Great Britain announced its roster for the European Athletics Championships, selecting 98 athletes to compete at Alexander Stadium next month when the country hosts the event for the first time. The squad features several high-profile competitors who opted not to participate in the concurrent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson will compete in the 800m as she seeks to retain her European title, while fellow Olympic champion Dina Asher-Smith will defend her crown in the 100m. Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who missed the 2024 edition due to injury, returns to the competition after earning silver at the Paris Olympics, where she competed in the heptathlon. Additional notable selections include Matt Hudson-Smith, a 400m Olympic silver medallist and four-time European champion who will race at the venue in his hometown of Birmingham, where he has a stand named after him.
The team also encompasses Georgia Hunter Bell, a 2024 European silver medallist and world indoor champion competing in the women’s 1500m, and Laura Muir, the 2022 European champion in the same event. Former 1500m world champion Jake Wightman and world indoor 400m champion Amber Anning are among the selections, while Jake Heyward, who established a new one-mile Welsh record at the London Diamond League earlier this month, received an invitation. Scotland’s Josh Kerr, who set a world record in the same race, chose not to participate.
Performance director Paula Dunn characterized the squad as reflective of British track and field’s depth, combining established medallists with emerging talent. The championships run from 10 to 16 August. Meanwhile, Norway’s two-time Olympic gold medallist Jakob Ingebrigtsen appears positioned to return from Achilles surgery with a social media post suggesting his participation. The 25-year-old has dominated recent European Championships, winning the 1500m and 5,000m double at each of the past three editions.
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