Liverpool Harrier Jamie Webb will qualify for the European Indoor Championships with a top two finish in Birmingham this weekend.
The athletics meet doubles-up as selection trials for the upcoming Championships hosted by Istanbul in March.
The 800m specialist has strong European indoor pedigree having won silver and bronze medals in 2019 and 2021.
But with only two athletes guaranteed selection, Webb will have to battle past the in-form Scottish duo of Guy Learmonth and Neil Gourley.
Learmonth leads the UK rankings and Gourley recently went second on the UK all-time list with his sub-3:50 clocking over the mile.
Elsewhere on the track
Wirral AC’s Ava Lloyd will line up in a stacked women’s 1500m field alongside Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir and U23 National Record holder Jemma Reekie.
Lloyd will represent GB in Madrid next week for the U20 ‘Dynamic New Athletics’ international match with fellow Wirral athlete Sam Lunt.
Sale Harrier Andrew Robertson will back his chances to climb the podium once again in Birmingham.
Robertson, a two-time National Champion, will face red-hot Reece Prescod who clocked a European leading 6.49 seconds in Berlin.
Multiple British Indoor Champion Asha Philip will take on 2022 Outdoor Champion Daryll Neita for gold in the women’s 60m.
In the field
The women’s long jump promises to be competitive as Sale Harrier Abigail Irozuru bids to reclaim her title from 2020.
She will need to out-leap Olympic finalist Jazmin Sawyers who has already landed a 6.75m mark this year.
Liverpool Harrier Kate Anson has cleared a personal best height of 1.84m in the high jump, currently sitting third in the UK rankings.
While a Birmingham podium is within reach, topping new British Record holder Morgan Lake is likely to be a tough ask.
Lake broke Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s British Record with a 1.99m clearance in the Czech Republic last week.
The UK Indoor Championships are hosted across Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 February at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena.
The action can be streamed live via the British Athletics website.
(Featured image by 2.0 Filip Bossuyt – under creative commons licence)
