British Athletics name athletes to receive funding ahead of Olympics
We're still over 18 months away until the Paris 2024 Olympics but athletes have now discovered if they have been nominated for membership on British Athletics' Olympic World Class Programme (22/23).
A group of 66 athletes will therefore receive UK Sport National Lottery funding, the aim to help them ahead of World Championships, 2024 European Championships and Olympics.
The WCP is split into four categories – Podium; Podium Potential; Relay and Confirmation.
British Athletics say that for any athlete nominated for the WCP, they must have "realistic potential and demonstrable performance capability and capacity to make the necessary progress to achieve a medal at least in one of the next two Olympic Games".
The four Olympic individual medallists from Tokyo 2020 – Keely Hodgkinson, Laura Muir, Josh Kerr and Holly Bradshaw – are unsurprisingly selected in the 'podium' category. Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who both suffered heartbreaking injuries in the Japanese capital, are also nominated.
The other athletes who will receive 'podium' level funding are: Alex Bell, Matthew-Hudson Smith, Nick Miller, Daryll Neita, Andrew Pozzi, Jazmin Sawyers, Cindy Sember and Jake Wightman.
23 athletes make up 'podium potential', 17 for 'relays' and 18 at 'confirmation' level.
"We look forward to working with the athletes and their coaches, and seeing where the World Class Programme can support them appropriately, and where it can add value to enhance their potential as we look ahead to Budapest, Paris and beyond," Stephen Maguire, Technical Director at UK Athletics, said.
"Alongside the success of the Futures programme we are seeing a huge amount of young talent emerging through the system and the standards are continuing to rise as those athletes develop and push on.
"With this introduction of young talent on to the Programme, joining a number of experienced athletes who have or are establishing their ability on the international stage, we will be looking to build on the momentum and success of the 2022 season and take that into the World Athletics Championships in Budapest next year, the Olympic Games in Paris, and looking further ahead, into Los Angeles in 2028.
"We’d like to thank UK Sport and the National Lottery for their continued investment in the World Class Programme. Their support is essential to helping our athletes be the best prepared they can be for the biggest competitions."
These are the athletes below chosen for the Olympic World Class Programme (22/23).
Olympic Podium (15):
Dina Asher-Smith; Alex Bell; Holly Bradshaw; Keely Hodgkinson; Matthew Hudson-Smith; Katarina Johnson-Thompson; Josh Kerr; Nick Miller; Laura Muir; Daryll Neita; Andrew Pozzi; Jemma Reekie; Jazmin Sawyers; Cindy Sember; Jake Wightman
Olympic Podium Potential (23):
Lizzie Bird; Emily Borthwick; Taylor Campbell; Molly Caudery; Harry Coppell; Oliver Dustin; Niamh Emerson; Tom Gale; Elliot Giles; Jake Heyward; Jessie Knight; Morgan Lake; Scott Lincoln; Eilish McColgan; Sophie McKinna; Naomi Metzger; Lawrence Okoye; Aimee Pratt; Charlotte Purdue; Daniel Rowden; Marc Scott; Katie Snowden; Callum Wilkinson
Olympic Relays (17):
Kristal Awuah; Zoey Clark; Emily Diamond; Beth Dobbin; Jona Efoloko; Adam Gemili; Zharnel Hughes; Richard Kilty; Imani-Lara Lansiquot; Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake; Ashleigh Nelson; Laviai Nielsen; Victoria Ohuruogu; Asha Philip; Ama Pipi; Jodie Williams; Nicole Yeargin
Olympic Confirmation Level (11):
Jeremiah Azu; Ellie Baker; Max Burgin; Piers Copeland; Charlie Dobson; Alex Haydock-Wilson; Holly Mills; Jade O’Dowda; Ben Pattison; Tommy Ramdhan; Matthew Stonier
Some notable omissions include discus thrower Nick Percy, long jumpers Lorraine Ugen and Abigail Irozuru, sprinter Joe Ferguson, miler Neil Gourley and sprinter Reece Prescod.
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