Katarina Johnson-Thompson named in Great Britain's squad for the European Championships next month... with Keely Hodgkinson and Dina Asher-Smith also heading to Rome ahead of this summer's Paris Olympics

Katarina Johnson-Thompson will step up her preparations for the Paris Olympics next week when she goes for European glory in Rome.

The world heptathlon champion, 31, was yesterday (Weds) named in Great Britain’s star-studded 72-strong squad for the European Championships, which start on Friday week.

With two months to go until the Olympics, it will be Johnson-Thompson’s first heptathlon since winning world gold in Budapest last August – and she will be looking to claim her maiden European crown.

‘She is in really good shape, physically and emotionally,’ said GB head coach Paula Dunn. ‘She has been able to stay injury free and her confidence is high.

‘She is looking forward to going out and competing in Rome and putting down a serious performance. I am excited to see what she can do.’

Keely Hodgkinson will also be in Rome to defend her 800metres title, fresh from winning last weekend’s Diamond League event in Eugene with the fastest time in the world this year after an injury-hit winter.

‘She has had an amazing recovery,’ said Dunn. ‘What she did at the weekend was scarily good for her first race out.’

Dina Asher-Smith will compete in the women’s 100m, which she won in Berlin in 2018, while Zharnel Hughes will be in the men’s event, looking to avenge his defeat to Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs in 2022.

Eilish McColgan will feature in a major championships for the first time since winning 10,000m silver in Munich two years ago. The Scot raced for the first time in 420 days last Sunday, winning the Vienna 5k, following a year of injury issues.

Matthew Hudson-Smith, the world and Olympic 400m medallist, will defend his European crown, while in the women’s pole vault, world indoor champion Molly Caudery will be up against her team-mate Holly Bradshaw, the Olympic bronze medallist.

World 1500m champion Josh Kerr is the biggest name missing from the British squad, having opted to fully focus on the Olympics.

‘Josh was never going to do the Europeans,’ said Dunn. ‘He is sticking to what works best for him and with an athlete of that calibre, you want to make sure he has the best preparations coming into Paris.

CJ Ujah, whose failed drugs test saw GB stripped of a silver medal in the 4x100m relay at the Tokyo Olympics, rejected a place in the relay squad to prioritise his individual form ahead of next month’s Olympic trials.

Phoebe Gill, the 17-year-old 800m sensation who has broken through this summer, also turned down the chance to go to Rome to focus on her school exams. She could, though, still make the squad for the Olympics if she performs at trials.

‘She is the real deal,’ added Dunn. ‘She is very young, supremely talented and we just need to protect her. ‘She has the Olympic qualification time, along with other athletes, so it’s really how she performs at trials and then sitting down with her family and making the right decision for Phoebe.’