Cuban-born triple jumper, 38, gets the nod for Team GB at Daegu
Yamile Aldama, a 38-year-old Cuban-born triple jumper who has also competed for Sudan, will make her Great Britain debut at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, later this month.
Aldama, who only gained eligibility to compete for her adopted country last week having lived in London for the last 10 years and also having been granted a British passport, was the most surprising inclusion in the 67-strong team named on Tuesday.
She will be 39 when she becomes the oldest woman in track and field to make her debut for Britain.
Aldama won a silver medal competing for Cuba at the 1999 World Championships in Seville before, having had her first application for British citizenship turned down, switching her allegiance to Sudan in 2004.
"It was only on Thursday last week that UK Athletics, including myself, were informed (by the IAAF) that Yamile from that moment onwards was eligible for Britain," UK Athletics head coach Charles Van Commenee said.
"UK Athletics has not been involved in that process, there was a request from the athlete straight to the IAAF.
"The panel has to look into the performance profile and treat her like any other British athlete and the panel thought that she met the criteria and therefore should represent the team.
"Age is not a factor when it comes for selection. I think she is definitely capable of making it to the final (in Daegu) and then we'll see."
Pedigree
Aldama certainly has pedigree, having finished fourth at the Sydney Olympics and topping the world rankings in 2003.
However, she missed out on the World Championships that year and finished fifth at the 2004 Games in Athens.
"We've known this girl for a long time, she's lived in London for 10 years and she applied for British citizenship 10 years ago," added Van Commenee, who was the UKA's technical director for jumps and combined events at the time.
"The outcome of that process at the time was that she didn't get a British passport and in order to compete internationally she almost escaped to Sudan.
"Then nine years later she finally got a British passport, so it's not as if this girl dropped out of the sky.
"She has always been part of British athletics in a way because she is coached by a British coach (Frank Attoh) since 2001."
Aldama is one of three overseas recruits in the team alongside American-born 100m hurdler Tiffany Porter and Anguillan-born long jumper Shara Proctor.
Van Commenee is aiming to eclipse the six medals Britain won at the World Championships in Berlin two years ago, with a quartet of title contenders leading the way.
World and European heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis, Phillips Idowu, who holds both titles in the triple jump, European 5,000 and 10,000m champion Mo Farah and Dai Greene, the European and Commonwealth 400m hurdles champion, are Britain's best medal hopes.
"We need to improve and that means we have to set a target of seven medals. At this point I have good reason to look forward to the World Championships," said Van Commenee.
European 200m silver medallist Christian Malcolm will be captain, but four of his fellow silver medal winners missed out on individual selection.
There are no places for Michael Bingham, Chris Thompson or Rhys Williams while Mark Lewis-Francis has to settle for a spot in the 4x100m relay team.
Bingham, who won silver in the 400m in Barcelona last summer, failed to make the final at the trials and, with no-one having attained the 'A' qualifying standard, only Martyn Rooney will race over the distance in Daegu.
Undeserving
Bingham, meanwhile, was not even given a relay place.
"He simply didn't deserve the place, he should have run faster," Van Commenee said. "He's the first one to acknowledge that."
Brett Morse was picked ahead of British record holder Lawrence Okoye in the discus after beating his rival at the trials and the Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
But Van Commenee said 19-year-old Okoye had already told him that he did not want to be considered.
"He doesn't feel that he's consistent enough to do some damage in Daegu and prefers to go back into training and prepare properly for the London Games," Van Commenee added.
The team will head to a holding camp in Ulsan, South Korea, the week before the championships get under way on August 27.