British Athletics has announced the 41 athletes included in its World Class Paralympic Program for 2025-26.
The WCP is funded by the initiative supported by the UK National Sports Lottery and supports athletes preparing for major international championships, including the Paralympic Games.
Three athletes (Melanie Woods, Lydia Church and Nathan Maguire) have advanced to the podium level, the highest of the three funding levels.
Woods won two bronze medals for Great Britain at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi this year and the 31-year-old Scot took her first world medals in the women’s 1500m T54 and 800m T54.
Church and Maguire also won bronze medals at the World Championships in the women’s F12 shot put and men’s T54 1500m respectively.
Five reigning world champions have been included, with Hannah Cockroft, Aled Sion Davies, Daniel Pembroke and Sabrina Fortune taking to the podium and women’s T44 100m gold medalist Victoria Levitt on the third-tier Paralympic confirmation list.
However, 2020 Paralympic champion Owen Miller, who missed the chance to defend his men’s T20 1500m title at the 2024 Games due to injury, has not been included in this year’s programme.
Didi Okoh, the women’s 100m T63 bronze medalist at the 2024 World and Paralympic Games, is promoted to the list of potential second-tier podium finishers, while Bree Cronin, Dan Gladman, Bebe Jackson, Jade Hall, Finlay Menzies and Arthur Milles are also added to the Paralympic confirmation level.
UK Athletics (UKA) Paralympic program director Katie Jones said it will help “continue to build momentum as we work towards the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games and beyond”.
Great Britain won seven gold, five silver and 13 bronze medals to finish seventh at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships.