Eurosport - Tue, 24 Feb 13:13:00 2009
Kelly Sotherton has been named in Great Britain's squad for the European Indoor Championships despite recent injury problems.
Sotherton, who won pentathlon silver when the event was staged in Birmingham two years ago, has been bothered by a series of minor niggles in recent weeks but has been included for the trip to Turin.
She will make a final decision on whether to compete in the coming week.
However, one athlete who definitely won't be competing is Olympic triple jump silver medallist Phillips Idowu. He was not among the 36 names announced by UK Athletics due to a knee injury.
As expected, Simeon Williamson and Craig Pickering, who won silver at the 2007 championships, have been selected alongside trials winner Dwain Chambers for the men's 60m in which Chambers will be favourite to win gold.
Mo Farah will also be confident of medalling in the 3,000m after setting a new British record in Glasgow at the weekend to go top of the European indoor rankings.
"I'm really pleased with the way the year has gone so far," Farah said. "But I'm not taking anything for granted. There will be some tough opposition in Turin and I've got some hard work ahead of me.
"I'm just concentrating on maintaining my focus and being at my best when it counts and then hopefully, the rewards should come."
On the women's side, both Jennifer Meadows and Marilyn Okoro will fancy their chances of a medal in the 800m.
"Major championships are the best part of any athlete's life," said new head coach Charles van Commenee. "It is what they train and live for. The athletes selected in the Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland Team have a fantastic opportunity to achieve something significant in the sport.
"We will do all we can help them try and make the most of this opportunity and perform to the best of their ability. In recent years, we have established a really strong reputation within European athletics, especially in light of some of the successes at last year's European Cup, the Olympic Games and European Cross Country Championships.
"It is important for us to sustain our standing by committing ourselves to the challenges in Turin and competing fiercely in order to meet our individual and collective goals."
The event takes place in Turin from March 6-8.
Full team:
Men:
60m: Dwain Chambers; Craig Pickering; Simeon Williamson
400m: Richard Buck; Nick Leavey
1500m: Neil Speaight; Chris Warburton
3000m: Mark Draper; Mo Farah; Nick McCormick
60m hurdles: Allan Scott; Andy Turner
High Jump: Martyn Bernard; Samson Oni
Pole Vault: Steve Lewis
Long Jump: Greg Rutherford; Chris Tomlinson
Shot: Carl Myerscough
4x400m: Buck, Dale Garland; Leavey, Nigel Levine; Phil Taylor
Women:
400m: Donna Fraser
800m: Jennifer Meadows; Marilyn Okoro
1500m: Hannah England; Susan Scott
3000m: Katrina Wootton
60m hurdles: Gemma Bennett; Sarah Claxton
Pole Vault: Kate Dennison
Long Jump: Jade Johnson
Pentathlon: Kelly Sotherton
4x400m: Vicki Barr; Tara Bird; Fraser; Kim Wall; Dawn Wilson
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