Two athletes have been selected as part of Team England’s Marathon team for the home Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer. Alongside the marathon runners, Team England will send a team of over 400 Team England athletes to compete at Birmingham 2022 and capitalise on the once in a lifetime opportunity to bring home success in their own country.
The two marathon runners to represent Team England are:
Jonny Mellor, Stockport – Mellor first established himself in the marathon scene in 2017 with his 10th place finish at the Berlin marathon with a time of 2:12:57. Five years later, Mellor ran a strong race in 2:10:46 at the Manchester Marathon, securing his place to represent Team England at this year’s home Games.
Georgina Schweining, Cambridge – For many years Schwieining has been a championship medal winning Elite duathlete. Smashing her previous best of 2:35:22, the Cambridge Runners athlete clocked 2:31:35 at the Manchester Marathon putting her in a strong position for the home Games.
Speaking on her excitement to compete at a home Games, Schwiening said: “I am delighted and honoured to be selected to represent Team England in the marathon at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer. It is a privilege to be part of the Games and I’m still pinching myself to check that it’s real. I can’t wait to be on the start line and soak up the atmosphere of a home Games.”
Talking to Team England on his selection, Mellor said: “It’s an honour to be selected for the Commonwealth Games and I’m really excited for the opportunity to take part in a home Games. I’m extremely grateful to England Athletics and London Marathon for supporting me on this journey so far.”
Kelly Sotherton MBE, Team Leader for the England Athletics Team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, shared: “It’s a real privilege to announce our first two Team England members for track and field for Birmingham 2022. I’m excited to have Georgina and Jonny in our team. They performed outstandingly to qualify and be in this position. With less than three months to go, the excitement is building more so now and announcing the marathon team today makes it even more real.”
Team England’s Chef de Mission, Mark England OBE, welcomed the two athletes to the team: “It’s great to welcome Jonny and Georgina to Team England for Birmingham 2022 this summer. They have both set strong qualifying times at the Manchester Marathon and it will be exciting to see them build on that in front of a home crowd in a few months’ time. I’m looking forward to watching them race on Saturday 30th July and seeing them ‘Bring it Home’ for England in Birmingham.”
You can get behind Team England by following its social channels where each athlete will become Part of the Pride in the run up to Birmingham. The marathon will take place on Saturday 30th July, with all runners starting at Smithfield. From there, the athletes will head south out of the city towards Bournville which is then followed by a section through the city centre, finishing in Victoria Square, the location for the Town Hall and the Council House.
The Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport event with a fully integrated programme of para sport disciplines and this year’s Games promises to be extra special with full stadiums and arenas after Tokyo 2020 took place behind closed doors. Birmingham 2022 is set to have the largest ever female and para sport programme in history after a new discipline of Women’s T20 Cricket and Beach Volleyball and Para Table Tennis were confirmed.