Seven Yorkshire athletes from a strong Great Britain squad of 72 descend on the eternal city of Rome next week for the European Championships – with one eye for the majority of them on the Paris Olympics later this summer.

For the likes of Hallamshire Harriers’ marathon runner Calli Hauger-Thackery, a place in Paris has already been secured, so her spot in next Sunday’s half-marathon at the European Championships is just to keep her legs ticking over. She will be joined in the half-marathon by Hallamshire clubmate Lauren McNeil.

For Olympic veterans like City of York shot putter Scott Lincoln and Leeds 800m runner Alex Bell, a good performance in Rome could set them up to seal the qualification deal at the British Championships and Olympic trials in Manchester at the end of June. Lincoln set a new personal best of 21.31 metres in Ostrava this week and Bell – an Olympic finalist in Tokyo – has recently reported a good block of winter training.

Wakefield Harriers runner Amoy Eloise-Neale runs in the 5,000m and Teesside’s Richard Kilty is a member of the 4x100m squad. Jacob Fincham-Dukes of Leeds City Athletics Club is Britain’s sole representative in the long jump.

Calli Hauger-Thackery, competing in the Commonwealth Games, heads to Rome to tune up for the Olympics (Picture: Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

The European Championships run from Friday, June 7, to Wednesday, June 12. GB head coach Paula Dunn said: “For some athletes, winning a medal in Rome will be the perfect preparation for the Olympics, for others competing here will provide a benchmark as to where they are knowing that their peak performance needs to come at the start of August. There is also a good blend of athletes who can use this championship to fuel their aims for future championships.”

Calli Hauger-Thackery, Scott Lincoln and Alex Bell head to Rome with one eye on Paris