Cockroft has more world titles in her sights as Japan beckons
Halifax star Hannah Cockroft OBE will be going for an unprecedented 15th and 16th world title at the World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan, next month.
The 31-year-old was confirmed as a member of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad, which was announced this week.
Cockroft has won 14 world titles during her career to date having added T34 100m and 800m gold to the collection in Paris last year.
She is joined in the squad by fellow reigning world champions Hollie Arnold, Jonathan Broom-Edwards, Aled Davies, Sabrina Fortune and Dan Pembroke.
Five-time world champions Arnold and Davies will continue their preparations for the summer’s Paralympic Games in Paris as they target a defence of their titles.
Broom-Edwards and Fortune are currently two-time world champions in the T64 high jump and F20 shot put respectively, the former the reigning Paralympic champion, so both athletes will be targeting further success next month.
Pembroke backed up his Paralympic gold in Tokyo with a world title in 2023, so will be set on repeating that feat in the F13 javelin.
Head of Paralympic Performance, Tom Paulson, said: “This is a unique Championships taking place a couple of months out from the Paralympic Games, with Paris the main focus for athletes this season. However, we have a very strong squad heading out to Japan who will be targeting world success.
“We have selected a team which balances the aims of providing qualification opportunities to achieve quota slots at the Paralympic Games for many athletes on the team, while also supporting those medallists from last year’s Championships who have outlined, whilst satisfying the selection panel, that competing in Kobe at these Championships is a vital part of their preparation for Paris.
"I am looking forward to seeing how all the athletes perform in Japan next month.”
The team has been selected to fulfil UK Athletics’ aim to provide qualification opportunities and global international competition opportunities to support medal success at the 2024 Paralympic Games only. Athletes who qualified through previous allocation methods were only considered for selection in exceptional circumstances.