Birthday boy Charlie Carvell gets Paris 2024 call

Carvell, who turned 20 last Sunday, received the call on Monday night confirming he had been selected as one of the youngest members of the Great Britain track and field team at Paris 2024.

The Telford Athletics Club star will be part of the men’s and mixed 4x400 metre relay squads at the Games, which begin on July 27.

Speaking after the news was formally announced on Friday, a delighted Carvell told the Shropshire Star: “I guess this isn’t a bad belated birthday present!

“Paris was always the aim for me this year. I remember telling my agent that last October.

“I always wanted to hit certain targets, like going to the Europeans. But Paris was the big one so to get there is really special.”

Carvell’s Olympic selection continues his rapid rise of a runner who only took up athletics seriously at the age of 16.

Since then he impressed in the junior ranks, captaining GB and winning individual silver at last year’s European Under-20 Championships. He made his senior bow at last month’s European Championships in Rome, where he helped the 4x400m men’s relay team qualify for the final. Already on the radar of the Olympic selectors, he nevertheless faced a nervous wait after being forced to withdraw from the final of last weekend’s UK Championships due to injury.

“It was a tough decision but at the end of the day, it was the right decision,” he said. “I’ve been dealing with a slight niggle, nothing too serious but as badly as I wanted to run, there was no point taking the risk.

“It was the smart decision and that is what I am trying to do more as I mature as an athlete.

“I was apprehensive on Monday before getting the call. In the back of my mind I was kind of expecting it but until you get the call you can never be 100 per cent sure. It was quite a nervy day.

“I don’t think it has sunk in yet with my family. It is not that they are surprised – though I suppose you are always a little surprised, aren’t you? It was quite a surreal moment.”

Carvell’s next target is a strong performance in the London Diamond League meeting on July 20, before he enters the Olympic holding camp.

He said: “It is quite full-on but I am really excited for it. I just hope I can keep going higher and higher in training, go to the Diamond League and then go to Paris and run fast.

“The aim is to win medals in both of the relay events.”

Carvell, from Bridgnorth, is joined in the relay squad by Wolverhampton’s Matt Hudson-Smith, who will be aiming for the podium in the individual event having missed Tokyo 2020 through injury.

The track and field squad features several medallists from three summers ago including Keely Hodgkinson (women’s 800m), Josh Kerr (men’s 1500m) and Laura Muir (women’s 1500m).

It is further strengthened by reigning world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson who is selected for her fourth Games in the women’s heptathlon.

“We know we have a high quality team,” said GB athletics team leader, Paula Dunn.