Jodie Williams of Britain wins the 200m final (© Getty Images)
2009 double World Youth champion Jodie Williams is one of 13 British athletes named in the first wave of selections for the IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada, from 19-25 July 2010.
Track star Williams, currently ranked number one in the world over 200m (22.79) and UK junior record holder and world number three over 100m (11.24), reinforced her domestic dominance with a sprint double at the recent England Under-20 Championships and World Junior Trials.
Demonstrating the strength in the junior ranks, she will be joined on the global stage by field event duo Lawrence Okoye and Sophie Hitchon who are ranked second and third in the world for 2010 to date in the discus and hammer respectively.
While UK junior record holder Hitchon has enjoyed international success with Commonwealth Youth Games gold in 2008 and European Junior Championships bronze in 2009, Okoye, a relative newcomer to track and field athletics, will earn his first Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland team vest courtesy of a 63.92m effort to win the England under-20 title – a mark which took him to number two on the UK All-Time list (under-20).
Also named in the first wave are Kieran Showler-Davis in the 200m and Niall Brooks in the 800m, both athletes now moving into the world class category following their lifetime best performances of 20.75 and 1:47.29 in the Trials.
Kevin Tyler, UKA Strategic Head of Coaching and Development and World Juniors Team Leader, said:
“We’ve named these athletes in our first round of selections based on the ‘first eligible athlete past the post in the relevant Trials’ principle, provided that they had achieved the UKA qualifying standard within the qualification period.
“We’re fortunate that we have a number of athletes who place well in the current world age group rankings and we hope that they can now focus, along with their coaches, on their preparations to do justice to those rankings in Canada.”
The second and final wave of selections, including relay teams, will be announced week commencing 5 July 2010.
Aviva GB & NI Team
Men
100m: Deji Tobais; 200m: Kieran Showler-Davis; 800m: Niall Brooks; 400mH: Jack Green; High Jump: Sam Bailey; Discus: Lawrence Okoye; Javelin: Daniel
Women
100m: Jodie Williams; 200m: Williams; 1500m: Laura Weightman; 5000m: Emelia Gorecka; High Jump: Isobel Pooley; Pole Vault: Sally Scott; Hammer: Sophie Hitchon
UK Athletics for the IAAF
