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December 2009
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Farah, Sotherton lead Great Britain's quest for European glory |
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26.02.2009 |
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Riding on the back of an excellent season British Mo
Farah is confident about his chances in Torino.
Photo by Picture Alliance
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This winter's UK record-breaking athletes Mo Farah and Kate Dennison are included in a 36-strong Great Britain Team for the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Torino, Italy on 6-8 March. The championships mark the first for the GB & NI team with UKA's Head Coach Charles van Commenee at the helm.
Farah has enjoyed an excellent start to 2009, breaking the indoor 3000m record twice already this winter, most recently at the Grand Prix in Birmingham with 7:34.47 to go top of the European rankings. Dennison has also twice bettered the existing UK indoor best, setting a new mark of 4.46m for the women's pole vault, also in Birmingham.
Farah said: "I'm really pleased with the way the year has gone so far. But I'm not taking anything for granted. There will be some tough opposition in Torino and I've got some hard work ahead of me. I'm just concentrating on maintaining my focus and being at my best when it counts and then hopefully, the rewards should come."
There is also a place in the team for the evergreen Donna Fraser (Croydon Harriers) who has been named in the women's 400m and 4x400m following an excellent indoor campaign that has seen the 36 year old win a 200m/400m double at the European Trials & UK Championships, the latter with an indoor personal best of 52.83.
Fraser will be competing in her 14th senior major athletics championship, a remarkable record that includes four Olympic Games and five outdoor World Championships. She has represented GB & NI at the European Indoors twice previously in 1998 and 2005.
Fraser said: "I started out this indoor season just wanting to enjoy my athletics again. I didn't really think it could have gone this well. I feel like I did about ten years ago and am really looking forward to competing for the Great Britain & Northern Ireland Team at the Europeans."
At the last European Indoors in Birmingham in 2007, GB & NI topped the medal table with 10 medals including four gold. Just three of the individual medallists from that team, Craig Pickering- 2007 60m silver, Martyn Bernard- 2007 high jump bronze and Kelly Sotherton - 2007 pentathlon silver are returning for another medal tilt.
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Craig Pickering (171) and Simeon Williamson (181)
Photo by Picture Alliance
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Sotherton has been struggling with injury and will decide in the coming week whether to compete in Turin. Pickering completes a strong triumvirate of British sprinters in the men's 60m alongside UK Champion Dwain Chambers and Aviva Grand Prix winner Simeon Williamson, who occupy the top two places in this winter's European indoor rankings.
Williamson said: "Things are going very nicely for me right now. I've really put in a lot of hard work this winter in Jamaica and back here in the UK with my coach Lloyd Cowan. I'm getting faster and faster as the year goes on and I'm feeling very confident I can be faster still for Turin."
Head Coach Charles van Commenee said: "Major championships are the best part of any athlete's life. It is what they train and live for. The athletes selected in the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Team have a fantastic opportunity to achieve something significant in the sport.
"We will do all we can help them try and make the most of this opportunity and perform to the best of their ability. In recent years, we have established a really strong reputation within European athletics, especially in light of some of the successes at last year's European Cup, the Olympic Games and European Cross Country Championships.
"It is important for us to sustain our standing by committing ourselves to the challenges in Torino and competing fiercely in order to meet our individual and collective goals."
GREAT BRITAIN TEAM
MEN
60m: Dwain Chambers; Craig Pickering; Simeon Williamson; 400m: Richard Buck; Nick Leavey; 1500m: Neil Speaight; Chris Warburton; 3000m: Mark Draper; Mo Farah; Nick McCormick; 60m hurdles: Allan Scott; Andy Turner; High Jump: Martyn Bernard; Samson Oni; Pole Vault: Steve Lewis; Long Jump: Greg Rutherford; Chris Tomlinson; Shot: Carl Myerscough; 4x400m: Buck, Dale Garland; Leavey, Nigel Levine; Phil Taylor
WOMEN
400m: Donna Fraser; 800m: Jennifer Meadows; Marilyn Okoro; 1500m: Hannah England; Susan Scott, 3000m: Katrina Wootton; 60m hurdles: Gemma Bennett; Sarah Claxton; Pole Vault: Kate Dennison; Long Jump: Jade Johnson; Pentathlon: Kelly Sotherton; 4x400m: Vicki Barr; Tara Bird; Fraser; Kim Wall; Dawn Wilson
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