Britain’s best para athletes headline Müller Anniversary Games
A host of Paralympic and world champions will take to the London Stadium this summer.
Athletes include world record holders, Hannah Cockroft (coach: Jenni Banks; club: Leeds City) and Sophie Hahn (Leon Baptiste; Charnwood), as well as fellow 2017 world champion, Stef Reid (Aston Moore; Charnwood). They will be part of an extensive para athletics event programme over the two days of the Müller Anniversary Games on the 4 and 5 July.
Cockroft, who added her eleventh and twelfth world titles to her collection in Dubai last November, will return to the capital to compete in the T34 100 metres.
Heralding from Yorkshire, the 26-year-old is the current world record holder in the event, clocking 16.77s at the World Para Athletics Championships last year as she sliced 0.55s off her previous best to win her fifth 100m world title.
Five-time Paralympic champion, Cockroft, commented:
“I am so excited to be heading back to the London Stadium to compete at the Müller Anniversary Games. It will be an important race for me ahead of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Opportunities to race against the best in the world in front of a home crowd don’t come around very often, so it will be a special occasion and a significant milestone in my season.
“The support from British fans is like no other, and I cannot wait to compete in front of them. I have great memories from the London Games in 2012, and the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships, so it will be the perfect send off before my third Paralympics.”
Another world champion from 2017, Reid, will be back for the T64 long jump, and the recently appointed UK Athletics’ Vice President is looking forward to competing at the event again.
Reid said:
"I cannot wait to get back into the London Stadium where I’ve experienced some of the best moments of my career. I still get butterflies when I drive past the stadium and the event will be the perfect send off to Tokyo 2020!"
Hahn, a seven-time world champion, will contest the T35-38 100 metres on Saturday 5 July. The T38 100m Paralympic gold medallist holds the world record over 100m which she lowered last November, setting a time of 12.45s.
An international men’s 100 metres alongside three additional domestic para events will take place including a women’s 100m (ambulant), men’s 200m (ambulant) and men’s T53/54 400m (wheelchair). The line-ups will be announced in due course.
Cherry Alexander, Major Events Director at British Athletics, added:
“British Athletics are delighted to integrate several outstanding para athletics events into the programme at the Müller Anniversary Games. We are delighted to offer world-class competition to athletes which acts as a crucial milestone in their build-up to the Paralympic Games later this year.
“There are a number of Paralympic, world and European champions who will join us across the weekend of the 4 and 5 July, so you are seeing the very best athletes take to the track and field at this prestigious event in the calendar.
“We are very much looking forward to seeing the best para athletes in the world line-up alongside Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Dina Asher-Smith and Mondo Duplantis who have already been confirmed.”
