30 June 2015

27 athletes have been selected to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the IAAF World Youth Championships which will take place in Cali, Colombia on 15-19 July. 

Hannah Brier (coach: Neal Merry/Swansea) will be looking to continue her spectacular start to the season after clocking 11.44 at the England Athletics U20/U23 Championships a fortnight ago. The Welsh junior record holder, who is ranked sixth in the world in her age-group, will be keen to push the competition to the wire as she targets world glory in South America.

European Youth leader Cameron Tindle (Henry Gray/Edinburgh) headlines the men’s 200m alongside Brighton’s Toby Harries (Jon Bigg/Brighton Phoenix) with another European number one Alex Yee (Kenneth Pike/Kent) confirmed in the 3000m. 

The women’s 400m will be one of the highlights of the competition as Isle of Man athlete Catherine Reid (Di Shimell/Manx) and Hannah Williams (Colin Gaynor/Herts Phoenix), sister of European 200m silver medallist Jodie are selected for GB & NI. Both impressed at the recent U20/U23 Championships with European Youth leader Reid finishing second and Williams fourth in the U20 race. 

Chesterfield’s Alicia Barrett (David Duke/Chesterfield) has been in excellent form so far this season and is unbeaten in her age-group over 100m hurdles this year. She won the U18 race in Bedford and will head to the Colombian city targeting a high placing in the final. James Gormley (John Wood/City of Sheffield) is one to watch in the men’s 1500m with Carys McAuley (Philip Hicken/Warrington) heading the women’s 800m. 

Naomi Ogbeta (Tom Cullen/Trafford) is ranked joint seventh in the 2015 World Youth rankings in the triple jump so will have her eyes set on a spot in the final. Similarly, George Evans (Duncan Flockhart/Shaftesbury Barnet) is seventh in the men’s discus rankings after a 60.21m throw in Loughborough earlier this year, and Joel Leon Benitez (Alan Richardson/Notts) goes in the men’s pole vault. 

The Team Leader Alan Richardson said: “We have a really promising team heading to Cali and I’m looking forward to seeing how they perform on the world stage in this age-group. 

“The athletes selected show potential to be competitive at world level and I am sure they will perform excellently as well as using this championship as a springboard to longer term senior success.”

The Great Britain and Northern Ireland team selected for the IAAF World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia on 15-19 July: 

Men: 

100m: Oliver Bromby (Sara MacDonald-Gray/Southampton), Rechmial Miller (Ryan Freckleton/Hercules Wimbledon)

200m: Toby Harries (Jon Bigg/Brighton Phoenix), Cameron Tindle (Henry Gray/Edinburgh)

800m: Ben Greenwood (Catriona Helen Taverdale/Perth Strathtay)

1500m: James Gormley (John Wood/City of Sheffield), Markhim Lonsdale (David Lowes/Crook)

3000m: Alex Yee (Kenneth Pike/Kent)

2000m Steeplechase: William Battershill (Kirk Salmon/Erme Valley)

Pole Vault: Joel Leon Benitez (Alan Richardson/Notts)

Discus: George Evans (Duncan Flockhart/Shaftesbury Barnet)

Hammer: Jake Norris (Paul Dickenson/Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow)

Decathlon: Sam Talbot (Eldon Lake/Exeter)

Women: 

100m: Hannah Brier (Neal Merry/Swansea)

400m: Catherine Reid (Di Shimell/Manx), Hannah Williams (Colin Gaynor/Herts Phoenix)

800m: Carys McAulay (Philip Hicken/Warrington)

1500m: Harriet Knowles-Jones (Paul Roden/Warrington), Sabrina Sinha (Mark Newell/Peter Mullervy/Cambridge Harriers)

100m Hurdles: Alicia Barrett (Daniel Duke/Chesterfield), Hope Sarti (Glynn Peckham/Guildford & Godalming)

High Jump: Ada’ora Chigbo (Ken Holmes/North Somerset)

Long Jump: Emily Wright (Dan Cossins/Bristol & West)

Triple Jump: Naomi Ogbeta (Tom Cullen/Trafford)

Javelin: Emma Hamplett (David Parker/Birchfield Harriers)

Heptathlon: Niamh Emerson (David Feeney/Amber Valley), Michelle Hughes (Tony Benton/Havering)