British Athletics has named 41 athletes in its Paralympic world class programme for 2023-24.
Four have been added to the podium level, the highest of three funding tiers, including Ben Sandilands, who won T20 1500m gold at July’s World Para Athletics Championships in Paris.
Zak Skinner, Zac Shaw and Daniel Sidbury, all medallists at the Worlds, are also added to the podium level.
The Paris Paralympics take place from 28 August to 8 September next year.
Seven reigning Paralympic champions are included: Jonathan Broom-Edwards, Hannah Cockroft, Aled Sion Davies, Sophie Hahn, Owen Miller, Daniel Pembroke and Thomas Young.
Sandilands, 20, was not included in last season’s Paralympic world class programme at any level.
Sidbury, 29, secured T54 5000m and 800m bronze medals in Paris and won Sunday’s Great North Run men’s wheelchair race. Shaw, 27, won a T12 100m bronze medal and Skinner, 24, was third in the T13 long jump; all three received second-tier podium potential support previously.
There are 20 athletes in the podium tier, 14 at the podium potential level and seven in the confirmation category, designed for athletes adjusting to life in high-performance programmes.
The programme is funded by the National Lottery via UK Sport and its intake could yet grow, with a meeting scheduled for January to consider marathon competitors.
Two athletes who were getting podium support in 2022-23, David Devine and Richard Chiassaro, miss out.
Before the Paralympics, Kobe in Japan will host next year’s World Para Athletics Championships, from 17 to 25 May.
