CHRIS Tomlinson will lead the domestic charge when England take on Australia at the inaugural Great North CityGames in Newcastle and Gateshead on September 19.

The CityGames, which will take place on the Newcastle-Gateshead Quayside, will feature nine events including sprint and high hurdles races, middle-distance events, and pole vault, long jump and shot putt competitions.

The Games, which will form the prelude to this year's Great North Run, will see Middlesbrough-born long jumper Tomlinson take on Australian Mitchell Watt, who beat his North-East rival by five places as he claimed the bronze medal at last month's World Championships.

"I have been consistent this year over eight metres," said Tomlinson. "Australia have some great long jumpers so it will be a tough competition, but I hope the home crowd will spur us on to good performances."

World Championship medallists Lisa Dobriskey and Jenny Meadows will also be representing England in ten days time.

Dobriskey, who won a silver medal in the 1,500m at Berlin, will be challenged over a mile by Meadows, who steps up to the distance after her third in the 800m.

Dobriskey will come to Tyneside in the form of her life after she defeated Maryam Yusuf Jamal, who denied her the gold medal in Berlin by a fraction of a second, at Sunday's IAAF Grand Prix meeting in Rieti.

The 25-year-old is no stranger to the street mile having won on the Quayside for the last two years, and is looking forward to chasing a hat-trick of victories.

"It's always been a meeting I've enjoyed and look forward to winning again," said Dobriskey. "The concept of street races is a great idea and in Newcastle always attracts big crowds.

"I particularly like the idea of a match against the Australians. We've always had a great rivalry with them and this I'm sure will be no different."

Meadows, whose determination and never-say-die attitude deservedly saw her rewarded with a World Championships bronze, is equally enthusiastic about appearing in the event.

"I'm really looking forward to competing in Newcastle, although I'm running further than my usual 800m," she said.

"I'm looking forward to the challenges this brings and showing the North-East crowd my thanks and appreciation for their support in what's been a great season for me."

British 800m champion Jemma Simpson, who narrowly missed out on scoring what would have been the best victory of her life at last Friday's IAAF Golden League meeting in Brussels, is also looking forward to her outing over the mile.

"I have a great record on British soil this year with wins in the British Championships and London Grand Prix," said Simpson. "I normally race over 800m and it will be a nice challenge moving up to the mile.

"Britain has great strength in depth in the women's middle distances at the moment and hopefully we will inspire the next generation."

The Australians have named Selma Kajan, Katherine Katsanevakis and Holly Noack in their team and, like England, will add another contestant in the next few days.

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