Hodgkinson And Hunter-bell Aim For British 800m One-two At Worlds

Keely Hodgkinson and her training partner, Georgia Hunter-Bell, will vie for an audacious British one-two complete 800m astatine nan World Athletics Championships aft UK Athletics announced their squad for Tokyo.

Hunter-Bell had faced nan difficult decision complete whether to tally nan 1500m, wherever she won bronze successful past year’s Paris Olympics, aliases nan shorter distance. However, aft overmuch deliberation her shape complete nan 800m – including 2 Diamond League victories successful Stockholm and London – and nan deficiency of extent successful nan arena has pushed her towards 2 laps.

Hodgkinson, who returned from a 376-day layoff to run nan ninth fastest clip successful history earlier this month, is by immoderate region Britain’s champion chance of golden successful Tokyo arsenic she seeks to backmost up her Olympic title.

However location will beryllium respective different Britons pinch badge aspirations, including Budapest 2023 world champions Josh Kerr and Katarina Johnson-Thompson successful nan men’s 1500m and women’s heptathlon. Matthew Hudson-Smith will besides beryllium among nan favourites successful nan men’s 400m.

Elsewhere George Mills, who collapsed Mo Farah’s British 5000m grounds earlier this summer, is selected aft breaking his wrist successful nan London Diamond. Emile Cairess, who came 4th successful nan Olympic marathon successful Paris, besides returns aft wounded forced him to miss nan London marathon successful April.

Paula Dunn, nan capacity head of UK Athletics, promised that nan British squad would emergence to nan juncture arsenic they activity to emulate their record-equalling full of 10 medals from nan worlds successful Budapest 2 years ago.

“We are proud to denote specified a beardown squad for Tokyo,” she said. “This squad combines proven world medallists pinch breathtaking emerging athletes, and we are assured they tin build connected our caller successes astatine nan highest level.

“Our clear ambition is to person world-class performances into medals, while besides processing extent crossed events for nan future. Tokyo will supply nan cleanable shape to show nan spot of British athletics, and I cognize nan athletes will emergence to nan occasion.”