A guide to the behind-closed-doors national event in Manchester

Almost 500 of the country’s top track and field athletes will arrive at the Manchester Regional Arena on Friday and Saturday (September 4-5) with spikes on their feet and hand gels at the ready for a Müller British Athletics Championships that has been delayed and rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Originally due to be held in June with Olympic selection at stake, the re-arranged meeting gives athletes some much-needed competition in front of a TV audience, although there will be no paying spectators due to coronavirus restrictions.

Event-by-event preview

Full entry lists can be found here.

Men’s events

100m: Ojie Edoburun (pictured, top) beat Adam Gemili and Zharnel Hughes to the blue ribbon sprint title just over 12 months ago and the champion returns to defend his title this week against opposition that includes Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Andrew Robertson.

100m ambulant: Thomas Young leads the entries in one of four para-athletics events in the programme.

200m: Tommy Ramdhan and Andrew Morgan-Harrison lead the entries although the form guide leading into the championships is thin due to the lack of results during the summer.

400m: Lee Thompson is the man to beat over one lap.

400m wheelchair: Richard Chiassaro takes on Nathan Maguire.

800m: Following his 3:29.47 for 1500m in Monaco, Jake Wightman steps down to 800m and takes on in-form sub-1:45 man Daniel Rowden, while a strong line-up includes up-and-coming talents like European under-20 champion Oliver Dustin, although teenage prodigy Max Burgin is not competing.

1500m: Neil Gourley defends his title with rivals likely to include James West, Josh Lay and George Mills.

5000m: Fresh from his UK 5km record on the roads, Marc Scott continues his fine year in Manchester.

3000m steeplechase: Phil Norman starts favourite in the absence of Zak Seddon.

110m hurdles: David King and Cameron Fillery are among the main contenders for gold.

400m hurdles: Efe Okoro and Alistair Chalmers have broken 50 seconds this summer but watch out for Chris McAlister and former world champion Dai Greene too.

5000m race walk: Callum Wilkinson is in great form after breaking the UK 10,000m record late last month but can he get close to Tom Bosworth’s national 5000m record of 18:20.97, which was set indoors? Bosworth himself is not competing after struggling to recover from coronavirus earlier this year.

High jump: Chris Baker and Allan Smith are among those dusting off their high jump shoes at the end of a challenging year where training was difficult for a long time due to facilities being out of bounds.

Pole vault: One of the strongest line-ups of the championships sees Harry Coppell against Charlie Myers, Adam Hague and Luke Cutts.

Long jump: Reynold Banigo, James Lelliott and Jack Roach are among the ones to watch.

Triple jump: Nathan Douglas was runner-up to Ben Williams last year and will hope to step up to the top of the podium this time.

Shot put: After a 20.65m PB last month, Scott Lincoln is the big favourite but the field also includes rising star Lewis Byng.

Discus: Nick Percy defends his title although the line-up is minus the back-in-form Lawrence Okoye.

Hammer: Craig Murch and Chris Bennett are among the contenders in a small field of throwers.

Javelin: Entries for the first event of the championships are spear-headed by in-form James Whiteaker.

Women’s events

100m: Imani Lansiquot leads the rankings going into the championships in an event which also includes teenage talent Amy Hunt.

100m ambulant: Paralympics star Sophie Hahn competes as disability events are integrated into the championships.

200m: Kristal Awuah and Desiree Henry are among the line-up, plus heptathlon talent Niamh Emerson.

400m: Laviai Nielsen goes into the event as No.1 on paper.

400m wheelchair: Multiple Paralympic gold medallist Hannah Cockroft tackles the one-lap event on day one of the championships.

800m: Jemma Reekie is the stand-out name on the entries, should she choose to run, whereas a number of rising talents are also due to compete led by Keely Hodgkinson, Isabelle Boffey and Khai Mhlanga.

1500m: In-form Laura Weightman will be challenged by Amy Griffiths, Katie Snowden and Jess Judd.

5000m: Amelia Quirk, Jess Judd and Verity Ockenden are among those set to battle it out over 12.5 laps.

3000m steeplechase: An interesting race in store with last year’s UK top three – Elizabeth Bird, Rosie Clarke and Aimee Pratt – in the field.

100m hurdles: Tiffany Porter and Cindy Ofili, the sister act who sit No.1 and No.3 on the UK all-time rankings, are entered. Porter is a former European champion and now a mother, too, while Ofili placed fourth in the Rio Olympics final, so it will be one of the highest quality events of the two-day programme.

400m hurdles: Jessie Knight will start strong favourite.

5000m race walk: Heather Lewis and Bethan Davies are among those contesting the women’s walk.

High jump: Morgan Lake leads the entries with world heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson competing this week in Brussels instead.

Pole vault: Holly Bradshaw is going for her seventh consecutive national outdoor crown.

Long jump: A quality event sees Abigail Irozuru defending her title against Jazmin Sawyers, among others.

Triple jump: Manchester-based Naomi Ogbeta defends her title on her home patch.

Shot put: Last year’s one-two, Sophie McKinna and Amelia Strickler, return to battle for honours.

Discus: Jade Lally and Kirsty Law are the key contenders.

Hammer: Jessica Mayho is the thrower to beat.

Javelin: Freya Jones is among the top entries with heptathlete Niamh Emerson also working on her technique.

Timetable

Friday September 4

14:22 M Javelin final
14.35 W 400m heats
15:30 M Pole vault final
15:35 M 100m heats
16:10 M Long jump final
16:15 M 400m heats
16:40 W Hammer final
16:45 W 800m heats
17:15 M 110m hurdles heats
17:33 M High jump final
17:40 W 100m hurdles heats
18:10 W 100m heats
18:34 M 100m semi-finals
18:50 M 400m hurdles heats
19:05 W Discus final
19:10 W 400m hurdles heats
19:15 W Long jump final
19:30 W 400m wheelchair final
19:35 W Shot final
19:40 W 100m ambulant final
19:50 M 110m hurdles final
20:00 W 100m hurdles final
20:10 M 800m heats
20:40 W 100m final
20:50 M 100m final
21:05 W 5000m final
21:25 M 1500m heats
21:42 W 1500m heats

Saturday September 5

10:35 W 5000m walk final
11:12 W Javelin final
11:15 M 5000m walk final
12:10 W 200m heats
12:25 M Triple jump final
12:30 M 200m heats
12:53 M Hammer final
13:00 M 3000m steeplechase final
13:25 M 400m hurdles final
13:35 W High jump final
13:40 W 400m hurdles final
13:50 W 3000m steeplechase final
14:03 M Shot final
14:05 M 100m ambulant final
14:15 M 400m wheelchair final
14:25 W Pole vault final
14:30 M 5000m final
14:47 W Triple jump final
14:50 M 800m final
15:05 W 800m final
15:10 M Discus final
15:20 M 400m final
15:30 W 400m final
15:40 W 200m final
15:50 M 200m final
16:03 M 1500m final
16:18 W 1500m final

How to watch and follow live

Fans in the UK can watch the action live from 18:00-21:00 on BBC Two on September 4 and 13:15-16:30 on BBC One on September 5, while British Athletics hopes to have footage of events outside BBC airtime available online.

Keep an eye on our website and social media channels on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for reports and updates from Manchester.