With selection at stake for the World Champs in Tokyo, this weekend's event in Birmingham is set to be as competitive as ever

National titles and selection for the World Championships in Tokyo in September are on offer at this weekend’s Novuna UK Athletics Championships in Birmingham.

A fortnight after the Diamond League in London, many of the country’s leading athletes will be aiming to secure automatic selection for Tokyo if they finish in the top two in their event, assuming they have the qualifying standard.

The two-day programme will be covered live on BBC website and iPlayer and you can follow our social media channels for news and athlete interviews.

READ MORE: UKA selection standards

In the sprints, Zharnel Hughes is entered for the men’s 100m and 200m and is set to face Louie Hinchliffe, Romell Glave, Eugene Amo-Dadzie, Jeremiah Azu and others over the shorter distance.

Who can forget Hughes’ rain-soaked UK 100m victory in 2023 amid a torrential storm in Manchester? This time, though, the athletes will be hoping for better weather at the Alexander Stadium.

Dina Asher-Smith is entered for the women’s 200m with Daryll Neita and Amy Hunt entered for both sprints and a host of up-and-coming sprinters like Success Eduan, Faith Akinbileje, Nia Wedderburn-Goodison and Renee Regis hot on their heels.

The 400m hurdles races will be among the most vibrant of the weekend. Emily Newnham has been a revelation in 2025 – improving her PB by more than two seconds – and is favourite in the women’s event while Alastair Chalmers defends his title against a number of athletes who already have world qualifiers such as Tyri Donovan and Seamus Derbyshire.

Chalmers will be hoping to avoid the drama of last year, too, when he managed to overturn a false start DQ decision before winning in an Olympic qualifier.

Max Burgin leads the men’s 800m line-up with world bronze medallist Ben Pattison in the mix in what promises to be a competitive race. The men’s 1500m will also be tough, as usual, with Jake Wightman, George Mills, Neil Gourley and Elliot Giles among the contenders, although world champion Josh Kerr has a bye to Tokyo so is racing the 5000m where Dave Bedford’s longstanding championship record of 13:17.2 from 1972 will once again be under threat.

The women’s middle-distance races will also be hotly contested with George Hunter Bell and Jemma Reekie entered for the 800m and 1500m. In the latter, Laura Muir is in the field.

A few days before tackling the European Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Innes FitzGerald will aim for World Champs selection in the 5000m in Birmingham as she takes on Hannah Nuttall, Melissa Courtney-Bryant and Megan Keith.

In the field, Molly Caudery will hope to secure her selection for the pole vault in Tokyo where she will be one of Britain’s leading medal hopes.

All eyes will also be on Morgan Lake, as she is in the form of her life in 2025 following her London Diamond League win over a field that included world record-holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson, meanwhile, is entered in the 100m hurdles, javelin and shot.

We also look forward to seeing Jazmin Sawyers in the women’s long jump. In only her third competition after Achilles surgery, she jumped 6.89m in Kalamata, Greece, at the end of May – the third best mark of her career and a World Championship qualifier.

Jacob Fincham-Dukes is another athlete on the comeback trail in the men’s long jump after tearing an adductor muscle during the indoor season.

Unbeaten at these championships since 2014 and fresh from England Athletics Champs victory last weekend, Scott Lincoln will be one of the warmest favourites of the weekend in the men’s shot put. Lawrence Okoye has also been in fine form in 2025 and will be favourite in the men’s discus.

There are a number of notable absentees. They include Keely Hodgkinson, who is still working her way back to fitness following a hamstring injury.

Matt Hudson-Smith is also not on the entries. The Olympic 400m silver medallist won the 200m UK title last year. The men’s one-lap event will still be one of the top events of the weekend, though, due to the presence of Charlie Dobson, fresh from his London Diamond League win.

Similarly, the women’s 400m is likely to be dominated by Amber Anning as the world indoor champion continues her brilliant progress.