THERE are few national championships that display the level of quality of the British Athletics Championships and certainly, next weekend’s meet, which begins in Manchester on Friday, promises to be truly world class.
With this summer seeing the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and European Championships all squeezed into five weeks, there has never been a season like it in terms of major medals up for grabs.
But, when it comes to World Championships appearances, thoughts of flying off to Eugene must be put on hold until things are taken care of next weekend.
World Championship selection requires a top-two finish at the British Championships, as well as having achieved the qualification standard this season. A third pick, at the discretion of the selectors, will be decided upon following the meet.
Scotland’s Commonwealth Games team is already selected, although no announcement will be made until after Manchester, while there are no official trials for the European Championships but a good performance next weekend will do no harm.
The Scottish contingent heading south is as impressive as its ever been and includes Olympic, Commonwealth and European medallists.
As has been the case in recent years, it is the middle distance races that are shaping up to be the best of the best.
Both the 1500m races boast Olympic medallists; on the men’s side, Tokyo bronze medallist Josh Kerr is defending his British title but despite his blistering form last season, a second consecutive British title is far from a foregone conclusion.
Gunning for Kerr are his fellow Scots, Jake Wightman, who, just days ago broke the 40-year-old Scottish mile record, as well as 2019 British champion, Neil Gourley.
Also likely to be in the mix for World Championship selection are England’s Jake Heyward, Eliot Giles, Charlie Grice and Piers Copeland.
In the women’s race, Laura Muir will be the star attraction and will race in the UK for only the second time since winning silver in Tokyo last summer. Despite an injury that kiboshed her indoor season, she will be the one to beat. Also in the line-up are Muir’s training partners, Jemma Reekie and Erin Wallace.
Reekie will also go in the 800m, where, in the absence of Olympic medallist Keely Hodgkinson, she will be aiming to reclaim the British title she won in 2019. Muir will also be in the mix, as will Jenny Selman, who has had a breakthrough this year, and 2020 Olympian, Englishwoman Alex Bell.
The men’s 800m sees GB internationalist Guy Learmonth aim to get his career back on track after missing Tokyo due to the after-effects of Covid.
For some time, Scotland has been bereft of sprinters but three have now come along at once.
New Scottish indoor record holder, Adam Thomas, will go in the men’s 100m as he aims for his first GB outdoor vest while in the women’s event, Alisha Rees, who recently broke the long-standing Scottish record, is flying the flag. The 23-year-old will be up against one of the superstars of British athletics, Dina Asher Smith.
In the women’s 200m, Beth Dobbin will aim to back up a season that saw her make her Olympic debut.
In the women’s 400m, Olympians Zoey Clark and Nicole Yeargin are worth keeping an eye on.
In the 5,000m, two-time Olympian Andy Butchart will be aiming to add to his hat-track of British titles, the most recent in 2019, while the women’s event is jam-packed with Scots, most notably, Eilish McColgan who has been on fire this year as well as US-based Sarah Inglis, who has already achieved the World Championships qualification standard.
The action will not all be on the track, with there being plenty of potential success in the field events too.
Perhaps the most intriguing will be the men’s hammer, which sees a trio of Scottish Olympians in action – Nick Miller, Chris Bennett and Mark Dry.
Dry will coming in off the back of a doping ban for an administrative issue around one of his tests. The 34-year-old has bankrupted himself fighting what he sees as an unjust suspension and has stated he has a point to prove before he hangs up his vest for good.
In the women’s hammer, Rachel Hunter will be in action while the men’s and women’s discus will likely see Nick Percy and Kirsty Law battling for podium spots.
In the high jump, David Smith is Scotland’s best chance of success.
In the para events, Sammi Kinghorn is aiming to build on her impressive form, going in the wheelchair 400m alongside Mel Woods, although much of the focus will be on seven-time Paralympic champion, Hannah Cockroft from England.
Not only will next weekend be a thrilling few days of racing, it will also give an excellent idea of how this summer could shape up in terms of major medal potential for the Scots.
