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Athletes announced for the 2026 cohort of Talent Pathway programmes

YTP endurance running training pace

We are delighted to announce the new athletes selected on to the four England Athletics Talent Pathway programmes.

From secondary school, athletes are supported throughout their athletic careers beginning with the Youth Talent Programme (YTP), followed by the Talent Development Programme (TDP) with the Performance Programme (PP) the top step on the England Athletics pathway. As a fully integrated pathway, para athletes will receive equal support across the three programmes of YTP, TDP and PP, with additional para athletics sport delivered as part of the Para Academy.

Thanks to vital contributions from our key stakeholders of TASS, SportsAid, UKAD, London Marathon and Sport England, athletes receive much more than simply coaching. Sporting practitioners based out of the four Talent Hubs deliver support for athletes across the four programmes in specialisms from physiotherapy to sports nutrition, medical insurance to clean sport and psychology.

Head of Talent Programmes, Alan Richardson, commented:

"Autumn is always an exciting time as we welcome our brand new cohorts of athletes on to the England Athletics Talent Pathway. Off the back of a busy summer season of competition which saw Talent Pathway athletes compete on the world stage, we're excited to open our doors to the future superstars of our sport.

"We are proud of each and every athlete and their personal coach who has made it on to the four Talent Pathway programmes. Myself and the team look forward to welcoming all to our fantastic network of Talent Hubs across the next 12-24 months. Our outstanding team of dedicated staff and coaches are vital in supporting athlete development, health and wellbeing and the state-of-the-art facilities of our four Talent Hubs are excellent environments to thrive."

As eyes turn to LA 2028 and the upcoming Paralympic Games, National Para Athletics Manager, Matt Kendrick, spoke about the importance of developing new Paralympic events:

"We have an exciting group of para athletes selected onto every tier of our Talent Pathway this season. There are more para athletes than ever before achieving performance consideration standards which made the selection process highly competitive. I look forward to working with this incredible cohort of para athletes and seeing what they achieve next season and in the future as we build towards the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. With new events such as frame running being contested for the very first time, it's a very exciting time for para athletics development in England."

See new Talent Pathway programme cohorts

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Athletics News Para Athletics/Disability Road Running Talent Pathway Track and Field