The UK will send a 66-strong team to the 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships in Tokyo (13–21), with a dual ambition: to turn depth into medals and to fast-track the next generation with Los Angeles 2028 firmly in mind. World champions Josh Kerr and Katarina Johnson-Thompson will spearhead the delegation, while Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson looks to extend her dominance – challenged, notably, by a fellow Briton in Georgia Hunter Bell. The coaching staff have been clear about the strategy: target the podiums and maximise finalists, while also opening the door to emerging names elevated by the world rankings who, in the past, might not have made the cut.
From Budapest 2023 to Paris 2024 : firm foundations and a clarified hierarchy
Recent history offers strong reference points. In Budapest 2023, Josh Kerr claimed the 1500m crown and Katarina Johnson-Thompson recaptured the heptathlon, two titles that re-established Great Britain at the heart of the global stage. At the same championships, Ben Pattison snatched 800m bronze, proof that the current generation of middle-distance runners can turn finals into medals. A year later, the Paris 2024 Games confirmed the shift: Keely Hodgkinson stamped her authority on the 800m, Matt Hudson-Smith continued his 400m medal streak with silver, and the relays reaffirmed Britain’s long-standing tradition in the 4x400m – an event in which the squad will once again target medals in all three categories (men, women, mixed).
Added to these certainties are proven figures seeking to reassert themselves: 2022 world champion Jake Wightman returning from injury setbacks, Laura Muir always a championship threat, and world-class sprinters such as Dina Asher-Smith, Daryll Neita and Amy Hunt, who will be eyeing the podium in the absence of Gabrielle Thomas and Tia Clayton. On the men’s side, Zharnel Hughes remains the standard-bearer, having clocked 9.91 this season. In the field events, Molly Caudery (2024 world indoor champion) arrives as a pole vault favourite, especially with Olympic champion Nina Kennedy not competing this season. Morgan Lake has just cleared a British record 2.00m in the high jump, while Jazmin Sawyers makes her comeback from a serious Achilles injury and currently sits 14th in the world rankings. With these leaders in place, the staff have set a bold objective: a top-eight finish in the medals table – a key benchmark for any athletics nation.
The new generation set to make their mark in Tokyo
The 2025 selection also signals a change of approach: while standards remain high, more weight has been given to world ranking progression, fast-tracking talents already showing competitiveness. Nothing illustrates this more than 19-year-old Innes FitzGerald earning a spot in the 5000m after her double European U20 title earlier this year. The women’s sprints also gain new depth, with Joy Eze and Success Eduan making their global relay debuts alongside the experienced trio of Asher-Smith, Hunt and Neita. In the men’s 400m, Hudson-Smith is joined by rising stars Charlie Dobson and Samuel Reardon, giving Britain a formidable 4x400m line-up.
On the women’s side, Amber Anning – 2025 world indoor champion and fifth at the Olympics – will team up with double European U23 medallist Yemi Mary John. Middle-distance remains Britain’s strongest card: Hodgkinson, Hunter Bell and Jemma Reekie could realistically deliver two medals and one title, while in the men’s 800m, British champion Max Burgin, world medallist Ben Pattison and debutant Tiarnan Crorken provide tactical options. Elsewhere, hurdles and steeplechase show promise with senior debuts for Tyri Donovan (400m hurdles) and Elise Thorner (steeple), while Calli Hauger-Thackery has smartly refocused her season on the 10,000m.
The end result is a versatile squad, balanced between proven champions and youthful promise – mature enough to chase multiple podiums, yet ambitious enough to field a high number of finalists.
Full British team for the Tokyo World Championships, 13–21 September 2025
Women
100m
- Dina Asher-Smith (Blackheath & Bromley)
- Amy Hunt (Marco Airale, Charnwood)
- Daryll Neita (Lance Brauman, Cambridge Harriers)
200m
- Dina Asher-Smith (Blackheath & Bromley)
- Amy Hunt (Marco Airale, Charnwood)
- Daryll Neita (Lance Brauman, Cambridge Harriers)
400m
- Amber Anning (Chris Johnson, Brighton & Hove)
- Yemi Mary John (Alan James, Woodford Green Essex Ladies)
- Victoria Ohuruogu (Newham and Essex Beagles)
800m
- Georgia Hunter Bell (Trevor Painter, Belgrave Harriers)
- Keely Hodgkinson (Trevor Painter, Leigh)
- Jemma Reekie (Jon Bigg, Kilbarchan)
1500m
- Laura Muir (Laura Weightman, Dundee Hawkhill)
- Revee Walcott-Nolan (Thomas Dreissigacker, Luton)
- Erin Wallace (Trevor Painter, Giffnock North)
5000m
- Melissa Courtney-Bryant (Rob Denmark, Poole)
- Innes FitzGerald (Gavin Pavey, Exeter)
- Hannah Nuttall (Helen Clitheroe, Wells City)
10,000m
- Calli Hauger-Thackery (Nick Hauger, Hallamshire)*
- Megan Keith (Ross Cairns, Inverness)*
400m Hurdles
- Lina Nielsen (Tony Lester, Shaftesbury Barnet)
- Emily Newnham (Nick Dakin, Shaftesbury Barnet)
3000m Steeplechase
- Elise Thorner (Helen Clitheroe, Wells City)
- Sarah Tait (Linda Smith, Lasswade)*
100m Hurdles
- Marcia Sey (Lorna Boothe, Blackheath & Bromley)*
High Jump
- Morgan Lake (Yannick Tregaro, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow)*
Long Jump
- Jazmin Sawyers (Aston Moore, City of Stoke)
Pole Vault
- Molly Caudery (Scott Simpson, Thames Valley)
Hammer
- Anna Purchase (Mohamed Ali Saatara, Notts AC)*
Heptathlon
- Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Aston Moore, Liverpool)
- Jade O’Dowda (John Lane, Newham and Essex Beagles)*
- Abigail Pawlett (Ashley Bryant, Trafford)*
4x100m (Women)
- Dina Asher-Smith (Blackheath & Bromley)
- Success Eduan (Anita Richardson, Sale Harriers Manchester)
- Joy Eze (Michael Donnelly, Gateshead)
- Desiree Henry (Linford Christie, Enfield & Haringey)
- Amy Hunt (Marco Airale, Charnwood)
- Daryll Neita (Lance Brauman, Cambridge Harriers)
4x400m (Women)
- Amber Anning (Chris Johnson, Brighton & Hove)
- Hannah Brier (Rhys Williams, Swansea)
- Poppy Malik (Grant Baker, Harrow)
- Yemi Mary John (Alan James, Woodford Green Essex Ladies)
- Victoria Ohuruogu (Newham and Essex Beagles)
- Nicole Yeargin (Gregory Sholars, Pitreavie)
Men
100m
- Jeremiah Azu (Helen James, Cardiff)
- Romell Glave (Michael Afilaka, Croydon)
- Zharnel Hughes (Glen Mills, Shaftesbury Barnet)
200m
- Toby Harries (David Sadkin, Brighton Phoenix)*
- Zharnel Hughes (Glen Mills, Shaftesbury Barnet)
400m
- Charlie Dobson (Leon Baptiste, Colchester)
- Matt Hudson-Smith (Gary Evans, Birchfield Harriers)
- Samuel Reardon (Nigel Stickings, Blackheath & Bromley)
800m
- Max Burgin (Ian Burgin, Halifax Harriers)
- Tiarnan Crorken (Andrew Henderson, Preston)
- Ben Pattison (Dave Ragan, Basingstoke & Mid Hants)
1500m
- Elliot Giles (Jon Bigg, Birchfield Harriers)
- Neil Gourley (Stephen Haas, Giffnock North)
- Josh Kerr (Danny Mackey, Edinburgh)
- Jake Wightman (John Hartigan, Edinburgh)
5000m
- George Mills (Thomas Dreissigacker, Brighton Phoenix)
3000m Steeplechase
- Zak Seddon (Bracknell AC)*
35km Race Walk
- Cameron Corbishley (Andi Drake, Medway & Maidstone)*
400m Hurdles
- Alastair Chalmers (Matt Elias, Guernsey)
- Seamus Derbyshire (Alex O’Gorman, City of Stoke)
- Tyri Donovan (Marina Armstrong, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow)
110m Hurdles
- Tade Ojora (Joanna Hayes, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow)*
Marathon
- Emile Cairess (Renato Canova, Leeds City)
Discus
- Lawrence Okoye (Zane Duquemin, Croydon)
- Nick Percy (Zane Duquemin, Harrow)
Hammer
- Jake Norris (Nick Ridgeon, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow)*
Shot Put
- Scott Lincoln (Dale Stevenson, City of York)*
4x400m (Men)
- Charlie Dobson (Leon Baptiste, Colchester)
- Lewis Davey (Trevor Painter, Newham and Essex Beagles)
- Toby Harries (David Sadkin, Brighton Phoenix)
- Matt Hudson-Smith (Gary Evans, Birchfield Harriers)
- Samuel Reardon (Nigel Stickings, Blackheath & Bromley)
- Lee Thompson (John Henson, Sheffield & Dearne)
4x100m (Men)
- Eugene Amo-Dadzie (Steve Fudge, Woodford Green Essex Ladies)
- Jeremiah Azu (Helen James, Cardiff)
- Jona Efoloko (Ryan Freckleton, Sale Harriers Manchester)
- Romell Glave (Michael Afilaka, Croydon)
- Louie Hinchliffe (Richard Kilty, Sheffield & Dearne)
- Zharnel Hughes (Glen Mills, Shaftesbury Barnet)
