6 July 2010

UKA today announced a strong Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland team to compete at the SPAR European Championships in Barcelona this summer from the 27 July- 1 August under the captaincy of World Heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis.

Ennis (coach: Toni Minichiello), who has a World indoor and outdoor title to her name, will begin her European medal hunt alongside a team of 72 British athletes, named today.

She said: “I am really honoured to have been asked to Captain the Aviva GB&NI team for the European’s.  I really enjoyed the role at the Glasgow International match earlier this year and hope I will be able to offer advice and encouragement to everyone.

“My team talk will be very short, but geared towards encouraging everyone to give it their all- if we all go out there and do our best we should have some great results.”

Among those selected are ten medallists from the 2009 World Championships in Berlin and five from the World Indoors held in Doha earlier this year, all of which have genuine potential to medal at the forthcoming competition. 

On the team sheet are World Triple jump Champion Phillips Idowu, World Indoor gold medallist Dwain Chambers, World indoor and outdoor medallist Jenny Meadows and European indoor 3000m champion Mo Farah.

Members of the dominant men’s 4 x 400m squad return following successful campaigns at European Indoors and World Championships in 2009 and a continued run of form in 2010 at the World Indoors.

They are joined by in-form Laura Turner (coach: Linford Christie) who set a personal best of 11.11 in Switzerland on the weekend preceding selection and experienced sprinter Christian Malcolm (coach: Dan Pfaff) who returns to GB&NI duty following a 20.50 200m victory at the same competition, his best time in two years.

Chris Thompson (coach: John Nuttall) also returns to competition for GB&NI following a turbulent 2010 which saw him set a threatening new personal best over 10k in the US in May, which induced selection for the European Team Championships, only to fall ill in Bergen and miss his first GB&NI medal chance of 2010.

Athletes tipped for breakthrough championships at the iconic Olympic stadium include; 400m hurdles machine Dai Greene (coach: Malcolm Arnold), Hannah England (coach: Bud Baldaro) over 1500m, 400m hurdles head to head Perri Shakes- Drayton (coach: Chris Zah) and Eilidh Child (coach: Stuart Hogg), 800m hopeful Jemma Simpson (coach: Mark Rowland) and hotly tipped sprinter James Dasaolu (coach: Michael Khmel).

UKA Head Coach Charles van Commenee said: “The start of the European Championships coincides with the mark of two years to 2012 and this event provides us with a great marker of how far we have progressed and how far we still have to go.

“We have a number of strong medal contenders in the squad and I am looking forward to witnessing some outstanding performances in British vests.”

AVIVA GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND TEAM

MEN
100m: Dwain Chambers (Belgarve), James Dasaolu (Croydon)

200m: Christian Malcolm (Cardiff), Jeffrey Lawal Balogun (Kent)

400m: Michael Bingham (unattached), Martyn Rooney (Croydon), Conrad Williams (Kent)

800m: Michael Rimmer (Liverpool Pembroke & Sefton);

1500m: Andy Baddeley (Harrow), Colin McCourt (Dundee Hawkhill), Tom Lancashire (Bolton)

5000m: Mo Farah (Newham & Essex Beagles), Chris Thompson (AFD)

10000m: Mo Farah (Newham & Essex Beagles), Chris Thompson (AFD)

Marathon: Andi Jones (Salford), Lee Merrien (Newham & Essex Beagles), Ben Moreau (AFD), Dan Robinson (Stroud), Dave Webb (Leeds City), Martin Williams (Tipton)

110mH: William Sharman (Belgrave), Andy Turner (Sale)

400mH: David Greene (Swansea), Rhys Williams (Cardiff), Nathan Woodward (Tamworth) 

4x100m: James Dasaolu (Croydon), Marlon Devonish (Coventry Godiva), Leon Baptiste (Enfield & Haringey), Jeffery Lawal Balogun (Kent), Mark Lewis- Francis (Birchfield Harriers), Christian Malcolm (Cardiff), Craig Pickering (Marshall Milton Keynes)

4x400m: Michael Bingham (unattached), Richard Buck (City of York), Graham Hedman (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies), Martyn Rooney (Croydon), Andrew Steele (Trafford), Rob Tobin (Basingstoke & Mid Hants),Conrad Williams (Kent)

High Jump:  Martyn Bernard (Wakefield), Tom Parsons (Birchfield Harriers)

Long Jump: Greg Rutherford (Marshall Milton Keynes), Chris Tomlinson (Newham & Essex Beagles)

Triple Jump: Nathan Douglas (Oxford), Phillips Idowu (Belgrave)

Shot:  Carl Myerscough (Blackpool, Wyre &Fylde)

WOMEN

100m: Laura Turner (Harrow)

200m: Emily Freeman (Wakefield)

400m: Lee McConnell (Shaftesbury Barnet)

800m: Jenny Meadows (Wiagn), Marilyn Okoro (Shaftesbury), Jemma Simpson (Newquay & Par)

1500m: Hannah England (Bud Baldaro), Lisa Dobriskey (Ashford), Stephanie Twell (AFD)

5000m: Jo Pavey (Exeter)

10,000m: Jo Pavey (Exeter)

3000mSC: Hatti Dean (Hallamshire), Barbara Parker (City of Norwich)

Marathon: Helen Decker (Ipswich), Susan Partridge (Leeds City),Michelle Ross- Cope (City of Stoke), Rebecca Robinson (Kendal), Holly Rush (Team Bath), Jo Wilkinson (Bedford & County)

20k Race Walk: Joanna Jackson (Redcar)

400mH: Eilidh Child (Pitreavie), Perri Shakes- Drayton (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets);

Pole Vault: Kate Dennison (Sale);

 4x100m: Montell Douglas (Blackheath & Bromley), Katherine Endacott (City of Plymouth), Emily Freeman (Wakefield), Hayley Jones (Wigan & District), Joice Maduaka (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies), Elaine O’Neill (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies), Laura Turner (Harrow AC)

4x400m: Victoria Barr (Rugby & Northampton), Lee McConnell (Shaftesbury Barnet), Marilyn Okoro (Shaftesbury Barnet), Nadine Okyere (Birchfield), Nicola Sanders (Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow), Perri Shakes- Drayton (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets) , Kim Wall (Basildon)

Heptathlon: Jessica Ennis (City of Sheffield)