Three Welsh Athletes Named In GB Team For Euros In Glasgow

By Owen Morgan

Three Welsh athletes have been included in the Great Britain team for next month’s European Indoor Athletic Championships.

Melissa Courtney, Owen Smith and Joe Brier have been named in a 48-strong squad for the event which starts in Glasgow on March 1.

Middle distance star Courtney earned her place in the 3,000m by claiming a silver medal at last weekend’s British Championships.

The Poole AC athlete already had the qualifying time for the championships having posted the fastest time in Europe this year and broken the Welsh 3,000m record in Germany earlier this month.

The Commonwealth Games 1500m bronze medallist will be joined by fellow Brits Eilish McCoglan and double indoor European Champion Laura Muir on the 3,000m start line in Glasgow.

Also named in the Great Britain team is Cardiff AAC sprinter Smith, who like Courtney claimed his place in the team by winning silver at the British Indoor Championships.

Owen Smith will run 400m and 4x400m relay in Glasgow.

Smith ran indoor 400m personal best times in his heat and in the final, where he just missed out on the gold.

The Flintshire-raised man will be competing in the individual 400m and the 4x400m relay in Glasgow where he will be joined by Swansea Harrier Brier, who has been selected for the relay squad.

Both athletes are coached by former Wales and Great Britain sprint star Matt Elias, who made it a hat-trick of his charges named in the team with the selection of Joe Reid.

Swansea Harrier Joe Brier will join Owen Smith in 4x400m Relay.

Isle of Man international Reid, who studies in Cardiff and runs for the city’s athletic club, will line up in the 800m.

A third Cardiff AAC athlete, Jeremiah Azu, missed out on claiming a place in the Great Britain team by just 0.05 of a second on Saturday – the deadline for claiming a qualifying time ahead of Sunday’s team selection.

With only one British sprinter having clocked the 60m qualifying time for the European Championships, Azu went into the Muller Grand Prix at Arena Birmingham hoping to claim one of the remaining two places on the team.

The 17-year-old, who finished third in the British Championships, chalked up an impressive series of times – 6.69, 6.67 and 6.65 – lowering his own Welsh junior record, but just failing to gain the qualifying time of 6.60.

Jeremiah Azu just missed out on 60m qualifying time as he set Welsh junior record. Pic: Owen Morgan.

At the same meeting, Cardiff’s Jake Heyward was involved in a remarkable 1500m race which saw Ethiopia’s Samuel Tefera break Hicham El Guerrouj’s long-standing world indoor record in a time of 3:31.04. Heyward finished 13th in 3:41.30.

Another record to fall at the meeting was Welsh middle distance star Kirsty Wade’s 31-year-old British indoor mile record, which was shattered by Laura Muir in a time of 4:18.75.

The British team selected for the European Indoor Championships Glasgow 2019:
MEN:
60m:
Ojie Edoburun (Shaftesbury Barnet; Steve Fudge)
400m
Cameron Chalmers (Guernsey; James Hillier)
Alex Haydock-Wilson (Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow; Michael Baker)
Owen Smith (Cardiff; Matt Elias)
800m
Guy Learmonth (Lasswade; Henry Gray)
Joe Reid (Cardiff; Matt Elias)
Jamie Webb (Liverpool; Adrian Webb)
1500m
Robbie Fitzgibbon (Brighton; Jon Bigg)
Elliot Giles (Birchfield Harriers; Jon Bigg)
Neil Gourley (Giffnock North; Mark Rowland)

3000m
Andrew Butchart (Central; Terrence Mahon)
Charlie Grice (Brighton; Jon Bigg)
Chris O’Hare (Edinburgh; Terrence Mahon)
60m Hurdles
David King (City of Plymouth; James Hillier)
Andrew Pozzi (Stratford-upon-Avon; Santiago Antunez)
High Jump
Chris Baker (Sale Harriers; Graham Ravenscroft)
Long Jump
Feron Sayers (Birchfield Harriers; Aston Moore)
Triple Jump
Nathan Douglas (Oxford City; Aston Moore)
Julian Reid (Sale Harriers; Aston Moore)
4x400m Relay
Joe Brier (Swansea; Matt Elias)
Cameron Chalmers (Guernsey; James Hillier)
Alex Haydock-Wilson (Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow; Michael Baker)
Owen Smith (Cardiff; Matt Elias)
Thomas Somers (Newham & Essex Beagles; Benke Blomkvist)
Heptathlon
Tim Duckworth (Liverpool; Toby Stevenson)
WOMEN
60m
Kristal Awuah (Herne Hill; Matthew Thomas)
Rachel Miller (Thames Valley; Linford Christie)
Asha Philip (Newham & Essex Beagles; Steve Fudge)
400m
Amber Anning (Brighton & Hove; Lloyd Cowan)
Zoey Clark (Thames Valley; Eddie McKenna)
Eilidh Doyle (Pitreavie; Brian Doyle)
800m
Shelayna Oskan-Clarke (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow; Jon Bigg)
Mari Smith (Birchfield Harriers; Bud Baldaro)
Adelle Tracey (Guildford & Godalming; Craig Winrow)
1500m
Sarah McDonald (Birchfield Harriers; David Harmer)
Laura Muir (Dundee Hawkhill; Andy Young)
Jemma Reekie (Kilbarchan; Andy Young)
3000m
Melissa Courtney (Poole; Rob Denmark)
Eilish McColgan (Dundee Hawkhill; Liz Nuttall)
Laura Muir (Dundee Hawkhill; Andy Young)
High Jump
Morgan Lake (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow; Fuzz Caan)
Pole Vault
Holly Bradshaw (Blackburn; Scott Simpson)
Long Jump
Abigail Irozuru (Sale Harriers; Tom Cullen)
Jazmin Sawyers (City of Stoke; Lance Brauman)
Jahisha Thomas (Blackheath & Bromley; John Shepherd)
Triple Jump
Naomi Ogbeta (Trafford; Tom Cullen)
Shot Put
Sophie McKinna (Great Yarmouth; Mike Winch)
Amelia Strickler (Thames Valley; Zane Duquemin)
4x400m Relay
Amber Anning (Brighton & Hove; Lloyd Cowan)
Zoe Clark (Thames Valley; Eddie McKenna)
Eilidh Doyle (Pitreavie; Brian Doyle)
Phillipa Lowe (Dacorum & Tring; Deborah Keenleyside)
Laviai Nielsen (Enfield & Haringey; Christine Bowmaker)
Pentathlon
Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Liverpool; Bertrand Valcin)