GB athletics stars named for World Indoors

The GB team to compete at the World Indoor Championships in Portland, USA on 17th-20th March has been confirmed as:

Men's team:
60m: James Dasaolu, Andrew Robertson
1500m: Charlie Grice, Chris O'Hare
3000m: Lee Emanuel, Tom Farrell
60m hurdles: Lawrence Clarke
High Jump: Chris Baker, Robbie Grabarz
Long Jump: Dan Bramble, Greg Rutherford

Robbie Grabarz, Men's High Jump, UK Indoors, EIS, Sheffield, Feb 2016

Women's team:
60m: Dina Asher-Smith, Asha Philip
800m: Lynsey Sharp, Adelle Tracey
3000m: Josephine Moultrie, Steph Twell
60m hurdles: Tiffany Porter, Serita Solomon
High Jump: Isobel Pooley
Long Jump: Shara Proctor, Lorraine Ugen
Pentathlon: Morgan Lake

 

Steph Twell, Women's 3000m, UK Indoors, EIS, Sheffield, Feb 2016

Richard Kilty missing World Indoors to prepare for Rio Olympics instead

Reigning World indoor champion Richard Kilty will not defend his 60m title in Portland, Oregon later this month and will instead choose to focus on the Rio Olympics.

Richard Kilty, Men's 60m heats, UK Indoor Athletic Championships, EIS Sheffield, Feb 2016

Falling foul of a false start in the final of the 60m, Kilty was disqualified from a shot at James Dasaolu who eventually won and earned a trip to Portland.  Initially UK Athletics were keen on him defending his title alongside Dasaolu, but Kilty has decided instead to start his outdoor training early.

"Whilst this has been a really tough decision, looking at the big picture it's the smart call," he tweeted.

"This year is all about the Olympics, so going into Portland short of races and taking a gamble that I could run myself into form makes no sense when I could start to focus on my outdoor season early."

"Individually I'm aiming for sub-10 and making the Olympic final in 2016,....as part of the GB 4x100m relay squad, we have a real shot at getting on the podium and are 100% focused on achieving success as a team."

Katarina Johnson-Thompson wins silver in the long jump at the World Indoor Athletics in Sopot

Katarina Johnson-Thompson won her first major medal with silver in the long jump at the World Indoor Championships.  The Liverpudlian led after the second round with a personal best of 6.81m, but she was pipped to gold by France's Eloyse Lesueur who leapt out to 6.85m.

This eclipsed her previous best of 6.75m, set at the recent UK Indoor Championships and bodes well for a great season for her following on from her great performances in the high jump and hurdles as well this year.