Keely Hodgkinson and Jeremiah Azu to Captain GB & NI at European U23 Championships

Keely Hodgkinson (coach: Trevor Painter club: Leigh) and Jeremiah Azu (coach: Marco Airale club: Cardiff) will co-captain the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team at the European U23 Athletics Championships, in Espoo, Finland which will take place between 13^th– 16^th July.

Coming off the back of a strong weekend at the UK Athletics Championships, winning the 800m in a stadium record time of 1:57.26, the Olympic silver medallist Hodgkinson will be running in the women’s 400m on Thursday 13 July, at 11:00am (BST).

European senior bronze medallist and reigning U23 champion, Jeremiah Azu goes in the 100m in Finland. He ran a Welsh record of 10.08 in Manchester at the weekend so heads into the Championships in Espoo in scintillating form. The 22-year-old will compete in the men’s 100m on Thursday 13 July at 15:30 (BST).

On her appointment as co-captain, Hodgkinson said, “I am extremely proud to be captain of this U23 team. Standards for the GB & NI team are getting harder and harder each year, so it is such a privilege to be selected. It is a huge honour for all of the team to be selected to wear the GB vest; there are people at home who would give anything to be where we sit now. We have a great, experienced team and it is an honour to be a co-captain.”

Azu said, “I am delighted to be chosen as team captain. Self-confidence is a super power, and each one of the team has shown they have the standard to be here, so now is the time to believe in yourself.  It is not hard to be inspired by the team we have, with a range of medallists, from Olympic, Commonwealths, World and European medals, there is so much talent on this team”.

Team Leader, Dan Wagner, added, “Keely and Jeremiah bring great qualities to the role of team captains, and have valuable wisdom to pass onto their team mates. They both have been through the age group pathway and had many successes as seniors so far. They are both excellent role models who will lead a strong GB & NI team through these Championships”.

The Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the European U23 Championships, Espoo, Finland (13-16 July):

Women

100m

Alyson Bell (Anne Scott, Glasgow Jaguars)

Aleeya Sibbons (Coral Nourrice, Newham & Essex Beagles)

400m

Keely Hodgkinson (Trevor Painter, Leigh)

Yemi Mary John (Alan James, Woodford Green Essex Ladies)

1500m

Sarah Calvert (Lewis Walker, Livingston)

Shannon Flockhart (Mark Vile, Cambridge & Coleridge)

Alex Millard (Bill Foster, Invicta East Kent)

5000m

Megan Keith (Ross Cairns, Inverness)

Eloise Walker (Trevor Painter, Edinburgh)

10,000m

Alice Goodall (Mark Nixon, Edinburgh AC)

3000m Steeplechase

Sarah Tait (Linda Smith, Glasgow Jaguars)

Elise Thorner (Joe Franklin, Wells City)

100m Hurdles

Abigail Pawlett (Ashley Bryant, Trafford)

Pole Vault

Jade Spencer-Smith (Richard Humby, Harrow)

Triple Jump

Temi Ojora (Daniel Sawyers, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow)

Shot Put

Serena Vincent (Mike Winch, City of Portsmouth)

Hammer

Charlotte Payne (Paul Dickenson, Reading)

Javelin

Lauren Farley (Mark Chapman, Blackheath & Bromley)

Heptathlon

Jodie Smith (Ashley Bryant, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow)

4x100m Relay

Alyson Bell (Anne Scott, Glasgow Jaguars)

Alannah Fashanu (Ryan Freckleton, Shaftesbury Barnet)

Amy Hunt (Joe McDonnell, Charnwood)

Cassie-Ann Pemberton (Clarence Callender, Birchfield)

Aleeya Sibbons (Coral Nourrice, Newham & Essex Beagles)

Men

100m

Jeremiah Azu (Marco Airale, Cardiff)

200m

James Hanson (Jake Awe, Woking)

400m

Brodie Young (James McMenemy, Glasgow Jaguars)

800m

Ethan Hussey (Andrew Henderson, Leeds City)

Sam Reardon (Nigel Stickings, Blackheath & Bromley)

Reece Sharman-Newell (Dave Ragan, Basingstoke & Mid Hants)

1500m

Matthew Stonier (Sonia and Chris McGeorge, Invicta East Kent)

5000m

Will Barnicoat (Aldershot Farnham & District)

Charles Hicks (Shaftesbury Barnet)

Henry McLuckie (Geoff Watkin, Shaftesbury Barnet)

10,000m

Rory Leonard (Morpeth)

Tomer Tarragano (Dean Miller, Brighton & Hove)

3000m Steeplechase

Thomas Bridger (Mark Vile, Cambridge & Coleridge)

Luca Minale (Wayne Vinton, Gateshead)

400m Hurdles

George Seery (Stewart Marshall, Blackheath & Bromley)

Triple Jump

Archie Yeo (Lukasz Zawila, Kingston upon Hull)

Discus

Chukwuemeka Osammor (James Taylor, Sheffield & Dearne)

Hammer

Kenneth Ikeji (Paul Head, Basildon)

Decathlon

Oliver Thorner (Toby Stevenson, Wells City)

Jack Turner (Kevin Skinner, Exeter)

4x400m Relay

Emmanuel Agyare (Enfield & Haringey)

Ethan Brown (Blackheath & Bromley)

Isaac Cory (Sandra Woodman, Yate)

Edward Faulds (James Wright, Rugby & Northampton)

Brodie Young (James McMenemy, Glasgow Jaguars)