The first British athletes to be selected for the Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships were named by UK Athletics on Wednesday (18).
Abbie Donnelly, who won bronze in the senior women’s race at the Brussels 2023 SPAR European Cross Country Championships, is among the five athletes selected for the marathon, which takes place on Sunday 16 August.
The 26.2mile course will run through the heart of Birmingham on a free-to-watch course showcasing Europe’s best endurance runners.
Breakthrough Brits
In only her second ever marathon, Donnelly recorded 2:24:11 at the Frankfurt Marathon last October, finishing as the first European.
Joining her in the women’s team is Natasha Wilson who enjoyed a successful 2025 autumn season on the roads, posting personal bests over 10km and in the marathon, the latter a 2:24:19 performance that places her eighth on the UK all-time list.
On the men’s side, Paris Olympians Phil Sesemann and Mahamed Mahamed have been named. Sesemann clocked a a breakthrough 2:07:11 personal best at the Valencia Marathon in December which moved him to fifth on the UK all time rankings.
Mahamed set a new half marathon personal best of 1:01:09 in Barcelona on Sunday (15). Rounding out the selections is the evergreen Jonny Mellor. The 39-year-old clocked a lifetime best of 2:08:45 in Valencia to move into the top ten on the UK all time list.
"Exceptional form"
UK Athletics Performance Director Paula Dunn commented: “We are delighted to confirm the first athletes selected for the marathon at the European Championships.
“Each of them has demonstrated exceptional form, and their performances over the last year show they are capable of competing with the very best in Europe.
“Birmingham will provide a fantastic stage for these athletes, with the home crowd cheering them on. We look forward to adding further athletes to the team in the spring as preparations continue to build towards August.”