Fans of track and field athletics have been counting down the days to the World Athletics Championships that take place in Tokyo, Japan, from 13th to 21st September 2025. Now the GB & NI squad has been announced for the event, with reigning world champions Josh Kerr and Katarina Johnson-Thompson, and Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson leading the charge for medals. But which athletes have made the cut for Tokyo, and which have the best hopes for gold in Japan?
Women’s GB & NI Athletics Squad for Tokyo
- 100m & 200m: Dina Asher-Smith, Amy Hunt, Daryll Neita
- 400m: Amber Anning, Yemi Mary John, Victoria Ohuruogu
- 800m: Georgia Hunter Bell, Keely Hodgkinson, Jemma Reekie
- 1500m: Laura Muir, Revee Walcott-Nolan, Erin Wallace
- 5000m: Melissa Country-Bryant, Innes FitzGerald, Hannah Nuttall
- 10,000m: Calli Hauger-Thackery*, Megan Keith*
- 400m hurdles: Lina Nielsen, Emily Newnham
- 3000m steeplechase: Elise Thorner, Sarah Tait*
- 100m hurdles: Marcia Sey*
- High jump: Morgan Lake*
- Long jump: Jazmin Sawyers
- Pole vault: Molly Caudery
- Hammer: Anna Purchase*
- Heptathlon: Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Jade O’Dowda*, Abigail Pawlett*
- 4×100m Relay: Dina Asher-Smith, Success Eduan, Joy Eze, Desiree Henry, Amy Hunt, Daryll Neita
- 4×400, Relay: Amber Anning, Hannah Brier, Poppy Malik, Yemi Mary John, Victoria Ohuruogu, Nicole Yeargin
*Denotes athletes selected subject to them attaining the qualifying ranking position
Women’s Medal Prospects
Current Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson will be aiming to go one better than her silver at the Budapest World Champs in 2023 to strike gold when she takes to the track in Tokyo. She has had a tough time of things with injuries since her brilliant gold in Paris last summer, but bounced back very well in Diamond League events in August, especially in her winning performance in Silesia when she set a new world-leading time of 1:54.74, which isn’t far off her personal best.
Hodgkinson will have competition from another GB athlete, though, as Georgia Hunter Bell has opted to focus solely on the 800m instead of doubling up with the 1,500m (despite winning bronze in the latter event at Paris 2024). Interestingly, Hunter Bell has a slightly better 800m PB than the reigning champ, so it should be an interesting showdown.
Other possible medallists among the women include the sprint trio of Dina Asher-Smith, Amy Hunt and Daryll Neita. Any one of them could sneak a bronze in either the 100m or 200m, though we can’t see any of them getting gold or silver. They do have a great chance in the 4x100m relay, however, especially if the USA or Jamaica fluff up their baton changes! And of course Team GB manage to get theirs right!
Elsewhere, pole vaulter Molly Caudery has a fighting chance of a medal as the 25-year-old appears to be on an upward trajectory at present. Katarina Johnson-Thompson, meanwhile, can be somewhat unpredictable in the heptathlon, but she delivered gold in Doha in 2019 and again in Budapest in 2023, and added an Olympic silver in 2024, so she has a great chance of competing well again.
Men’s GB & NI Athletics Squad for Tokyo
- 100m: Jeremiah Azu, Romell Glave, Zharnel Hughes
- 200m: Toby Harries*, Zharnel Hughes
- 400m: Charlie Dobson, Matt Hudson-Smith, Samuel Reardon
- 800m: Max Burgin, Tiarnan Crorken, Ben Pattison
- 1500m: Elliot Giles, Neil Gourley, Josh Kerr, Jake Wightman
- 5000m: George Mills
- 3000m steeplechase: Zak Seddon
- 35k race walk: Cameron Corbishley*
- 400m hurdles: Alastair Chalmers, Seamus Derbyshire, Tyri Donovan
- 110m hurdles: Tade Ojora*
- Marathon: Emile Cairess
- Discus: Lawrence Okoye, Nick Percy
- Hammer: Jake Norris*
- Shot put: Scott Lincoln*
- 4×100m Relay: Eugene Amo-Dadzie, Jeremiah Azu, Jona Efoloko, Romell Glave, Louie Hinchliffe, Zharnel Hughes
- 4×400m Relay: Charlie Dobson, Lewis Davey, Toby Harries, Matt Hudson-Smith, Samuel Reardon, Lee Thompson
*Denotes athletes selected subject to them attaining the qualifying ranking position
Men’s Medal Prospects
For the men, there are several medal prospects aside from current champ Josh Kerr, not least the sole British gold medallist from the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Jake Wightman. He’s going head-to-head with Kerr in the 1,500m, which – like the women’s 800m – should be a great race and might just result in a GB one-two, if things go well.
Elsewhere, Olympic and 2023 World Championships 400m silver medallist Matt Hudson-Smith will be going all out for glory in Tokyo, but it’s going to be a tough ask. Charlie Dobson will also be pushing for a 400m medal, while both the 4x100m and the 4x400m relay teams have fighting chances of getting on the podium.
There aren’t many medal hopefuls among the field events for the men, and the squad doesn’t even include any competitors in the long jump or triple jump. It seems a long time since Greg Rutherford was winning his Olympic and world long jump titles… and even longer since Jonathan Edwards was winning his at the triple jump… and his world record still hasn’t been beaten!
How Many Medals Will GB & NI Win at the Athletics World Championships in Tokyo?
At the last worlds in Budapest in 2023, the GB & NI team won 10 medals in total, with two golds (KJT and Josh Kerr), three silvers (Keely Hodgkinson, Matthew Hudson-Smith, and the Mixed 4x400m Relay team), and five bronzes (Zharnel Hughes in the 100m, Ben Pattison in the 800m, and three other relay teams). That was better than the previous World Championships in Eugene in 2022, when GB & NI won just one gold, one silver and five bronze medals. A low point for the UK was Doha in 2019, when they mustered just five medals in total (although that did include two golds).
If Britain gets into double figures for medals with two or more golds, it will probably be seen as a successful championships. Three or more golds would be punching above their weight, but it’s not out of the question, with Hodgkinson or Hunter Bell and Kerr or Wightman well placed in their respective events, with prospects for more gold in at least one of the relays and perhaps a sneaky one in the men’s 400m or the heptathlon. Overall, we predict a similar outcome to last time, with two golds, but 11 or 12 medals in total.