6th June 2017
EIGHT TO #REPRESENT AT EUROPEAN COMBINED EVENTS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
Eight athletes are to represent British Athletics at the European Combined Events Team Championships in the Super League of the championships on July 1-2 in Tallinn, Estonia.
Leading the male selections are the former British indoor Heptathlon record holder John Lane (Toni Minichiello), and Welsh Decathlon record holder Ben Gregory.
Aided by bests in the high jump and discus, Lane posted an impressive personal best score of 7965 in the Decathlon out in California back in April to strengthen his hold on eighth place in the British all-time rankings. For Gregory, the championships will offer an opportunity for him to transfer the form seen on the indoor circuit – where he scored 5834 for an indoor heptathlon best – over to the Decathlon.
Accompanying the pair in the Estonian capital will be Andrew Murphy (Colin Sinclair) and James Finney (Sam Stanislaus), both of whom are British Athletics debutants.
Kilbarchan athlete Murphy has fared well so far in 2017 with a host of significant bests across both track and field, while for Finney selection comes on the back of the 19-year-old being crowned England’s senior Decathlon champion following his first full outing in the discipline since 2014 for a score of 7263.
Commonwealth Games Heptathlon bronze medallist Jessica Taylor-Jemmett (Mike Holmes) headlines the female selections as she contests her second heptathlon of the season following a silver medal with 5674 at the English Senior Combined Events Championships two weekends ago.
Joining Taylor-Jemmett on the team will be Crawley’s Jo Rowland (Toni Minichiello) and Birchfield Harrier U23 Katie Stainton (Kelly Sotherton), with Stainton having already competed for British Athletics this year at Prague’s Indoor Combined Events International back in January.
Completing the quartet of women on the team is Zoe Hughes (Kebba Tolbert), with the 19-year-old USA-based athlete making her senior debut following impressive form already this season which has seen her add 473 points to her Heptathlon best.
The British Athletics team for the European Combined Events Team Championships in the Super League on July 1-2
Men
John Lane (Toni Minichiello)
Ben Gregory (Aston Moore)
Andrew Murphy (Colin Sinclair)
James Finney (Sam Stanislaus)
Women
Jessica Taylor-Jemmett (Mike Holmes)
Jo Rowland (Toni Minichiello)
Katie Stainton (Kelly Sotherton)
Zoe Hughes (Kebba Tolbert )