Jazmin Sawyers has been named as the team captain for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the 2023 European Indoor Championships.
Sawyers, the two-time Olympic long jump finalist, and European bronze medallist in 2022, will lead the team in Istanbul, Turkey and the competition gets underway today (Thursday 2 March).
The City of Stoke athlete has already jumped an indoor personal best of 6.75m this season, and she sits fourth in the European standings so far in 2023.
Sawyers is a Championship performer, bringing her best in major finals, winning Commonwealth Games and European silver in 2014 and 2016 respectively. The women’s long jump gets underway with the qualifying pools at 8:10am (GMT) on Saturday 4 March, but before that, she will give a captain’s speech to the GB & NI team on Wednesday.
On receiving the captaincy, Sawyers said: “I am so proud to be named captain, it’s always an honour to pull on the Great Britain and Northern Ireland vest, so to go a step further and captain this team means a lot to me.
“One of my favourite parts of a Championships is in the team meeting when you hear from the captain and the team leader, and you leave the room ready to go and compete. So, there is quite a lot of pressure on me now I am in that position, but what an honour to be asked.
“I’ve been on teams for seven years now and I have never quite felt like the captain type, so I hope I can do the role justice. I’m confident this team will get the year off to a great start.”
Technical Director, Stephen Maguire, added, “Jazmin is a consistent and high-performing athlete at the major championships, and she is great example for the rest of the team competing here in Istanbul.
“She is a medallist at major championships and a finalist at two Olympic Games, so she brings a wealth experience to the role. She has been involved in senior GB & NI squads for nearly a decade, and competed in junior Championships before then, so she can share her experiences which will be beneficial to the whole team.”