117 ATHLETES OFFERED MEMBERSHIP TO WORLD CLASS PROGRAMME (WCP)

British Athletics has confirmed the 117 athletes who have been offered membership to the 2020/2021 Olympic and Paralympic World Class Programme (WCP).

Due to the challenging circumstances brought by the Covid-19 pandemic this year, and the impact this has had on our athletes, we have retained all athletes from the 2019/2020 World Class Programme for the year ahead. We are fully committed to continuing their support as they target the rescheduled Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2021.

As a result, with limited spaces for additions to the programme, only two additional Paralympic athletes have been added to the 2020/2021 WCP. We will however be exploring options to put in place a Tokyo Support Package for those athletes who have demonstrated potential to make a final or increase the British team’s medal chances at next year’s Games.

Karim Chan (coach: John Shepherd; club: Charnwood) and Harrison Walsh (Nathan Stephens; Swansea) have been added to Podium Potential level on the Paralympic WCP.

Chan won gold at the World Para Athletics Junior Championships in 2019, leaping a personal best of 6.70 metres on his way to the title. Despite the shortening of the athletics season in 2020, he still achieved a season best of 6.48 metres which ranked him sixth in the world in the T20 classification, for athletes with an intellectual impairment.

F44 discus thrower Walsh set a personal best of 55.47 metres this summer which was an improvement by over four metres for the Swansea athlete. He will complete his final year on the British Athletics Para Futures Academy while also moving to the Paralympic Podium Potential level of the WCP.

The British Athletics WCP is UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded initiative to support the delivery of success at the world’s most significant sporting events. Membership onto the WCP for 2020 is based upon an athletes’ realistic potential to win a medal at Tokyo 2020 or Paris 2024.

There are three levels of membership of the WCP at Olympic level with numbers for 2020-21 broken down as follows: Olympic Podium (16), Olympic Podium Potential (30), and Olympic Relays (23).

There are two levels of membership of the WCP at Paralympic level with numbers for 2020-21 broken down as follows: Paralympic Podium (28) and Paralympic Podium Potential (18) (Guide Runners (2) are listed separately).

Athletes can use their discretion should they not wish to accept membership to the WCP.

World Class Programme Director, Steve Paulding, said:

“The last few months have provided many challenges for everyone, so we are pleased to be able to retain all the athletes who were on the World Class Programme last year, for 2021. Additionally, we are delighted to be looking at creating alternative ways to support several athletes via a Tokyo Support Package.

“These discussions are taking place following a year in sport which has been like no other we have experienced. We want to engage and support as many athletes as possible who have shown real potential for Tokyo during the disrupted season, but we have not been able to add to the Olympic WCP.  So, we will aim to support a limited number of athletes in accessing the support which will help them achieve this.

“I’d like to thank the National Lottery and UK Sport for their continued investment in the World Class Programme. The support enables our athletes to be the best prepared in their quest for success at the world’s most significant sporting events.”

Paralympic Podium (28):

Kare Adenegan (Job King; Coventry)

Hollie Arnold (David Turner; Blackheath & Bromley)

Olivia Breen (Aston Moore; City of Portsmouth)

Jonathan Broom-Edwards (Graham Ravenscroft; Newham & Essex Beagles)

Jo Butterfield (Phil Peat / Shona Malcolm; Forth Valley Flyers)

Richard Chiassaro (Jenni Banks; Harlow)

Libby Clegg (Joe McDonnell; Charnwood)

Hannah Cockroft (Jenni Banks; Leeds City)

Kadeena Cox (Joe McDonnell; Sale Harriers Manchester)

Aled Davies (Ryan Spencer Jones; Cardiff)

David Devine (Tony Clarke, Liverpool)

Kyron Duke (Anthony Hughes / Josh Clark; DSW Para Academy)

Sabrina Fortune (Ian Robinson; Deeside)

Dan Greaves (Self; Charnwood)

Sophie Hahn (Leon Baptiste; Charnwood)

Harri Jenkins (Nathan Stephens; DSW Para Academy)

Sophie Kamlish (Rob Ellchuk; Bristol & West)

Sammi Kinghorn (Self; Red Star)

Maria Lyle (Jamie Bowie; Team East Lothian)

Stephen Miller (Ros Miller; Gateshead)

Jonnie Peacock (Michael Khmel / Dan Pfaff; Charnwood)

Gemma Prescott (Mike Wood; British Wheelchair Athletics Association)

Derek Rae (Ron Morrison; Fife)

Stef Reid (Aston Moore; Charnwood)

Andrew Small (Rick Hoskins; Stockport)

Vanessa Wallace (Alison O’Riordan; Enfield & Haringey)

Richard Whitehead (Keith Antoine; Southwell)

Thomas Young (Joe McDonnell; Charnwood)

Paralympic Podium Potential (18):

Ola Abidogun (Steve Thomas; Horwich)

Martina Barber (Paddy O’Shea; Stevenage & North Herts)

Karim Chan (John Shepherd; Charnwood)

Lydia Church (Jim Edwards; Peterborough & Nene Valley)

Dillon Labrooy (Jenny Archer; Weir Archer Academy)

Nathan Maguire (Ste Hoskins; Kirkby)

Polly Maton (Daniel Hooker; Team Devizes)

Owen Miller (Steven Doig; Fife)

Anna Nicholson (Richard Kaufman; Gateshead)

Zac Shaw (Leon Baptiste; Cleethorpes)

Luke Sinnott (Roger Keller; Bournemouth)

Zak Skinner (Aston Moore; Loughborough Students)

Ali Smith (Chris Zah; Guildford & Godalming)

JohnBoy Smith (Christine Parsloe)

Hannah Taunton (Charlotte Fisher; Taunton)

Isaac Towers (Peter Wyman; Kirkby)

Harrison Walsh (Nathan Stephens; Swansea)

David Weir (Jenny Archer; Weir Archer Academy)

Guide runners (2):

Chris Clarke (Joe McDonnell; Marshall Milton Keynes)

Thomas Somers (Lloyd Cowan; Newham & Essex Beagles)

Olympic Podium (16)

Dina Asher-Smith (John Blackie; Blackheath & Bromley)

Tom Bosworth (Andi Drake; Tonbridge)

Holly Bradshaw (Scott Simpson; Blackburn)

Mo Farah (Gary Lough; Newham & Essex Beagles)

Adam Gemili (Rana Reider; Blackheath & Bromley)

Callum Hawkins (Robert Hawkins; Kilbarchan)

Sophie Hitchon (Tore Gustafsson; Blackburn)

Zharnel Hughes (Glen Mills; Shaftesbury Barnet)

Abigail Irozuru (Self-coached; Sale Harriers Manchester)

Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Bertrand Valcin; Liverpool)

Nick Miller (Tore Gustafsson; Border)

Laura Muir (Andy Young; Dundee Hawkhill)

Reece Prescod (Mike Holloway; Enfield & Haringey)

Lynsey Sharp (David Harmer; Edinburgh)

Lorraine Ugen (Dwight Phillips; Thames Valley)

Jake Wightman (Geoff Wightman; Edinburgh)

Olympic Podium Potential (30)

Andrew Butchart (Self-coached; Central)

Taylor Campbell (John Pearson; Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow)

Melissa Courtney-Bryant (Rob Denmark; Poole)

Tim Duckworth (Toby Stevenson; Liverpool)

Niamh Emerson (David Feeney; Amber Valley & Erewash)

Tom Gale (Denis Doyle; Team Bath)

Elliot Giles (Jon Bigg; Birchfield Harriers)

Neil Gourley (Ben Thomas; Giffnock North)

Charlie Da’Vall Grice (Self; Brighton Phoenix)

Dewi Griffiths (Kevin Evans; Swansea)

Josh Kerr (Danny Mackey; Edinburgh)

Morgan Lake (Eldon Lake; Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow)

Kyle Langford (Jon Bigg; Shaftesbury Barnet)

Chris McAlister (Marina Armstrong; Thames Valley)

Eilish McColgan (Liz Nuttall; Dundee Hawkhill)

Sarah McDonald (David Harmer; Birchfield Harriers)

Sophie McKinna (Mike Winch; Great Yarmouth)

Naomi Ogbeta (Tom Cullen; Trafford)

Shelayna Oskan-Clarke (Derek Thompson; Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow)

Andrew Pozzi (Santiago Antunez; Stratford-upon-Avon)

Aimee Pratt (Vincente Modahl; Sale Harriers Manchester)

Charlotte Purdue (Nic Bideau; Aldershot Farnham & District)

Jemma Reekie (Andy Young; Kilbarchan)

Daniel Rowden (Matt Yates; Woodford Green Essex Ladies)

Jazmin Sawyers (Lance Brauman; City of Stoke)

Steph Twell (Self-coached; Aldershot Farnham & District)

Jamie Webb (Adrian Webb; Liverpool)

Laura Weightman (Steve Cram; Morpeth)

Callum Wilkinson (Robert Heffernan; Enfield & Haringey)

Ben Williams (Aston Moore; Sale Harriers Manchester)

Olympic Relays (23)

Amy Allcock (Glyn Hawkes; Aldershot Farnham & District)

Kristal Awuah (Matthew Thomas; Herne Hill)

Cameron Chalmers (Matt Elias; Guernsey)

Zoey Clark (Eddie McKenna; Thames Valley)

Emily Diamond (Benke Blomkvist; Bristol & West)

Beth Dobbin (Leon Baptiste; Edinburgh)

Eilidh Doyle (Brian Doyle; Pitreavie)

Miguel Francis (Glen Mills; Wolverhampton & Bilston)

Matthew Hudson-Smith (Lance Brauman; Birchfield Harriers)

Richard Kilty (Michael Afilaka; Middlesbrough)

Imani-Lara Lansiquot (Steve Fudge; Sutton & District)

Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (Lance Brauman; Newham & Essex Beagles)

Daryll Neita (Rana Reider; Cambridge Harriers)

Ashleigh Nelson (Michael Afilaka; City of Stoke)

Laviai Nielsen (Christine Bowmaker; Enfield & Haringey)

Asha Philip (Steve Fudge; Newham & Essex Beagles)

Martyn Rooney (Nick Dakin; Croydon)

Danny Talbot (Vince Anderson; Birchfield Harriers)

Jessica Turner (Nick Dakin; Amber Valley & Erewash)

CJ Ujah (Ryan Freckleton; Enfield & Haringey)

Jodie Williams (Stuart McMillan; Herts Phoenix)

Bianca Williams (Lloyd Cowan; Enfield & Haringey)

Rabah Yousif (Carol Williams; Newham & Essex Beagles)