Brotherly love wins for Team GB stars

Edi and Efe Okoro, from Great Barr, were selected to represent Great Britain and for the senior sibling, Edi, it was a case of being a proud big brother.

For 400m star Efe, who recently turned 24, it was an international bow while Edi, 26, breezed through his 60m hurdles to make the final.

Edi said: "It was a massive thing for me to be out there with him. It made it a much better experience.

"He's never competed at an event like this and I enjoyed it much more being able to share it with my bro."

Okoro senior is still very much in the running for a place in the Great Britain squad for this summer's Olympic Games., ran a 7.90 seconds heat to qualify for the same-day final while younger brother Efe finished second in his 400m time trial, clocking a personal best of 48.03.

It is the latest success for the talented family, who at one point were competing on half-a-dozen fronts on the track.

Sister Kevwe is the elder of mum Ursulin's six children, with Edi, and twins Ese and Ejiro and Efe and Jite.

Sadly, the Birchfield Harriers brothers just missed the cut for a podium finish, with Edi's 7.94 in the final seeing him cross the line in fifth.

For Efe, despite a second-placed finish, he was pushed further down the overall standings due to a faster-paced first heat.

Edi said: "It was a shame for Efe, because he blitzed his trial but only finished fourth overall. But he wasn't due to be running any indoors, so for him to run like that was good.

"He ran really well. The competition didn't come at the best time for both of us as we were struggling with illness.

"Efe has been working really hard recently and it's good to see that paying off for him. The selection panel base selection on club performance.

"Our aim is very much for the outdoors later this year."

It was the first time that the hurdler and one-lap sprint star have featured together at such a high-ranking event, although Efe had run against twin brother Jite last year.

The British Indoor Championships in Sheffield this weekend will see Edi set down another marker heading into the outdoor season.

And he still holds huge ambitions for the summer – including a ticket to the Olympics in Rio.

The hurdler admitted: "I'm not far from qualification. It will always be a target for me.

"There are three qualification spots for the Olympics and everyone currently running in or around the top five has a chance.

"You want to be running good clean races and avoiding any injuries and hopefully I'll be on the plane."

The six Okoros made headlines growing up – when they all qualified to represent the West Midlands in the England Schools' Games.

Edi added: "My older sister Kevwe has dropped out and Ejiro doesn't race anymore. But Ese has moved out to the US, and she competed in the hurdles at Glasgow in the 2014 Commonwealths."