Alongside those aiming to qualify for Tokyo, 36 para athletes will also compete in front of the Manchester crowd

For the second year running, para athletes will be performing at the Müller British Championships.

This weekend (June 25-27), 36 para athletes will take part across four races – men’s and women’s 100m mixed class and 400m wheelchair contests – as well as shot put, discus, long jump, high jump and javelin competitions.

The action on show will be high quality, with a number of the 12 athletes who were announced as part of the Great Britain Paralympic team on Wednesday competing in Manchester.

Five-time T34 Paralympic and 12-time world champion Hannah Cockroft and two-time F42 Paralympic and six-time world champion Aled Davies are just two of those athletes – and the pair are excited to showcase their skills.

Cockroft goes into the event having already broken world records seven times in nine races in Switzerland earlier this year.

“The para inclusion is massive,” the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m record-holder tells AW. “We got it last year for the first time and the fact that British Athletics have continued that at the Olympic Trials, in an Olympic year, is really exciting and I can’t wait to get there and feel the atmosphere. We don’t have a trials as a Paralympic team and get selected based on all our performances so it’s a great experience.”

Of her world records, she adds: “I’m equally blown away by all of them, in all honesty. Every time I went on the track I didn’t think I could go any quicker as I was so impressed by what I did the time before. The 100m is always exciting and that’s the hardest race to go quicker in because everything has to go right.

“The 400m time of 53.99 was one that I never dreamt I could get. I took over two seconds off my time! We’d aimed for low 55s and I was completely alone so sometimes you feel a bit pathetic but I couldn’t believe it.”

The 28-year-old will be competing in her third Paralympics in Tokyo and is using the upcoming championships as a chance to test herself against some of the best in Britain. It’s the first time she will have competed in front of a British crowd since the pandemic began and Cockroft cannot wait to get on the track.

“We pulled the lucky straw, being on that Sunday,” she says. “I’m curious to see how different the atmosphere is compared to our own events and to see how the Olympic guys cope and react with that pressure. It’s all something we’re going to have to get used to again ahead of Tokyo with 10,000 people in the stands so there will be some noise.

“I sat out of the European Championships this year so I haven’t had that major crowd experience so far that a lot of people have had. I can’t wait to get out there, put the British kit back on and get going.”

Cockroft will race over 400m alongside two-time T53 world champion Sammi Kinghorn, T34 two-time European champion Fabienne Andre, Melanie Woods and 15-year-old Anya Waugh, an athlete who is coached by the world record-holder.

“The race will be between me and Sami Kinghorn just because we’re the two most experienced and have been in the sport the longest,” says Cockroft. “She’s a T53 on paper she should beat me. There was 0.01 seconds difference between our times over the 400m and 800m between me and her in Switzerland.

“We’ve also got Melanie [Woods]. Mel is absolutely flying and has taken seconds off her time. This will be a massive experience for her as she still hasn’t raced in front of a crowd yet. I just hope she soaks it up and enjoys it. 

“Fabienne [Andre] just became European champion in my class. Then we’ve got young Anya [Waugh], who is my athlete. I’ve been coaching her for a year now and she is just 15 years old. I know she’s not going to beat me but one day she may well do! I’ve been helping her learn the tactics of the 400m and she’s got personal bests in every race this year. The most important bit is to enjoy it!”

Davies travels to Manchester having added yet another European title to his collection as he won the men’s shot put out in Bydgoszcz earlier this month.

The 30-year-old will be competing alongside Scott Lincoln, who recently threw a personal best and Olympic qualifying standard of 21.28m.

“It’s gone from zero to 100 really quickly. Poland was just my second competition in two years so I underestimated the rust of competing at a major championships but I managed to get the job done. There’s more competitions opening up now and I’m excited to be getting back at it,” he tells AW.

“British throwing is going up at the moment and I want to be up amongst the action and excitement. He [Scott Lincoln] has been peppering 20m for a long time and I’m not surprised. For him to go 21m for the first time and get that Olympic standard, I was absolutely chuffed for him. He’s head and shoulders above the British throwers in the shot put and the whole thing has absolutely taken off at the moment.”

Just last week Ryan Crouser set a world record in the shot put with 23.37m at the US Olympic Trials, the first time it had been broken since Randy Barnes managed it in 1990. Davies calls it “sensational” and is delighted shot put is getting more popular as the bigger throws over 23m become more realistic.

“I was lucky to go out to go and train with him [Ryan Crouser] and Joe Kovacks out in the US and I remember seeing the lines out at 24m with marks in the gravel. I’ve seen them throwing those distances in training and Ryan is so consistent with those big throws,” he says.

“I’m so happy to see that world record go for the first time in 31 years and there are also a few guys capable of that kind of distance as well.”

He had to work hard for it, but did we ever doubt that @AledDavies2012 would get the job done? It's a SEVENTH European gold for the Welshman as he wins the F63 shot put ?#Bydgoszcz2021 | @BritAthletics pic.twitter.com/wpREJsRY7f

— C4 Paralympics (@C4Paralympics) June 5, 2021

With shot put getting into the forefront of athletics news in recent weeks, Davies is excited to once again perform in front of a British crowd and says he hopes he can put on a show.

“It’s nice to see crowds coming back now as they are the life and soul of athletics,” he adds. “For me the Europeans was a strange experience when I was competing on the last day and they started drip feeding people into the stadium but it wasn’t the same. Having that atmosphere of people embracing the competition will hopefully make us throw some big distances. 

“If I throw far I know what I’m capable of. My programme is to throw far in the Paralympic final, break the Paralympic record and create history. Manchester will be the next stage and hopefully I can chuck in some pretty big throws. 

“In Tokyo, I know everyone is looking at me because I am the man to beat. I haven’t been beaten in my field in shot put since 2012 and I know people can get bored seeing that but I’ve still got a lot to give and improve on. I’ll always remain a student of my sport and hopefully this is the start of normality again.”