LONDON – San Francisco distance runner and NCAA 10,000 meter champion Charlotte Taylor has been selected to race in the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London Aug. 4-13, announced today by British Athletics.

The world's top athletes will bring the roar back to The Stadium within Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the iconic main venue for the 2012 Olympic Games that saw Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Usain Bolt race to glory. And this time, USF's Taylor will be in the mix with the best of the best.

"I'm so excited to have been selected for the World Championships team," she exclaimed. "Representing my country at senior level on the track has been a dream since childhood and I can't quite believe it's actually coming true. To have the Championships in London this year is an added bonus. The British crowds are notoriously good at supporting their home athletes, and so I look forward to experiencing that atmosphere."

Taylor stands as the only Don in program history slated to compete at the World Championships, adding to her long list of USF firsts.

"We are thrilled to have Charlotte represent her country and the University of San Francisco on the highest stage of international competition this year," noted USF head coach Helen Lehman-Winters. "She has had a phenomenal year and to now have an opportunity to compete in this venue with the world's best athletes is such a great honor."

Held every two years, the London Championships will be the 16th in the event's 34-year history, and the first in the United Kingdom. Cities world-wide have been selected to host throughout the years: from the first IAAF World Championships in Helsinki in 1983 to stops in Spain, France, South Korea, Canada and Germany, to the upcoming hosts of Qatar (2019) and the United States (2021).

The most recent Championships in Beijing, China, in August 2015, saw 1,931 athletes participate from a record 207 national federations. Kenya topped the medal table for the first time in its history, winning 16 medals of which seven were gold.

Performance Director for British Athletics, Neil Black said in the British Athletics team release, "This feels bigger for us than Rio. London 2017 is the major global sporting event this year and will be the biggest occasion the country has seen since 2012. We've selected some incredibly talented athletes, and in many events there have been some close calls. It's now up to them to grasp this opportunity and produce performances that will make the whole nation proud."

Taylor will toe the line in the 10K on Saturday, Aug. 5, at 12:10 p.m. London time, alongside countrywomen Beth Potter and Jessica Martin.