Team GB at the World Athletics Championships

[Epic Failure 359]

On 9/20/2025 at 5:15 AM, Olympicsnell said:

how far are we off having someone compete in decathlon again? i forget the name but i remember having someone at the europeans recently, is he still a long way of this level?

The most recent guys we've had at Euros have been Duckworth and Bryant, both obviously retired now. As Rafa says, Turner and Ball are the current 'most likely in the future' but as ever in the Dec, fitness is the struggle. Church is a bit older but obviously that doesn't rule out continuing to improve, but I guess his potential ceiling is the lowest of the 3. 

 

With both CGs and Euros next summer, it's very likely we'll see all 3 in a national vest of some sort, fitness allowing. 

[Epic Failure 359]

8 hours ago, Rafa Maciel said:

Think we can probably all agree this wasn't a vintage championships for us.

 

On the upside, UK Athletics selection policy was definitely a step forward - taking people who qualify through world ranking should be a no-brainer even if they are last in the list. That being said, it didn't take Mystic Meg to know that a couple of the announced athletes weren't going to get in. That's just administrative mismanagement.

 

On the downside, the relays were an unmitigated disaster - going from 5 medals to 0 in the space of a year is not the trajectory we need. Add in unfortunate injuries and poor track positioning and the medal count is seriously depleted.

 

It's the least important year in the Olympic cycle - and athletics isn't the only sport where GB are off their Olympic best - but let's hope we're in a better position when Beijing rolls around in '27. 

 

 

Agree with this, a very fair review. 

 

I sound like a broken record as I've been banging on about it elsewhere on the internet, but we're the nation with the most to think about in terms of 2026 in athletics, with 2 home championships. As you rightfully say, this year is absolutely the least important in the cycle for British athletes. 

 

Our number of top 8 finishes was pretty much where it normally is, they just weren't necessarily translated into medals as much as we might have hoped. There's a wider point about the (non)competitiveness in things like field events but in terms of comparisons to recent years, we're not far away. 

 

Beijing looks to be important, not least because you have to imagine that it will come in the window for LA qualifying. Better to achieve a mark there, if possible, than have to chase around the world in early 2028.

[Rafa Maciel 1,671]

Botswana gets a public holiday after winning gold at World Championships

 

Botswana declares public holiday for 'historic' World Athletics Championships men's relay victory - BBC News

 

Kind of begs the question, what would  need to achieve in order to warrant a public holiday in UK? The merest whiff of the football team winning the World Cup - or even the Euros, and politicians are happy to jump on the bandwagon but can't think of another sport where they even acknowledge the achievements of our sportsmen/women

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3 minutes ago, Rafa Maciel said:

Botswana gets a public holiday after winning gold at World Championships

 

Botswana declares public holiday for 'historic' World Athletics Championships men's relay victory - BBC News

 

Kind of begs the question, what would  need to achieve in order to warrant a public holiday in UK? The merest whiff of the football team winning the World Cup - or even the Euros, and politicians are happy to jump on the bandwagon but can't think of another sport where they even acknowledge the achievements of our sportsmen/women

Mens World Cup win would probably be whats required. Maybe euros but im not convinced of that.  In a ideal world womens world cup would be too, but being realistic it won't.

 

Maybe 1st on the olympic medal table but that's never happening.