23rd June marks 400 days to go until the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. To celebrate the milestone, we are launching ‘Generation 22’, our ones to watch series ahead of the Games. 

We want to shine a light on athletes currently breaking through, as well as the potential stars of next year’s home Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Generation 22 will provide a deep dive into the stories of some potential B2022 athletes, revealing their backstories, highlighting where they have come from and connecting them closer with fans. We are aiming for the series to reflect Team England’s values of diversity and inclusivity, and the campaign will profile athletes from different sports, ages, backgrounds, and locations across the country in the run-up to the Games next summer. 

Over the next two weeks, we will be unveiling the first five athletes of Generation 22 with more to be profiled following the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. This first group of athletes are:

  • Myles Hesson (Basketball - Birmingham, West Midlands) – Birmingham born and bred and current GB 5v5 basketball captain
  • Georgina Nelthorpe (Wrestling – Burnley, Lancashire) – Won bronze at Gold Coast Games in 2018 as Team England’s sole female wrestler
  • Layla Guscoth (Netball – Birmingham, West Midlands) – Established herself as one of England Netball’s best defenders since returning from injury after the Gold Coast Games in 2018
  • Kieran Rollings (Para Lawn Bowls - Kettering, Northamptonshire) – The youngest member of Team England's Lawn Bowls team at Gold Coast 2018 at just 18 years old
  • Jacob Peters (Swimming, Poole, Dorset) – Competed at his first Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast 2018 and will be aiming for a second in 2022

Chief Executive of Commonwealth Games England, Paul Blanchard, said on the launch of Generation 22: 

“We have an amazing set of ambitious, diverse athletes coming through Team England at the moment and it’s important to showcase their stories and connect them with the fans ahead of what’s going to be an incredible home Games next year in Birmingham”.

Keep a look out for our Generation 22 athletes' stories which will be being released on all our social channels!