News
Jake, Piers, & Jeremiah join Melissa on World Class programme
18/10/2021 00:00, In Blog / Track & Field /
Jake Heyward (Cardiff Athletics, Mark Rowland; Photo: Athletics Images) joins the British Athletics Olympic World Class Programme (WCP) for 2021/22 after this stellar Olympic debut at Tokyo where he made a hotly contested 1500m final. Fellow Welsh middle distance runner, Melissa Courtney-Bryant (Poole AC, Rob Denmark) retains her place on the programme at the same Podium Potential level.
Elsewhere, Jeremiah Azu, (Cardiff Athletics, Helen James) and Piers Copeland (Wimbourne, Bob Smith) are two of a first cohort of athletes to be listed in the Olympic Confirmation level of support designed to support athletes in their first 1-2 years on the World Class Programme.
The WCP is UK Sport’s National Lottery funded initiative supporting the delivery of success at named milestone targets, namely outdoor track World and European Championships and Olympics Games. The WCP is split into levels reflecting the actual and potential performance levels of athletes: Podium, Podium Potential and Confirmation. As per previous years, the nomination of Athlete Performance Awards (APA) for athletes is subject to UK Sport ratification and a signed athlete agreement between the athlete and UKA.
The Paralympic World Class Programme and Futures Academy Programme will be announced in due course.
Performance Director, Sara Symington, said,
“As we start the Paris cycle, and longer-term Los Angeles 2028, we made a number of informed decisions in regard to the World Class Programme membership that aligns with our strategic priorities. We will work closely with the 67 athlete and coach pairings that we are offering membership to and will look to add support and value in their journey via their individual athlete plan (IAP)