Farah among hopefuls

UK Athletics have announced a provisional 109-strong team for the upcoming European Championships in Helsinki.

The team will be significantly reduced in size following on from this weekend's Olympic trials in Birmingham, after which any track athletes already gaining automatic qualification for Team GB for the Games will be de-selected, so that they can focus on their preparations for London.

Field event athletes though will be permitted to compete in Helsinki if it is felt they would benefit from the additional competition. Athletes still seeking Olympic qualifying standards and 5,000 metres world champion Mo Farah could also compete in the Finnish capital.

Farah will be selected to compete over 5,000m and 10,000m in London, but has chosen to contest the 1,500m at the trials in order to work on his finishing speed.

Tactics

Providing he runs in Helsinki, Farah will be defending his 5,000m European title - he also won gold over 10,000m two years ago in Barcelona. The event features a straight final on June 27, the first evening of competition.

"Running the 1,500m at the Aviva 2012 Trials is a great chance for me to work on my speed and tactics in a championship format, over two days," the 29-year-old said.

"At the Olympics I'll need to recover as quickly as possible between races, so running two races back to back will be good preparation."

This year's European Championships will take place in an Olympic year for the first time, after the decision by European Athletics to take the competition into a biennial cycle from 2012 onwards.

The final Aviva GB & NI team for the event, taking place from June 27 to July 1, will be confirmed on June 25.

Aviva GB & NI Team squad:

Men

100m: Harry Aikines Aryeetey, Dwain Chambers, James Dasaolu, Richard Kilty, Mark Lewis-Francis

200m: James Alaka, Chris Clarke, James Ellington, Christian Malcolm, Danny Talbot

400m: Richard Buck, Luke Lennon Ford, Nigel Levine, Rob Tobin, Conrad Williams

800m: Mukhtar Mohammed, Andrew Osagie, Michael Rimmer, Gareth Warburton

1,500m: Andy Baddeley, James Brewer, Tom Lancashire, Ross Murray, James Shane

5,000m: Mo Farah, Rory Fraser, Mitch Goose, Nick McCormick

10,000m: Keith Gerrard, James Walsh

3,000m steeplechase: Luke Gunn, Rob Mullett, Stuart Stokes, James Wilkinson

110m hurdles: Richard Alleyne, Lawrence Clarke, Gianni Frankis, Andrew Pozzi, William Sharman

400m hurdles: Jack Green, Ben Sumner, Rhys Williams, Nathan Woodward, Rick Yates

High jump: Martyn Bernard, Robbie Grabarz, Samson Oni, Tom Parsons

Pole vault: Luke Cutts, Max Eaves, Andrew Sutcliffe

Long jump: JJ Jegede, Julian Reid, Chris Tomlinson

Triple jump: Larry Achike

Shot put: Carl Myerscough

Discus throw: Abdul Buhari, Brett Morse, Carl Myerscough, Lawrence Okoye

Hammer throw: Mark Dry

Decathlon: Ashley Bryant

4x100m: Aikines Aryeetey, Chambers, Kilty, Tyrone Edgar, Ellington, Malcolm, Talbot

4x400m: Buck, Michael Bingham, Lennon Ford, Levine, Tobin, Williams

Women

100m: Montell Douglas, Jeanette Kwakye, Ashleigh Nelson, Anyika Onuora, Abi Oyepitan

200m: Onuora, Oyepitan, Jodie Williams

400m: Shana Cox, Lee McConnell, Kelly Massey, Marilyn Okoro, Nicola Sanders

800m: Emma Jackson, Jenny Meadows, Okoro, Lynsey Sharp, Jemma Simpson

1,500m: Lisa Dobriskey, Jemma Simpson, Charlene Thomas, Steph Twell, Laura Weightman

5,000m: Julia Bleasdale, Helen Clitheroe, Twell

10,000m: Jo Pavey, Charlotte Purdue, Gemma Steel, Sarah Waldron

3000m steeplechase: Hatti Archer, Eilish McColgan

100m hurdles: Tiffany Porter

400m hurdles: Meghan Beesley

High jump: Isobel Pooley

Pole vault: Kate Dennison, Sally Peake

Long jump: Abigail Irozuru, Shara Proctor

Triple jump: Yamile Aldama

Shot put: Eden Francis

Discus throw: Francis, Jade Nicholls

Hammer throw: Sophie Hitchon, Sarah Holt

Javelin throw: Goldie Sayers, Laura Whittingham

Heptathlon: Louise Hazel

4x100m: Douglas, Hayley Jones, Kwakye, Nelson, Onuora, Williams

4x400m: Eilidh Child, Cox, Massey, McConnell, Christine Ohuruogu, Sanders