The Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for November’s (5) IAU 50km World Championships in Hyderabad, India, has been announced today.
Seven athletes will represent the country at the 2023 edition of the Championships following medal success at the Europeans in 2022.
Andrew Davies (Stockport) – the individual bronze medallist at the 2022 European Championships – returns to the fold as a member of the men’s quartet.
He was also part of the gold medal winning men’s team at the Europeans, as was Will Mycroft (Cambridge & Coleridge) who will receive his second GB & NI vest at the Championships.
The pair will be joined by Ollie Garrod (self-coached, Belgrave) who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the World 100km Championships in 2022, and Andrew Heyes (Mara Yamauchi, Hallamshire Harriers) – a senior international on the roads and cross country – who will take on his first major Championships 50km.
The women’s team includes Rachel Hodgkinson (Liverpool Harriers), Carla Molinaro (Martin Cox, Clapham Chasers) and Sarah Webster (David Leach, Northern [Isle of Man]).
Molinaro set a fast 50km spilt in the recent Two Oceans Marathon in South Africa on her way to third place overall. She was also the third woman to cross the line at the prestigious Comrades Marathon last weekend.
Sarah Webster won the ACP 100km in April and obtained the 50km standard in Romania last month, so she has been in strong form throughout the 2023 season. Webster and Rachel Hodgkinson receive their first call-ups to a GB & NI team.
Walter Hill, the Team Leader, said, “After great performances at the European Championships last year, we are looking forward to seeing how the British teams will perform on the world stage later this year. We have some incredibly experienced athletes in the team who have competed across a variety of distances at major Championships, as well as two athletes experiencing this for the first time. It will be great to see them all in action against the best in the world later this year.”
The Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the IAU 50km World Championships:
Women
Rachel Hodgkinson (Liverpool Harriers)
Carla Molinaro (Martin Cox, Clapham Chasers)
Sarah Webster (David Leach, Northern [Isle of Man])
Men
Andrew Davies (Stockport)
Ollie Garrod (self-coached, Belgrave)
Andrew Heyes (Mara Yamauchi, Hallamshire Harriers)
Will Mycroft (Cambridge & Coleridge)