UK Athletics announced on Monday that 62 athletes were chosen as part of its World Class Programme, a lottery-funded initiative that backs talent with the best potential to making a podium — or win titles — at major events like the Olympics or world championships.
The list is packed with notable athletes from the United Kingdom like Josh Kerr, Dina Asher-Smith, Keely Hodgkinson, Matthew Hudson-Smith, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Morgan Lake.
The athletes are placed in four categories: Podium, Podium Potential, Relay and Confirmation, which reflect the stages they are in their career and their best chances to win at the highest level.
“With European Championships taking place for the first time in the UK in Birmingham in 2026, our GB & NI athletes will have an incredible opportunity to perform on home soil,” UK Athletics Performance Director Paula Dunn said in a statement. “Competing in front of friends, family and passionate home crowds is always special, and I know our athletes will rise to that occasion with pride and purpose.”
The investment in the named athletes reaffirms the UK’s commitment to its athletes following July’s announcement to formally back a bid for London to host the 2029 world championships.
“We now enter the crucial phase of the performance cycle — our sights set firmly on the 2027 World Championships in Beijing and the LA Olympic Games and beyond. Every step we take from here is about building towards those pinnacle moments,” Dunn said. “For those not selected this time, this isn’t the end of the journey. The standards for the program are high, but potential and progress continue in many forms. We’ve seen time and again that pathways to success are rarely linear. Everyone who wears the GB & NI vest should be proud, and we’ll keep working to support and guide our athletes towards future success.”
World Class Programme selections
Olympic Podium (21)
Amber Anning
Dina Asher-Smith
Max Burgin
Emile Cairess
Molly Caudery
Jacob Fincham-Dukes
Keely Hodgkinson
Amy Hunt
Georgia Hunter Bell
Zharnel Hughes
Katarina Johnson-Thompson
Josh Kerr
Morgan Lake
Scott Lincoln
Laura Muir
Darryl Neita
Ben Pattison
Jemma Reekie
Jazmin Sawyers
Jake Wightman
Matthew Hudson-Smith
LA Potential (1)
Cindy Sember
Olympic Podium Potential(14)
Charlie Dobson
Tyri Donovan
Romell Glave
Neil Gourley
Megan Keith
George Mills
Emily Newnham
Hannah Nuttall
Jade O’Dowda
Tade Ojora
Aimee Pratt
Anna Purchase
Marc Scott
Elise Thorner
Olympic Relay (15)
Jeremiah Azu
Lewis Davey
Toby Harries
Alex Haydock-Wilson
Desiree Henry
Louie Hinchliffe
Yemi Mary John
Hannah Kelly
Imani Lansiquot
Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake
Lina Nielsen
Laviai Nielsen
Sam Reardon
Bianca Williams
Nicole Yeargin
Olympic Relay Confirmation (1)
Lee Thompson
Olympic Confirmation (10)
Alastair Chalmers
Patrick Dever
Success Eduan
Phoebe Gill
Calli Hauger-Thackery
Mahamed Mahamed
Jake Norris
Abi Pawlett
Jess Warner-Judd
Revee Walcott-Nolan
