STOCKTON’S Richard Kilty and Northallerton’s Scott Lincoln have been named in the Great Britain squad for next month’s European Athletics Championships in Rome.

Kilty, who is a former World Indoor champion over 60m, is one of six male sprinters named in GB’s 4x100m squad for the Europeans.

The 34-year-old was part of the 4x100m squad that finished second at the 2020 Olympics, only to be stripped of their silver medal when CJ Ujah failed a drugs test.

Lincoln, who is a member of the City of York club, has been selected in the shot put, having finished tenth in the final of the most recent European Championships in 2022.

The 31-year-old is currently ranked 18 in the world, and will hope to make the GB squad for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.

British Athletics have selected an extremely strong squad for the Europeans, which should act as an ideal precursor to the Olympics.

Reigning World heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Olympic 800m silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson have been named in the 70-strong GB squad for Rome, although Josh Kerr and Laura Muir will not be competing.

The group travelling to Italy also includes 2023 World 400m silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith and World 100m bronze medallist Zharnel Hughes.

Hughes, who last year smashed a pair of British records in the 100m and 200m which had stood for 30 years, is eligible for a 200m wildcard but has elected to focus on the shorter distance in Italy.

Jade O’Dowda will also join Johnson-Thompson in the heptathlon, subject to ranking confirmation.

The team includes a full women’s half-marathon squad, with the event incorporating both an individual and team competitions.

There was no official selection event for the European Championships, for which athletes were instead required to submit expressions of interest or confirm with their event point of contact for consideration.

UK Athletics head coach Paula Dunn said: “For some athletes, winning a medal in Rome will be the perfect preparation for the Olympics, for others competing here will provide a benchmark as to where they are, knowing that their peak performance needs to come at the start of August.

“There is also a good blend of athletes who can use this championship to step up and fuel their aims of qualifying for Paris and onto Tokyo World Championships in 2025.”