Kelly Sotherton will urge Dina Asher-Smith and Katrina Johnson-Thompson not to skip Commonwealth Games

Asher-Smith is one of British athletics' star names but faces a packed 2022 schedule
PA

Former British heptathlete Kelly Sotherton says she hopes to convince the likes of Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson not to skip the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, despite a major fixture pile-up.

Sotherton has been named England’s track and field lead for the home Games, but is worried that the knock-on effect of postponing this year’s Tokyo Olympics could see her team deprived of its biggest names, with three major outdoor championships now scheduled to take place in a period of little over a month in the summer of 2022.

The World Championships in Oregon – which were originally slated for 2021 but have been pushed back to accommodate the rearranged Olympics – do not finish until the day before the Commonwealth Games begin, while there is only a four day gap between the closing ceremony in Birmingham and the start of the European Championships in Munich.

It also remains to be seen whether the lure of a home championships will prove quite so seductive for a generation of athletes that have seen an Olympic Games, plus world indoor and outdoor championships held on English soil in the last decade.

Sotherton won gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne 
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While Sotherton accepts that the likes of Asher-Smith and Johnson-Thompson – world champions in the 200m and heptathlon, respectively – will have their priorities elsewhere, she is hopeful of persuading them to play some part.

“Hopefully, ideally, we would have loved to see Dina Asher-Smith come to Birmingham, do the treble [of 100m, 200m and relay] again,” Sotherton said. “That is not going to happen realistically. She will maybe be selective.

“With KJT, I cannot see her doing a heptathlon at the Commonwealth Games if she is doing the worlds. But she might come and do a long jump or high jump. For me that would be fantastic. I haven't spoken to her but I wouldn't expect her double up in that time frame.

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“In the same way, if Dina is doing the double in the worlds, she might come and do relay. I would love all of the stars to be part of the Games so all the fans can see them.

“I am hoping Dina does a single event at the Commonwealth Games, whether it's the one or the two. That would be great. Her to be part of it would be fantastic. Especially if the Olympics go on next year. And she wins and come backs.

“When you are at a home championships, and they call you the 'Olympic champion', to hear the home crowd cheer you is hairs on the back of your neck time. That would be an experience she has not had necessarily.”

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