowd would just be ideal."

Heptathlete Holly Mills, currently ranked No.1 in the Commonwealth, a remarkable rise in her event in such a short space of time, said: "It’s an incredible achievement for me to be selected for Team England. My multi-events journey to date has been a very short one, so to be going to a home Commonwealth Games this early on in my heptathlon career is incredible. [On her ranking] I didn’t actually know until about a week ago when my coach told me and I was like ‘Oh, OK that’s pretty cool!’. I am the type of person who is always striving for more. Yes, I have put down a good score so far this year, but there is so much more I want to achieve and I feel like this is just the beginning for me."

"British crowds always really do turn out as we saw in 2012 so I can’t wait to be in front of a home crowd in Birmingham in my first major outdoor championship. I feel like it will really project my athletics career in the right direction and it will be amazing to do it in front of all my friends and family and the British crowd.”

Three-time Olympic heptathlon medallist and Commonwealth Games champion Kelly Sotherton, Team Leader for the athletics team at Birmingham 2022, said:

“It is an honour to lead a strong and inclusive team of 93 athletes into a home Commonwealth Games. As important are the 25-team staff that are supporting the athletes at Games time. The athletes that have been selected have worked extremely hard to get into the team where there are genuine medal opportunities across all events."

"With a busy summer of championships, our aim is to ensure we support each athletes’ ambitions to perform at home, in front of friends and family, for the first time since 2019. It is very exciting now, with 36 days remaining until the start of the Games, the build-up within the city and the sport is ramping up. I am looking forward to watching familiar faces and new ones emerge in the biggest event here since London 2012.”

The athletics competition at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games starts with the marathon on Saturday 30 July with the track and field events running from Tuesday 2 August to Sunday 7 August; click here to view the full athletics and para athletics competition schedule.

Team England's 93 athletes for Birmingham 2022

Women

  • 100m: Dina Asher-Smith (John Blackie, Blackheath & Bromley), Imani-Lara Lansiquot (Stu McMillan, Sutton and District), Daryll Neita (Marco Airale, Cambridge Harriers)
  • 100m - T34: Kare Adenegan (Job King, Coventry Godiva Harriers), Fabienne Andre (Jenny Archer, Weir Archer Academy), Hannah Cockroft (Jennifer Banks, Leeds City AC)
  • 100m - T38: Hetty Bartlett (Denis Costello, City of Norwich), Sophie Hahn (Leon Baptiste, Charnwood), Ali Smith, (Benke Blomkvist, Guildford and Godalming)
  • 200m: Daryll Neita (Marco Airale, Cambridge Harriers)
  • 400m: Victoria Ohuruogu (Christine Ohuruogu, Newham and Essex Beagles), Ama Pipi (Marco Airale, Enfield and Haringey), Jodie Williams (Stu McMillan, Herts Phoenix)
  • 800m: Alex Bell (Andrew Henderson, Pudsey and Bramley), Keely Hodgkinson (Trevor Painter, Leigh)
  • 1500m: Katie Snowden (Herne Hill Harriers)
  • 5000m: Jess Judd (Mick Judd, Blackburn Harriers), Amy-Eloise Markovc (Chris Fox, Wakefield Harriers), Calli Thackery (Nick Bideau, Rotherham)
  • 10,000m: Samantha Harrison (Vince Wilson, Charnwood), Jess Judd (Mick Judd, Blackburn Harriers), Amy-Eloise Markovc (Chris Fox, Wakefield Harriers)
  • Marathon: Georgina Schwiening (Cambridge Runners)
  • Marathon - T54: Shelly Oxley-Woods (Peter Wyman, Kirkby AC), Eden Rainbow-Cooper (Jenny Archer, Weir Archer Academy)
  • 3000m steeplechase: Lizzie Bird (Pat McCurry, Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers), Aimee Pratt (Vincente Modahl, Sale Harriers Manchester)
  • 100m hurdles: Cindy Sember (Jeff Porter, Woodford Green with Essex Ladies)
  • 400m hurdles: Jessie Knight (Marina Armstrong, Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow), Lina Nielsen (Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers)
  • High Jump: Emily Borthwick (Robbie Grabarz, Wigan & District), Morgan Lake (Robbie Grabarz, Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow), Laura Zialor (Julian Reid/Jade Surman, Marshall Milton Keynes)
  • Long jump: Jazmin Sawyers (Lance Brauman, City of Stoke), Lorraine Ugen (Dwight Phillips, Thames Valley Harriers)
  • Triple jump: Naomi Metzger (Aston Moore, Trafford)
  • Pole vault: Holly Bradshaw (Scott Simpson, Blackburn Harriers) Molly Caudery (Scott Simpson, Thames Valley Harriers), Sophie Cook (Scott Simpson, Halesowen)
  • Shot put: Sophie McKinna (Paul Wilson, Great Yarmouth), Divine Oladipo (Ashley Kovacs, Blackheath and Bromley), Amelia Strickler (Zane Duquemin, Thames Valley Harriers)
  • Discus: Jade Lally (Zane Duquemin, Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers), Divine Oladipo (Ashley Kovacs, Blackheath and Bromley)
  • Discus - F42-44/F61-64: Stacie Gaston-Monerville: (Alison O’Riordan / Taz Nicholls, Enfield and Haringey)
  • Hammer: Anna Purchase (Mohamad Saatara, Nottingham AC)
  • Heptathlon: Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Aston Moore, Liverpool Harriers), Holly Mills (Laura Turner-Alleyne, Andover) Jade O’Dowda (John Lane, Newham and Essex Beagles)
  • 4x100m: Dina Asher-Smith (John Blackie, Blackheath and Bromley), Desiree Henry (Mike McFarlane, Enfield and Haringey), Imani-Lara Lansiquot (Stu McMillan, Sutton and District), Daryll Neita (Marco Airale, Cambridge Harriers), Asha Philip (Amy Deem, Newham and Essex Beagles)
  • 4x400m: Jessie Knight (Marina Armstrong, Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow), Laviai Nielsen (Philipp Unfried, Enfield and Haringey), Lina Nielsen (Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers), Victoria Ohuruogu (Christine Ohuruogu, Newham and Essex Beagles), Ama Pipi (Marco Airale, Enfield and Haringey), Jodie Williams (Stu McMillan, Herts Phoenix)

Men

  • 100m: Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (Ryan Freckleton, Newham and Essex Beagles), Reece Prescod (Marvin Rowe, Enfield and Haringey)
  • 100m - T12: Zac Shaw (Leon Baptiste, Cleethorpes)
  • 100m - T38: Shaun Burrows (Joseph McDonnell, Charnwood), Thomas Young (Joseph McDonnell, Loughborough Students)
  • 100m - T47: Ola Abidogun (Grant Barker, Horwich), James Arnott (City of Plymouth), Emmanuel Oyinbo-Coker (Coral Nourrice, Newham and Essex Beagles/Loughborough Students)
  • 200m: Adam Gemili (Blackheath and Bromley), Zharnel Hughes (Glen Mills, Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers)
  • 400m: Matthew Hudson-Smith (Gary Evans, Birchfield Harriers)
  • 800m: Max Burgin (Ian Burgin, Halifax Harriers), Ben Pattison (Dave Regan, Basingstoke and Mid Hants)
  • 1500m: Elliot Giles (Jon Bigg, Birchfield Harriers), Matt Stonier (Chris and Sonia McGeorge, Invicta East Kent)
  • 1500m - T54: Nathan Maguire (Steven Hoskins, Kirkby AC), Daniel Sidbury (Christine Parsloe, Sutton and District AC)
  • 5000m: Sam Atkin (Mike Collins, Lincoln Wellington), Patrick Dever (Alistair Cragg, Preston), Marc Scott (Jerry Schumacher, Richmond and Zetland)
  • 10,000m: Sam Atkin (Mike Collins, Lincoln Wellington), Patrick Dever (Alistair Cragg, Preston), Marc Scott (Jerry Schumacher, Richmond and Zetland)
  • Marathon: Jonny Mellor (Helen Clitheroe, Liverpool Harriers)
  • Marathon - T54: Simon Lawson (Ian Thompson), Johnboy Smith (Christine Parsloe, Sutton and District AC), David Weir (Jenny Archer, Weir Archer Academy)
  • 10,000m race walk: Tom Bosworth (Andi Drake, Tonbridge), Callum Wilkinson (Robert Heffernan, Enfield and Haringey)
  • 3000m steeplechase: Zak Seddon (Jeff Seddon, Bracknell AC)
  • 110m hurdles: Tade Ojora (Joanne Hayes, Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow), Andrew Pozzi (Stratford-upon-Avon), Joshua Zeller (Steve Rajewsky, Bracknell AC)
  • 400m hurdles: Chris McAlister (Marina Armstrong, Thames Valley Harriers)
  • High Jump: Joel Clarke-Khan (Robbie Grabarz, Worcester)
  • Triple jump: Ben Williams (Aston Moore, City of Stoke)
  • Pole vault: Harry Coppell (Scott Simpson, Wigan and District), Adam Hague (Trevor Fox, Sheffield and Dearne), Owen Heard (Kate Rooney, Harrow)
  • Shot put: Scott Lincoln (Paul Wilson, City of York)
  • Discus: Lawrence Okoye (John Hillier, Croydon)
  • Discus - F42-44/F61-64: Dan Greaves: (Zane Duquemin, Charnwood)
  • Hammer: Joseph Ellis (Jerry Clayton/Colin Boevers, Blackheath and Bromley), Nick Miller (Tore Gustafsson, Border Harriers), Craig Murch (Lorraine Shaw, Birchfield Harriers)
  • Decathlon: Harry Kendall (David Hull, Tonbridge)
  • 4x100m: Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (Benke Blomkvist, Sutton and District), Jona Efoloko (Clarence Callender, Sale Harriers Manchester), Adam Gemili (Blackheath and Bromley), Zharnel Hughes (Glen Mills, Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers), Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (Ryan Freckleton, Newham and Essex Beagles), Reece Prescod (Marvin Rowe, Enfield and Haringey)

*Para-athletes were announced on 19 May

Team England athletics support staff:

  • Team Leader – Kelly Sotherton
  • Team Management – Andy Day, Alison Potts, Scott Grace
  • Lead medical – Sarah Connors
  • Doctor – Mark Gillett
  • Therapists – Alison Rose, Ciaran Keen, Lachy Bromley, Stuart Butler
  • Para-Athletics – Job King, Paula Dunn
  • Speed – Shani Palmer, Laura Turner-Alleyne, Harry King, Clarence Callender
  • Endurance – Spencer Duval, Luke Gunn, Kyle Bennett
  • Jumps and Combined Events – Darren Ritchie, Rafer Joseph, Kate Rooney, John Herbert
  • Throws – Nick Ridgeon, John Pearson
  • Media – James Webb

 

 

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