15 July 2015 

Bobby Clay (coach: Peter Mullervy, club: Invicta East Kent)  and Taylor Campbell (Paul Dickenson/Chris Black, Winslow, Slough, Eton & Hounslow) will take up the joint responsibility of  captaining the 55-strong Great Britain & Northern Ireland team at the European Athletics Junior Championships, which takes place in Eskilstuna, Sweden from 16-19 July.

Clay goes into the championships ranked as the European number one over 1500m and admits being asked to lead the team alongside one of her long-time friends is a great honour.

The 18 year old said: “I was a bit shocked, I didn’t expect to be team captain but I’m really pleased. Sharing the responsibility with Taylor, that’s probably the best bit. He’s like a big brother to me.

“I’ve been excited for these championships for a while, so it’s been a long time coming. It’s nice to be here and finally getting down to business.”

GB & NI’s ‘pocket rocket’ tops the European lists by over a second courtesy of a 4:12.20 run in Manchester in May. She will be further buoyed by her emphatic victory in the U20 1500m at the Lausanne Diamond League last week and is well equipped to deal with the pressure that comes with her impressive form in 2015.

“I do like running under pressure as it gets my head where it needs to be. I think those sort of situations work well for me because I like the excitement of the pressure that comes before. During a race I’ve learnt to relax and whatever happens, happens.

“I think Great Britain are always under pressure and we’re always recognised as we walk around and people want to speak to us. Everyone shines when they need to and as a team we can come together and support each other. I definitely think everyone will put out a performance that they’ll be proud of.”  

On the other end of the height scale, the towering imposing figure of Campbell is looking to rewrite the record books after near misses at his previous two age group championships. At the World Youth Championships in 2013, the hammer thrower missed out on a place in the final by 1cm before losing out on an additional three throws at the World Junior Championships last summer on countback.    

However, after a consistent season to date, which saw him break and extend the British Junior record to 78.74m, the European number three is looking for a change in fortunes in the Swedish city this time around.

Campbell, who finished fourth at the Sainsbury’s British Championships earlier this month said: “It (the disappointment of the last two years) makes you train a lot harder and you realise how much small margins make a difference in international competitions. If I had 1cm more in World Youths and Juniors in the last two years, it would have made a massive difference to where I finished.

“I have had a good series leading up to this. All my competitions have been over 76m and hopefully with that pressure will carry me further.”  

On his captaincy, the 19 year old added: “I’ve been on three trips now, so get recognised and have a bit of responsibility is nice. It was quite surprised when I was told.”

The team includes no fewer than seven athletes, who top the European rankings in their respective events including captain Clay. Morgan Lake (high jump) (Eldon Lake, WSEH), Ojie Edoburun (100m) (Jonas Tawiah-Dodoo, Shaftesbury Barnet), Shannon Hylton (200m) (John Blackie, Blackheath & Bromley), Elliot Powell (200m) (Glenys Morton, Leicester), Adam Hague (pole vault) (Trevor Fox, Sheffield & Dearne), Laviai Nielsen (400m) (Frank Adams, Enfield & Haringey), will all have their sights on getting amongst the medals in what is a busy few days for the GB & NI junior team.

GB & NI team for the European Athletics Junior Championships in Eskilstuna, Sweden 16-19 July:

MEN

100m – Ojie Edoburun (Jonas Tawiah-Dodoo, Shaftesbury Barnet), Joseph Dewar (Gladys Bird, Woodford Green & Essex Ladies), Reuben Arthur (Ryan Freckleton, Enfield & Haringey) 100m

200m – Elliot Powell (Glenys Morton, Leicester), Tommy Ramdhan (Freckleton, Shaftesbury Barnet), Freddie Owsley (Bristol & West)   

800m – Kyle Langford (George Harrison, Shaftesbury Barnet), Spencer Thomas (Jon Bigg, Brighton Phoenix), Daniel Rowden (Richard Thurston, Woodford Green & Essex Ladies)   

1500m – Josh Kerr (Mark Pollard, Edinburgh), Liam Dee (Ricardo Santos, Shaftesbury Barnet), Robbie Fitzgibbon (Jon Bigg, Brighton Phoenix)

5000m – Alex George (Paul de-Camps, Gloucester), Gus Cockle (Mick Woods, Aldershot Farnham & District), Chris Olley (Mark Hookway, Tonbridge)  

10,000m – Jack Rowe (Mick Woods, Aldershot Farnham & District)

10,000m race walk – Callum Wilkinson (Mick Graham, Enfield & Haringey) 

110m hurdles – Jack Hatton (Malcolm Arnold, Reading AC)

400m hurdles – Jack Lawrie (John Macdonald, Pitreavie)  

3000m steeplechase – Jack Jibb (Jim Glover, Monroe-Woodbury HS), Haran Dunderdale (Sam Bradley, Sheffield & Dearne)   

Long jump – Jacob Fincham-Dukes (Matt Barton, Leeds City)

Triple jump – Montel Nevers (Nigel Kesteven, Notts)

Discus – George Armstrong (Michael Swain, Leeds City)   

Hammer – Taylor Campbell (Paul Dickenson/Chris Black, Winslow, Slough, Eton & Hounslow)

Javelin – Harry Hughes (Mike McNeill, West Suffolk)

Pole vault – Harry Coppell (John Mitchell, Wigan & District), Charlie Myers (Chris Boundy, Middlesbrough (Mandale)), Adam Hague (Trevor Fox, Sheffield & Dearne)

Decathlon – Tim Duckworth (Toby Stevenson, University of Kentucky)

4x100m – Ojie Edoburun, Reuben Arthur, Joseph Dewar, Elliot Powell, Theo Etienne (Freckleton, Hercules Wimbledon), Tommy Ramdhan, Freddie Owsley  

WOMEN

100m – Daryll Neita (Jonas Tawiah-Dodoo, Shaftesbury Barnet), *Imani Lansiquot (Joseph Felix, Sutton & District)

200m – Shannon Hylton (John Blackie, Blackheath & Bromley), Charlotte McLennaghan (David Hourd, Notts) 

400m – Cheriece Hylton (John Blackie, Blackheath & Bromley), *Laviai Nielsen (Frank Adams, Enfield & Haringey), *Lina Nielsen (Adams, Enfield & Haringey)

800m – Molly Long (John Knowles, Bristol & West), *Mhairi Hendry (Andy Young, Victoria Park City of Glasgow)  

1500m – Bobby Clay (Peter Mullervy, Invicta East Kent), Amy Griffiths (Mick Woods, Aldershot Farnham & District), *Kathryn Gillespie (Amanda Gillespie, Central AC)  

5000m – Grace Baker (Mick Woods, Aldershot Farnham & District), Bronwen Owen (Andrew Henderson, Scarborough), *Phoebe Law (Richard Holt, Kingston Poly)

10,000m race walk – Emma Achurch (Steve Arnold, Leicester WC) 

High jump – Morgan Lake (Eldon Lake, Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow)

Shot put – Adele Nicoll(Vladimir Zinchenko, Birchfield Harriers)

Discus – Amy Holder (Neville Thompson, Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow)

4x100m – Daryll Neita, Shannon Hylton, Charlotte McLennaghan, Imani Lansiquot, Shannon Malone, Page Fairclough (Freckleton, Shaftesbury Barnet)

4x400m – Cheriece Hylton, Laviai Nielsen, Lina Nielsen, Lily Beckford (Christine Bowmaker, Shaftesbury Barnet), Kelsey Stewart (Ken Hogg, Aberdeen), Nicole Kendall (Holt, Kingston Poly)

For startlists and further information about the European Athletics Junior Championships, please visit: http://www.european-athletics.org/results/