World indoor pole vault champion is part of the GB & Northern Ireland squad set to compete in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, from March 6-9
World indoor champion Molly Caudery will be joined in the British at the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn by sprinters Jeremiah Azu, Bianca Williams and Amber Anning, middle-distance runners Georgia Hunter Bell, Melissa Courtney-Bryant and George Mills, plus high jumper Morgan Lake and shot putter Scott Lincoln.
Caudery is in the squad despite missing last weekend’s Microplus UK Athletics Indoor Championships. Similarly, Courtney-Bryant missed the national championships and miler Elliot Giles pulled up with a calf problem partway through his 1500m final, but they have also been added to the squad.
Innes FitzGerald, 18, has also been selected after her recent European under-20 record at 3000m and battling her way to bronze at the UK Championships behind Hannah Nuttall and Laura Muir.
UK Athletics say their goal is to “maximise the number of medals won, while providing a development opportunity for athletes capable of finishing in the top eight at the championships”.
The performances in Apeldoorn will also act as a trial of sorts for the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, on March 21-23.
UKA’s head coach, Paula Dunn, said: “Historically, this has been a championship in which the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team has thrived, but it has also been a crucial way for athletes to step into the major championship arena for the first time. As we begin the LA Olympic and Paralympic cycle it is great to see a team that combines World and Olympic medallists alongside a number of developing athletes who are making their GB & NI debut. I am looking forward to the squad raising to the challenge, achieving PBs, reaching finals and battling for medals in Apeldoorn.”
Jeremiah Azu and Bianca Williams (Getty)
Women: 60m: Joy Eze, Amy Hunt, Bianca Williams; 400m: Amber Anning, Poppy Malik, Ama Pipi; 800m: Isabelle Boffey, Grace Vans Agnew, Erin Wallace; 1500m: Georgia Hunter-Bell, Ava Lloyd, Revee Walcott-Nolan; 3000m: Melissa Courtney-Bryant, Innes FitzGerald, Hannah Nuttall; Long Jump: Alice Hopkins; High Jump: Morgan Lake; Pole Vault: Molly Caudery; Shot Put: Serena Vincent; Pentathlon: Jade O’Dowda: 4x400m: Anning, Hannah Kelly, Malik, Emily Newnham, Lina Nielsen, Pipi.
Men: 60m: Jeremiah Azu, Romell Glave, John Otugade; 400m: Alex Haydock-Wilson; Efe Okoro; 800m: Justin Davies, Jack Higgins, Thomas Randolph; 1500m: Elliot Giles; Neil Gourley; Tom Keen; 3000m: Adam Fogg, George Mills, James West; 60m hurdles: Daniel Goriola; Triple jump: Efe Uwaifo; Shot put: Scott Lincoln; 4x400m: Alastair Chalmers, Seamus Derbyshire, Josh Faulds, Haydock-Wilson; Okoro; Lee Thompson; 4x400m mixed relay: comprised of existing relay selections.
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