JACK LAUGHER will attempt to lay down an early marker ahead of the 2020 Olympics when he competes in three events at next month’s World Diving Championships in Budapest.
Laugher, who is from Ripon and a former member of Harrogate Diving Club, was one of the stars of last year’s Olympics in Rio as he teamed up with Chris Mears to win a gold medal in the 3m synchronised springboard.
The pair will team up again in the 3m synchro at the World Championships, having already claimed three medals on this year’s World Series circuit.
Laugher will also compete in the 3m and 1m individual springboard events as he looks to strengthen his growing reputation as one of the world’s leading divers.
The 22-year-old was also an individual medallist in Rio, and should be at the peak of his powers when the next Olympics are staged in Tokyo in three years’ time.
“I’m excited to get back to action at the World Championships,” said Laugher, who trains at British Diving’s high-performance base in Leeds. “What happened last year at the Olympics was a dream come true, and I want to be able to show that I can continue to develop in my diving.
“I am doing the 1m springboard this year, which I haven’t done for a few years, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.
“I’ve had a good World Series competition in the 3m springboard and 3m synchro, which gives me confidence going into the World Championships too.”
Laugher and Mears will be joined in Budapest by fellow Olympic medallists Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow, who will team up in the 10m synchro. Daley will also return to the 10m board for his individual event.
“I believe we have selected the strongest team we have for the World Championships,” said national performance director Alexei Evangulov. “The first World Championships of a new quadrennial is always an interesting challenge which often sees new athletes competing, so it will be good for us to see who our international rivals bring out to compete.
“On the back of the success in Rio, we know that we need to keep building and moving forwards, which is why I know our team will continue to work hard to be in the best shape they can be for Budapest.”
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STEPHEN MILLER will compete at a remarkable seventh IPC World Championships after he was confirmed in the British team for next month’s World Para Athletics Championships at London’s Olympic Stadium.
Miller, who is from Cramlington, will compete in the F32 club throw, having previously won six Paralympic medals in the event.
He will be joined in the British squad by fellow North-Easterner Jade Jones, with the Teesside wheelchair racer set to line up in three disciplines.
Jones, who was a medallist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, will contest the 800m, 1,500m and 5,000m in the T54 category in London.
Ten gold medal winners from the 2016 Paralympics have been named in the British squad, including Hannah Cockroft, Aled Davies, Jonnie Peacock and Richard Whitehead, who also topped the medal podium in the 2012 London Games.
Yorkshire’s Cockroft has been in scintillating form in recent weeks, setting a remarkable five world records in Switzerland over the last fortnight.
“We have selected a very strong team for the World Para Athletics Championships in London, and I am delighted to see so many medallists from Rio lining up alongside some new faces at the senior level,” said Para Athletics head coach Paula Dunn.
“Having a home World Championships is very special for all the athletes, coaches and team staff, so we are all very honoured to be representing the British team this summer.”
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NORTH-EAST duo Beth Bryan and Kat Copeland will attempt to build on their medal-winning performances at the European Rowing Championships when they compete in the second World Cup regatta of the summer in Poznan this month.
Having claimed a bronze medal at her first senior European Championships, Stockton’s Bryan will once again team up with Holly Nixon, Jess Leyden and Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne in the quadruple scull between June 16-18.
Copeland was also a bronze medallist at the Europeans, and the Stokesley Olympian will be back in partnership with Emily Craig in the lightweight double as she looks to add to her World Cup medal tally.
Paralympic events also feature on the schedule in Poznan, and Northallerton’s Laurence Whiteley will team up with Lauren Rowles in the PR2 races.
The pair won a Paralympic gold in the TA 2x in Rio last summer, and Whiteley has started the current season strongly, winning a gold and bronze in the single at the recent Gavirate International Para-Rowing Regatta.
Middlesbrough’s Jo Wratten will compete in the women’s eight, with Chester-le-Street’s Will Fletcher set to resume his partnership with Peter Chambers in the men’s lightweight double.
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LAURA WEIGHTMAN continued her summer build-up with a 13th-place finish in a hugely-competitive 1,500m at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.
The Morpeth Harrier started her outdoor season with a superb debut over 5,000m at the start of the month, and produced another solid showing in a field that also featured fellow Briton Laura Muir.
Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon was victorious thanks to a stellar front-running display, with Muir finishing third. Weightman posted a time of 4:10.50 as she finished just outside the top ten.
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