4 June 2009

Home team Cardiff have revealed a strong full team as the countdown to UKA’s first ever Super8 athletics competition begins. The team, spearheaded by Olympic sprinter Christian Malcolm, is the first of the eight cities to confirm their final line-up for the event to be held at the Cardiff International Sports Stadium on Wednesday 10 June.

Malcolm, who has competed for Great Britain & Northern Ireland for over a decade and is one of the country’s top sprint talents, will lead Cardiff into action against teams representing Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, London South, London North, Glasgow, and Sheffield.

Malcolm said of his appointment: “It really is an honour to be asked to captain Cardiff at the first Super8 competition, not only to lead the welsh athletes but also to do so on home turf is going to be very special.

“The competition is a great idea and I can see some friendly rivalry between the GB&NI athletes building already which will make for some interesting events. I hope the people of Cardiff will come out to support the home team and give the other cities something to live up to when Super8 takes place in their city.”

Other athletes confirmed within the team include: Matt Elias, a talented 400m hurdler and a member of the 2004 Olympic 4x400m relay team. Elias has been one of Wales’ top athletes in recent years with a personal best over the hurdles of 49.11. Amanda Moss, who will captain the women’s team, was a talented junior who made an impact as an 800m runner, taking under 15 and under 20 titles during the 1990s.

Rising middle distance athlete Joe Thomas, who made an impressive GB&NI debut at the Aviva International Match in Glasgow during the 2009 indoor season, is excited to represent his city team.

He said: “It should be a really good competition, a quick two hours which I think will make it more exciting. It’s a brand new track- I’ve run on it a few times- it’s light and the crowd is close to the track which will be good on the night. Athletics is normally an individual sport so it should be a good experience to get team spirit going and compete as a team.”

Cardiff Team:

Men                                        Event                     Women

Christian Malcolm                    100m                      Lucy Evans

Matt Elias                               400m                     Caryl Granville

Joe Thomas                            800m                   Amanda Pritchard

Stephen Davies                      1500m                    Jade Williams

Marcel van der Westen            110mh                   Heather Jones

Richardo Childs                     long jump                Imogen Miles

Egryn Jones                         Pole Vault                Bryony Raine

Rob Mitchell                         High Jump                Julie Crane

Ryan Spencer – Jones           Shot Put                  Tesni Ward

Lee Doran                               Javelin                  Lianne Clarke

Christian Malcolm                Medley Relay            Lucy Evans

Tim Abeyie                          Medley Relay         Rebecca Williams

Rhys Williams                     Medley Relay           Bryony Turnbull

Joe Maynard                       Medley Relay            Anwren Rees

Tickets are now on sale at £5 (seating) or £3 (standing) for adults, U16s are free, provided they are accompanied by a paying adult. Tickets can be purchased at www.uka.org.uk/super8 or by calling the ticket hotline on 0844 844 0808.