Shelly Woods in England team for Commonwealth Games

Blackpool's triple Paralympic medallist will compete for the England para-athletics team in the marathon on July 30.

For Woods, who will be 36 by the time of the race, it crowns a remarkable return to elite wheelchair racing after her three years away to raise son Leo were followed by the pandemic.

Now based in Lytham, Woods will represent her country for the first time since 2014, when she competed at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

In her tweet, “Really proud to be #partofthepride and be selected for the Commonwealth Games to represent @TeamEngland”, Woods also declared her support for the Part of the Pride campaign against sexual harassment and assault.

Since the disappointment of missing out on a TeamGB place at Tokyo last year, when she had hoped to appear at a third Paralymics, Woods has continued to contest the world's major marathons.

She completed three in successive weeks last year (Berlin, London, Boston) and was back at Boston last month for the 2022 event.

She will contest the Great Manchester Run tomorrow.