Commonwealth Games 2022: Team England names 72-strong athletics squad

Katarina Johnson-Thompson won heptathlon gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games

Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson will headline a 72-strong England athletics team at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Heptathlon world champion Johnson-Thompson will also defend her title.

Tokyo Olympic medallists Keely Hodgkinson (800m) and Holly Bradshaw (pole vault) are also in the squad.

Other selected athletes hoping to repeat their gold medals from the Gold Coast in 2018 are hammer thrower Nick Miller along with Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Zharnel Hughes, Asha Philip and Lorraine Ugen, who won titles in the relays. Ugen will compete in her specialist long jump event in Birmingham.

Adam Gemili and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake are also included, as is Birmingham-born European 400m champion and British record holder Matthew Hudson-Smith.

"It's a great honour to be selected. It's my third Commonwealth Games selection and I think this one means the most, especially as it's a home championship," said Hudson-Smith.

"It will mean a lot to be able to compete at home in front of friends and family and represent England again.

"I've been training at the Alexander Stadium since I was ten so it will be quite an emotional rollercoaster for me, but with all the training and the experiences that I've gone through I feel like I am a lot more prepared than I've ever been. It's going to be fun, exciting, scary - but I am looking forward to it."

The 2022 Commonwealth Games take place from 28 July-8 August.

• Full squad

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