Which are the strongest and weakest disciplines in British athletics? Armed with Peter Matthews’ 2021 merit rankings, we take a look

If British Athletics still believe they can field athletes in every track and field discipline at major championships in 10 years’ time – one of the stated objectives in the Age of the Athlete strategy published last year – then the sport has some work to do. 

There are a number of strong events where Britain has world-class athletes, but there are also several weaker areas which seem stuck in a rut.

So let’s examine the good, the bad and the ugly of the domestic athletics scene.

THE GOOD

Sprints success

Men’s and women’s sprints continue to have strength in depth. Peter Matthews, the long-time compiler of annual British athletics statistics, says the 50th-best mark in the men’s 100m of 10.47 in 2021 was an all-time record. In the women’s 200m the 50th-best time of 24.19 is also easily a record.

The women’s 400m is also in good health. Led by Olympic finalist Jodie Williams, the 10th-best mark last year of 51.99 beats the previous record by half a second.

Middle distance in a position of strength

The 800m landscape for men and women has never been healthier. Led by Olympic finalists Keely Hodgkinson, Jemma Reekie and Alex Bell, the women’s event is on a roll and the 10th-best time of 2:01.58 last year is a record. The men did not do as well in Tokyo but eight men broke 1:45 in 2021 and the 10th-best time of 1:45.70 last year beats the previous record of 1:46.08 from 2019.

As with the women’s 800m runners in Tokyo, Britain fielded three men in the Olympic 1500m final – for the first time since 1980 – with Josh Kerr winning bronze. The 10th-best mark of 3:36.31 and 50th-best of 3:42.75 in 2021 are easily records too, whereas the women’s 1500m 10th-best time of 4:07.20 last year is also a record.

Long distance runners with momentum

The stats speak for themselves. In the women’s 5000m a total of 90 British athletes inside 17 minutes in 2021 beat the previous best of 73. The 10th-best best mark at 10,000m for women of 32:50.57 is a record.

The men are also breaking records, with the 50th-best 5000m time last year of 14:05.21 being the best since 1988. The statistics are similar in the 10,000m and marathon as standards in depth are the best since the early 1990s.

Women’s discus and hammer

There are pleasing stats from 2021 in these events, with the 10th-best discus mark of 49.05m being the best for 20 years. In the hammer, a total of 10 athletes breaking 64 metres in a season is a record by more than two metres.

THE BAD

Men’s sprint hurdles struggle

Despite quality athletes like Andy Pozzi and David King at the sharp end, the strength in depth is worrying with the 10th-best time in 2021 of 14.33 being the worst since 1985 and the 50th-best mark the worst for half a century. The women’s sprint hurdles does not have the same problems, though.

Steeplechase in a rut

The men’s 3000m ’chase in particular has been one of the nation’s Cinderella events for a number of years now, with little sign of improvement. Last year only 33 men broke 9:20, with Mark Rowland’s UK record of 8:07.96 from 1988 looking untouchable.

Jumps for men need a lift

Statistics for last year are a little skewed by the fact there were few competitive opportunities indoors due to the pandemic. Still, in the high jump the 50th-best mark in 2021 is worse than two metres for the first time since 1978, while men’s pole vault standards in depth are the worst since 2007.

The depth in the men’s long jump is the worst since 2005, although there is always hope because from that position Britain produced an Olympic champion in 2012 in the shape of Greg Rutherford.

Of even more concern, though, is the fact that the men’s triple jump standards in depth are the worst since 1965, with only 47 men over 14 metres in an event where Britain still holds the world record courtesy of Jonathan Edwards’ 18.29m.

Men’s shot put is suffering

Like the men’s sprint hurdles with Pozzi, the shot put has a talented No.1 in the form of Scott Lincoln. But behind him the quality soon drops off and standards in depth last year were the worst since 1960. Just 51 men threw further than 13.50m in 2021 compared to 115 athletes in 1991.

The men’s hammer, incidentally, is similar with talented athletes like Nick Miller and Taylor Campbell at the sharp end but poor overall.

Decathlon woes

Women have led the way in combined events in recent years thanks to Jessica Ennis-Hill, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and many others. But decathlon standards are depressing with 30 men scoring over 5200 last year being the worst since 1968. Certainly, Daley Thompson’s long-standing British record of 8847 from 1984 looks safe for a while yet.

Women’s triple jump troubles

Naomi Metzger sits astride this event as the nation’s No.1 but the event is struggling to attract talented athletes in numbers and the 10th-best jump of 12.57m is the worst since 2005. Ashia Hansen’s UK record of 15.16m, set in 1998, currently looks to be out of sight.

THE UGLY

Javelin fails to hit the mark

Matthews says of the men’s javelin: “It remains the most depressed event of any in British athletics.”

When Steve Backley was in his pomp in 1991, the country’s 10th-best thrower managed 76.10m, whereas in 2021 the best mark was a mere 75.94m by the talented but injury-hit Harry Hughes.

In the women’s event Freya Jones was third in the European Team Championships and Bekah Walton fifth at the European Under-23 Championships but no British athlete made the world’s top 140 in an event which the nation once ruled with Fatima Whitbread and Tessa Sanderson.

Men’s 400m decline

Again, statistician Matthews is damning when he points out: “For the only time apart from 1900 and 1904, there were no UK competitors at the individual 400m at the Olympic Games.”

What’s more, the British title was won in a time outside 46 seconds, which was slower than Karsten Warholm ran over 400m hurdles in Tokyo.

There is, however, cause for optimism as Ed Faulds won the European under-20 title in Tallinn last year and the British quartet took 4x400m gold there, too.

How to fix struggling events

Steve Backley is a former world record-holder, four-time European champion and Olympic silver medallist in the javelin so he is not surprisingly disappointed by the current standards in his event.

He believes the “momentum” was lost in some events in the run-up to London 2012 when UK Athletics tried to bring a new approach to coaching the nation’s top athletes. He also thinks more attractive and lucrative sports like rugby act as a distraction. However, he remains hopeful that things can be turned around due to the “cyclical nature” of the sport.

“It’s similar to what happened to middle distances after the golden period of the 1980s. Events in athletics tend to be cyclical and good groups of athletes feed off each other. You then get a perfect storm with good coaches, infrastructure and a desire to succeed among young people.

“I think the momentum stopped, for whatever reason. Before London 2012 we tried to invent new systems and in some ways forgot what worked in the past.

“But look at middle distance now. There was a lull after the Coe, Ovett and Cram era but now it’s looking amazingly strong again.”

READ MORE: UK men’s merit rankings 2021

He adds: “You need the raw material and talent, the infrastructure of coaching and facilities. They are the basic ingredients and without that it’s going nowhere. And we definitely have these in this country.

“It’s not a short-term fix. To create momentum it’s about putting the basics in place. We have talent, facilities and coaches but to put it into one word, we need some “glue” to pull it all together.”

Similarly, the 4x400m team of Roger Black, Derek Redmond, John Regis and Kriss Akabusi who won the world title in 1991 are exasperated by the men’s 400m scene in the UK. But they have solutions.

Akabusi insists that “you have to run fast” in training. It sounds simple but Akabusi struggles to believe Britain’s current 400m runners run hard and fast enough. Regis agrees: “Speed kills. If you have speed then you can change your mindset and do anything. If you don’t have speed these days you have no chance.”

READ MORE: UK women’s merit rankings 2021

Black believes in the power of training in quality squads or, as he puts it, “pockets of groups”.

Black, who also won Olympic silver and European gold, adds: “The formula for success in our sport has never changed. You’ve got to have talent. You have to be prepared to work hard and in the 400m you’ve got to be prepared to hurt. Then you’ve also got to be lucky for geography to play its part.”

Perhaps today’s athletes and coaches should consult the champions of yesteryear more, too. As Black says: “Success leaves clues.”

Key points

You can find our 2021 merit rankings here.