The United Kingdom competed under the name Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The nation was represented by 72 athletes at the 2010 European Athletics Championships held in Barcelona, Spain. With a squad of 72 athletes, Great Britain and Northern Ireland sent the fifth largest national team of the competition. The nation won a record 19 medals over the course of the six-day championships, beating their previous greatest medal haul of 18 from the 1990 European Athletics Championships. Head coach Charles van Commenee praised a number of athletes, saying that the team performance was good in terms of building towards the 2012 London Olympics. A number of high-profile athletes were missing from the squad due to injuries, including three 2008 Olympic medallists (Christine Ohuruogu, Tasha Danve
