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A total of 65 athletes have been chosen to be part of the UK Athletics Olympic World Class Programme* (WCP) for 2024/25. The WCP is divided into different levels based on athletes’ current and potential performance: Podium, Podium Potential, Relay, and Confirmation. The complete list of athletes is provided below. The 65 athletes selected this year compares to 67 in the previous year. In the top category of “Podium,” there were 17 athletes last year, which has now increased to 21. The “Podium Potential” category has seen a decrease from 19 athletes last year to 11 this year. In the “Olympic Confirmation” category, the number has decreased from 13 to 10 for 2024-25. Britain achieved medals in all five relays in Paris, and the number of funded relay athletes for the upcoming year is 23 compared to 18 previously.
Four athletes who were funded last year, including Holly Bradshaw, Andrew Pozzi, Jessie Knight, and Jodie Williams, have retired or pursued other opportunities. Additionally, Lizzie Bird, a European Championship medallist in the steeplechase, is focusing on a career as a lawyer and is not seeking funding as a full-time athlete.
Among the athletes not included in this year’s roster are Eilish McColgan, Scott Lincoln, Callum Wilkinson, Lawrence Okoye, Nick Percy, and Elliot Giles. New additions to the list of funded athletes include:
Georgia Bell – who transitioned from working full-time in an office to becoming a 1500m Olympic medallist.
Jacob Fincham-Dukes, who placed fifth in the Olympic long jump, has been included for the first time.
Sam Reardon, known for winning two Olympic medals after initially not being selected for the games, is also among the new additions.
Other additions to the relay squad include Lina Nielson, Amy Hunt, Louie Hinchcliffe, and Desiree Henry. Phoebe Gill, a 17-year-old who reached the Olympic 800m semi-final, and Romell Glave, the bronze medallist in the 100m at the 2024 Europeans, have also been added.
The list released by UK Athletics includes the name of each athlete’s coach, revealing changes in coaching assignments. It is observed that Morgan Lake is no longer coached by Robbie Grabarz, and Louie Hinchcliffe is now coached by Richard Kilty instead of Carl Lewis. The roster consists of 57 track athletes and 8 field athletes, reflecting the strengths of UK athletics.
WCP Athletes: listed with name, club, and coach
*The Olympic WCP is supported by UK Sport’s National Lottery initiative to nurture talented athletes with the potential to win medals at upcoming Olympic Games and major championships.
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