GB Squad Announced: Johnson-Thompson and Hodgkinson Lead Charge for European Championships.

World heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Olympic 800m silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson have been selected for the British team competing in next month's European Athletics Championships in Rome.

World 400m silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith and world 100m bronze medallist Zharnel Hughes are part of the 72-member British team for the European Athletics Championships in Rome. 

Rising star Molly Caudery, the world indoor champion, will compete in the women's pole vault alongside Olympic bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw.

The Championships will run from 7-12 June, just eight weeks before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Head coach Paula Dunn said, "For some athletes, winning a medal in Rome will be the perfect preparation for the Olympics. For others, competing here will provide a benchmark to gauge their progress ahead of the peak performance in August."

Former world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith is entered in the women's 100m, with fellow sprinter Daryll Neita and world indoor 800m silver medallist Jemma Reekie also featured in the strong British lineup.

At the last European Championships in 2022, Great Britain secured 20 medals, including six golds.

Zharnel Hughes, the reigning 200m champion, will compete in the 100m in Rome, having won silver in that event two years ago behind Italy's Marcell Jacobs. 

Keely Hodgkinson (women's 800m) and Matthew Hudson-Smith (men's 400m) aim to defend their European titles, along with the men's 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams.

However, reigning women's 1500m champion Laura Muir and men's 1500m world champion Josh Kerr will not be competing.