Cardiff sprinters Sam Gordon and Jeremiah Azu are joined by distance runner Beth Kidger in the Great Britain team for the European Athletics Team Championships Super League later this month. The three Welsh athletes will travel to Silesia in Poland to take on France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine and the host nation in the two day fixture on May 29-30.

Welsh Athletics has named a strong squad for the prestigious annual Loughborough international on May 23. World 400m hurdles champion Dai Greene is the standout name in a squad littered with Great Britain senior and junior internationals as well as a number of emerging debutants.

Two years ago Welsh sprint sensation Jeremiah Azu had European Under-20 gold within his grasp when disaster struck. The Cardiff athlete was just yards from victory in the 100m final when he pulled up sharply, clutching his hamstring in agony. The then 18-year-old’s challenge ended in pain and anguish, face down on the Ryavallen Athletics Stadium track in Sweden.

The return to action for some Welsh athletes continues this weekend at the European Indoor Championships selection trials. The events to be staged in Manchester, Loughborough and London have been organised following the cancellation of the British Indoor Championships, which should have been taking place this weekend in Glasgow. In order to give British athletes the opportunity to earn selection for next month’s European Indoor Championships in Poland, the smaller, elite only, Covid-compliant events have been set up at three separate venues across the weekend.

A number of Welsh athletes have successfully applied for funding under the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund Grants. Teenage sprint sensation Jeremiah Azu and junior female Welsh athlete of the year Bethany Moule are among those who will be supported by the scheme in 2021.

Rebecca Chapman’s return to form continued on Friday night when the Commonwealth Games long jumper won a bronze medal at the Muller British Athletics Championships. On a cold and breezy evening at the Manchester Regional Arena, the Cardiff Athletics stalwart produced a second round jump of 6.14m which was good enough to claim third place behind Abigail Irozuru and champion Jazmin Sawyers. Chapman has struggled with illness and injures since winning a silver medal with a personal best of 6.54 at the 2017 British Championships and representing Wales at the Commonwealth Games the following year.

Many of Wales’ top athletes will be heading for Manchester this weekend to compete at the Muller British Athletics Championships. With domestic meetings at a premium and some major events having fallen victim to COVID-19 restrictions, the two-day competition will be the highlight of the summer for many athletes.

Nuneaton was the scene of a high speed invasion from across the border on Sunday as Welsh sprinters stole the show at the Birchfield Harriers Invitational meeting. Leading the way were the capital city’s male sprinters, who won four out of the six 100m races on a blustery day at the Pingles Stadium One of the performances of the day came from Eli Onyewu, who obliterated his personal best of 11.05 to comfortably win his heat.

Owain Lloyd-Hughes won the clash of Wales’ fastest teenagers in a blistering race at Swansea on Sunday. The Neath Harrier just edged out Jeremiah Azu in one of the highlights at Welsh Athletics’ second post-COVID-19 lockdown pilot event of the weekend. Lloyd-Hughes produced a fast finish to claim the win against Azu, who was last season ranked as Europe’s fastest teenager having clocked a lightning fast 10.27 at the Loughborough International.

Jeremiah Azu was involved in a dramatic 60m final at the England Athletics age group championships in Sheffield at the weekend. The Cardiff teenager got off to a relatively slow start, but soon got into his stride to challenge Liverpool’s Henry Nwoke for the title with a late dip for the line in a desperately close finish. The commentators initially called Azu as the winner, but it soon became evident no-one could be certain whether the Welshman had retained his title or if Nwoke had just held on to earn the crown.

Sam Gordon led a Welsh sprinting showcase at the national indoor championships on Saturday. The Cardiff athlete took the men’s 60m title with a championship best performance as all eight finalists finished under seven seconds. In a medal clean sweep for Cardiff Athletics on their home NIAC track, Gordon claimed gold in 6.69 ahead of silver medallist Jeremiah Azu and third place Dewi Hammond, who both clocked 6.81.

Olympic year will well and truly get underway with a top quality Welsh Senior Indoor Athletics Championships in Cardiff on Saturday. Sixteen reigning Welsh champions, a host of Commonwealth Games internationals and a sprinkling of Olympians and world championships competitors will be among more than 350 athletes going head-to-head at the National Indoor Athletics Centre. One man harbouring Olympic dreams is sprinter Sam Gordon, who will face huge competition in the men’s 60m where Wales is producing some exceptionally exciting young talent.