Second silver for Olver on final day of Glasgow Games
University of Bath graduate Heather Olver collected her second silver medal on the final day of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The Coach Education and Sports Development graduate took silver partnering Chris Langridge in the mixed doubles final.
The pair put up a brave battle but went down to fellow England players and top seeds Chris and Gabby Adcock in this morning’s final 21-9 21-12.
Olver adds the mixed doubles silver to the team silver she won with England earlier in the Games.
We could only dream of silver
She said: “It was a tough match. Chris and Gabby played really well and we were a bit slow getting out of the blocks, which they took advantage of.
“We were really happy to have got here in the first place, a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games it something we could have only dreamed of,” she added. “From the very beginning, the first team match, the crowd and the support has been amazing. I have never really seen a badminton hall as full on as many consecutive days, so a big thank you to everyone who came to support.”
There was disappointment for England’s netballers, including Team Bath players Serena Guthrie and Stacey Francis, who lost a pulsating bronze medal match against Jamaica 52-48.
Just 24 hours after losing a nail-biting semi-final to defending champions New Zealand by a single goal, there was heartbreak again for England.
Absolutely gutted
England head coach Anna Mayes, a former Team Bath player, said: “I’m absolutely gutted. It was a hard task after running New Zealand so close yesterday. Unfortunately we didn’t play our best netball today.
“All credit to Jamaica for grinding out the win,” she added.
Geva Mentor, a former Team Bath player, added: “I’m proud of this bunch of girls. We’ve achieved a lot, but this isn’t where we wanted to finish off.”
Medals won by athletes with University of Bath links
Gold – 5
Megan Fletcher (judo – under-70kg, England, day 2)
Chris Walker-Hebborn (swimming – 100m backstroke, England, day 2)
Zoe Smith (weightlifting – under-58kg, England, day 3)
Siobhan-Marie O’Connor (swimming – 200m individual medley, England, day 4)
Chris Walker-Hebborn (swimming – 4x100m medley relay, England, day 6)
Silver – 14
Siobhan-Marie O’Connor (swimming – 200m freestyle, England, day 1)
Amelia Maughan & Siobhan-Marie O’Connor (swimming – 4x100m freestyle relay, England, day 1)
Michael Jamieson (swimming – 200m breaststroke, Scotland, day 1)
Tom Reed (judo – under-81kg, England, day 2)
Siobhan-Marie O’Connor (swimming – 100m butterfly, England, day 2)
Gemma Gibbons (judo – under-78kg, England, day 3)
Heather Olver (badminton – team competition, England, day 5)
Will Sharman (athletics – 110m hurdles, England, day 6)
Lizzie Simmonds & Siobhan-Marie O’Connor (swimming – 4x100m medley relay, England, day 6)
Eilidh Child (athletics – 400m hurdles, Scotland, day 8 )
Jazmin Sawyers (athletics – long jump, England, day 8 )
Danny Talbot & Andy Robertson (athletics – 4x100m relay, England, day 10)
Zoe Shipperley (hockey, England, day 10)
Heather Olver (badminton – mixed doubles, England, day 11)
Bronze – 8
Andrew Willis (swimming – 200m breaststroke, England, day 1)
Chris Walker-Hebborn (swimming – 4x100m freestyle, England, day 2)
Calum Jarvis (swimming – 200m freestyle, Wales, day 2)
Andy Burns (judo – under-90kg, Scotland, day 3)
Gary Hall (judo – under-90kg, England, day 3)
Amelia Maughan & Siobhan-Marie O’Connor (swimming – 4x200m freestyle relay, England, day 3)
Kristian Callaghan (shooting – 25m rapid fire pistol, England, day 6)
Emily Diamond (athletics – 4x400m relay, England, day 10)
More than 70 athletes with University of Bath links were selected to compete at Glasgow 2014, representing 10 countries and compete in 11 sports.
Picture: Badminton Photo
