Jonny Mellor will captain the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team at the inaugural World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia.

Mellor – who earns his first GB & NI call-up since the 2014 European Team Championships – will compete in the men’s half marathon race on Sunday 1 October as he lines up alongside his compatriots Mahamed Mahamed (Idris Hamud, Southampton) and Jack Rowe (Tim Eglen, Aldershot Farnham and District).

The Liverpool Harrier finished in sixth place for Team England at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games marathon, his most notable result at a major Games or Championships during his career.

Mellor set a half marathon personal best of 62:06 earlier this year in Wilmslow, and he also holds a marathon PB of 2:10:03 from 2020.

On captaining the Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad in Riga, Mellor said,

“I was happy to be selected for the team, so to be chosen as Team Captain is a huge honour and I am looking forward to leading a very strong British team in Riga.

“I am not the only athlete who has had a journey in the sport, we have all experienced the rollercoaster ride. My last GB & NI vest was nine years ago in 2014, so my message to the team will be about grasping the opportunity because you don’t know when the next one will come or when you have the honour of representing GB & NI again.

“It is a fantastic opportunity to be on the start line racing against some of the best athletes in the world, so I will be telling the team to enjoy and embrace it. I want the whole team to have fun and leave it all out there on Sunday.”

The World Athletics Road Running Championships will be broadcast on the BBC iPlayer, Red Button and BBC Sport app from 9:40am on Sunday 1 October. Details HERE. 

More event info HERE. 

The Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia on Sunday 1 October:

Senior women

One Mile

Sarah McDonald (Andrew Walling, Birchfield)

5km

Verity Ockenden (Swansea)

Half Marathon

Abbie Donnelly (Rob Lewis, Lincoln Wellington)

Clara Evans (Pontypridd)

Samantha Harrison (Vince Wilson, Charnwood)

Calli Thackery (Hallamshire)

Senior men

One Mile

Callum Elson (Cambridge and Coleridge)

5km

Scott Beattie (Mike Bateman, Morpeth)

Half Marathon

Mahamed Mahamed (Idris Hamud, Southampton)

Jonny Mellor (Liverpool)

Jack Rowe (Tim Eglen, Aldershot Farnham and District)

Team Staff

Mark Pollard – Team Leader

Jo Wilkinson – Team Coach

Liz Yelling – Team Coach

Laura Moss – Physiotherapist