Great Britain sends a strong team for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo

The Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad for the World Athletics Championships, which begin in Tokyo on September 13, has been announced. Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson will be looking to repeat her Paris 2024 Olympics triumph in the Japanese capital, while Josh Kerr and track legend Katarina Johnson-Thompson have been given wildcards to compete.

No one is better than Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson. The 23-year-old has been a rare sight since her triumph in Paris after suffering a hamstring injury, but she returned to impressive form earlier this month.

Keely Hodgkinson clocked an impressive 1:54.74 min at the Silesian Diamond League, the fastest time recorded in the women’s 800m since her Olympic triumph – and her second fastest time ever. The Briton then battled through the poor conditions in Lausanne to record another win, finishing around a second slower four days later.

She will be joined in the 800m by her training partner Georgia Hunter Bell, who opted for the shorter distance rather than the 1,500m, in which she won Olympic bronze in Paris. Jemma Reekie will also compete in the 800m.