With the UK Athletics Championships getting underway on 8-9 July 2023, we will be taking a look at who is in action, with national titles and places on the plane to Budapest for the World Athletics Championships on the line. Today, we take a look at the sprints and hurdles events.

The new British 100m record holder Zharnel Hughes (coach: Glen Mills, club: Shaftesbury Barnet) will take on 9.93 men Eugene Amo-Dadzie (Steve Fudge, Woodford Green Essex Ladies) and Reece Prescod (Marco Airale, Enfield & Haringey) with 2022 UK 100m champion Jeremiah Azu (Marco Airale, Cardiff) also on the 100m entry lists. Hughes and Prescod will also take on the 200m.

The women’s 100m will see British record holder Dina Asher-Smith (John Blackie, Blackheath & Bromley) and 2020 champion Imani-Lara Lansiquot (Ryan Freckleton, Sutton & District) going head-to-head.

2023 UK number one Daryll Neita (Marco Airale, Cambridge Harriers) leads the way in the women’s 200m entry lists improving her personal best to 22.23 this season. She will line up alongside Asher-Smith and number three in the UK Bianca Williams (Enfield & Haringey) who ran 22.75 at the European Team Championships. Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Aston Moore, Liverpool) will also race in the 200m heats, alongside the 100m hurdles on the track.

The women’s 400m will be another highly contested battle with several athletes starting 2023 in excellent form. Last year’s champion Victoria Ohuruogu (Christine Ohuruogu, Newham and Essex Beagles) has already improved her PB to 50.36 so far this season, and she will face current UK number two and three, Amber Anning (Brighton & Hove) and Nicole Yeargin (Boogie Johnson, Pitreavie). Olympic finalist Jodie Williams (Ryan Freckleton, Herts Phoenix) is on the entry list too.

European gold and bronze medallists Matthew Hudson-Smith (Gary Evans, Birchfield) and Alex Haydock-Wilson (Benke Blomkvist, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow) lead the men’s 400m line-up.

The sprint hurdles will see a battle between the top three in the UK rankings, Tade Ojora (Joanna Hayes, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow), Joshua Zeller (Adrian Brown, Bracknell) and David King (Tim O’Neil, City of Plymouth); all having eyes on the UK title. Ojora ran under the World Athletics qualifying standard – with a time of 13.26 – for Budapest in Arizona recently.

World finalist Cindy Sember (Chris Johnson, Woodford Green Essex Ladies) will be the favourite for the women’s 100m hurdles title, with UK number two Abigail Pawlett (Ashley Bryant, Trafford) also amongst the entrants.

Current UK number ones Jessie Knight (Marina Armstrong, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow) and Seamus Derbyshire (Nick Dakin, City of Stoke) head the entries for the women’s and men’s 400m hurdles.

The UK Athletics Championships get underway on Saturday 8 July at 11:30am and run through to 16:50 on Sunday 9 July.  

Get your tickets to watch the UK’s best athletes at the Manchester Regional Arena HERE.