Strong British squad to travel to Grosseto

UK Athletics has named the majority of the athletes in the Norwich Union GB Team for the IAAF World Junior Championship in Grosseto, Italy, on 13-18 July 2004. 

Norwich Union GB Team Leader Martin Rush said: "We have selected a strong team for Grosseto with the possibility of additional names being added after the Norwich Union Under 20 International in Manchester on 3 July.  Many of the athletes selected have already competed at the European Junior or World Youth Championships and will bring considerable experience to the World Junior stage."

The first wave of selection includes four athletes who won medals at last year's European Junior Championships - Leon Baptiste who won Gold in the 100m and 4x100m; Tom Lancashire who won Silver in the 1500m; Charlotte Moore who won Silver in the 800m; and Dani Barnes who won Silver in the 1500m.

Also included in the team are two Bronze medallists from last year's IAAF World Youth Championships - pole vaulter Steven Lewis and Craig Pickering, who is included in the 4x100m relay squad.  Also named for the 4x100m is double sprint Gold medallist from last year's European Youth Olympic Festival Wade Bennett-Jackson.

Norwich Union Great Britain and Northern Team

Men

100m:  Leon Baptiste (Enfield & Haringey AC), James Ellington (Belgrave Harriers)
200m:  Rikki Fifton (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets)
1500m: Gary Davenport (Bristol AC), Tom Lancashire (Bolton United Harriers)
400mh: Richard Davenport (Gloucester AC), Ryan Dinham (Belgrave Harriers)
3000m SC: Mark Buckingham (Holmfirth Harriers AC), Luke Gunn (Derby AC)
High Jump: Nick Stanisavljevic (Woking AC)
Pole Vault: Steven Lewis (City of Stoke AC)
Long Jump: Chris Kirk (Wakefield & District Harriers), subject to fitness
Shot:   Chris Gearing (Belgrave Harriers)
Discus: Simon Cooke (Chichester AC)
4x100m: Leon Baptiste (Enfield & Haringey AC), Wade Bennett-Jackson (Belgrave Harriers), James Ellington (Belgrave Harriers), Rikki Fifton (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets), Craig Pickering (Milton Keynes AC), additional athlete(s) TBC

Women

100m:  Lucy Sargent (Havering Mayesbrook AC)
800m:  Laura Finucane (Pendle AC), Charlotte Moore (Bournemouth AC)
1500m: Dani Barnes (Newquay & Par AC)
Pole Vault: Hannah Olson (Birchfield Harriers)
Javelin: Rebecca Bartlett (Birchfield Harriers)
Heptathlon: Jessica Ennis (City of Sheffield AC)

Selected Biographies

Leon Baptiste – 100m/200m

Born: 23 May 1985, Middlesex Club: Enfield & Haringey AC  Lives: Enfield
Coach: Eddy Stevens  PB: 10.43 & 20.91

Britain's eighth European Junior Champion over 100m, Leon also anchored the 4x100m team to gold in Tampere. It was his first full season over 100m, his best in 2002 being just 10.8. National Under 20 Champion over 200m for the past two years he now has equally bright prospects over the longer distance. 

Craig Pickering – 100m

Born: 16 Oct 1986, Sussex Club: Milton Keynes AC   Lives: Milton Keynes
Coach: Mike Leonard  PB: 10.53

Britain's top 14 year old in 2001, Craig began 2003 by defeating Leon Baptiste to win the South of England Championships. After injury during the national juniors he bounced back two weeks later to win a bronze at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Sherbrooke.

Craig is inspired by Mark Lewis-Francis and by Darren Campbell’s medals in the 200m at the 2000 Olympics and the 2002 Commonwealth Games. He gave up football and rugby to concentrate on athletics and has to eat bananas when he is training even though he hates them.  He aims to reach the 100m final at the World Juniors in 2004 and at the Olympics in 2012.  Both his parents were county level sprinters and they persuaded him to take up athletics.  He would like to meet Michael Johnson, visit Iceland and own a convertible sports car.

Jamahl Alert-Kahn – 200m

Born: 12 Sep 1986, London Club: Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Lives: Finchley, London
Coach: John Childs   PB: 20.79

Fourth in the AAA Under 20 200m at the age of 15, Jamahl made continual improvement through 2003 and set two further personal bests on the way to winning Bronze in the IAAF World Youth Championships. He then won the National Under 17 Championship before running a startling 20.79 in September, the fastest ever by a 16 year old from Europe.

Jamahl is inspired by Muhammad Ali.  He became an athlete because he was bored of football and his aim is to become the best 200m and 400m runner in the World.  He would like to visit Bali.

Chris Reynolds – 800m

Born: 23 Jan 1985  Club: Woodford Green & Essex Ladies  Lives: Essex
Coach: John Reynolds  PB: 1:48.3

English Schools Champion in 2002, he retained the title last year and also won the AAA Under 20 title and placed seventh in the European Juniors during a season in which he ran below 1:50 on seven occasions.

Michael Rimmer – 800m

Born: 3 Feb 1986, Southport Club: Liverpool Pembroke & Sefton AC  Lives: Southport
Coach: John Bradshaw  PB: 1:49.4

Michael has carried all before him to date.  In 2000 he broke the 14-year-old UK best for the Under 15 age group for 800m, the next year he reached the World Under 18 semi-finals - as the youngest GB team member - and won the AAA Under 17 title.  In 2002 he won a third successive English Schools crown and then last year recovered from a winter hamstring injury to place a close fourth at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Canada.

Michael’s aim is to win Olympic Gold on home soil in 2012.  He is inspired by Michael Johnson, in particular his 200m World record at the 1996 Olympics.  He took up athletics when his dad “dragged” him to the local athletics club.  He would like to meet Beyonce Knowles and visit Barbados.

Tom Lancashire –1500m

Born: 2 July 1985, Bolton Club: Bolton United H & AC   Lives: Bolton
Coach: Jack Caldwell  PB: 800m 1:48.59, 1500m 3:43.31

Having dominated the Under 20 age group in Britain in 2003 Tom went to the European Juniors and won a Silver medal, the best result by a Briton at the Championships over the distance for 18 years. In February of 2004 he set a UK Under 20 indoor record for the mile and in May clocked 3:43.31 for 1500m, the fastest by a British Junior since 1992. He is a student at Florida State University.

Steven Lewis - pole vault

Born: 20 April 1986, Stoke Club: City of Stoke AC    Lives: Stoke
Coach: Dave Young  PB: 5.05m

Twice an English Schools Champion, Steve won the important Mannheim Junior fixture in June 2003 and then improved by 10cm to win Bronze at the IAAF World Youth Championships, the first ever World medal won by a British vaulter.

After attaining his ambition of winning a medal at the Olympics, Steven hopes to coach World class athletes.  He is inspired by Sergei Bubka and by watching Jonathan Edwards jump a World record in the triple jump.  He would like to meet Sergei Bubka, visit Australia and own a silver Porsche 911.

Chris Gearing – shot

Born: 30 Sep 1986, Maidstone  Club: Belgrave Harriers   Lives: Chatham
Coach: Mark Chapman   PB: 16.65

Chris won both AAA Under 17 and Under 20 titles in 2003 and set a personal best to fill sixth place in the IAA World Youth Championships. Beginning 2004 with a best of 15.43 he has already improved to 16.65.

Chris’ ambition is to win an Olympic medal and coach athletes at international level.  He enjoys fishing and would like to visit Australia.  He is inspired by and would like to meet Steve Redgrave.  Chris’ nickname is ‘The Bear’.

Amy Spencer – 200m

See biog under “Athletes” on www.ukathletics.net

Gemma Nicol – 400m

Born: 27 July 1986, Dunfermline  Club: Dunfermline & West Fife AC Lives: Dunfermline
Coach: James Bryce   PB: 54.16

After finishing second over 400m at the 2002 Scottish Championships, Gemma was a member of the Scotland 4x400m relay squad at the Commonwealth Games.  She also finished second in the World Schools 400m in 2002.  She was second at 60m and first at 200m at the 2003 Scottish Indoor Championships and finished third over 400m at the Norwich Union AAA Under 20 Indoor Championships.  She ran a personal best of 54.27 to win the 400m Bronze medal in the Norwich Union AAA Under 20 Championships at the end of June.  She set a further personal best when fourth in the IAAF World Youth Championships and then ran anchor leg on the 4x400m team that won the  European Junior Bronze medal.

Gemma is inspired by Michael Johnson and by Cathy Freeman’s victory at the 2000 Olympics.  She was Scottish Under 17 Athlete of the Year last year.  She would like to visit Sydney.  Her mother was a Scottish Cross Country Champion.

Laura Finucane – 800m

Born: 3 Aug 1986   Club: Pendle AC   Lives: Colne, Lancs
Coach: Terry Wilkinson   PB: 2:05.71

Extremely versatile, Laura, who was second ranked Under 17 at 300m and 400m in 2002, is best known for her 800m exploits at which she won the English Schools title in 2002.  She has set personal bests at both 400m (55.0) and 800m (2:05.71) in 2003. She won impressively over one lap at Loughborough and finished second in the Northern Under 20 800m before finishing an unexpected fifth at the IAAF World Youth Championships.  She began 2004 with a new personal best of 54.3 for 400m.

Charlotte Moore – 800m

See biog under “Athletes” on www.ukathletics.net

Dani Barnes – 1500m

Born: 8 Oct 1985, Manchester  Club: Newquay & Par AC  Lives: Newquay, Cornwall
Coaches: Chris & Maureen Woolridge

Championship Record
European Juniors  1500m 2003 2nd
World Youths   800m 2001 4th
World Cross Country  2003 27th, 2004 69th
European Cross Country 2002 8th, 2003 9th

National Titles  1500m AAA U20 2003

Personal Bests 400m 57.8 (2003), 800m 2:05.18 (2003), 1500m 4:15.00 (2003), 3000m 9:34.40 (2002);   Indoors: 800m 2:07.45 (2004), 1500m 4:18.97 (2004)

Career Profile
Barnes, whose father Alan was a midfielder for current Football League side Macclesfield, took up running at the age of 12. The karate purple belt enjoyed one of her early breakthroughs with tenth place in the English Schools Cross Country and she went on to take Gold medals in all age groups, her greatest successes coming on the track. She won the 1500m as a Junior (2000) and Inter (2002) and then enjoyed double success as a Senior with 800m and cross country victories in 2003. She also won the AAA Under 20 title at 1500m that year as well as the Silver medal at the European Junior Championships. In 2001 she finished fourth over 800m at the World Youth Championships. After ending 2003 with ninth place in the European Cross Country Championships she went into 2004 as the clear UK number one in the Junior age group.

Form Guide
Having shown great form in 2003, Barnes was pre-selected for the World Cross Country Championships and therefore concentrated in running indoors early in 2004. She ran indoor personal bests of 2:07.45 for 800m and 4:18.97 for 1500m. She came back from a stress reaction in her fibula to run inside the qualifying standard for the World Juniors with 4:15.24 at Solihull on 22 May.

Jessica Ennis - Heptathlon

Born: 28 Jan 1986   Club: City of Sheffield AC Lives: Sheffield
Coach: Toni Minichello   PB: 5364

AAA Under 20 Indoor pentathlon Champion in 2003, her best individual events are the high jump at which she is English Schools Champion and 100m hurdles in which she ran for the Norwich Union GB Under 20 Team at Loughborough. The first day leader at the 2003 IAAF World Youth Championships, she ultimately finished in fifth place. In 2004 she set personal bests in the shot, 200m and 800m on the way to a score of 5364 in Desenzano. She is a member of the Rover Combined Events Initiative National Squad. 

Emily Lewis (UK Athletics)