The first athletes selected for this summer’s European Athletics Championships have been confirmed with 10 marathon runners set to compete in Munich this August. Trials winner Becky Briggs leads the women’s team as she targets the Championships in Germany later in the summer.
The City of Hull athlete clocked a PB of 2:29.04 at the Manchester Marathon to secure the British vest, having previously competed for GB & NI at the World Cross Country Championships and World Half Marathon Championships in recent years.
Second in the trial, Naomi Mitchell, has also expressed her wish to compete at the Europeans so has been selected following her PB of 2:30.54 at the weekend.
Rosie Edwards and Alice Wright, who both ran inside the standard of 2:32.00 during the qualifying window, also join the British team. GB & NI internationals Ross Millington and Andrew Heyes, who both made successful debuts in the marathon last Sunday, have both been added to the men’s marathon team. Millington ran 2:11.37 in second place in the trial race, while Heyes crossed the line in a time of 2:13.52. The duo will be joined by Mohamud Aadan, Luke Caldwell, Ben Connor and Philip Sesemann in the squad for Munich 2022.
Several athletes have achieved qualifying standards for the three major championships and Games this summer, so athletes and their coaches have made performance decisions on which event to prioritise, and those announced today have chosen the European Championships. Last month we announced five athletes for the marathon at the World Athletics Championships, therefore as per policy, those athletes were ineligible to compete at the Championships in Munich.
Finally, over the next few months, Home Nation Commonwealth Teams will be confirming their marathon selections where they will name athletes that have prioritised that competition ahead of the European Championships. Following the ratification process operated by each Home Nation, selections across all the summer championships will be finalised and confirmed.
Olympic Head Coach, Christian Malcolm, said: “It has been really pleasing to see so many marathon athletes run inside the qualifying standards for major championships and Games this summer. Competitiveness for places has been high and that is really encouraging for the event in the UK. As a result, athletes have had to make performance decisions on which championships they focus on this season, and we support them in their decisions.
“We have a good mixture of athletes in this European marathon squad, and it has been great to see a number of athletes who have excelled in their first marathons. We have several GB & NI internationals in the team and also some earning their first ever British vest, so it is a proud moment for all the athletes, their coaches and their support teams.”
The rest of the selections for the European Athletics Championships will take place in August 2022.
The first British marathon athletes selected for the European Athletics Championships in Munich this August (15-21):
Senior Women
Becky Briggs (Geoff Watkin, City of Hull)
Rosie Edwards (Robert Hawkins, Rotherham)
Naomi Mitchell (Nick Anderson, Reading)
Alice Wright (Ben Rosario, Worcester)
Senior men
Mohamud Aadan (Paul Oppe, Thames Valley)
Luke Caldwell (Dorking & Mole Valley)
Ben Connor (Steve Vernon, Derby)
Andrew Heyes (Mara Yamauchi, Hallamshire)
Ross Millington (Steve Vernon, Stockport)
Philip Sesemann (Andrew Henderson, Leeds City)