Keely Hodgkinson, Josh Kerr and Katarina Johnson-Thompson headline strong Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad for World Athletics Championships
Published 27/08/2025 at 12:39 GMT+1
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The Great Britain and Northern Ireland team has been announced for the World Athletics Championships, which kicks off on September 13 in Tokyo. Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson will attempt to replicate her Paris heroics in the Japanese capital, while Josh Kerr and athletics legend Katarina Johnson-Thompson have received wildcards to compete.
Hodgkinson celebrates her first Olympic gold after emphatic 800m victory
Video credit: TNT Sports
Keely Hodgkinson, Josh Kerr and Katarina Johnson-Thompson have been named in the Great Britain and Northern Ireland (GB & NI) team for the upcoming World Athletics Championships.
Hosted in Tokyo, the event takes place from September 13-21, and will be available to watch live and on-demand via TNT Sports and discovery+.
The GB & NI squad was revealed on Tuesday, and within it are plenty of medal hopefuls.
None more so than Olympic 800m champion Hodgkinson. The 23-year-old's appearances have been few and far between since she stormed to glory in Paris through a hamstring injury, but she returned earlier this month in remarkable fettle.
Hodgkinson ran a mighty 1:54.74 at the Diamond League meeting in Silesia, the fastest time recorded in the women's 800 since her Olympic triumph - and her second-fastest time ever recorded.
The Brit then battled through poor conditions in Lausanne to record another win, finishing around a second slower four days later.
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Kerr produces storming finish to win men's 1500m but settles for second in Slam
Video credit: TNT Sports
Joining her in the 800m will be training partner Georgia Hunter Bell, who opted for the shorter race rather than the 1500m in which she won Olympic bronze in Paris. Jemma Reekie will also race the 800m.
Defending world champions Kerr and Johnson-Thompson, meanwhile, were given wildcards to compete in Tokyo.
Kerr claimed silver in the men's 1500m in the French capital last summer, and men's short distance glory at the Grand Slam Track meet in Miami earlier this year.
The 27-year-old remarkably bettered Jakob Ingebrigtsen in a stunning first-place finish in the men's 1500m at the World Championships in Budapest two years ago.
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Paris heptathlon silver medallist Johnson-Thompson, meanwhile, will look to add a third world title to her impressive CV - having previously taken gold in 2023 and 2019.
Paula Dunn, Performance Director of UK Athletics said: "We are proud to announce such a strong Novuna GB & NI team for Tokyo. This squad combines proven global medallists with exciting emerging athletes, and we are confident they can build on our recent successes at the highest level.
"Our clear ambition is to convert world-class performances into medals, while also developing depth across events for the future. Tokyo will provide the perfect stage to demonstrate the strength of British athletics, and I know the athletes will rise to the occasion."
Elsewhere, Daryll Neita and Dina Asher-Smith, who both came agonisingly close to making the podium in the Paris sprint events, will both take on the 100m and 200m in Tokyo, joined by Amy Hunt. They also make up three of the 4x100m team, having won Olympic silver last year.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
Zharnel Hughes will run both the 100m and 200m next month, while Jeremiah Azu - whose Olympic campaign was cut short by a false start - is in line for the 100m.
Paris silver medallist Matt Hudson-Smith has been named for the men's 400m.
GB & NI team in full
Women
100m
- Dina Asher-Smith
- Amy Hunt
- Daryll Neita
200m
- Dina Asher-Smith
- Amy Hunt
- Daryll Neita
400m
- Amber Anning
- Yemi Mary John
- Victoria Ohuruogu
800m
- Georgia Hunter Bell
- Keely Hodgkinson
- Jemma Reekie
1500m
- Laura Muir
- Revee Walcott-Nolan
- Erin Wallace
5000m
- Melissa Courtney-Bryant
- Innes FitzGerald
- Hannah Nuttall
10,000m
- Calli Hauger-Thackery *
- Megan Keith *
400m Hurdles
- Lina Nielsen
- Emily Newnham
3000m Steeplechase
- Elise Thorner
- Sarah Tait *
100m Hurdles
- Marcia Sey *
High Jump
- Morgan Lake *
Long Jump
- Jazmin Sawyers
Pole Vault
- Molly Caudery
Hammer
- Anna Purchase *
Heptathlon
- Katarina Johnson-Thompson
- Jade O’Dowda *
- Abigail Pawlett *
Women’s 4×100
- Dina Asher-Smith
- Success Eduan
- Joy Eze
- Desiree Henry
- Amy Hunt
- Daryll Neita
Women’s 4×400
- Amber Anning
- Hannah Brier
- Poppy Malik
- Yemi Mary John
- Victoria Ohuruogu
- Nicole Yeargin
Men
100m
- Jeremiah Azu
- Romell Glave
- Zharnel Hughes
200m
- Toby Harries *
- Zharnel Hughes
400m
- Charlie Dobson
- Matt Hudson-Smith
- Samuel Reardon
800m
- Max Burgin
- Tiarnan Crorken
- Ben Pattison
1500m
- Elliot Giles
- Neil Gourley
- Josh Kerr
- Jake Wightman
5000m
- George Mills
3000m Steeplechase
- Zak Seddon *
35k Race Walk
- Cameron Corbishley *
400m Hurdles
- Alastair Chalmers
- Seamus Derbyshire
- Tyri Donovan
110m Hurdles
- Tade Ojora *
Marathon
- Emile Cairess
Discus
- Lawrence Okoye
- Nick Percy
Hammer
- Jake Norris *
Shot Put
- Scott Lincoln *
Men’s 4×400
- Charlie Dobson
- Lewis Davey
- Toby Harries
- Matt Hudson-Smith
- Samuel Reardon
- Lee Thompson
Men’s 4×100
- Eugene Amo-Dadzie
- Jeremiah Azu
- Jona Efoloko
- Romell Glave
- Louie Hinchliffe
- Zharnel Hughes
*Selected subject to confirmation of a qualifying world ranking position on midnight Saturday August 30
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