FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Talent hubs in Birmingham and Leeds welcome endurance athletes
with support from London Marathon Events
The first athletes to be part of two talent hubs created by British
Athletics and supported by London Marathon Events have been named.
The pilot talent hubs at the University of Birmingham and Leeds Beckett
University have been created for promising athletes between the ages of 16
and 21, with the objective of providing a pathway from junior talent to
world-class performers.
London Marathon Events is providing funding for the hubs’ endurance
athletes with the first intake including 27 athletes at Birmingham and 25
in Leeds.
This includes support for a select number of established athletes currently
based at the hubs who will act as mentors to the young talent coming
through. Among these are Laura Weightman and Alex Bell (Leeds) plus Sarah
McDonald and Ben Connor (Birmingham).
Reigning European Junior 800m champion Isabelle Boffey (Birmingham) and
Keely Hodgkinson (Leeds), the 2020 British 800m champion, are among the
stand-out names on the funding lists.
The athletes, who are on different support packages, benefit from free
facility training access, physiotherapy and strength and conditioning
programmes, psychological workshops and mentoring for both the coach and
athlete pairs.
Luke Gunn, Head of Athletics and Talent Hub Manager at the University of
Birmingham, said: "We are delighted to be able add some new and deserving
athletes to receive this excellent support at the Birmingham Talent Hub
this year.
"Even during such an uncertain past year, we have seen some brilliant
performances from athletes on the hub with 17 personal bests across the
board, and six of our endurance athletes claiming British Championship
medals.
"With the continued support of the partners, we hope to aid the athlete and
coach towards senior success as well as grow the athletic benefits in the
West Midlands area; which has so much promising athletic talent."
Andi Drake, Talent Hub Manager at Leeds Beckett University hub, said: "Our
philosophy is rooted in a passion for developing talented performers
towards fulfilling their potential in athletics. The major funding input
from London Marathon Events adds significant value to our high performance
coaching environment and expert practitioner team.
"We are excited to be working with an impressive group of athletes and
their coaches at the Leeds Talent Hub, supporting them to find out how good
they can be, in partnership with London Marathon Events, British Athletics,
England Athletics and the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS)."
The hubs have been developed by British Athletics in collaboration with the
Home Country Athletics Federations. England Athletics will be supported by
the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) at the University of
Birmingham and Leeds Beckett University hubs.
Spencer Duval, England Athletic’s National Endurance lead, said: "The
partnership with London Marathon Events is an excellent opportunity for
endurance athletes to benefit from world-class facilities and opportunities
offered at the two talent hubs. London Marathon Events has had a long
partnership with endurance and these hubs offer a fantastic opportunity for
runners to move along the performance pathway and hopefully represent their
country in major events."
Hugh Brasher, Event Director at London Marathon Events, said: "London
Marathon Events is committed to improving endurance running in the UK and
to create pathways and opportunities for talented athletes striving to
reach the very top. We believe by putting together some of the best young
athletes, best coaches and best facilities at these talent hubs, the
runners on the programmes will be given the best chance to succeed."
Athletes at the University of Birmingham Talent Hub
- Charlotte Alexander (3000m)
- Will Battershill (Steeplechase)
- Isabelle Boffey (800m)
- Francesca Brint (1500m)
- Ben Connor* (10000m/Marathon)
- Jonathan Davies* (5000m)
- Oliver Dustin (800m)
- James Gormley (1500m/5000m)
- Maisie Grice (Steeplechase)
- Kristian Imroth (Steeplechase)
- Thomas Keen (1500m)
- Sarah McDonald* (1500m)
- Saskia Millard (5000m)
- Dougie Musson* (Marathon)
- Lily Partridge* (Marathon)
- Mark Pearce (Steeplechase)
- Amelia Quirk (5000m)
- Amelia Samuels* (3000m)
- Zak Seddon* (Steeplechase)
- Sabrina Sinha (1500m)
- Mari Smith* (800m)
- Daniel Studley* (Marathon)
- Annie Testar (800m)
- Ben Thomas (Steeplechase)
- Emily Thompson (1500m)
- Michael Ward (5000m/10000m)
- Emily Williams (1500m)
Athletes at Leeds Beckett University Talent Hub
- Alexandra Bell* (800m)
- Lizzie Bird* (Steeplechase)
- Eleanor Bolton* (5000m)
- Alex Botterill (800m)
- Emile Cairess* (10000m)
- Sam Charlton (3000m)
- Tiarnan Crorken (800m)
- Eleanor Davis* (Marathon)
- Joshua Dickinson (5000m)
- Keely Hodgkinson (800m)
- Millie Howard (1500m)
- Ethan Hussey* (1500m)
- Daniel Joyce* (800m)
- Olivia Mason (1500m)
- David Mullarkey (1500m)
- Almaz Nerurkar (1500m)
- Bronwen Owen* (5000m)
- Steph Pennycook* (10000m)
- India Pentland (1500m)
- Beth Potter* (10000m)
- Daniel Preston (1500m)
- Mena Scratchard* (1500m)
- Phil Sesemann* (10000m)
- Linton Taylor* (3000m)
- Laura Weightman* (5000m)
*Note: Athletes will be using the facilities and/or have mentor roles.
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