WRITTEN FOR THE LONDON 2017 WEBSITE ON BEHALF OF BRITISH ATHLETICS
Following their recent medal-winning performances at the European Athletics Indoor Championships, we take a look at the London 2017 prospects of Britain’s medallists from Prague.
Having placed third on the medals table behind Russia and France, the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team claimed nine pieces of silverware in the Czech capital last month, as their attention now turns to performing on the global scene.
First, they must negotiate August’s IAAF World Championships in Beijing but for many, the lure of the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London is a more realistic aim in their quest to return to the medals podium.
Held in the 2012 Olympic stadium in Stratford, East London, the sixteenth edition of the event will treat the majority of the British athletes to an once-in-a-lifetime experience on home turf and with less than three years to go, the outlook is bright for their chances.
The best of a highly-promising bunch in Prague was Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who broke Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill’s British pentathlon record with 5,000 points to collect the European crown and her first major international championships title as a senior.
The 22-year-old world heptathlon fifth-placer narrowly missed the world record in the process but the Liverpool Harrier is a strong bet for heptathlon gold in Beijing, as well as in London where she made her Olympic debut with 15th position in 2012.
Although she placed ninth behind ‘KJT’ in Prague, Morgan Lake enjoyed a fine senior international debut courtesy of a 4527-point British junior record and world age-17 best.
The Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow athlete captured the world junior heptathlon and high jump crowns last summer – the latter in a world under-18 record – and will be hoping to make an impressive mark as a senior by 2017.
Another determined to make a smooth transition will be Gateshead’s Richard Kilty. The world indoor 60m champion added the European title to his resume in Prague with a swift 6.51 clocking, and the 25-year-old is keen for his outdoor 100m form to match his indoor prowess in the coming seasons.
A particularly exciting prospect for London is world junior 100m champion, Dina Asher-Smith, who equalled the British indoor 60m record with a 7.08 clocking en route to the European silver medal.
The 19-year-old from Blackheath and Bromley thus became the fastest teenager in history and will now look to challenge over 100m and 200m outdoors, having taken 4x100m bronze in the IAAF World Championships in Moscow in 2013.
At 30, many might view London 2017 as an apt swansong but Lee Emanuel claimed the European 3,000m silver medal in a 7:44.48 lifetime best to suggest he could be a late bloomer.
The Sheffield runner’s first major international championships medal arrived following a 3:35.66 personal best in February, which propelled him to second on the British all-time list during a promising winter campaign.
One of the biggest surprises of the season however, was Lucy Hatton. The 20-year-old from Corby grabbed the 60m hurdles silver medal in a 7.90 lifetime best on her international championships debut last weekend, to propose an intriguing breakthrough in form.
Her team-mate, Serita Solomon, followed closely for bronze with a 7.93 personal best, which also represented a substantial improvement for the 25-year-old Blackheath and Bromley sprint hurdler.
Twelfth in Moscow, sixth in the Commonwealth Games and the bronze medallist at the European outdoor Championships last summer, Chris O’Hare continued his rise with 1500m bronze in the continental indoor event with a 3:38.96 season’s best.
The 24-year-old will be keen to progress to world-class standard and London may arrive at the right time for the Edinburgh athlete.
A new name for 2015 is Seren Bundy-Davies and the Trafford sprinter is eager to further establish herself during the outdoor campaign.
The 20-year-old announced herself with a swift 51.72 British under23 400m record in February, before going on to take the bronze medal on her international championships debut in 52.64.
Also part of the silver-medal-winning 4x400m team with Kelly Massey, Laura Maddox and Kirsten McAslan, it will be interesting to see if Bundy-Davies’ rapid progress can continue into the summer and beyond with London 2017 as key motivation for her and her track and field contemporaries.
