Great Britain has an impressive athletics record at the Olympics. Team GB has won 55 Gold, 80 Silver, and 70 Bronze medals in Athletics at the Olympics. This year, Britain is sending a team of 327 sportspeople, out of which 63 will be competing in various athletics categories.
The UK Athletics Championships and Olympic Trials took place in Manchester, England on June 29-30. Athletes competed for 41 national titles at the Manchester Regional Arena.
Here’s how things panned out in the UK Athletics Olympics trials 2024:
Day 1 – Saturday, June 29
Women’s Javelin
In the first field event of the two-day championships, Freya Jones, the new javelin Welsh record holder, finished in second place behind Bekah Walton. Jones had a best throw of 51.97m in the second round, but Walton secured the gold with a throw of 54.11m. Sarah-Anne de Kremer won the bronze medal and finished third with 47.70m.
Men’s Long Jump
Jacob Fincham-Dukes secured his place at the Paris Olympics 2024 after successfully defending his national title in Manchester. He ended the event with a jump of 7.95 meters. Alexander Farquharson finished in second place with a jump of 7.89 meters, while Alessandro Schenini took the third spot with a jump of 7.77 meters.
Men’s High Jump
The Scottish high jumper William Grimsey claimed the title of British champion with a jump measuring 2.15 meters. Akin Coward and Divine Duruaku tied for second place with jumps of 2.11 meters each. They both received silver medals.
Men’s Discus
Chukwuemeka Osammor outperformed five-time national champion Nick Percy to win the gold medal. Percy achieved the second-best mark in the UK all-time rankings earlier this summer with a throw of 67.73m.
Chukwuemeka clinched the UK title with a distance of 59.98m, surpassing Percy’s 58.56m. Nick Wedderman took the third spot with a throw of 56.45 meters.
Women’s Pole Vault
One week after setting a new British record of 4.92m in Toulouse, Molly Caudery showcased her talent by winning the UK title with a jump of 4.83m in Manchester.
Jade Spencer-Smith finished in second place with a vault of 4.31 meters, securing the silver medal. Sophie Ashurst took the third spot with a vault of 4.21 meters, claiming the bronze medal.
Women’s Triple Jump
Naomi Metzger has had surgeries on her knee and quad within the past year, both on her take-off leg. Despite these challenges, she made a remarkable comeback on Saturday, securing her seventh UK outdoor title and 11th national crown in total.
The 26-year-old achieved a jump of 13.71m (0.2) to claim victory, just five weeks after adapting to taking off on her ‘wrong leg’.
Women’s Hammer Throw
Anna Purchase claimed her inaugural national title in the women’s hammer event with a throw of 68.79m. Despite being 16th in the world rankings and meeting the criteria to compete at the Paris Games, Purchase was not selected due to a UK Athletics policy that imposes separate qualifying standards.
Men’s Shot Put
Scott Lincoln delivered an outstanding performance in the men’s shot put, achieving the best result in 20 years and matching javelin thrower Goldie Sayers’ record of 10 consecutive titles.
Despite the unusual setup of using a throws circle near the track’s finish line in damp conditions, Lincoln maintained his excellent form from a season that included a personal best throw of 21.31m and a fourth-place finish at the European Championships in Rome.
Women’s 100m Hurdles
Cindy Sember qualified for her third Olympics after winning the 100m hurdles event. She took 12.85 seconds to win the gold medal. Sember has been named in Team GB for the Paris Olympics 2024. Tiffany Porter, Cindy’s sister, has also competed for Team GB in the 100m hurdles at three Olympic Games.
Women’s 3000m Steeplechase
After an impressive outing in the Paris Diamond League, Lizzie Bird qualified for the Paris Olympics after winning the 3000m steeplechase event. She finished the race in 9:29.67 which is slightly more than she took to win the bronze medal at the Paris Diamond League.
Women’s 5000m
Hannah Nutall won the gold medal in the 5000m event and took 15:13.70 to finish the race. The 27-year-old, however, won’t be competing in the Pairs Olympics as she failed to match the qualifying standard of 14:52.00.
Women’s 100m
Daryll Neita, the second-fastest British female sprinter of all time won the gold medal in the 100m event. She took 11.24 seconds to finish the race, which was just 0.17 seconds more than second-ranked Amy Hunt.
Neita will also compete at the Paris Olympics in the 200m event. She has been selected by Team GB to participate in the 4 x 100m relay race alongside Dina Asher-Smith, Desiree Henry, Amy Hunt, Imani-Lara Lansiquot, and Bianca Williams.
Men’s 100m
Louie Hinchliffe qualified for his first Olympic Games after an impressive performance in the 100m event. He finished the race in 10.18 seconds. Jeremiah Azu won the silver medal with a timing of 10.25 seconds.
Azu has qualified for the Paris Olympics in the 100m event along with Zharnel Hughes. The trio of Hinchliffe, Azu, and Hughes are a part of the 4 x 100m relay team as well alongside Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake.
Day 2 – Sunday, June 30
Women’s 5000m Race Walk
Gracie Griffiths, the 17-year-old Welsh athlete became the British champion in the 5000m race walk. She finished the event with a time of 23:53.93.
Men’s Javelin
Joe Dunderdale won the javelin event with a mark of 75.06m. It was his first UK javelin title in seven years. Ben East finished runner-up with 74.16m, while Daniel Bainbridge won the bronze medal with 70.57m.
Men’s 10km Race Walk
Callum Wilkinson broke his own record in the 10km event. He finished the race in 38 minutes 43.91 and qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024. Cameron Corbishley finished in second place with a time of 40:12.50, achieving a personal best and securing the silver medal.
Men’s Triple Jump
In a thrilling final round, Efe Uwaifo managed to defend his triple jump title with a jump of 16.22m (0.1), narrowly surpassing Ben Williams’ leading jump of 16.10m (0.3) from the third round.
Women’s High Jump
Morgan Lake won the gold medal in the high jump event (1.85m) and qualified for Team GB in the Paris Olympics 2024. It will be her third appearance at the Olympics. She became the first British woman to reach the final of the high jump since Debbie Marti in 1992. In the Tokyo Olympics 2020, she qualified for the final once again but had to withdraw due to an injury.
Women’s Discus
Divine Oladipo became the British champion in discus throw at the Olympics Trials 2024 with a throw of 54.78 meters. Zara Obamakinwa finished in second place, while Jade Lally won the bronze medal.
Men’s Pole Vault
Harry Coppell became the British champion once again after losing the final to Charlie Myers in 2023. He finished the event with a jump of 5.40 meters. Coppell finished in 7th place in the Tokyo Olympics. This year, he missed the qualification mark.
Men’s 1500m Ambulant
Steven Bryce, the Scottish athlete won the 1500m Ambulant Race with a time of 4:03.31. Brandon Ballard and Kieran O’Hara won the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Women’s 400m Wheelchair
Samantha Kinghorn won the event with a time of 54.55, earning the gold medal. Melanie Woods finished in second place with a time of 56.98, securing the silver medal. Ellis Kottas took the third spot with a time of 1:12.33, claiming the bronze medal.
Men’s 3 km Steeplechase
Phil Norman competed in the 3 km steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympics after winning the 2020 British title. He won the event once again this year in a time of 8 minutes 18.65 seconds.
Women’s Long Jump
Jade O’Dowda won the women’s long jump event with a jump of 6.55 meters, setting a personal best. She will compete for Team GB in the heptathlon along with Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
Men’s 5000m
James West won the men’s 5 km event at the trials and finished the race in 13 minutes and 43.62 seconds. However, he will not be a part of Team GB’s three-member team. Patrick Dever, George Mills, and Sam Atkin are the athletes who will be in Paris. Dever finished in second place in the event at the trials.
Men’s 110m Hurdles
Daniel Goriola, Sam Bennett, and David King won the medals in the 110m hurdles event. However, they will not make it to Paris. Tade Ojora, who won the 2023 British Athletics Championships has been named in Team GB for the 110m hurdles event.
Women’s 400m Hurdles
Lina Nielsen won the gold medal in the 400m hurdles event in 54.81secs. Jessie Knight missed the first spot with a mark of 0.55 seconds. Both athletes have qualified for Paris.
Men’s 400m Hurdles
Alastair Chalmers, the Guernsey athlete, overcame a false start accusation to win his fifth consecutive British title in the 400m hurdles. He set a personal best time of 48.54 seconds and qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Chalmers’ victory marks the first time a Guernsey athlete has qualified for the Team GB athletics team for an Olympic Games since Lee Merrien’s selection for the marathon at the London Olympics 2012.
Men’s Hammer Throw
Jake Norris won the men’s hammer throw event in the trials with a throw of 76.03 meters. The two-time British champion has failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Men’s 200m
Matthew Hudson-Smith, the British and European 400m record holder, won the 200m event. He recorded his personal best time and finished in 20.34 seconds. Hudson-Smith has been named to the 400m and 4 x 400m relay teams in Paris.
Women’s Shot Put
Amelia Campbell secured her second British outdoor title by emerging victorious in the shot put event with a throw measuring 17.59 meters.
Women’s 200m
Dina Asher-Smith has been named in Team GB for the Paris Olympics in the 100m, 200m, and 4 x 100m relay events. She won the 200m in 22.18 seconds and set a new Championship Record.
Women’s 400m
Amber Anning is one of three athletes named to Team GB for the Paris Olympics. Laviai Nielsen and Victoria Ohuruogu are the other two. Anning won the 400m event in the trials and finished in 50.47 seconds.
Women’s 800m
Phoebe Gill won the gold medal in the 800m event with a time of 1 minute and 58.66 seconds. Along with Keely Hodgkinson and Jemma Reekiel, she qualified for Paris.
Men’s 400m
Charlie Dobson recorded his season-best performance in the men’s 400m event. He won the gold medal in the 400m event with a timing of 44.56 seconds. He has qualified for the 400m event and has been named in the 4 x 400m relay team.
Men’s 800m
Ben Pattison won the 800m event and was selected to represent Team GB at the Paris Olympics 2024. He achieved a new personal best of 1:42.27 and moved up to second place on the British all-time 800m list when he finished fifth at the Herculis Meeting in Monaco on July 12.
Women’s 1500m
Georgia Bell has been in excellent form recently. She won the silver medal at the European Athletics Championships 2024 in Rome. In the trials, Bell won the gold medal in the 1500m event and subsequently made it to Team GB.
She achieved a personal best time of 3:56.54 in the 1500 meters at the 2024 Meeting de Paris, which placed her second on the UK all-time rankings and also set a new English national record.
Men’s 1500m
Neil Gourley won the 1500m event in a time of 3 minutes and 37.67 seconds. George Mills finished in second place with a time of 3:38.29. Both of them along with Josh Kerr have qualified for Paris in the 1500m event.