Great Britain has announced a formidable 98-member squad for the European Athletics Championships, set to take place in Birmingham next month. The team features some of the nation's most prominent track and field stars, including Olympic medallists Keely Hodgkinson, Dina Asher-Smith, and Katarina Johnson-Thompson. The championship, running from 10 to 16 August, marks a significant occasion as the UK hosts the event for the very first time at Alexander Stadium.
Both Olympic champion Hodgkinson, competing in the 800m, and Asher-Smith, in the 100m, will be looking to defend their European titles on home soil. Their inclusion, alongside many other high-profile British athletes, follows their decision to skip the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who secured a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, makes her return to the heptathlon, having been forced to withdraw from the 2024 championships due to injury.
The squad also boasts local hero Matt Hudson-Smith, the Birmingham-born 400m Olympic silver medallist and four-time European champion. Hudson-Smith will compete in the men's 400m at the very venue where a stand bears his name, adding a special local flavour to the event. Other notable inclusions are Georgia Hunter Bell, a 2024 European silver medallist and world indoor champion in the 1500m, who will compete alongside 2022 champion Laura Muir, and former 1500m world champion Jake Wightman.
Paula Dunn, Great Britain's performance director, expressed her confidence in the team, stating, "To compete at a major championship is always a tremendous achievement, and it makes the occasion even more special with the event taking place on home soil. This team reflects the strength and depth of talent we have across track and field, bringing together established international medallists alongside an exciting group of emerging athletes. I have every confidence that this team will rise to the occasion." The squad also features Jake Heyward, who recently set a new Welsh one-mile record, though Scotland's Josh Kerr, who broke a world record in the same London Diamond League race, has opted out.
Adding an international dimension to the championships, Norway's two-time Olympic gold medallist Jakob Ingebrigtsen appears poised to make his return from injury. Ingebrigtsen, who has not raced in 2026 following Achilles surgery earlier this year, strongly hinted at his participation with an Instagram post reading: "I've heard Birmingham is nice this time of year." The 25-year-old has a dominant European Championships record, having won the 1500m and 5,000m double at the past three editions in Berlin, Munich, and Rome.