Record number of Paralympic and world medallists set for British Athletics Championships

The British Athletics Championships will hold four Para events for the first time at the Manchester Regional Arena on the 4 and 5 September 2020, welcoming a record number of athlete entries across the field.

With competition opportunities restricted due to the Covid-19 pandemic this summer, two wheelchair and two ambulant track events have been added to the programme at the Championships with six world medallists from the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships among those confirmed so far.

In the women’s ambulant 100m, sprinting royalty Sophie Hahn (coach: Leon Baptiste; club: Charnwood) and **Maria Lyle (Jamie Bowie; Team East Lothian) **will line up. Both won double gold at the WPA Championships last November; Hahn setting world records in both the T38 100m and 200m, while Lyle bagged her first world titles in the T35 races for the same distances.

They will be joined by European T38 400m silver medallist Ali Smith (Chris Zah; Guildford & Godalming), as well as previous WPA Junior medallists, **Simran Kaur (T47) (Nick Harris; Bristol & West) and Kirsty Taylor (T44) (Joe McDonnell; DSW Para Academy)**.

In the men’s ambulant 100m, Thomas Young (Joe McDonnell; Charnwood) will line up looking to show the form which saw him win world silver in the T38 100m in Dubai last year. He’ll be joined by Bolton-based Ola Abidogun (Steve Thomas; Horwich) who was in the form of his life in 2019 as he returned to the world stage finishing sixth in the T47 100m final, running a PB of 10.92 on his way there.

12-time world champion Hannah Cockroft (Jenni Banks; Leeds) will race in the 400m wheelchair race where she will join 2017 double T53 world champion Sammi Kinghorn (self-coached; Red Star) over the one-lap distance. Joining the pair will be three-time 2019 WPA Junior T54 silver medallist Eden Rainbow-Cooper (Jenny Archer; Weir Archer Academy) who will be among those opening her season in the north-west.

In the men’s wheelchair equivalent, T54 400m world bronze medallist Richard Chiassaro (Jenni Banks; Harlow) will take on European universal relay gold medallist Nathan Maguire (Ste Hoskins; Kirkby) over the one-lap contest. **Ben Rowlings (Coventry) **– a multiple European medallist in the T34 category – joins the field as does T54 400m European bronze medallist Dillon Labrooy (Jenny Archer; Weir Archer Academy).

This adds to the names announced last week which included F20 shot put world champion Sabrina Fortune (Ian Robinson; Deeside) as well as Paralympic long jump silver medallist, Stef Reid (Aston Moore; Charnwood).

The format and shape of the competition and guidelines that will be adhered to for competitors and those helping to stage the Championships will be subject to the government guidelines in place and will be communicated in due course.

The British Athletics Championships will be broadcast live on Friday night on BBC2, 1800-2100 and Saturday, afternoon on BBC1, 1315-1630.