Britain announces thinner team for the World Championships in Athletics

100m sprinter Dina Asher-Smith is among the contenders for Team GB medals as around 20 athletes missed out. Photo: PA/Martin Rickett

Great Britain will be represented by the smallest team at the World Championships in Athletics since 2005 after about 20 athletes were forfeited due to UK Athletics' controversial selection policy.

Technical director Stephen Maguire defended this approach, saying it was about focusing on those athletes who could compete for the finals or medals, but acknowledged that the inclusion of only 12 men in the individual events showed a need to raise standards.< /p>

World Athletics allows athletes to compete in championships through a combination of qualifying times and world rankings, but UK Athletics also has its own qualifying standards and will not even select invited athletes if they fail to meet their time or distance.

This caused considerable anger from some of these athletes, and as the policy will also apply to the Paris Olympics next year, legal action is being considered.

Two-time British shot put champion Amelia Strickler has threatened legal action against UK Athletics after narrowly missing out on selection. Photo: PA/Martin Rickett

“Athletes will get hurt – the standards are tough,” Maguire said. “Politics has long been absent. My advice: grab onto the nettles, train hard and get in a good position. Of course, when people don't set standards, there's probably little emotion. Emotion is an important part of elite sport.

“There are standards that we have set and current form is very important. I'm happy with the composition. The crossbar is up. It's about the opportunity to reach the final and the opportunity to compete for a medal.”

A total of 51 athletes were named on the UK team on Friday, but once World Athletics enters the number is likely to rise to 55. Invitations have been sent out and UK Athletics have vetted those who meet their standards.

At the last three World Championships there were respectively 97, 77 and 80 British athletes, but in 2009 and 2007 there were only 60, and in 2005 this number dropped to 47. No men competed in any distances above 1500, and only one man participated in away competitions. , Maguire acknowledged the gaps but is adamant that UK Athletics standards are not overly demanding and that solutions are cost-independent.

“We need to invest in away competition,” he said. “I think the honest thing we're doing, and people might not like it, is the clarity of the selection policy. If 80 people reach the level we have set, hallelujah.”

Medal hopes like Dinah Asher-Smith, Keely Hodgkinson, Jarnel Hughes and Laura Muir are all on the team, as is Eilish McColgan after an injury that forced her to miss the April London Marathon.

Team GBWomen

100m: Dina Asher-Smith, Imani-Lara Lancicott, Daryl Neita
200m: Dina Asher-Smith, Daryl Neita, Bianca Williams
400m: Victoria Ohuruogu, Ama Pipi
800m: Isabelle Boffy, Keely Hodgkinson, Gemma Rickey
1500m: Melissa Courtney-Bryant, Laura Muir, Katie Snowden
5000m: Megan Keith, Amy-Eloise Markovc
10,000m: Eilish McColgan, Jessica Warner-Judd,
3000m Hurdles: < /strong>Aimee Pratt
100m Hurdles: Cindy Sember
400m Hurdles: Jesse Knight
4×100 Relay m: Dina Asher-Smith, Alison Bell, Imani-Lara Lancicott, Daryl Neita, Asha Phillip, Annie Tago, Bianca Williams
4x400m Relay: Amber Anning, Yemi Mary John, Jesse Knight, Laviai Nielsen, Victoria Ohuruogu, Ama Pipi, Nicole Irgin
High Jump: Morgan Lake
Pole Vault: < /strong>Molly Codery, Holly Bradshaw
Long jump: Jazmine Sawyers
Heptathlon: Katarina Johnson-Thompson
Marathon : Natasha Cockram