FEERING athlete Joshua Bain has been picked to compete at next April's Commonwealth Games.

The 22-year-old will take part in the F38 shot put and be part of a strong Team England athletics squad bound for Australia's Gold Coast.

Bain's numerous successes include winning a bronze medal at last year's IPC Athletics European Championships, in Italy.

He secured a best throw of 44.18 metres in the F37 discus to claim a podium spot on the final day of the event, which was held in Grosseto.

The Team England line-up set for Oz also includes Paralympic and world champions Sophie Hahn and Kadeena Cox, who will be competing at their first Commonwealth Games in the T38 100 metres.

Both starred at this summer’s World Para Athletics Championships, in London.

Hahn won double gold in the T38 100m and 200m, while Cox sealed the T38 400m title.

Others who starred at those championships include Richard Chiassaro, who won bronze in the T54 200m in London, and he will take on the 1,500m distance on the Gold Coast.

Nathan Maguire, a finalist at the World Championships, will join Chiassaro over the 1,500m while T12 100m sprinter Zac Shaw will compete in his first Commonwealth Games.

They will be joined by Katrina Hart and Jade Jones, who will be looking to add to their previous Commonwealth Games experiences on the Gold Coast.

Jones won a bronze medal in Glasgow 2014, while Hart claimed the gold medal in the women's 100m T37 event in Delhi 2010.

Team England will send a team of around 600 athletes and staff in what will be England’s largest-ever team to represent the nation in an overseas sporting event.

The team will compete in 18 sports, including 38 Para medal events.

Sarah Winckless, Chef de Mission for Commonwealth Games England, said:

“This is the largest Para programme that the Commonwealth Games has ever delivered and I'm very pleased to be welcoming these athletes as part Team England.

"They will join the 75 athletes who were announced earlier this year and will be our largest group of athletes from one sport.

“This Para group is multi-talented and very strong and I would particularly like to point out Jade Jones, who will both be competing on the track and taking her turn at the triathlon venue - a first for Team England.”

Martin Rush, England’s Athletics Team Leader, added: “We are delighted that these 18 athletes have accepted invitations to be part of the athletics team for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

"What was already a strong team is now even stronger, with the addition of a number of Paralympic and World Para Athletics Championships medallists.

“The Games afford us a welcome opportunity to send a team that combines the talents of both Para and non-disability athletes and we cannot wait to see them in action.”

As part of its plans to send the best prepared team to the Gold Coast, Commonwealth Games England will hold a ten-day preparation camp in Brisbane, create a dedicated performance centre inside the Commonwealth Games Village and offer a full programme of support services.

The dedicated performance centre will be at the heart of Team England’s headquarters inside the Commonwealth Games Village.