Martyn Rooney has been named as Great Britain's team captain for the World Championships in Beijing.

The European 400 metres champion only earned an individual spot in the team on appeal, having initially been included just in the 4x400m relay squad.

The 28-year-old said: "It has always been an honour to represent my country and something I've been lucky enough to do for the last 10 years.

"In many ways everything really started to kick off for me in Beijing at the World Juniors in 2006 when I won the bronze medal, so to now have the privilege of returning to China and captaining the British Athletics team at the World Champs is a job and a responsibility that fills with me with great pride.

"The up-and-coming talent within the squad pushes me to be a better athlete and hopefully I can provide the right example to them which will set them up for next year's Olympics."

British Athletics performance director Neil Black said: "There are some very experienced athletes in our squad, which includes three current Olympic champions, as well as those just embarking on their international careers, so I was looking for someone who can help bridge the generations and unite the individual athletes as a team.

"I feel that Martyn is the perfect person for this role as he commands the respect of all his team-mates and has the invaluable experience of competing in Beijing previously, most significantly in the 2008 Olympics at the Bird's Nest itself - the very stadium hosting this year's World Championships.

"But it is more than just experience that he will bring to the post, he is a natural born leader and has the ability to inspire. I am delighted he has accepted this role."

The World Championships get under way a week on Saturday.