JOSH KERR in GB SQUAD FOR WORLD ATHLETICS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS GLASGOW 24
The Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24 (1-3 March) has been announced. Give or take one or two late additions, the GB team for the World Indoors will consist of 20 athletes. 9 individual women, six individual men, and 5 relay women.
The stand-out selection is Josh Kerr, World Champion outdoors at 1500m, who will compete in the 3000m, finding the lure of a global championship in his native Scotland too hard to resist. There will be a strong Scottish middle-distance presence with Laura Muir in the women’s 3000m and Jemma Reekie in the 800. Laura told me that a straight-to-final 3000m was much more attractive to her at this stage of the season than a 1500 with heats and a final.
The men’s team looks unbalanced – 2 hurdlers, 2 in the 1500m and 2 others. The lack of a GB 4 by 400 men’s team looks shocking, given our tradition in the event and medal in Budapest but the underlying question at every point this year, for every athlete, is: will running in Glasgow help my chances in the Olympics?
In Budapest last summer, GB won 10 medals – omitting the 2 sprint relay medals, leaving 8 – six individual and 2 relay medals. The Glasgow team includes Josh Kerr, but Ben Pattison, Keely Hodgkinson, Matt Hudson-Smith, Zharnel Hughes, and Katarina Johnson-Thompson opted against a competitive indoor season. The women’s 4 by 400 relay squad is there, albeit including in the Glasgow squad, only two who ran in Budapest. There is no men’s relay team as none of the Budapest medallists ran in the UK Indoor Champs.
It is what it is. There are some serious medal contenders, and some younger athletes have been given opportunities.
The full team in the format: athlete name, (coach, club) – event is
Women
Georgia Bell (Trevor Painter, Belgrave) – 1500m
Isabelle Boffey (Luke Gunn, Enfield and Haringey) – 800m
Molly Caudery (Scott Simpson, Thames Valley) – Pole Vault
Morgan Lake (Robbie Grabarz, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow) – High Jump
Laura Muir (Steve Vernon, Dundee Hawkhill) – 3000m
Laviai Nielsen (Tony Lester, Enfield and Haringey) – 400m
Jemma Reekie (Jon Bigg, Kilbarchan) – 800m
Cindy Sember (Chris Johnson, Woodford Green Essex Ladies) – 60m Hurdles
Revee Walcott-Nolan (Thomas Dreißigacker, Luton) – 1500m
4x400m: Hannah Brier (Matt Elias, Swansea), Hannah Kelly (Les Hall, Bolton), Jessie Knight (Marina Armstrong, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow), Laviai Nielsen (Tony Lester, Enfield and Haringey), Lina Nielsen (Tony Lester, Shaftesbury Barnet) and Ama Pipi (Linford Christie; Enfield & Haringey)
Men
Jeremiah Azu (Marco Airale, Cardiff) – 60m
Callum Elson (Nick Aguila, Cambridge & Coleridge) – 1500m
Adam Fogg (Cory Leslie, Coventry) – 1500m
Josh Kerr (Danny Mackey, Edinburgh) – 3000m
David King (Tim O’Neil, City of Plymouth) – 60m Hurdles
Tade Ojora (Joanna Hayes, Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow) – 60m Hurdles
Paula Dunn, Olympic Head Coach, commented: “We are pleased to be announcing such a strong team for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24, and I am looking forward to seeing how the team performs on the world stage. We had a thrilling National Championships where athletes secured their places for the Team in Scotland, and it was fantastic to see a number of athletes stepping up when it counted. This is a really exciting squad that includes global medallists as well as athletes who will be hoping to make an impact on the world stage for the first time”.
Pathetic that we don’t field a team in the mens 4x 400 m relay in Glasgow despite noone appearing in the British Championships a few weeks ago. Was this a prerequisite or rule or what when we have the best potential 4×4 relay team for years. Sort it out Martyn Rooney. Women’s team looks good
We have a few stars out there doing extraordinarily well but in the mens side, there is little depth.
Thanks Colin! I could not agree more. I trust Martyn Rooney, great guy and loves the 4×400 meter relay. British Athletics doing pretty well, but I, even across the pond, do not understand a 4x400m team on the Men’s side. Perhaps they could not find 4 athletes to compete?