17th November 2015

2015-2016 Futures Programme Announced

17 November 2015

British Athletics’ have today announced that 34 athletes have been invited to join the 2015-2016 British Athletics Futures Programme incorporating Para-Futures, which includes six gold medallists from this year’s European Junior Championships and all three medallists from the IAAF World Youth Championships.

“Futures” is a British Athletics support programme for athletes and their coaches which underpins the World Class Performance Programme (WCPP).  The 2015-16 programme runs from 1 December 2015 to 30 November 2016 and will continue British Athletics’ drive towards more targeted support for athletes and their coaches.

European Junior champions supported for the following year include Bobby Clay (coach: Rob Denmark) (1500m), Alex George (Paul de Camps) (5000m), Cheriece Hylton (John Blackie) (4x400m relay), Josh Kerr (Joe Franklin) (1500m), Charlotte McLennaghan (David Hourd) (4x100m relay) and Tommy Ramdhan (Ryan Freckleton) (200m). There are 11 medallists from the championships in Eskilstuna within this year’s crop of athletes.

The three bronze medallists from the IAAF World Youth Championships George Evans (Colin McCulloch) (discus), Rechmial Miller (Ryan Freckleton) (100m) and Catherine Reid (Di Shimell) (400m) also join the cohort of pairings supported by the programme. European U23 200m silver medallist Leon Reid (James Hillier) is an additional name to the list.

Para-Futures is incorporated into the programme and will assist a sextet of athletes, including three 2015 IWAS World Games medallists. Molly Kingsbury (Roger Graham) and James Arnott (Ryan Freckleton) won gold medals in the T37 long jump and T46 200m respectively, as well as silvers in the 100m. Nathan Maguire (Steven Hoskins) won double bronze in the T54 400m and 800m to earn his place on the 2015-2016 programme.

Ten athletes graduated from last year’s programme onto WCPP for 2015-2016 including world 4x400m bronze medallist Seren Bundy-Davies (Stephen Ball) and double IPC World Champion Georgie Hermitage (Paul MacGregor). They join 28 additional Futures graduates who are now supported by WCPP.

British Athletics’ Development Manager Jo Summers said:

“The Futures Programme seeks to support the next generation of champions and their coaches. We are delighted to be assisting the 34 athlete-coach pairings with their development plans and aid their future success.

“With 38 graduates of the Futures programme now on the WCPP, we aim to support the current cohort of athletes and coaches with financial assistance and medical support which can help towards following in the footsteps of athletes such as Dina Asher-Smith, Georgie Hermitage and Matthew Hudson-Smith.

“2016 is a key year in the development of these athletes as they aim to make the step up with London 2017 (IAAF and IPC World Championships) and Tokyo 2020 (Olympic and Paralympic Games) on the horizon. By supporting athlete-coach pairs, it allows for flexibility and individual discretion around distribution of resources, which will benefit the sport in these future years.”


The 34 athletes and their coaches supported by the British Athletics Futures Programme (incorporating Para Futures) 2015-2016:

James Arnott (Ryan Freckleton) – T46 100m, Theo Blundell (Craig Winrow) – 800m, Hannah Brier (Neal Merry) – 100m, Taylor Campbell (Paul Dickenson) – Hammer, Bobby Clay (Rob Denmark) – 1500m, Jack Crosby (Carol Williams) – 400m, Paul Davidson (Charles Forbes) – T20 400m, Joseph Dewar (Gladys Bird) – 100m, George Evans (Colin McCulloch) – Discus, Jacob Fincham-Dukes (Zivile Pukstiene/Matt Barton) – Long Jump, Alex George (Paul de Camps) – 5000m, Amy Griffiths (Mick Woods) – 1500m, Toby Harries (Jon Bigg) – 200m, Callum Hall (Ian Thompson) – T53 400m and 800m, David Hall (Ian Grant) – Decathlon, Harry Hughes (Mike McNeill) – Javelin, Cheriece Hylton (John Blackie) – 400m, Josh Kerr (Joe Franklin) – 1500m, David King (James Hiller) – 110m Hurdles, Molly Kingsbury (Roger Graham) – T37 Long Jump, Pani Mamuneas (David Parker) – F41 Shot Put and Javelin, Nathan Maguire (Steven Hoskins) – T54 100m, 400m and 800m, Charlotte McLennaghan (David Hourd) – 200m, Rechmial Miller (Ryan Freckleton) – 100m, Montel Nevers (Nigel Kesteven/Jamie French) – Triple Jump, Elliott Powell (Glenys Morton) – 200m, Rhianwedd Price (Houston Franks) – 1500m, Tommy Ramdhan (Ryan Freckleton) – 200m, Catherine Reid (Di Shimell) – 400m, Leon Reid (James Hiller) – 200m, Thomas Somers (Benke Blomkvist/Geoff Barraclough) – 200m, Adelle Tracey (Craig Winrow) – 800m, Callum Wilkinson (Mick Graham) – 10,000m walk, Shaun Wyllie (Craig Winrow) – 1500m