Paris pride, historic international achievements, emotional reunions and big gym investment among highlights of incredible sporting 2024
Olympic and Paralympic success in Paris is just one of the highlights of a truly monumental year of sport at the University of Bath.
World Cup victories, European crowns, groundbreaking international debuts, emotional reunions, national accolades, innovative new partnerships and an extensive gym refurbishment are also among the many high points from an action-packed 2024.
In total athletes brought 93 senior international medals back to their Team Bath training base, 17 of which were secured during six unforgettable weeks at Paris 2024. Leading the way was wheelchair fencer Dimitri Coutya with two gold, one silver and a bronze. His four-medal maul was matched by training partner Piers Gilliver, the duo being joined by Oliver Lam-Watson for their two team podium placings.
Para-badminton ace Dan Bethell also won a second successive SL3 men’s singles silver medal during the Paralympics, while the Olympic Games saw Tom Dean become a triple champion when he helped the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay squad defend their title. Aquatics GB Bath Performance Centre training partner Kieran Bird is a gold-medallist too after an excellent heats swim secured Team GB’s place in the final.
Bath alumnae Prisca Awiti-Alcaraz (judo) and Becky Wilde (rowing) excelled to win silver and bronze respectively, and Bill Whiteley Sporting Scholar Kate Shortman made history by claiming Team GB’s first-ever Olympic artistic swimming medal in the Duet with Izzy Thorpe.
That stunning silver capped a historic six months for the pair, who also won Britain’s first World Championships medals in the sport – silver and bronze – in February and struck gold at the Olympic Test Event in May. They secured two silvers at June’s European Championships too.
Other athletes to enjoy continental success in 2024 were Coutya and Gilliver, who won two individual titles apiece at the Wheelchair Fencing European Championships in Paris. Pentathlon GB’s Kerenza Bryson – a month before her Olympic debut – won women’s individual gold in Budapest and team silver with Emma Whitaker and Alex Bousfield, who themselves claimed the women’s relay title.
January saw Marcus Wyatt become the second successive British Skeleton athlete to be crowned men’s European Champion, succeeding Matt Weston who, the following month, became GB’s most decorated World Championships athlete by winning silver in both the men’s race and the team event with Tabby Stoecker.
Weston also won Overall World Cup gold, an achievement matched by Corie Mapp in para-bobsleigh, and the University-based British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association have continued that excellent form into the 2024-25 pre-Olympic season, winning 15 medals already including first World Cup golds for Amelia Coltman and Freya Tarbit.
Completing the haul of global medals was swimmer Freya Anderson, who anchored Aquatics GB to women’s medley relay silver at this month’s World Aquatics Short-Course Championships in Budapest.
It has been a particularly proud year for the student rugby programme at Bath, with Archie Griffin becoming the first current student to make his senior international debut when he represented Wales against England in the Guinness Six Nations.
Trendell Scholar Jenny Hesketh and Mollie Wilkinson also made their Welsh bows in the Women’s Six Nations and six students were selected to compete in the U20 Six Nations – Billy Sela and Scott Kirk (England), Ludo Kolade and Murdoch Lock (Scotland), Ieuan Davies and Louie Hennessey (Wales).
Business student Austin Emens was awarded a professional contract by Bath Rugby, making his Premiership debut in October, after standout performances for the University men’s 1st XV in BUCS Super Rugby. The 2024-25 squad have made a strong start to the season and were cheered on by more than 7,000 spectators during a classic Anniversary Game against local rivals Hartpury at The Rec which finished 31-31.
Some of the world’s best rugby league players also trained at Team Bath in September when all-conquering Wigan Warriors staged a three-day preparation camp shortly before completing their historic trophy quadruple.
The University’s standing as one of the country’s leading venues for high-performance sport was recognised in April when it became the first institution to be presented with UK Sport-accredited Elite Training Centre status.
The foundations for that sporting heritage were celebrated this year when the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Founders Hall – the precursor to the STV – was marked by reunions for the 1974 men’s football team that won the UAU Championship and the University’s karate club.
The University’s commitment to ensuring the STV remains at the leading edge saw an extensive £450,000 upgrade of the Team Bath Gym during the summer in collaboration with long-standing partners Matrix Fitness, as well as a eye-catching refurbishment of the indoor tennis courts.
The gym upgrade was one of many exciting projects with new and existing partners. Rengen backed the new-look Breakthrough Programme, supporting more than 160 student-athletes in their dual careers; Bath Building Society became the main partners of the Team Bath youth sports programme; and ASICS partnered with Team Bath Tennis as the UK hub for its tennis initiatives.
Rengen, Bath Building Society, Flyhawk and new partners Bath Recreation Limited also pledged their continued support to Team Bath Netball at the end of a challenging year which saw the club lose its Super League franchise. The Blue & Gold are continuing to deliver the Player Pathway for the South West of England, though, and will contest the inaugural NXT Gen League in 2025.
The outpouring of love and support when the Super League decision was announced has provided real impetus and motivation for Team Bath moving into this new era. It also led to one of the highlights of the year, the All-Stars celebration match which saw a host of famous names don the Blue & Gold once again in front of an appreciative 800-strong crowd.
Reunited on the coaching benches that night were Anna Stembridge and Jess Thirlby, the past and present England Head Coaches who had been inducted into the University of Bath Hall of Fame for Sport in April.
Thank you to everyone in the Team Bath community for making 2024 such an incredible year. We wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2025.
