World junior silver medallist Shona Richards among 34 athletes selected to British Athletics Futures Programme for 2014-15

A total of 34 athletes are set to receive support through the British Athletics Futures Programme in 2014-15.

World junior 400m hurdles silver medallist Shona Richards is among 17 new additions to the programme following a season in which she broke Perri Shakes-Drayton’s UK junior 400m hurdles record with her 56.16 in Eugene.

Another hurdler, Yasmin Miller, also features, with the 19-year-old having set a British junior 100m hurdles record with her 13.13 for fourth at the World Junior Championships.

“The aim of the Futures programme is to support the next generation of champions and their coaches,” said the national governing body’s development manager, Jo Jennings. “We are delighted to assist the 34 athlete-coach pairings with their development plans and aid their future success.”

While 17 athletes have been added to the programme, eight have graduated to the World Class Performance Programme (WCPP). European 400m silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith and IPC European T35 100m and 200m champion Maria Lyle are among them, while Dina Asher-Smith and Laura Muir are also among those to have moved from the Futures programme to the WCPP in the last couple of years.

Jennings added: “By providing athletes with financial assistance and medical support, as well as coach development funding, the programme is aiming to help athletes follow in the successful footsteps of former Futures athletes such as Dina Asher-Smith and Robbie Grabarz.

“The likes of Matthew (Hudson-Smith) and Maria (Lyle) are role models for the 2014/15 group of Futures athletes. Only this summer these two athletes were on this programme and now they are European gold medallists and on the World Class Performance Programme.

“Into 2015 we will align with the Sport England Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme and benefit from additional funding and support services which complement the Futures programme.

“By supporting athlete-coach pairs around their own programmes, it allows for more flexibility and better distribution of resources, which will benefit the sport in future years.”

Athletes selected to the Futures programme for 2014-15

(Coach in brackets)

Sabrina Bakare – 400m (Jane Dixon)
Theo Blundell – 800m (Eddie Cockayne/Craig Winrow)
Seren Bundy-Davies – 400m (Stephen Ball)
Taylor Campbell – Hammer (Paul Dickenson)
Bobby Clay – 1500m (Peter Mullervy)
Harry Coppell – Pole vault (John Mitchell)
Jack Crosby – 400m (Lloyd Cowan)
Ojie Edoborun – 100m (Jonas Taiwah-Dodoo)
Amy Griffiths – 1500m (Mick Woods)
Adam Hague – Pole vault (Trevor Fox)
David Hall – Decathlon (Ian Grant)
Lucy Hatton 100m hurdles (John Anderson)
Georgie Hermitage – T37 200m (Paul McGregor)
Jamie Higgins – 20km walk (Andi Drake)
Harry Hughes – Javelin (Mike McNeil)
Cheriece Hylton – 400m, (John Blackie)
Shannon Hylton – 200m (John Blackie)
Kyle Langford – 800m (George Harrison)
Pani Mamuneas – F41 Shot put/Javelin (Jim Edwards/Dan West)
Polly Maton – T46 100m/Long jump (Colin Baross)
Hayley McLean – 400m hurdles (Lloyd Cowan)
Yasmin Miller – 100m hurdles (Lloyd Cowan)
Sophie Papps – 100m (Dan Cossins)
Jacob Paul – 400m hurdles (Marina Armstrong)
Nick Percy – Discus (Vesteinn Hafsteinsson)
Kyle Powell – T45 100m (Ryan Freckleton)
Shona Richards – 400m hurdles (Marina Armstrong)
Julie Rogers – T42 100m (Allen Adamson)
Sam Ruddock – F35 Shot put (Jim Edwards)
Elliot Rutter – 400m (Dan Cossins)
Sheikh Sheikh – T54 100-200m (Jenny Archer)
Ben Snaith – 400m (Graham Hedman)
Thomas Somers – 200m (Geoff Barraclough)
Shaun Wyllie – 1500m (Craig Winrow)

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