British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) and British Athletics have today announced a team of 22 athletes set to compete at this summer’s World University Games, which will be held in Naples, Italy in July.

Loughborough University student Jessica Judd (coach: Mick Judd) returns to the Games two years on from winning bronze in Chinese Taipei and will hope for an upgrade as she tackles the 5,000m once again.

Particularly strong in field events, Gregory Thompson (Neville Thompson) will also make a second successive appearance, this time currently sitting as the British No.1 in the discus following a personal best – and IAAF World Championship qualifying standard – 65.56m last month..

Thompson will be joined in the discus by Nicholas Percy (Vesteinn Hafsteinsson), who has significant international experience himself having competed at the IAAF World Championships in London in 2017, while Commonwealth Games fifth-placer Taylor Campbell (John Pearson) is selected in the hammer.

Jenny Nesbitt (Chris Jones) joins Judd and Thompson in making back-to-back appearances at these Games and will compete over 10,000m while Mari Smith (Bud Baldaro) earns her second British call up this year having finished fifth at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March.

Adam Thomas (Leon Baptiste), like Smith, collected silver over 60m at the SPAR British Athletics Indoor Championships in February while Khai Riley-La Borde (Ray Gibbins) has international pedigree having claimed silver in the 110m hurdles at the European Under-23 Championships in 2017.

Spencer Duval, Team Leader, said: “I am delighted to announce a team of 22 athletes for the World University Games in Italy later this summer. The Games represent a great opportunity for all athletes selected to test themselves against the best students in the world with a handful returning from two years ago and many others set to experience the event for the first time. The team is full of quality throughout, in particular in the field events, and we look forward to seeing them perform to the best of their ability in Naples in July.”

British indoor silver medallist Smith’s selection in the 800m and that of Lucy Turner (Sam Stanislaus) in the heptathlon is subject to the pair proving their fitness ahead of the Games.

The British team selected for the World University Games Naples 2019:

MEN:

100m

Adam Thomas (Leon Baptiste)

200m

Jordan Broome (Ronnie Williams)

1500m

Michael Wilson (Bud Baldaro)

110m Hurdles

Miguel Perera (Jerzy Maciukiewicz)

Khai Riley-La Borde (Ray Gibbins)

3,000m Steeplechase

Mark Pearce (Luke Gunn)

High Jump

William Grimsey (Carol Jackson)

Long Jump

Samuel Khogali (Femi Akinsanya)

Jack Roach (Lukasz Zawila)

Hammer

Taylor Campbell (John Pearson)

Joseph Ellis (Jerry Clayton)

Discus

Nicholas Percy (Vesteinn Hafsteinsson)

Gregory Thompson (Neville Thompson)

Decathlon

Harry Maslen (Sam Stanislaus)

WOMEN:

800m

Mari Smith (Bud Baldaro)

1500m

Dani Chattenton (Kyle Bennett)

5,000m

Jessica Judd (Mick Judd)

10,000m

Jenny Nesbitt (Chris Jones)

100m Hurdles

Jessica Hunter (Scott Grace)

Half Marathon

Rebecca Murray (Alex Stanton)

Heptathlon

Emma Nwofor (Linford Christie)

Lucy Turner (Sam Stanislaus)