17th May 2018
Brits ready to shine at Great City Games Manchester
Andrew Pozzi, Sophie Hahn, Georgie Hermitage, Reece Prescod and Sir Mo Farah will lead the British charge as athletics takes over the streets of Manchester this weekend for the Great City Games and Great Run.
The Great City Games Manchester kick off proceedings with Pozzi (coach: Benke Blomkvist), Hahn (Joseph McDonnell), Hermitage (Paul MacGregor) and Prescod (Jonas Dodoo) among the leading Brits set to compete on a purpose built sprint track and pop up athletics arena.
Pozzi is set for a rematch with a man he beat on his way to 60m hurdles gold at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham in March, American Aires Merritt, this time in the 110m discipline at Deansgate. Pozzi’s British teammate David King (James Hillier) will also feature.
Multiple Paralympic and world champions Hahn and Hermitage are set to go head-to-head in the T37/38 150m with Commonwealth 100m gold medallist from 2010 Katrina Hart (Robert Ellchuk) joining them on the start line in Manchester.
Prescod, who less than a week ago clocked 10.04 seconds to impressively win the 100m at Shanghai leg of the Diamond League, is back in action over the traditional distance.
He has British competition in the form of Commonwealth Games 4x100m relay champion Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (Blomkvist) as well as Manchester native Andrew Robertson.
Richard Kilty, who joined forces with Aikines-Aryeetey to help England to Commonwealth 4x100m gold last month, goes over 150m in Manchester.
Another Commonwealth 4x100m relay champion, Bianca Williams (Lloyd Cowan) will take on American legend Allyson Felix in the women’s 150m, joined by fellow Brit Finette Agyapong (Coral Nourrice), who won her second successive indoor British 200m title in February.
Zak Skinner (Aston Moore), fourth twice at last year’s World Para Athletics Championships, will also race over 150m in the T13 category, which includes multiple Paralympic champion Jason Smyth.
Alicia Barrett (Toni Minichiello) and Yasmin Miller (Robert Smith) will line up in the 100m hurdles and Jacob Paul (Marina Armstrong) in the men’s 200m hurdles while there are two field events – the women’s long jump and men’s pole vault – set to be held at Albert Square.
Commonwealth bronze medallist Luke Cutts (Trevor Fox) will go head to head with British indoor pole vault champion Adam Hague (Fox), who finished fourth behind his English teammate at the Commonwealth Games.
Olympic finalist Jazmin Sawyers (Lance Brauman) will contest the women’s long jump and be joined by fellow Brits Abigail Irozuru (Dan Pfaff) and Rebecca Chapman (Francis Baker).
The Great City Games Manchester will take place on Friday with the Great Manchester Run scheduled for two days later with Farah set to line up in the 10km.
Farah (Gary Lough) set a new British record over the 26.2-mile marathon distance for third in London last month while Lily Partridge, who placed eighth in the capital herself, will contest the women’s 10km.
Another London Marathon winner will be in action with David Weir (Jenny Archer) leading the men’s wheelchair race where he’ll be joined by Commonwealth medallists Johnboy Smith (Archer) and Simon Lawson (Ian Thompson).
The Great City Games Manchester will be broadcast live on BBC Two from 6pm. Start lists and results can be found here