Cumbrians Nick Miller and Oliver Dustin are among a group of athletes nominated in UK Athletics’ latest funding programme.

Hammer star Miller, from Scotby, is included among 15 ‘Olympic Podium’ names – the top funding level of UK Athletics Olympic World Class Programme for 2022/23.

And middle-distance runner Dustin, from Workington, is one of 23 athletes in the ‘Podium Potential’ group.

It underlines the two Border Harriers’ status in the national athletics scene ahead of next year’s world championships in Budapest and the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Miller is heading into a new season off the back of winning a second Commonwealth Games gold medal for England.

Other star names in the Olympic Podium group alongside Miller include Dina Asher-Smith, Laura Muir, Keely Hodgkinson and Matthew Hudson-Smith.

Eilish McColgan and Lawrence Okoye are among those joining Dustin on the Podium Potential list.

Stephen Maguire, technical director at UK Athletics, said: “We look forward to working with the athletes and their coaches, and seeing where the World Class Programme can support them appropriately, and where it can add value to enhance their potential as we look ahead to Budapest, Paris and beyond.

“We are seeing a huge amount of young talent emerging through the system and the standards are continuing to rise as those athletes develop and push on.

“We’d like to thank UK Sport and the National Lottery for their continued investment in the World Class Programme. Their support is essential to helping our athletes be the best prepared they can be for the biggest competitions.”

The full 66-athlete list can be found HERE