VIDEO: Meet the Pentathlon GB squad ahead of 2017 World Championships in Cairo
Ten University of Bath-based Pentathlon GB athletes are flying the flag for Great Britain at the 2017 Modern Pentathlon World Championships, which get under way in Cairo, Egypt today – SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH INTERVIEWS.
Two up-and-coming junior athletes will get the campaign under way in the men’s relay – Sports Performance student Bradley Sutton, supported by a Santander Sports Scholarship, and Myles Pillage, who will start a Biochemistry degree at the University next month.
Both competed at the Junior World Championships earlier this month and are looking forward to capping their first year at Pentathlon GB’s national training centre, the University of Bath Sports Training Village, by gaining more senior experience.
The individual competitions begin on Thursday with the men’s qualifying round featuring MJ Church ambassador and Mathematics student Joe Choong, fellow Rio 2016 Olympian Jamie Cooke, Sport & Exercise Science graduate Tom Toolis and Politics & International Relations graduate Sam Curry. Their final is on Saturday.
There are also three University of Bath graduates in the women’s squad, who have their qualifying round on Friday and final on Sunday. French & Politics graduate Samantha Murray, the London 2012 Olympic silver-medallist, will be looking to emulate her World Championships gold medal from 2014, while fellow Olympian Kate French is currently ranked second in the world and won World Cup gold in Cairo earlier this year.
Jo Muir – who, like French, studied Sports Performance – was also on the podium at the Cairo World Cup with Pillage in the mixed relay and the women’s squad is completed by 2015 World Junior Champion Francesca Summers.
The University of Bath has been home to Pentathlon GB for two decades and that thriving partnership was celebrated last week when the World Championships squad and coaches had a ‘thank you’ breakfast with Team Bath staff in the Sports Café.
Pentathlon GB Chief Executive Danielle Every said: “We are proud to be based at the University of Bath and to have a partnership dating back 20 years now. Our performance director Jan Bartu was involved in designing the whole Sports Training Village but especially our unique pentathlon facilities.
“We stage events like the European Championship here, like we will again in 2019, and we can train in four of our five sports on site.
“But a crucial part of our partnership is education. We encourage the athletes to get a high-quality education here while they strive to meet their sporting goals.”
Click here to find out more about the modern pentathlon programme at the University of Bath.
